The Voice That Split So Moses and Aaron Each Heard Their Own

"And the LORD said to Aaron, Go to meet Moses in the wilderness." This is what Scripture says, "God thunders marvelously with His voice" (Job 37:5). When did the Holy One, blessed be He, work marvels with His voice? At the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to send Moses on the mission to redeem Israel, and he was in Midian, He said to him (above, verse 19), "Return to Egypt." The utterance split into two voices and became a double countenance, and Moses heard, "In Midian, go, return to Egypt," and Aaron heard, "In Egypt, go to meet Moses in the wilderness." And what was in the middle they did not hear. Thus, "God thunders marvelously with His voice." This is what Scripture says (Song of Songs 8:1), "Oh that you were as a brother to me." Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He, "Oh that You were as Moses and Aaron," as it is said (Psalms 133:1), "How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together," for they loved one another and cherished one another. For when Moses took the kingship and Aaron the priesthood, they did not envy one another, but each rejoiced in the greatness of the other. "Should I find you outside, I would kiss you" — "And he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him." This is what Scripture says (Psalms 85:11), "Kindness and truth have met; righteousness and peace have kissed." "Righteousness" — this is Moses, as it is said, "He did the righteousness of the LORD." "Peace" — this is Aaron, as it is said (Malachi 2:6), "in peace and uprightness he walked with Me." "Kindness" — this is Aaron, as it is said (Deuteronomy 33:8), "and of Levi he said, Your Tummim and Your Urim be with Your pious one." "Truth" — this is Moses, as it is said, "in all My house he is faithful." Every kiss of frivolity (is in remez 124).