Rabban Gamaliel, the son of R. Jehudah, said: Not to Moses alone did He show loving-kindness, but also to Aaron. For when they went up Mount Hor all the tribes of Israel were contending and saying, Moses and Eleazar have left Aaron on Mount Hor and have gone down (by themselves). They did not believe that he was dead. To show loving-kindness to him, what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do?
He took Aaron's coffin and brought it above the camp of Israel, and all Israel saw Aaron's coffin flying and moving in the air. They then believed that he was dead, and they showed loving-kindness to him, as it is said: || "And all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead" (Num. 20:29). Only the men showed loving-kindness to Moses, as it is said, "And the sons of Israel wept for Moses" (Deut. 34:8). The men and the women and the children showed loving-kindness to Aaron.