<p>Jewish tradition holds that a handful of people never died. They walked into Gan Eden - the Garden of Eden - while still alive, bypassing death entirely. The Alphabet of Ben Sira, composed between 700 and 1000 CE, gives us the most complete list of these extraordinary figures and explains why each one earned this reward.</p>

<p>Enoch entered because he was the most righteous person of his generation. Eliezer, Abraham's servant, entered because despite being a descendant of the cursed line of Ham, he gave himself over to Abraham's service and became righteous. Serach bat Asher entered because she was the one who told Jacob that his son Joseph was still alive - and Jacob blessed her that her mouth, which brought him such joy, would never taste death. Bitya bat Pharaoh, the Egyptian princess who raised Moses, entered so that no one could say her goodness went unrewarded. Eved-Melech the Ethiopian entered because he saved the prophet Jeremiah from a muddy pit. Yabetz entered for being the most righteous of his entire generation.</p>

<p>The most dramatic story belongs to <a href='/texts/schwartz-rabbi-joshua-ben-levi-and-the-angel-of-death.html'>Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi</a>. He convinced the Angel of Death to give him a tour of the Garden's entrance. But first, he asked to hold the angel's sword - for safety. The Angel of Death agreed. The moment they reached the gate, Rabbi Yehoshua jumped over the wall and landed inside. He was in. The Angel of Death screamed so loudly he nearly destroyed the world, but God calmed him. Rabbi Yehoshua kept the sword for seven years before God finally made him return it.</p>

<p>Hiram, King of Tyre, entered for building the Temple - but his story has a twist. After a thousand years in paradise, he grew arrogant and declared himself a god, as described in (Ezekiel 28:2). He was expelled from Gan Eden and cast into Gehennom instead.</p>

<p>The strangest immortal is Malchas the Bird. When Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, she fed the fruit to every creature. But Malchas refused: "Isn't it enough that you sinned? Now you come to make me sin too?" A heavenly voice declared that Malchas and all his descendants would never taste death. The text also explains why the eagle flies highest of all birds - after being punished and cast into a lions' den for trying to eat another bird upon leaving the Ark, the eagle was eventually rescued and given divine protection, soaring above all other creatures so its enemies could never reach it.</p>