In the meanwhile Moses' time was at an end. A voice from heaven
resounded, saying: "Why, Moses, dost thou strive in vain? Thy last
second is at hand." Moses instantly stood up for prayer, and said:
"Lord of the world! Be mindful of the day on which Thou didst reveal
Thyself to me in the bush of thorns, and be mindful also of the day
when I ascended into heaven and during forty days partook of neither
food nor drink. Thou, Gracious and Merciful, deliver me not into the
hand of Samael." God replied: "I have heard thy prayer. I Myself shall
attend to thee and bury thee." Moses now sanctified himself as do the
Seraphim that surround the Divine Majesty, whereupon God from the
highest heavens revealed Himself to receive Moses' soul. When Moses
beheld the Holy One, blessed he His Name, he fell upon his face and
said: "Lord of the world! In love didst Thou create the world, and in
love Thou guidest it. Treat me also with love, and deliver me not into
the hands of the Angel of Death." A heavenly voice sounded and said:
"Moses, be not afraid. 'Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the
glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.'"
With God descended from heaven three angels, Michael, Gabriel, and
Zagzagel. Gabriel arranged Moses' couch, Michael spread upon it a
purple garment, and Zagzagel laid down a woolen pillow. God stationed
Himself over Moses' head, Michael to his right, Gabriel to his left,
and Zagzagel at his feet, whereupon God addressed Moses: "Cross thy
feet," and Moses did so. He then said, "Fold thy hands and lay them
upon thy breast," and Moses did so. Then God said, "Close thine eyes,"
and Moses did so. Then God spake to Moses' soul: "My daughter, one
hundred and twenty years had I decreed that thou shouldst dwell in this
righteous man's body, but hesitate not now to leave it, for thy time is
run." The soul replied: "I know that Thou art the God of spirits and of
souls, and that in Thy hand are the souls of the living and of the
dead. Thou didst create me and put me into the body of this righteous
man. Is there anywhere in the world a body so pure and holy as this it?
Never a fly rested upon it, never did leprosy show itself upon it.
Therefore do I love it, and do not wish to leave it." God replied:
"Hesitate not, my daughter! Thine end hath come. I Myself shall take
thee to the highest heavens and let thee dwell under the Throne of My
Glory, like the Seraphim, Ofannim, Cherubim, and other angels." But the
soul replied: "Lord of the world! I desire to remain with this
righteous man; for whereas the two angels Azza and Azazel when they
descended from heaven to earth, corrupted their way of life and loved
the daughters of the earth, so that in punishment Thou didst suspend
them between heaven and earth, the son of Amram, a creature of flesh
and blood, from the day upon which Thou didst reveal Thyself from the
bush of thorns, has lived apart from his wife. Let me therefore remain
where I am." [948] When Moses saw that his soul refused to leave him,
he said to her: "Is this because the Angel of Death wished to show his
power over thee?" The soul replied: "Nay, God doth not wish to deliver
me into the hands of death." Moses: "Wilt thou, perchance, weep when
the others will weep at my departure?" The soul: "The Lord 'hath
delivered mine eyes from tears.'" Moses: "Wilt thou, perchance, go into
Hell when I am dead?" The soul: "I will walk before the Lord in the
land of the living." When Moses heard these words, he permitted his
soul to leave him, saying to her: "Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for
the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." [949] God thereupon took
Moses' soul by kissing him upon the mouth. [950]
Moses activity did not, however, cease with his death, for in heaven he
is one of the servants of the Lord. [951] God buried Moses' body in a
spot that remained unknown even to Moses himself. Only this is know
concerning it, that a subterranean passage connects it with the graves
of the Patriarchs. [952] Although Moses' body lies dead in its grave,
it is still as fresh as when he was alive. [953]