Commentaire sur Les Nombres 20:29

ויראו כל העדה AND ALL THE CONGREGATION SAW [THAT AARON HAD DIED] — When they saw Moses and Eleazar descending and that Aaron was not descending with them, they said, “Where, then, is Aaron?” — He replied to them, “He is dead!” They thereupon said, “Is it possible that a man who stood up against the Angel and stayed the plague, — that over him the Angel of Death should have power?!” — Moses at once offered prayer and the ministering angels showed him (Aaron) to them lying upon the bier. They saw and believed (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 17).

ויבכו את אהרן שלשים יום כל בית ישראל, “the entire house of Israel wept for the passing of Aaron for thirty days.” The expression בית ישראל includes men and women. When the Torah reports the mourning of Moses the word בית is absent, as the Torah writes ויבכו בני ישראל את משה, “the Children of Israel wept for the passing of Moses in the fields of Moav for thirty days” (Deut. 34,8). The difference was that Aaron, in his capacity of striving always to restore harmonious relations between people patched up many marriages. This is why men and women alike wept for his passing (compare Rashi).

When they saw Moshe… Rashi wishes to answer the question: Surely they did not see Aharon’s death, for only Moshe and Elozor [witnessed it]. The Torah then should have said “they heard…” given that they heard this from Moshe and Elozor. Rashi explains, “When they saw…” [Rashi continues:] The ministering angels showed them. This is what was meant by “the entire community saw.”