Others say that Satan came to Sarah in the guise of Isaac. When she asked what his father had done to him, Isaac told her that Abraham had taken him to the summit of a high mountain, built an altar, and laid out the firewood. He had bound Isaac on top of the altar, and took the knife to slaughter him. And if God had not told him, “Do not raise your hand against the boy” (Gen 22:12), he would already have been slaughtered. And even before Satan, disguised as Isaac, finished speaking, Sarah’s soul departed.
Sarah’s death is recounted at the beginning of Genesis 23. There is no direct reference to the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22, but one of the rabbinic methods of interpretation was to assume that chapters next to each other were somehow related. Since no reason is given for Sarah’s death in Genesis 23, it was understood to be related to the binding of Isaac. There is no mention in Genesis 22 that Abraham informed Sarah of his plans to sacrifice their son, and the shock of learning this might in itself be enough to kill her. Here Satan is held responsible for revealing Abraham’s plans to Sarah, by showing her a terrible vision of Isaac bound on the altar and Abraham about to plunge a knife into him. The alternate version suggests that after Isaac returned, he told his mother what had happened, and this caused her soul to depart. In both cases, it is the binding of Isaac that is held responsible for Sarah’s death.
Sources:
Targum Pseudo-Yonathan on Genesis 22:20; Midrash Tanhuma, Va-Yera 23.
445. THE CAVE OF MACHPELAH
When the three angels, disguised as travelers, visited Abraham, he went outside to fetch a young goat to slaughter for them. But the kid ran away from him, and he had to chase it through the fields to the entrance of a cave that Abraham had never entered.
The kid paused an instant and then disappeared inside the entrance and Abraham followed after it. At first the cave was low, so that Abraham had to bend down, but soon it opened into a beautiful chamber, illuminated by a mysterious light. There was a wonderful scent, like that of balsam. And there, in that chamber, Abraham found the bodies of Adam and Eve, lying on couches, with candles burning at their head and feet, and their bodies were perfectly preserved. Adam and Eve had chosen that cave as their place of burial, for it was the closest site to the Garden of Eden, and the scent that pervaded it was that of Eden itself, which drifted from the Garden into that cave.
When Abraham emerged, he knew that he had stumbled on a very holy place, and he decided then and there to purchase the cave from Ephron the Hittite, as a burial site for himself and his family. So too did he spare the kid that led him there. And that is the Cave of Machpelah in the city of Hebron, where the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their wives are buried, in the chamber next to that of Adam and Eve.
After Abraham was buried there, Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening (Gen. 24:63). This was the very field that Abraham had purchased near the Cave of Machpelah. When Isaac entered it, he would see the Shekhinah resting there and smell the heavenly fragrances that wafted from it. That is why he prayed there, and it was designated as a place of prayer.
This is an important legend that solves two problems. First, it provides a burial site for Adam and Eve, which is not found in Genesis. The wonderful scent is assumed to come from the Garden of Eden, and therefore it is understood that Adam and Eve chose to be buried as close to the garden as possible. Secondly, this legend explains why Abraham chose to buy the Cave of Machpelah from Ephron in Genesis 23:7-16, for Abraham already knew since the time of visit of the three angels in Genesis 18 that the cave was a holy place.
Of course, those creating this legend were already familiar with the tradition that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their wives, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah, were buried in that cave in Hebron. (Rachel has a separate grave.) By adding Adam and Eve to those already believed to be buried there, the cave was made even holier, and all of the key fathers and mothers were understood to be buried in the same place.
Another myth links Adam and Eve to a cave that came to serve as their burial place. See Apocalypse of Moses 29:3-6, where Adam begs to take incense from the Garden of Eden with him when he is expelled. Adam is said to have hidden that incense in a cave. Indeed, this myth is a close variant of the present myth, where Abraham finds Adam and Eve lying on couches, with candles burning at their head and feet, in the Cave of Machpelah. There is a collection of ancient texts primarily linked to Genesis known as The Cave of Treasures, referring to the cave in which Adam was said to have hid the incense and later to have been buried there.
Sources:
Midrash Tehillim 92:6; Zohar 1:127b, 2:39b.
446. ABRAHAM’S DAUGHTER
In his old age, God blessed Abraham in all things (Gen. 24:1) What does this mean? It means that in addition to wealth and length of years, God gave Abraham a daughter. For surely having everything includes having both a son and a daughter. But where did this daughter come from? After all, she was born after the death of Sarah, and before Abraham married Keturah.
Some say that this daughter, whose name was Bakol (“In-All-Things”), was a child of Hagar, and that she was born after Ishmael repented of his evil ways.
Some say that Sarah not only gave birth to Isaac, but bore a daughter as well, who took care of Abraham in his old age. Others say that this daughter was actually an angel, who guarded Abraham so closely that everyone believed her to be his daughter. Still others say that she was not a daughter at all, but the wandering spirit of Sarah, who, having spent most of her life with Abraham, now returned to serve him after she departed from this world.
Just who this daughter was remains a mystery. Only this much is known: Abraham loved her dearly, and taught her all that he had learned, and she was the center of Abraham’s household. And when Abraham took leave of this world, his daughter carried his teachings to the ends of the earth. And when the time came for her to take leave of this world, she joined him on high, and she still accompanies him in the World to Come.
In order to fulfill the commandment to have children, it was regarded as necessary to have both a son and daughter. Since Genesis 24:1 states that Abraham was blessed “in all things,” this was understood to mean that he also had a daughter, although nothing about such a daughter is found in the biblical text.
Sources:
B. Bava Batra 16b; B. Sukkah 49b; Genesis Rabbah 59:7; Midrash Tanhuma, Hayei Sarah 4; Ramban on Genesis 24:1; Me’am Lo’ez on Genesis 24:1; Sefer ha-Bahir 78.
447. THE DESCENT OF THE LIGHT-MAN
When the time came for Abraham to take leave of this world, God sent Isaac a dream. In the third hour of the night Isaac woke up, got up from his bed, and ran to the room where his mother and father were asleep. When Isaac reached the door, he cried out, “Father, open the door so that I may come in.”
Abraham arose and opened the door, and Isaac entered and embraced him, crying loudly. And Abraham said, “Come here, son. Tell me the truth. What did you see that caused you to run to us in this way?”
Isaac said, “This night, Father, I saw in a dream the sun and moon above my head. They surrounded me with their rays and illuminated me. And while I rejoiced in their presence, I saw the heavens open and I saw a luminous man descending from heaven, shining more than seven suns. This man came and took the sun from my head and went back into the heavens. Then I was very sad, because he took the sun from me.
“A little later, while I was still mourning, he returned and took the moon from me, from above my head. I wept greatly and begged the Light-Man, saying “Have mercy on me. Take not my glory from me. If you take the sun from me, at least leave me the moon.”
The Light-Man answered, “The King on high has sent me to bring them there.” And he took them from me, but he left the rays that shone upon me.
Then Abraham said, “The Lord has sent an angel of God to take my soul.”
Here God sends Isaac a dream to warn him that the time has come for his father, Abraham, to die. In the dream Abraham and Sarah are identified as the sun and moon tha
t are taken from above Isaac’s head. This identification of the father and mother as the sun and moon is found in Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37:9-10: And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold I have dreamed yet a dream: and behold, the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.” And he told it to his father, and to his brothers, and his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to you to the earth?” Note that the meaning of the symbols of the sun and moon (and stars) is immediately understood by Jacob. Likewise, Abraham immediately understands the meaning of Isaac’s dream, and identifies the figure of the Light-Man with an angel who has been sent by God to take his life.
Although Isaac loses the sun and moon in the dream, it is interesting to note that after his plea to the Light-Man, the light that they cast on him remains behind. This light represents the glory they left behind in the form of Abraham’s covenant with God.
The figure of the Light-Man is found in Gnostic texts. Here the Light-Man is said to have existed even before the demiurge. The Light-Man is closely identified with a Gnostic angel known as the Light-Adam in On the Origins of the World 108:2ff.
This myth of the descent of the Light-Man is found in The Testament of Abraham, a pseudepigraphal text of Jewish origins that recounts Abraham’s resistance to leaving this world with the Angel of Death. Similar resistance is found in midrashic legends about Moses. Thus both of these patriarchal figures receive special attention from God when the time comes for them to take leave of this world, and both of them put up considerable resistance, so great is their passion to remain alive.
Sources:
The Testament of Abraham 5-7.
Studies:
The Enthronement of Sabaoth: Jewish Elements in Gnostic Creation Myths by Francis T. Fallon, pp. 89-94.
448. ABRAHAM AND THE ANGEL OF DEATH
God called upon the Angel of Death and said, “Come, hide your ferocity, cover your decay, and put on your youthful beauty and go down to Abraham and take him and bring him to Me. But do not terrify him; instead, take him with soft speech. So Death put on a radiant robe and assumed the form of an archangel and went to Abraham.
Abraham sat at the entrance of his tent in Mamre when a sweet odor came to him, and Abraham saw Death coming toward him in great glory. So Abraham arose and went to meet him, and Death knelt before him and said, “Most righteous Abraham, I am the bitter cup of death.” Abraham said, “No, you have the glory and beauty of an angel.” Death said, “I am telling you the truth.”
Abraham said, “Why have you come here?” Death answered, “I have come for your holy soul.” But Abraham refused to go with him, and arose and went into his house. Death followed him there, and went with him wherever he went in the house. Death said, “I will not depart until I take your spirit.”
Then Abraham said, “I beg you, heed me and show me your ferocity.” But Death said, “You could not bear to behold it, righteous Abraham.” Abraham said, “Yes, I can, because the power of God is with me.”
Then Death put off the bloom of youth and beauty and put on his robe of tyranny, and made his appearance gloomy and ferocious. He showed Abraham seven fiery heads of dragons and other faces, most horrible, each one fiercer than the other, including the face of a lion, the face of a horned serpent, and that of a cobra. And after he saw these things, Abraham said, “I beg you, Death, hide your ferocity and put on the form of youthful beauty that you had before.”
Death hid his ferocious visage at once, and put on his youthful beauty. Then Abraham went to his room and lay down. And Death said to Abraham, “Come, kiss my right hand, and may life and strength come to you.” But Death deceived Abraham, for when Abraham kissed his hand, his soul cleaved to Death’s hand. At that moment the angel Michael, along with multitudes of angels, carried away Abraham’s precious soul in their hands, in divinely woven linen.
As with Moses and Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, God gave instructions to the Angel of Death to take Abraham gently because of his great righteousness. But when Abraham refuses to go, and insists that the angel reveal his true visage, he shows it to him and it is truly terrible. After that Abraham no longer resists the angel.
This myth serves as a reminder that everyone, even Abraham, must one day encounter the deadly angel, and as a reminder of how truly terrifying the angel is. For other myths about the Angel of Death, see “Rabbi Joshua ben Levi and the Angel of Death,” p. 206, and “Rabbi Loew and the Angel of Death,” p. 207.
Sources:
The Testament of Abraham 16-20.
449. ABRAHAM’S DYING VISION
A vision came to Abraham on the day of his death. The voice of the Lord came to him and said, “Open your eyes, and see your reward.” Then Abraham felt that he was lifted up by the wind, higher and higher, and suddenly he arrived at a place of great light, where gates of precious stones were opened before him, and myriads of angels approached him. They clothed him in eight garments of light, and a thousand fragrant odors came from the Garden of Eden and perfumed his garments. The angels put two crowns of onyx and fine gold on his head, and eight myrtles in his hand, and the world was filled with their odor.
Then the angels brought Abraham to a place where rivers flowed with pure water, and roses and myrtles surrounded them, and their fragrance filled him with infinite delight. He came to a wonderful canopy that had been prepared for him, with four rivers flowing in front of it of honey, wine, oil, and balsam. Above the canopy there were golden vines and pearls shining like stars.
At that instant Abraham was suddenly transformed into a happy child, and he saw a great many happy children coming toward him. Abraham played with them and ran with them to hear the wonderful songs of the angels. They walked among sweet-smelling trees and rested under the Tree of Life. Then childhood passed and youth began. The children vanished, and Abraham enjoyed the companionship of handsome young men, and they walked through the length and breadth of the garden. His soul was satisfied with unbounded delight. Then youth passed and old age came, and dignified old men spoke with him about the life of man and the ways of God. They led Abraham to his two canopies, one made of the light of the sun and one of the light of the moon. Abraham saw that there was a partition of lightning between them. He passed through the partition and beheld three hundred and ten marvelous worlds. Then the voice of the Lord came to Abraham, saying, “What you see now is but the fringe of Paradise; you cannot see the whole of it except with the eyes of God.” And Abraham said, “O Lord, take my soul to rest.” And God took the soul of Abraham to heaven Himself, and so Abraham’s life on earth came to an end.
Before dying, God sends Abraham a wonderful vision of the reward awaiting him in the Garden of Eden. In the course of this vision he relives his life, from childhood to old age. Finally Abraham learns that all the wonders he has seen and experienced—with considerable emphasis on the visual and sensual delights—are but the fringes of Paradise. God makes the interesting observation that the whole can only be seen with the eyes of God. (See “The Eyes of God,” p. 21.) Thus reassured, Abraham requests that God take his soul, and thus dies peacefully.
Abraham’s ascent into Paradise is similar to those of Adam in Vita Adae et Evae and those of Enoch in the Books of Enoch. Moses also ascended on high, as did the four sages who entered Paradise. See “The Ascent of Moses,” p. 171 and “The Four Who Entered Paradise,” p. 173.
This account is in stark contrast to many of the traditions about the death of Moses, who is said to have fiercely resisted the Angel of Death. But in the end, as with Abraham, it is God Himself who takes his soul.
Sources:
Yalkut Shim’oni, Hayei Sarah; Testament of Abraham (A) 11:1; Vita Adae et Evae 25:3, 42:4; Zohar 1:212a.
450. ABRAHAM NEVER DIED
There are those who insist that Abraham never died, and that he continues to wander the world. There are many reports of those who have seen him. One story t
ells of a mysterious Tenth Man.
For many years only a few Jews were permitted by the Muslim authorities to live in Hebron, where the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their wives are buried. Once there were so few that on the eve of Yom Kippur, only nine Jews had gathered in the House of Prayer in the city of Hebron, and there was no one else they could call on to complete the minyan. The sun was setting, but they could not begin Kol Nidrei.
Just then there was a knock on the door, and when the gabbai answered it, he found an old Jew standing there, a stranger with a long white beard, wearing a white robe, carrying a white tallit. The gabbai gladly invited him in and asked to know his name. The old man said it was Abraham. Then, since the tenth man had arrived, they began the prayers, and the old man joined in with them.
The old man remained there with them, praying all night and the next day, until Yom Kippur had come to an end. Never before had they prayed for so long without stopping, but somehow not one of them felt tired, nor did hunger pangs trouble them. All were aware that the power of the Divine Presence filled the House of Prayer.
When the Day of Atonement had ended, the old man took his leave, but he left his tallit behind. The gabbai hurried after him to return it, but he was nowhere to be found. That night the gabbai had a dream in which the old man returned to him and revealed that he was actually the patriarch Abraham. So too did he reveal that he had left the tallit behind for him and that it was sacred. For if he wore it when he prayed, he would be permitted a vision of the Divine Presence. The gabbai told the others his dream, and they were filled with wonder to learn the true identity of the old man.
The gabbai put on the tallit of Abraham when he prayed that day. And during the silent prayer, when he closed his eyes for an instant, he saw a vision of the Divine Presence glowing in the dark. Afterward, whenever he closed his eyes, the vision would return, as if it were imprinted there.
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