(Lev. 16:1:) “After the death of Aaron's two sons.” R. Berekhyah opened (his discourse with Prov. 17:26), “To punish also the righteous is not good; to smite the noble ones for uprightness.”³⁵ 26(27):6/7. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, “Although I punished Aaron (for the golden calf) by taking his two children from him, it is not good. It was only (according to ibid., cont.) “to smite the noble ones for uprightness*.”*³⁶., Lev. 6:5.

footnotes: ³⁵ Lev. R. 20:6; PRK ³⁶ Perhaps either because they themselves had sinned or in order to sanctify the Divine Name, since (according to Lev. 10:3) Aaron accepted their deaths in silence. See Enoch Zundel in his commentary on Tanh