Abraham, our ancestor Abraham, did just that.
Think back to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. A harrowing tale, right? We read in the Torah about Abraham pleading with God to spare the cities if even a handful of righteous people could be found. But what happened after that famous negotiation?
Well, according to some fascinating threads of Jewish tradition, Abraham wasn't quite done. The Zohar, that foundational text of Jewish mysticism, and Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, fill in some fascinating details. After the destruction, Abraham wasn't satisfied. He felt a pang of guilt, a sense that perhaps he hadn't done enough to save the inhabitants. He even felt he shared in their destruction.
So, he prayed. And not just any prayer. He prayed alongside the archangel Michael. Imagine the scene! Together, they petitioned God. And what happened? A voice from Heaven responded, saying, "Abraham, Abraham, I have hearkened to thy voice and thy prayer, and I forgive thee thy sin, and those whom thou thinkest that I destroyed, I have called up and brought them into life by My exceeding kindness, because for a season I have requited them in judgment, and those whom I destroy living upon earth, I will not requite in death."
A pretty powerful statement, isn't it? A divine acknowledgment of Abraham's compassion and a promise of ultimate justice.
But the story doesn't end there. When Michael brought Abraham back home, a tragic scene awaited him. Sarah, his beloved wife, had died. Not seeing Abraham, consumed with worry about his fate, she simply gave up her soul. What a poignant moment! Michael had fulfilled Abraham's wish of seeing the earth and its judgment, but at what cost?
Even more incredibly, when the time came for Abraham himself to pass on, he refused to surrender his soul to Michael! Can you believe it? He wouldn’t go. The archangel, bewildered, ascended back to Heaven and told God, "Thus speaks Abraham, I will not go with thee… he was Thy friend... There is no man like him on earth."
Ultimately, God intervened. Recognizing Abraham's unique relationship with Him, He commanded Michael to adorn Death with great beauty and send him, thus transformed, to Abraham. Only then, faced with a vision of serene beauty rather than terrifying darkness, was Abraham ready to embrace the next stage.
What does this tell us? It tells us that even the most righteous among us grapple with profound questions of justice, loss, and mortality. It tells us that our relationship with the Divine can be one of passionate engagement, even argument. And it tells us that even in death, there can be beauty, peace, and perhaps, even a touch of divine accommodation for those who have lived a life of unwavering faith and compassion. As we find in Midrash Rabbah, these stories were not just about events, but about the nature of our connection with God. What do you think?