'ובני ישראל נסעו מבארות בני יעקן וגו, if you were to say to me that I told you that you prayed also on behalf of Aaron (Deut. 9.20) concerning what had happened in the first year of our wanderings, and in the meantime Aaron has died, so what good are your prayers? To such an argument Moses answered that Aaron did not die in the first year when, due to his participation in the golden calf, G’d had meant to kill him, but he only died at the end of these long years at Hor Hahar, at the time when we journeyed from Beerot Bney Yaakon. We had arrived there coming from Mosserot as mentioned in Numbers 33,31 from which we proceeded to Hor Hahar. שם מת אהרן, and not in connection with the people whom G’d killed as an aftermath of the sin of the golden calf.

ויכהן אלעזר בנו תחתיו, by donning his father’s decorative priestly garments; he died in a manner which is dignified and even inspiring, at the command of G’d. This is the plain meaning of our verse, seeing that the Torah did not write “ובני ישראל נסעו מבארות בני יעקן ויחנו במוסרה. I explained these nuances in my commentary on Numbers 11,35 where the expression ויחנו is also absent after the line נסעו העם חצרות. Beerot Beney Yaakon is very close to Chatzerot. [in other words we have been given two points of reference for בני יעקן. Ed.].

בעת ההיא הבדיל ה' את שבט הלוי, the time Moses refers to is that of the sin of the golden calf when the latter had found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (compare Exodus 32,26)

ולברך בשמו this refers only to the priests who are to bless the rest of the Israelites.