Jewish tradition, particularly the aggadah – the storytelling tradition – doesn't shy away from these questions. to a fascinating tale from Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg), about Abraham and his encounter with the angel Michael, the herald of death.
The story begins with God instructing Michael to deliver some difficult news to Abraham: it's time to depart from this world. Michael, ever dutiful, descends to earth and finds Abraham diligently working, plowing with his oxen. Abraham, ever the hospitable host, greets the stranger – not yet recognizing him as an angel – and invites him to rest and share a meal. He even offers him a beast to ride.
But Michael refuses the mount, and as they walk towards Abraham's house, a fascinating detail emerges. They pass a large tree, and Abraham hears a voice from within its branches, proclaiming, "Holy art thou, because thou hast kept the purpose for which thou wast sent." Abraham, perceptive as ever, suspects the stranger is no ordinary traveler but keeps his thoughts to himself. It's a subtle moment, hinting at Abraham's wisdom and understanding.
Upon arriving at Abraham's house, the patriarch insists on washing Michael's feet, a gesture of utmost hospitality. As he does so, a profound realization washes over him: "I perceive that in this basin I shall never again wash the feet of any man coming to us as a guest." Overcome with emotion, Isaac, Abraham's son, begins to weep, and soon Abraham joins him. Even Michael, witnessing their grief, sheds tears. And here's where it gets really interesting: the tears of the angel, according to the story, transform into precious stones. Talk about a powerful image!
Before the meal, Michael briefly leaves, ascending to heaven in a flash. He expresses his reluctance to deliver the death notice to God, saying, "Lord and Master, let Thy power know that I am unable to remind that righteous man of his death, for I have not seen upon the earth a man like him, compassionate, hospitable, righteous, truthful, devout, refraining from every evil deed." Michael is essentially arguing that Abraham is too good to die!
God, understanding Michael's hesitation, instructs him to return to Abraham and assures him that He will take care of revealing the news in His own way. God explains that He will cast the "thought of death" into Isaac's heart in a dream, which Isaac will then relate to Abraham, and Michael is to interpret the dream. There's a wonderful touch of divine wisdom here – a recognition that sometimes, the most difficult truths are best revealed indirectly.
But there's another problem. Michael is a celestial being, not accustomed to earthly food. So God promises to send a "devouring spirit" that will consume the food on the table through Michael, so Michael won't have to physically eat, according to the tale. (Ginzberg, Legends) They share a meal, they pray together, and then retire for the night.
During the night, Isaac awakens, deeply troubled by his dream. He cries out, "Open, father, that I may touch thee before they take thee away from me." The grief intensifies, with Abraham, Isaac, and Michael all weeping together. Sarah, overhearing the commotion, realizes that their guest is no ordinary man but an angel, perhaps even one of the three they had welcomed years before, a callback to the famous story of Abraham's hospitality (Genesis 18).
Abraham, understanding the situation, asks Isaac to recount his dream. Michael interprets the dream as a premonition of Abraham's death and ascent to heaven, though his body will remain on earth until the resurrection of the dead. Abraham acknowledges Michael's divine nature and accepts his fate, but refuses to go with him. A final act of defiance, perhaps, or a testament to his strong will.
Michael returns to heaven, reporting Abraham's refusal to God. God, in turn, sends Michael back with a reminder of all the blessings bestowed upon Abraham and the inevitability of death for all mortals. Finally, Abraham relents, but with one last request: to be taken up in his body and shown all of creation. God grants this wish, a final act of grace towards His beloved friend.
What are we to make of this story? It's a powerful meditation on death, acceptance, and the relationship between humanity and the divine. It showcases Abraham’s exceptional character – his hospitality, his righteousness, and even his initial resistance to death. It also highlights God’s compassion and willingness to accommodate Abraham's final wishes.
The story, as recounted in Legends of the Jews and drawing from earlier midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) sources, presents death not as a simple end but as a transition, a journey guided by divine messengers. It reminds us that even in the face of mortality, we can find meaning, connection, and a glimmer of hope. It is a story, in the end, about the enduring power of faith and the enduring love between God and humankind.
When the day of the death of Abraham drew near, the Lord said to Michael, "Arise and go to Abraham and say to him, Thou shalt depart from life!" so that he might set his house in order before he died. And Michael went and came to Abraham and found him sitting before his oxen for ploughing. Abraham, seeing Michael, but not knowing who he was, saluted him and said to him, "Sit down a little while, and I will order a beast to be brought, and we will go to my house, that thou mayest rest with me, for it is toward evening, and arise in the morning and go whithersoever thou wilt." And Abraham called one of his servants, and said to him: "Go and bring me a beast, that the stranger may sit upon it, for he is wearied with his journey." But Michael said, "I abstain from ever sitting upon any fourfooted beast, let us walk therefore, till we reach the house." On their way to the house they passed a huge tree, and Abraham heard a voice from its branches, singing, "Holy art thou, because thou hast kept the purpose for which thou wast sent." Abraham hid the mystery in his heart, thinking that the stranger did not hear it. Arrived at his house, he ordered the servants to prepare a meal, and while they were busy with their work, he called his son Isaac, and said to him, "Arise and put water in the vessel, that we may wash the feet of the stranger." And he brought it as he was commanded, and Abraham said, "I perceive that in this basin I shall never again wash the feet of any man coming to us as a guest." Hearing this, Isaac began to weep, and Abraham, seeing his son weep, also wept, and Michael, seeing them weep, wept also, and the tears of Michael fell into the water, and became precious stones. Before sitting down to the table, Michael arose, went out for a moment, as if to ease nature, and ascended to heaven in the twinkling of an eye, and stood before the Lord, and said to Him: "Lord and Master, let Thy power know that I am unable to remind that righteous man of his death, for I have not seen upon the earth a man like him, compassionate, hospitable, righteous, truthful, devout, refraining from every evil deed." Then the Lord said to Michael, "Go down to My friend Abraham, and whatever he may say to thee, that do thou also, and whatever he may eat, eat thou also with him, and I will cast the thought of the death of Abraham into the heart of Isaac, his son, in a dream, and Isaac will relate the dream, and thou shalt interpret it, and he himself will know his end." And Michael said, "Lord, all the heavenly spirits are incorporeal, and neither eat nor drink, and this man has set before me a table with an abundance of all good things earthly and corruptible. Now, Lord, what shall I do?" The Lord answered him, "Go down to him and take no thought for this, for when thou sittest down with him, I will send upon thee a devouring spirit, and it will consume out of thy hands and through thy mouth all that is on the table." Then Michael went into the house of Abraham, and they ate and drank and were merry. And when the supper was ended, Abraham prayed after his custom, and Michael prayed with him, and each lay down to sleep upon his couch in one room, while Isaac went to his chamber, lest he be troublesome to the guest. About the seventh hour of the night, Isaac awoke and came to the door of his father's chamber, crying out and saying, "Open, father, that I may touch thee before they take thee away from me." And Abraham wept together with his son, and when Michael saw them weep, he wept likewise. And Sarah, hearing the weeping, called forth from her bedchamber, saying: "My lord Abraham, why this weeping? Has the stranger told thee of thy brother's son Lot, that he is dead? or has aught befallen us?" Michael answered, and said to her, "Nay, my sister Sarah, it is not as thou sayest, but thy son Isaac, methinks, beheld a dream, and came to us weeping, and we, seeing him, were moved in our hearts and wept." Sarah, hearing Michael speak, knew straightway that it was an angel of the Lord, one of the three angels whom they had entertained in their house once before, and therefore she made a sign to Abraham to come out toward the door, to inform him of what she knew. Abraham said: "Thou hast perceived well, for I, too, when I washed his feet, knew in my heart that they were the feet that I had washed at the oak of Mamre, and that went to save Lot." Abraham, returning to his chamber, made Isaac relate his dream, which Michael interpreted to them, saying: "Thy son Isaac has spoken truth, for thou shalt go and be taken up into the heavens, but thy body shall remain on earth, until seven thousand ages are fulfilled, for then all flesh shall arise. Now, therefore, Abraham, set thy house in order, for thou wast heard what is decreed concerning thee." Abraham answered, "Now I know thou art an angel of the Lord, and wast sent to take my soul, but I will not go with thee, but do thou whatever thou art commanded." Michael returned to heaven and told God of Abraham's refusal to obey his summons, and he was again commanded to go down and admonish Abraham not to rebel against God, who had bestowed many blessings upon him, and he reminded him that no one who has come from Adam and Eve can escape death, and that God in His great kindness toward him did not permit the sickle of death to meet him, but sent His chief captain, Michael, to him. "Wherefore, then," he ended, "hast thou said to the chief captain, I will not go with thee?" When Michael delivered these exhortations to Abraham, he saw that it was futile to oppose the will of God, and he consented to die, but wished to have one desire of his fulfilled while still alive. He said to Michael: "I beseech thee, lord, if I must depart from my body, I desire to be taken up in my body, that I may see the creatures that the Lord has created in heaven and on earth." Michael went up into heaven, and spake before the Lord concerning Abraham, and the Lord answered Michael, "Go and take up Abraham in the body and show him all things, and whatever he shall say to thee, do to him as to My friend."
