Moses began his long but fruitless prayer by saying: "Lord of the
world! Consider how much I had to bear for the sake of Israel until
they became the people of Thy claim and of Thy possession. I suffered
with them, shall I not then take part in their rejoicing? Look Thou, by
forbidding me to enter the promised land, Thou givest the lie to Thy
Torah, for it says, 'In his day thou shalt give the laborer his hire.'
Where, then, is my hire for the forty years during which I labored for
the sake of Thy children, and for their sake suffered much sorrow in
Egypt, in the desert, and at the giving of the Torah and the
commandments? With them I suffered pain, shall not I behold their good
fortune as well? But Thou tellest me that I may not cross the Jordan!
All the time that we were in the desert I could not sit quietly in the
academy, teaching and pronouncing judgement, but not that I should be
able to do so, Thou tellest me that I may not." [876]
He continued: "May the mercy in Thee precede Thy justice, so that my
prayer may be answered, for I well know that 'there is no mercy in
justice,' [877] Thou Thyself didst tell me when I asked Thee how Thou
didst conduct the world, 'I owe nothing to any creature, and what I do
for them is a free gift on My part,' therefore as a free gift, grant
now my prayer to me. [878] Thou Thyself didst point out to me that it
is Thy desire that people should pray to Thee to cancel punishment that
was laid upon them. When Israel committed that terrible sin, the
worship of the Golden Calf, Thou didst say to me, 'Let Me alone, that I
may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven.' I then
thought, 'Who can restrain God, that He should say, "Let Me?" It is
plain that He desires me to pray for His children;' and I prayed, and
was answered. The prayer of the individual for the community was
answered, but not so the prayer of the community for the one
individual! Is it because I called Israel, 'rebels?' But in this I only
followed Thy example, for Thou too didst call them, 'the sons of
rebellion.' [879]
"Thou didst call me, as well as Leviathan, thy servant; I sent up
prayers to Thee, and Leviathan likewise, and him didst Thou answer, for
Thou madest a covenant with him that Thou keepest, but the covenant
that Thou madest with me Thou breakest, for Thou didst say, 'Die in the
mount whither thou goest up.' In the Torah Thy words are: 'If the
servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children;
I will not go out free: then his master shall bring him unto the
judges; and he shall serve him for ever.' I implore Thee now, 'hear my
cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.' [880] Thou are not in the position
of a judge of flesh and blood who, when granting a prayer, has to
consider that he may be compelled by his superior to repeal his answer,
Thou canst do what Thou wilt, for where on earth or in heaven is there
one so mighty that he can do such deed as Thine in Egypt, or who can
perform such mighty deeds as Thou didst at the Red Sea? [881] I pray
Thee, therefore, let me behold the land that, in spite of the slander
of the spies, I praised, and Jerusalem and the Temple also. [882]
"When, in answer to the proposition Thou madest me to go into Egypt and
deliver Israel, I said, 'I can not do it, for I made a vow to Jethro
never to leave him,' Thou didst release me from that vow. O Lord of the
world! As then Thou didst absolve me of my vow, saying, 'Go, return
into Egypt,' so do Thou now absolve Thyself from Thy vow, and permit me
to enter the land of Israel." Then God answered: "Thou hast a master to
absolve thee from thy vow, but I have no master." [883] Moses then
said: "Thy judgement against me reads that I shall not as king enter
the promised land, for to me and to Aaron Thou didst say, "Ye shall not
bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.' Permit me
then, at least, to enter it as a common citizen." "That," said the
Lord, "is impossible. The king shall not enter it degraded to the rank
of a common citizen." "Well, then," said Moses, "if I may not even go
into the land as a common citizen, let me at least enter into the
promised land by the Paneas Grotto, that runs from the east bank to the
west bank of the Jordan." But this request, too, God denied him,
saying, "Thou shalt not go from this bank of the Jordan to the other."
"If this request also is to be denied me," begged Moses, "grant me at
least that after my death my bones may be carried to the other side of
the Jordan." But God said, "Nay, not even thy bones shall cross the
Jordan." [884] "O Lord of the world!" exclaimed Moses, "If Joseph's
bones were permitted to be carried into the promised land, why not
mine?" God replied, "Whosoever acknowledges his country shall be buried
therein, but whosoever does not acknowledge his country shall not be
buried therein. Joseph pledged allegiance to his country when he said,
'For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews,' and
therefore also does he deserve to have his bones brought to the land of
Israel, but thou didst in silence hear the daughters of Jethro say to
their father, 'An Egyptian delivered us out of the hands of the
shepherds,' without correcting them by saying, 'I am a Hebrew;' and
therefore shall not even thy bones be brought into the land of Israel."
[885]
Moses furthermore said to God: "O Lord of the world! With the word,
'Behold' did I begin Thy praise, saying, 'Behold, the heaven and the
heaven of heavens is the Lord's' and with that very world, 'Behold,'
dost thou seal my death, saying, 'Behold, thy days approach that thou
must die.'" God replied to this: "A wicked man in his envy sees only
the profits, but not the expenditures of his neighbor. Dost thou not
recall that when I wanted to send thee to Egypt, thou didst also
decline My request with the word, 'Behold,' saying, 'Behold, they will
not believe me.' Therefore did I say, 'Behold, thy days approach that
thou must die.'" [886] "As furthermore," continued God, "thou didst say
to the sons of Levi when they asked thy forgiveness, 'Enough, ye take
too much upon ye, ye sons of Levi,' so too shall I answer thy prayer
for forgiveness, 'Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto Me of this
matter.'"
"O Lord of the world!" again pleaded Moses, "Wilt not Thou recall the
time when thou didst say to me, 'Come now, therefore, and I will send
thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children
of Israel out of Egypt.' Let them be led by me into their land as I led
them out of the land of bondage." But to this also God found a reply:
"Moses, wilt not thou recall the time when thou didst say to Me, 'O my
Lord, send, I pray Thee by the hand of him whom Thou wild send?' 'With
the measure that a man uses, shall measure be given him.' [887] I
announce death to thee with the word, 'Behold,' saying 'Behold, thy
days approach that thou must die,' because I wanted to point out to
thee that thou diest only because thou are a descendant of Adam, upon
whose sons I had pronounced death with the word, 'Behold,' saying to
the angels: 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and
evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of
life, and eat, and live forever.'" [888]
Moses then said, "O Lord of the world! To the first man didst Thou give
a command that could easily be obeyed, and yet he disobeyed it, and
thereby merited death; but I have not transgressed any of Thy
commandments." God: "Behold, Abraham also, who sanctified My name in
the world, died." Moses: "Yea, but from Abraham issued Ishmael, whose
descendants arouse thy anger." God: "Isaac, also, who laid his neck
upon the altar to be offered as a sacrifice to Me, died." Moses: "But
from Isaac issued Esau who will destroy the Temple and burn Thy house."
God: "From Jacob issued twelve tribes that did not anger Me, and ye he
died." Moses: "But he did not ascend into heaven, his feet did not
tread the clouds, Thou didst not speak with him face to face, and he
did not receive the Torah out of Thy hand." God: "'Let it suffice thee;
speak no more unto Me of this matter,' speak not many words, for only
'a fool multiplieth words.'" Moses: "O Lord of the world! Future
generations will perchance say, 'Had not God found evil in Moses, He
would not have taking him out of the world.'" God: "I have already
written in My Torah, 'And there hath not arisen since a prophet in
Israel like unto Moses.'" Moses: "Future generations will perhaps say
that I had probably acted in accordance with Thy will in my youth,
while I was active as a prophet, but that in my old age, when my
prophetic activities ceased, I no longer did Thy will."
Moses: "Lord of the world! Let me, I pray, enter into the Land, live
there two or three years, and then die." God: "I have resolved that
thou shalt not go there." Moses: "If I may not enter it in my lifetime,
let me reach it after my death." God: "Nay, neither dead nor alive
shalt thou go into the land." Moses: "Why this wrath against me?" God:
"Because ye sanctified Me not in the midst of the children of Israel."
Moses: "With all Thy creatures dost Thou deal according to Thy quality
of mercy, forgiving them their sins, once, twice, and thrice, but me
Thou wilt not forgive even one single sin!" God: "Outside of this sin
of which thou are aware, thou hast committed six other sins with which
I have not until now reproached thee. At the very first, when I
appeared to thee, thou didst say, 'O my Lord, send I pray Thee, by the
hand of him whom Thou wilt send,' and didst refuse to obey My command
to go to Egypt. Secondly thou didst say, 'For since I came to Pharaoh
to speak in Thy name, he hath evil entreated this people; neither hast
Thou delivered Thy people at all,' accusing Me thereby of having only
harmed Israel, instead of aiding them. Thirdly didst thou say, 'If
these men die the common death of all men, then the Lord hath not sent
me,' so that thou didst arouse doubts among Israel if thou wert really
My ambassador. Fourthly didst thou say, 'But if the Lord make a new
thing,' doubting if God could do so. Fifthly didst thou say to Israel,
'Hear now, ye rebels,' and in this way didst insult My children.
Sixthly didst thou say, 'And behold, ye are risen up in your fathers'
stead, an increase of sinful men.' Were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Israel's fathers, perchance sinful men, that thou didst thus address
their children?" Moses: "I only followed Thy example, for Thou, too,
didst say, 'The censers of these sinners.'" God: "But I did not
characterize their fathers as sinners."
Moses: "O Lord of the world! How often did Israel sin before Thee, and
when I begged and implored mercy for them, Thou forgavest them, but me
Thou wilt not forgive! For my sake Thou forgavest the sins of sixty
myriads, and not thou wilt not forgive my sin?" God: "The punishment
that is laid upon the community is different from the punishment that
is laid upon the individual, for I am not so severe in my treatment of
the community as I am in dealing with an individual. But know,
furthermore, that until now fate had been in thy power, but now fate is
no longer in thy power."[889] Moses: "O Lord of the world! Rise up from
the Throne of Justice, and seat Thyself upon the Throne of Mercy, so
that in Thy mercy, Thou mayest grant me life, during which I may atone
for my sins by suffering that Thou shalt bring upon me. Hand me not
over to the sword of the Angel of Death. If Thou wild grant my prayer,
then shall I sound Thy praises to all the inhabitants of the earth; I
do not wish to die, 'but live and declare the works of the Lord.'" God
replied: "'This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter into
it,' this is the gate into which the righteous must enter as well as
other creatures, for death had been decreed for man since the beginning
of the world." [890]
Moses, however, continued to importune God, saying: "With justice and
with mercy hast Thou created the world and mankind, may mercy now
conquer justice. In my youth Thou didst begin by showing me Thy power
in the bush of thorns, and now, in my old age, I beseech Thee, treat me
not as an earthly king treats his servant. When a king of flesh and
blood had a servant, he loves him as long as he is young and strong,
but casts him off when he is grown old. But Thou, 'cast me not off in
the time of old age.' Thou didst show Thy power at the revelation of
the Ten Commandments, and thy strong hand in the ten plagues that Thou
didst bring upon Egypt. Thou didst create everything, and in Thy hand
doth it lie to kill and to give life, there is none who can do these
works, nor is there strength like Thine in the future world. Let me
then proclaim Thy majesty to the coming generations, and tell them that
through me Thou didst cleave the Red Sea, and give the Torah to Israel,
that throughout forty years Thou didst cause manna to rain from heaven
for Israel, and water to rise from the well." For Moses thought that if
his life were spared, he should be able everlastingly to restrain
Israel from sin and to hold them forever in faith to the one God. But
God said: "' Let it suffice thee.' If thy life were to be spared, men
should mistake thee, and make a god of thee, and worship thee." "Lord
of the world!" replied Moses, "Thou didst already test me at the time
when the Golden Calf was made and I destroyed it. Why then should I
die?" God: "Whose son art thou?" Moses: "Amram's son." God: "And whose
son was Amram?" Moses: "Izhar's son." God: "And whose son was he?"
Moses: "Kohath's son." God: "And whose son was he?" Moses: "Levi's
son." God: "And from whom did all of these descend?" Moses: "From
Adam." God: "Was the life of any one of these spared?" Moses: "They all
died." God: "And thou wishest to live on?" Moses: "Lord of the world!
Adam stole the forbidden fruit and ate of it, and it was on this
account that Thou didst punish him with death, but did I ever steal
aught from Thee? Thou Thyself didst write of me, 'My servant Moses, who
is faithful in all Mine house.'" God: "Art thou worthier than Noah?"
Moses: "Yes; when Thou sentest the flood over his generation he did not
beg Thy mercy for them, but I did say to Thee, 'Yet now, if Thou wilt
forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book
which Thou hast written.'"
God: "Was it I perchance, that counseled thee to slay the Egyptian?"
Moses: "Thou didst slay all the firstborn of Egypt, and shall I die on
account of one single Egyptian that I slew?" God: "Art thou perchance
My equal? I slay and restore to life, but canst thou perchance revive
the dead?" [891]