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the Shechinah did not descend upon Am Yisrael, Moshe invested more
efforts in his service of the Mishkan. Moshe Rabbeinu knew that Hashem
would surely rest His Shechinah on the eighth day, but hoped that the
Shechinah would descend prior to that. Therefore, when the eighth day
arrived, he knew that on that day the Shechinah would definitely descend.
That is why he said “For today Hashem appears to you,” which implies
that most assuredly Hashem would rest His Shechinah on the Mishkan on
that day.

Moshe referred his honor to Aharon by commanding him to sacrifice the
korbanot, which would ultimately be the means through which the
Shechinah would descend, when he could have performed the service
himself. He wanted the nation to admire Aharon, who would cause the
Shechinah to descend. For this reason, he called the elders, in order that
they should observe his conduct and teach Am Yisrael that they, too,
should refer honor upon their fellow. Another reason for calling the elders
was because they were appointed to guide the nation. Because of the
responsibility that they shouldered, they were invited to be present at the
sacrificing of the sin-offering that would serve as atonement for Am
Yisrael.
Moshe Rabbeinu repeated “Then the glory ( ) of Hashem will appear
to you,” since the word shares the same numerical value as
(heart). This implies that a person should grant honor to his friend with
all his heart and not just superficially.

It says, “And Aharon fell silent.” This implies that he accepted the decree
with love and did not question why his sons died through sacrificing the
offerings. In addition, he referred honor to his sons by referring the
descent of the Shechinah upon the nation to their merit. Since he sought
to escape honor, he was worthy of having Hashem speak to him
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