It’s a chilling thought, isn't it?
According to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Louis Ginzberg, when Adam reached the ripe old age of nine hundred and thirty, he fell ill. It wasn't just a sniffle; it was a profound sickness, a harbinger of his approaching end. He knew his time was short. And what did he do? He gathered all his descendants around him – a truly massive family reunion! – at the entrance to the house of worship where he had always prayed. He wanted to give them his final blessing.
Now, picture this scene. Adam, the first man, lying sick. His family, who had never known pain or suffering, were completely bewildered. They couldn't grasp what was happening to him. They thought maybe he was just really, really missing the fruits of Paradise and was feeling down because of it. Seth, ever the devoted son, offered to run to the gates of Paradise and beg an angel for some of those magical fruits.
But Adam stopped him. He explained that this wasn't just a case of the blues. This was something new, something awful: sickness and pain. He told them that God had inflicted it upon him as punishment for his sin.
The pain was intense. Ginzberg describes tears and groans wrung from him. Eve, heartbroken, sobbed and offered to take half of his sickness upon herself. "Adam, my lord," she cried, "give me half of thy sickness, I will gladly bear it. Is it not on account of me that this hath come upon thee? On account of me thou undergoest pain and anguish."
Adam, instead, asked Eve and Seth to go to the gates of Paradise and plead with God for mercy. He asked them to request some of the oil of life flowing from the Tree of His Mercy. This ointment, he believed, would bring him relief and banish the consuming pain.
The journey to Paradise wasn't easy. As Seth and Eve made their way, a wild beast attacked Seth. Eve, in a moment of fierce protectiveness, cried out to the beast, "How durst thou lay hand on the image of God?" The beast’s response is startling: "It is thine own fault. Hadst thou not opened thy mouth to eat of the forbidden fruit, my mouth would not be opened now to destroy a human being."
Wow. Even the animals blamed them!
Seth rebuked the beast, demanding it desist from attacking God's image until the Day of Judgment. And, remarkably, the beast relented, slinking away, acknowledging the sanctity of the image of God.
Finally, Eve and Seth reached the gates of Paradise. They wept and pleaded with God to grant them some of the oil. For hours, they prayed with intense lamentation.
Then, the archangel Michael appeared, a messenger from God. But his message wasn't what they hoped for. Their petition would not be granted. Adam was destined to die, and so too would all his descendants. The oil of life, the bliss, and the delights of Paradise would only be dispensed at the time of the resurrection, and even then, only to the pious.
Can you imagine their devastation?
Returning to Adam, they delivered the grim news. Adam turned to Eve, his voice heavy with sorrow: "What misfortune didst thou bring upon us when thou didst arouse great wrath! See, death is the portion of all our race!" He then instructed them to gather their children and grandchildren, so that Eve could recount the story of their fall.
And so, as Adam lay prostrate in pain, Eve told the story of their sin, the story that changed everything. The story of the yetzer hara (the evil inclination) and the yetzer hatov (the good inclination). The story of free will and the consequences of choice.
It's a powerful and tragic scene. It reminds us of the fragility of life, the weight of our choices, and the enduring hope for redemption. And it makes you think, doesn’t it? About the legacy we leave behind, and the stories we pass on.