Tafsiran Ulangan 9:20: Tze'enah Ure'enah, Rashi, Rabbeinu Bahya & Siftei Chakhamim

“The Lord was angry enough with Aaron” [9:20]. The Holy One wanted to kill the four children of Aaron because he had made the Golden Calf, but Moses prayed. Thus, only two of Aaron’s children died, and two remained alive. Even though Aaron did not intend to make a foreign god, but he made the Golden Calf. He only wanted to calm Israel for a while. However, in any event it was a desecration of God’s name to make a foreign god, and he caused all of Israel to sin. The Holy One is more punctilious with the righteous; even over a small sin He punished the righteous greatly.¹⁵Bahya, Deuteronomy, 9:20.

ובאהרן התאנף ה׳ AND WITH AARON THE LORD WAS ANGRY, because he listened to you.

ובאהרן התאנף ה' מאד להשמידו, “ and against Aaron the Lord was very angry wanting to destroy him.” Our sages in Vayikra Rabbah 10,5 explain that the word להשמיד in this verse refers to the death of Aaron’s children. They base this on Amos 2,9 ואשמיד פריו ממעל ושרשיו מתחת, “I destroyed his boughs above and his roots below.” As a result of Moses’ prayer on behalf of Aaron G’d carried out only half of His plan, allowing two of Aaron’s sons to survive. At any rate, this verse is testimony that Aaron was guilty of a great sin in connection with the golden calf, so much so that the penalty was loss of his children. Having read this, we must surely ask: “seeing that Aaron did whatever he did with the purest intentions, לשם שמים, “for the sake of heaven,” (compare author’s comments on Exodus 32,4) and even the text attributes to him only a deed which was wrong not a faulty intention, why would G’d be so angry at him?
The answer is that G’d measures great people by a most severe yardstick, according to Baba Kama 50 even deviating from the straight and narrow by as little as a hair’s breadth becomes a culpable sin. That wording is based on Psalms 50,3 וסביביו נשערה מאד, “and people close around Him will be judged even by a hair.” Even though Aaron’s deed was well intentioned, he personally not having sinned in thought, he became the instrument of the Jewish people not only sinning but desecrating the Lord’s name in public. This is why when Moses confronted him he said to him: “How could you bring such a great sin upon this people?” (Exodus 32,21).
We find proof of the fact that Aaron personally had not committed a sin in Deut. 33,8: ”You tested him at the waters of Merivah.” Moses also called Aaron חסיד in that same verse, i.e. he had not been guilty of any personal sin other than not speaking to the rock or reminding Moses that he was supposed to speak to the rock. I will discuss this further when discussing the verse in question in detail.

להשמידו TO DESTROY HIM — this denotes the extermination of one’s children, and so, too, it states, (Amos 2:9) “And I destroyed (ואשמיד) his fruit (offspring) from above” (Leviticus Rabbah 7:1).

.(אחרי מות AND I PRAYED FOR AARON ALSO, and my prayer availed to atone half, so that only two of his sons died, and two remained alive.