Today, let's delve into the final moments of Asher, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, and discover the profound message he left for his descendants.
According to Legends of the Jews, that incredible compilation of rabbinic lore by Louis Ginzberg, in his one hundred and twenty-fifth year, while still healthy, Asher gathered his children. He wasn't frail or fading. He was vibrant, vital, and ready to share the wisdom he'd accumulated. Imagine the scene: a patriarch, surrounded by his family, ready to impart the most important lessons of his life.
"Hearken, ye sons of Asher," he began, "unto your father, and I will show you all that is right before God." His message centered on a fundamental duality in human existence. "Two ways hath God put before the children of men," Asher explained, "and two inclinations hath He bestowed upon them, two kinds of actions and two aims. Therefore all things are in twos, the one opposite to the other." It’s that classic struggle, isn't it? The yetzer hatov and the yetzer hara, the good inclination and the evil inclination that wage war within us.
But Asher didn't want his children to be ambivalent, straddling the line between right and wrong. "But ye, my children, ye shall not be double, pursuing both goodness and wickedness. Ye shall cling only to the ways of goodness, for the Lord taketh delight in them, and men yearn after them. And flee from wickedness, for thus you will destroy the evil inclination."
He urged them to be single-minded in their pursuit of truth and righteousness. "Heed well the commands of the Lord, by following truth with a single mind. Observe the law of the Lord, and have not the same care for wicked things as for good things. Rather keep your eyes upon what is truly good, and guard it through all the commands of the Lord." Focus, he seemed to be saying, is key. Don't let yourselves be distracted by fleeting temptations.
Asher then painted a vivid picture of the final judgment. "The end of man, when he meets the messengers of God and of Satan, shows whether he was righteous or unrighteous in his life." He described the contrasting fates awaiting the righteous and the wicked. "If his soul goes out with agitation, she will be plagued by the evil spirit, whom she served with her lusts and her evil deeds; but if she departs tranquilly, the angel of peace will lead her to life eternal." It’s a powerful image, isn't it? The soul's final journey, determined by the choices made in life.
Then comes a stark warning, laced with prophetic vision: "Be not like Sodom, my children, which recognized not the angels of the Lord, that ye be not delivered into the hands of your enemies, and your land be cursed, and your sanctuary destroyed, and you be scattered to the four corners of the earth, and scorned in the confusion like stale water, until the Most High shall visit the earth, and break the heads of the dragons in the waters." This isn't just a historical reference; it's a cautionary tale about the consequences of rejecting divine guidance. The Zohar tells us that Sodom was destroyed not just for its immorality, but for its utter lack of hospitality and compassion.
And the prophecy continues, becoming even more direct: "Tell this, my sons, unto your children, that they be not disobedient toward God, for I read in the tablets of the heavens that you will be contumacious and act impiously toward Him, in that you will have no care for the law of God, but you will heed human laws, and they are corrupted by reason of man's godlessness." Asher foresaw a time when his descendants would prioritize human laws over divine commandments, leading to their dispersion. "Therefore ye will be dispersed abroad like unto Gad and Dan, my brethren, and you will not know either your land, or your tribe, or your tongue."
Yet, even in this dire prediction, there is a glimmer of hope. "Nevertheless the Lord will gather you in His faithfulness, for the sake of His gracious mercy, and for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Despite their transgressions, God's covenant with the patriarchs would ensure their eventual redemption. According to Midrash Rabbah, God's mercy is boundless, extending even to those who stray from the path.
"And when he had made an end of saying these words, he commanded them to bury him in Hebron. And he sank into sweet sleep, and died." His final act was a simple request: to be buried with his ancestors. "His sons did as he had commanded, and they carried him up and buried him with his fathers."
Asher's last words are a powerful reminder of the choices we face every day. Will we pursue goodness or wickedness? Will we heed divine guidance or follow our own flawed desires? The path is clear, but the choice is ours. What will our last words be? What legacy will we leave behind?