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.
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.
The most dramatic story belongs to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. 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.
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.
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.
כ He said to him, "Why does the angel of death have dominion over all creatures except for the generation of Malchas the Bird?" He said to him, "It is not just the generation of Malchas the Bird over which the angel of death has no dominion, but even the generation of Yonadav, and some say that human beings entered Gan Eden alive." כ"א He said to him, "Who were they?" He said to him, "Enoch; and Serach bat Asher; and Bitya bat Paroh; and Hiram, King of Tyre; and Eliezer the, servant of Abraham; and Eved-Melech the Ethiopian; and the servant of Rabbi Yehudah; and Yabetz; and Rabbi Yehushua ben Levi; and all the descendents of Yonadav; and all the descendents of Malchas the Bird." He said to him, ["And why?" He said to him,] "I will tell you: Enoch- because he was righteous in his generation, for nobody was like him, and he lives in Gan Eden. Eliezer, servant of Abraham- he is the son of Ham, son of Noah, and when he heard the curse of his father, he gave himself over to Abraham and became righteous and he is in Gan Eden. Serach bat Asher- because she told Jacob, 'Joseph is alive.' Jacob said to her, 'This mouth that informed me about Joseph being alive will not taste the flavor of death.' Bitya bat Paroh- because she raised Moshe our teacher from his infancy, so that they do not say, 'what was her reward for that?' Eved-Melech the Ethiopian- who saved Jeremiah from the muddy pit. The servant of Rabbi Yehudah Hanassi- because he was righteous, humble, and of a low spirit. Yabetz- he is in Gan Eden too, because he was the most righteous from his whole generation. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi- for he too was completely righteous, and beloved by the angel of death. Once he said to the angel of death, 'Show me Gan Eden.' He said to him, 'With pleasure!' He walked with him on the way. He said to him, 'I am afraid of you- perhaps you will kill me with your sword unintentionally. If you love me and want me to come with you, let me carry your blade in my hand while I walk with you and you show me Gan Eden the right way, until I have looked at its rooms from the gate.' He said to him, 'The right way,' and immediately he brought him. What did Rabbi Yehoshua do? He stood in the entryway to Gan Eden and began looking and suddenly jumped and entered Gan Eden. The angel of death's blade was in his hand too, and he had it his hand for seven years until the Holy Blessed One said to him, 'Yehoshua ben Levi, you have done a serious thing. Return the angel of death's blade.' And when he had jumped from before the angel of death and entered Gan Eden, the angel of death had shouted a great shout, and had wanted to destroy the world, but God had quieted him. And after seven years, he returned it (the blade) to him. Hiram, King of Tyre- the Holy Blessed One gave him entry to Gan Eden because he built the Temple. He was originally God-fearing, and was made to live in Gan Eden for a thousand years, but afterwards he became haughty and said, 'I am a god.' As it says: (Ezekiel 28:2) "Mortal man, say..." And therefore he was disturbed from Gan Eden and he entered Gehennom. The generation of Yonadav ben Rechav- because he wrote all the matters that are in the book of Jeremiah, and he was righteous and reproved Israel, and he lives in Gan Eden. And the generation of Malchas the Bird- when Chava ate from the Tree of Knowledge and gave to her husband too and he ate with her, she grew jealous of the other creatures and fed it to all of them. She saw Malchas the Bird and she said to him, 'Eat from this, which your friends have eaten from.' He said to her, 'Is it not enough for you that you have sinned to Blessed Hashem, and that you have caused others to die, that you are also coming to me to entice me to negate the command of the Holy Blessed One, so I will eat it and I will die? I am not listening to you.' And then he reproved Chava and all the creatures. A heavenly voice speedily called out and said to Chava and to Adam, 'You are commanded, but you did not observe, and you sinned, and you came to Malchas the Bird to make him sin too, and he did not accept that, and he feared Me, even though I had not commanded him, and he kept my decree. Therefore, eternally, he will not taste the flavor death, neither him nor his descendants." כ"ב He said to him, "And why does the eagle reach closer to the firmament than any other bird?" He said to him, "When they left the ark, the (female) eagle was standing with a bird in front of her, and she wanted to eat it. All the animals said, 'One who wants to eat his companion deserves the death penalty!' They hit her and shaved her wings and threw her into a lions' den. But after a year, her wings grew, and she flew away. The birds caught her and tried to kill her, but the raven used trickery to help her escape. He had sex with her and she became pregnant by him, and gave birth to an eagle, and that is why it is called an eagle [nesher]. And the raven is called raven ['orev] because he mixed ['irbev] his seed in all directions, due to the magnitude of his promiscuity. All the animals were searching for her, and a miracle was done and the Holy Blessed One manifested Their Shechinah over her so that his creation should not go extinct, and gave her the strength to fly above all the birds. Therefore it is called an eagle [nesher], because the Holy Blessed One manifested [hishrah] Their Shechinah over her. That is why she flies above, up to the firmament, so that her enemies will not catch her and kill her, extinguishing one type of the Holy Blessed One's creatures from the world." He said to him, "Blessed is the One who distributes Their wisdom to those who fear Them, and has revealed secret, deep matters."
