[Siman 6] (Deut. 31:14:) “Then the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Behold the days are drawing near for you to die.”1 This text is related (to Prov. 11:31), “Behold, shall a righteous one be recompensed on earth?”2 With reference to whom is this text spoken? It speaks of none other than Moses the righteous, for there is no one like him, not among the prophets and not among the sages. So here is the Holy One, blessed be He, testifying concerning him after his death (in Deut. 34:10), “Never again did there arise in Israel a prophet like Moses.” Still, he did not have the power to save himself from death, all the more so other people. And David therefore said (in I Chron. 29:15), “For we are sojourners before You and transients like all our ancestors; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.” But is it not written (in Ps. 37:34), “Hope in the Lord and keep His way, [and He will raise you up to inherit the land?” So why does the text say (in I Chron. 29:15), “and there is no hope?” David said, “Master of the world, in all circumstances a person has hope. If one is poor, he hopes until he becomes rich. If he is feeble, he hopes until be becomes strong. [If] he is sick, he hopes until he is healed. If he is confined in prison, he hopes until they free him. On the day of death, however, he has no hope.” As see here that the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke with Moses face to face, but he was [still] not able to save himself from death. And so Solomon has said (in Eccl. 9:2), “Since everything [happens] to everyone, [the same lot to the righteous and to the wicked].3 R. Hanina said, “In the case of an intercessory spirit,4 it has authority to speak before the Holy One, blessed be He. [Such a one is] like a senator5 before the king. So he says to [the Holy One, blessed be He], ‘Master of the world, all flesh is [destined] for death. Abraham experienced death, Nimrod experienced death; Isaac experienced death, Abimelech experienced death; Moses experienced death, Pharaoh experienced death; for Solomon has stated (in Eccl. 3:20), “Everyone is going to the same place.” So from now on, what gain is there for the righteous to be engaged with the Torah and good works in this world? And what loss is there for the wicked to sin and cause [others] to sin in this world?’ Solomon has the explanation (in vs. 21), ‘Who knows the lifebreath (spirit) of humans (literally, the Children of Adam) that rise upward [and the lifebreath (spirit) of the beast that goes down into the earth]?’ ‘The spirit of humans,’ these are the spirits of the righteous, because they are put in storage and hidden under the throne of glory;6 ‘and the spirit of the beast that goes down into the earth,’ these are the spirits of the wicked, which go down to Gehinnom. And so it says (in Is. 14:15), ‘You shall also be brought down unto Sheol, [unto the uttermost parts of the pit].’” But where is it shown that the righteous are called Adam? Where Jonah says so (in Jon. 4:11), “So should I not take pity on Nineveh, [that great city] in which there are over a hundred and twenty thousand persons (literally, Adams), [who do not know their right hand from their left, and many animals].” “Adams,” these are the righteous; “who do not know their right hand from their left, and many animals,” these are the wicked, in that their actions are like the actions of the animals. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 11:31), “Behold, shall a righteous one be recompensed on earth?”
[Siman 7] (Deut. 31:14:) “Behold (
hn) the days are drawing near for you [to die].” Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, with the word that I [used to] praise
7 You when I said (in Deut. 10:14), ‘Behold (
hn) the heavens [and the heavens of the heavens, the earth and all that is in it] belong to the Lord your God’; by that [very word] (i.e.,
hn) you have condemned me to death?”
8 The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “I am bringing you peace of mind, (as in Deut. 31:16), ‘Behold (
hn-) you (-
k) are [soon] to sleep with your ancestors….’” R. Abbahu said, “The words, behold you (
hnk), can only mean peace of mind, since it is stated (in Job 3:17), ‘there (in death) the weary are at rest (
yanuhu, understood to have the root
hnk).’”
9 (
Deut. 31:14, literally:) “Behold your days are drawing near [to die].” R. Joshua ben Levi said, “A drawing near is uttered with reference to the forefathers, and a drawing near is uttered with reference to the kings (in I Kings 2:1), ‘Then when the days for David to die drew near.’ With reference to the prophets (there is Moses, whom the Holy One, blessed be He, addresses in the second person in Deut. 31:14), ‘Behold your days are drawing near [to die].’” R. Samuel bar Nahmani said, “Do days die? These words are simply a reference to the righteous. When they die, their days pass away from the world, but they themselves remain alive, as stated (in Job 12:10), ‘In whose hand is every living soul.’ If the living are delivered into His hand, are the dead not delivered into His hand? It is simply that these are the righteous, who even in their death are called living.
10 Thus it is stated (in II Sam. 23:20), ‘And Benaiah ben Jehoiada, the son of a valiant warrior (literally, of a living person) from Kazbeel, [who had performed great deeds…].’ And is not everyone [eventually] dead? However, the wicked during their lifetime and in their death are called dead, as stated (in Ezek. 21:30), ‘And you, O slain wicked [prince of Israel, whose day has come…].’” And so it says (in Deut. 17:6), “On the evidence of two or three witnesses shall the dead be put to death.” Does someone dead deserve another death? It is simply that the wicked during life are regarded as dead. Because on seeing the rising sun, such a one does not say the blessing, "blessed be the One who forms light."
11 When it sets, he does not say the blessing, "who brings on evenings."
12 Nor does he say a blessing when eating or drinking. However, the righteous do say a blessing for each and every thing that they eat and drink, and see and hear. Moreover, [these blessings] are uttered not only while they are alive, but even when they are dead. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 149:5-6), “Let the saints rejoice in glory; let them sing for joy upon their beds. With paeans to God in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands.”
The end of the book of Deuteronomy
1. This verse indicates that this paragraph and the two that follow properly belong to the third section of the missing midrash later on.
2. The sense of the midrash requires these words to be read as a question.
3. Cf. PRK 26:1.
4. Pisqonit. Cf. Sanh. 44b, where the Tosafot and the notes of Elijah Gaon of Vilna, citing Rashi, identify this spirit with Gabriel, who was surnamed Pisqon, because he argues against the Holy One.
5. Lat.: senator.
6. Shab. 152b; Deut. R. 11:10.
7. Cf. Gk.: kalos.
8. Above, Deut. 2:6.
9. Cf. Gen. R. 9:5.
10. Ber. 18ab.
11. The opening blessing before the morning Shema‘.
12. The opening blessing before the evening Shema‘.