The death and last will of Rabbi Judah HaNasi — simply called "Rabbi" — was one of the most solemn moments in the history of the Jewish people. The Talmud (Ketubot 104a, Jerusalem Talmud Kilayim 9:3) records the events in extraordinary detail.
On the day Rabbi Judah was dying, the sages declared a public fast and prayed without ceasing for his recovery. They decreed that anyone who announced his death would be stabbed with a sword — so desperate were they to delay the inevitable.
Rabbi Judah's handmaid, a woman renowned for her own wisdom, saw from the upper floor of the house that her master's suffering was unbearable. She took a clay jar and hurled it from the roof. The crash momentarily startled the sages below and interrupted their prayers. In that instant of broken concentration, Rabbi Judah's soul departed.
Before his death, Rabbi Judah summoned his sons and gave them his final instructions. He told them to take care of his wife, to keep the lamp burning, the table set, and the bed prepared as if he were still alive. He appointed his son Gamliel as his successor and Shimon as the head of the court.
Most remarkably, he raised his ten fingers toward heaven and prayed: "Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that I toiled with all ten of my fingers in Torah, and I did not derive even the benefit of my little finger from this world." He had been the wealthiest Jew of his generation — yet he claimed to have enjoyed none of it. His wealth was used entirely for others. His fingers were for Torah alone.