Why didn't Moshe want to die?

 Devarim Rabbah (11:10). R. Johanan said: Scripture refers ten times to the death of Moses, as follows: Behold, thy days approach that thou must die  (Deut. XXXI, 14); And die in the mount (ib. XXXII, 50); But I must die (ib. IV, 22); For I know that after my death (ib. XXXI, 29); And how much more after my death (ib. XXXI, 27); Before his death (ib. XXXIII,I);A hundred and twenty years old when he died (ib. XXXIV, 7); So Moses the servant of the Lord died there (ib. 5); Now it came to pass after the death of Moses (Josh. I,1);Moses My servant is dead (ib. 2). This teaches that ten times was it decreed that Moses should not enter Eretz Israel, but the harsh decree was not finally sealed until the High Court1 revealed itself to him and declared: ' It is my decree that you should not pass over,’ [as it is said,] For thou shalt not go over this Jordan  (Deut. III, 27). Moses, however, made light of this, saying: ' Israel have many times committed great sins, and whenever I prayed for them, God immediately answered my prayer, as it is said, Let Me alone, that I may destroy them (ib. IX, 14); yet what is written there? And the Lord repented of the evil (Ex. XXXII, 14); I will smite them with the pestilence, and destroy them  (Num. XIV, 12); What is written there? And the Lord said: I have pardoned, etc. (ib. 20). Seeing then that I have not sinned from my youth, does it not stand to reason that when I pray on my own behalf God should answer my prayer?’ And when God saw that Moses made light of the matter and that he was not engaging in prayer, He seized the opportunity to swear by His great Name that Moses should not enter Eretz Israel, as it is said, Therefore  (laken) ye shall not bring this assembly (ib. XX, 12), and ’laken’ always implies an oath, as it is said, And therefore (laken) I have sworn unto the house of Eli  (I Sam. III, 14). When, however, Moses saw that the decree against him had been sealed, he took a resolve to fast, and drew a small circlel and stood therein, and exclaimed: ' I will not move from here until Thou annullest that decree.’ What else did Moses do then? He donned sackcloth and wrapped himself with sackcloth and rolled himself in the dust and stood in prayer and supplications before God, until the heavens and the order of nature were shaken. Said they: ' Perhaps it is the desire of God to create His world anew.’ Whereupon a heavenly voice was heard proclaiming: ‘It is not yet God's desire to renew His world... but, In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind--ish’ (Job XII,10), and ‘man’ must surely refer to Moses, as it is said, Now the man Moses was very meek, above all men that were upon the face of the earth  (Num. XII, 3). What did God do? At that hour He had it proclaimed in every gate of each of the heavens, and in every Court, that they should not receive Moses’ prayer, nor bring it before Him, because the decree against him had been sealed. Now at that hour God hastily summoned the Angel in charge of Proclamations, Achzeriel by name, and He commanded the ministering angels: ' Descend quickly, bolt all the gates of every heaven, because the voice of the prayer threatens to force its way to heaven.’ And the angels sought to ascend to heaven because of the sound of Moses’ prayer, for his prayer was like a sword which tears and cuts its way through everything, and spares nothing, seeing that his prayer was of the nature of the Ineffable Name which he had learnt from Zagzagel the Master Scribe of the children of heaven. It is to that hour that [the prophet] alludes when he says, And I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing: Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place (Ezek. III, 12); and ‘rushing’ surely means trembling, and ’great’ surely refers to Moses, as it is said, Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people (Ex. XI, 3). What is the meaning of, ’Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place’? When the wheels of the Chariot and the fiery Seraphim saw that God commanded that Moses’ prayer should not be accepted and that He did not respect [Moses’] person, nor grant him more life, nor bring him into Eretz Israel, they exclaimed: ’ Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place,’ for before Him there is no respecting of persons, great or small. And whence do we know that Moses prayed at this juncture five hundred and fifteen times? For it is said, And I besought (wa-ethhanan) the Lord at that time, saying  (Deut. III, 23), the numerical value of ’wa-ethhanan’ is this number. Moses said to God: ' Master of the Universe, the labour and the pains which I have devoted to making Israel believe in Thy name are manifest and known to Thee, to what trouble have I gone with them in connection with the precepts in order to fix for them Torah and precepts. I thought, just as I witnessed the woe, so too will I behold their weal; but now that the weal of Israel has come, Thou sayest to me, " Thou shalt not go over this Jordan" (Deut. XXXI, 2); lo, Thou makest of Thy Torah a fraud. Therein it is written, In the same day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it, for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it; lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin in thee (ib. XXIV, I5). Is this the reward for the forty years’ labour that I went through in order that [Israel] should become a holy and faithful people, as it is said, But Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints’  (Hos. XII, 1)?1 Sammael the wicked angel, the chief of all the accusing angels, was awaiting the death of Moses every hour, saying, ‘When will the time or the moment arrive for Moses to die, so that I may descend and take away his soul from him.’ And it is of him that David said, The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him (Ps. XXXVII, 32). There is no one among the accusing angels so wicked as Sammael and there is none so righteous among the prophets as Moses, as it is said, And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face  (Deut. XXXIV, 10). He was like a man who has been invited to a wedding feast, and looks forward to it, saying: ‘When will their rejoicing come that I may share therein.’ So, Sammael the wicked was waiting for Moses’ soul saying, ' When will Michael be weeping and I be filling my mouth with laughter? ' Whereupon Michael replied: ' What, you wicked one, I shall cry, and you laugh!’ as it is said, Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; though I am fallen, I shall arise; though I sit in darkness, the Lord is a light unto me (Micah VII, 8). ’ Though I am fallen,’ because of the demise of Moses, yet, ’I shall arise,’ on account of the leadership displayed by Joshua when he shall have defeated the thirty one kings. ' Though I sit in darkness,’ because of the destruction of the first and the second Temples, yet, ' The Lord is a light unto me, in the days of Messiah. Meanwhile there remained unto Moses only one hour. Whereupon Moses said to God: ' Master of the Universe, if Thou wilt not bring me into Eretz Israel, leave me in this world so that I may live and not die.’ God thereupon said to Moses: ' If I will not slay you in this world, how can I bring you back to life in the World to Come? And what is more, you make of My Torah a fraud, for in My Torah it is written by your hand, And there is none that can deliver out of My hand '  (Deut. XXXII, 39). Said Moses to God: ' Master of the Universe, if Thou wilt not bring me into Eretz Israel, let me become like the beasts of the field that eat grass and drink water and live and enjoy the world; likewise let my soul be as one of them.’ Whereupon God replied:’ Let it suffice thee ' (ib. III, 26). Moses then prayed: ' Master of the Universe, if not, let me become in this world like the bird that flies about in every direction, and gathers its food daily, and returns to its nest towards evening; let my soul likewise become like one of them.’ Whereupon God answered: ‘Let it suffice thee.’ What is the meaning of ’Let it suffice thee ‘? God said to him: ' You have spoken sufficiently.’ When Moses saw that no creature could save him from the path of death, he thereupon exclaimed, ’ The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice; a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and righteous is He’ (ib. XXXII, 4). What did Moses do? He took a scroll and wrote down upon it the Ineffable Name, nor had the Book of Song been completely written down when the moment of Moses’ death arrived. At that hour God said to Gabriel: ' Gabriel, go forth and bring Moses’ soul.’ He, however, replied: ' Master of the Universe, how can I witness the death of him who is equal to sixty myriads, and how can I behave harshly to one who possesses such qualities?’ Then [God] said to Michael: ‘Go forth and bring Moses’ soul.’ He, however, replied: ‘Master of the Universe, I was his teacher, and he my pupil, and I cannot therefore witness his death.’ [God] then said to Sammael the wicked: ' Go forth and bring Moses’ soul.’ Immediately he clothed himself with anger and girded on his sword and wrapped himself with ruthlessness and went forth to meet Moses. When Sammael saw Moses sitting and writing down the Ineffable Name, and how the radiance of his appearance was like unto the sun and he was like unto an angel of the Lord of hosts, he became afraid of Moses and declared: ‘Of a surety, angels cannot take away Moses’ soul.’ Now before Sammael showed himself to Moses, Moses knew of his coming, and when Sammael caught sight of Moses trembling, fear took hold of him, as of awoman in travail, and he had not the effrontery to speak to Moses, until Moses said to Sammael,’ There is no peace, saith God, concerning the wicked  (Isa. LVII, 21). What are you doing here? ' He replied: ' I have come to take away your soul.’ Moses asked him: ' Who sent you? ' He replied: ' He who created all the creatures.’ Moses then said to him: ‘You shall not take away my soul.’ Whereupon he replied: ‘The souls of all who come into this world are delivered into my hands.’ Whereupon Moses said: ‘I have greater strength than all who come into this world.’ He then asked: ‘And wherein lies your strength?’ Moses replied: ‘I am the son of Amram, and came out from my mother's womb without prepuce, and had no need to be circumcised; and on the very day on which I was born I found myself able to speak and was able to walk and to converse with my father and mother, and I did not even take suck of [my mother's] milk; and when I was three months old I prophesied and declared that I was destined to receive the law from the midst of flames of fire; and [once] when I was walking in the street I entered the palace of the king and removed the crown from his head; and when I was eighty years old I wrought signs and wonders in Egypt and brought forth sixty myriads before the eyes of all Egypt; and I divided the sea into twelve divisions, and I made the bitter waters sweet; and I ascended heaven and trod out a path there, and engaged in battle with the angels, and received the law of fire, and sojourned under [God's] Throne of fire, and took shelter under the pillar of fire, and spoke with God face to face; and I prevailed over the heavenly Familia,2 and revealed unto the sons of man their secrets,3 and received the Law from the right hand of God, and taught it to Israel; and I made war on Sihon and Og, the two giants of the heathens to whose ankles the waters of the flood did not reach because of their [great] stature; I caused sun and moon to stand still on high, and I smote them with the staff in my hand and killed them ; is there any one amongst mankind who is able to do likewise? Away, wicked one, from here, you must not speak thus, go, flee before me, I will not surrender my soul to you.’ Immediately Sammael went back and reported to God. Whereupon God commanded Sammael, ‘Go, and bring Moses’ soul.’ Straightway he drew his sword from the sheath and placed himself at the side of Moses. Immediately Moses became wroth, and taking hold of the staff on which was engraven the Ineffable Name he fell upon Sammael with all his strength until he fled from before him, and he pursued him with the Ineffable Name and removed the beam of glory [halo] from between his eyes and blinded him. Thus much did Moses achieve. At the end of a moment, a heavenly voice was heard, declaring: ‘The end, the time of your death has come.’ Said Moses to God: ‘Master of the Universe, remember the day when Thou didst reveal Thyself unto me in the bush and didst say to me, Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel from Egypt (Ex.III, 10); remember the time when I abode on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights, I implore Thee, do not hand me over into the hand of the Angel of Death.’ Thereupon a heavenly voice was heard saying to him: ' Fear not, I myself will attend to you and your burial.’ At that hour, Moses arose and sanctified himself like the Seraphim, and God came down from the highest heavens to take away the soul of Moses, and with Him were three ministering angels, Michael, Gabriel, and Zagzagel. Michael laid out his bier, Gabriel spread out a fine linen cloth at his bolster, Zagzagel one at his feet; Michael stood at one side and Gabriel at the other side. God said: ' Moses, fold your eyelids over your eyes,’ and he did so. He then said: ‘Place your hands upon your breast,’ and he did so. He then said: ' Put your feet next to one another,’ and he did so. Forthwith the Holy One, blessed be He, summoned the soul from the midst of the body, saying to her: ‘My daughter, I have fixed the period of thy stay in the body of Moses at a hundred and twenty years; now thy end has come, depart, delay not.’ Whereupon she replied: ‘Master of the Universe, I know that Thou art the God of all spirits and all souls, the souls of the dead and the living are in Thy keeping, and Thou hast created and formed me and placed me within the body of Moses for a hundred and twenty years. And now, is there a body in the world purer than the body of Moses in which there has never been an offensive smell, nor worm nor maggot, nor any kind of vermin; therefore I love him and I do not desire to leave him.’ Whereupon God exclaimed: ‘Soul, go forth, do not delay, and I will raise thee to the highest heavens and will place thee under the Throne of Glory next to the Cherubim, Seraphim, and other troops of angels.’ Thereupon the soul replied: ‘Master of the Universe, two angels, Uzah and Azael, came down from near Thy divine Presence and coveted the daughters of the earth and they corrupted their way upon the earth until Thou didst suspend them between earth and heaven. But the son of Amram from the day Thou didst reveal Thyself unto him at the Bush has had no marital relations with his wife,’ as it is said, And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married; for he had married a Cushite woman  (Num. XII, 1).1 ‘I implore Thee let me remain in the body of Moses.’ Thereupon God kissed Moses and took away his soul with a kiss of the mouth, and God, if one might say so, wept [as it is said], Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? (Ps. XCIV, 16) And the Holy Spirit said, And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses  (Deut. XXXIV, 10). The heavens wept and said, The godly man is perished out of the earth  (Micah VII, 2). The earth wept and said, And the upright among men is no more (ib.). And when Joshua was looking for his master and did not find him, he also wept and said, Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men  (Ps. XII, 2). And the ministering angels said, He executed the righteousness of the Lord  (Deut. XXXIII, 21). And Israel said, And His ordinances with Israel (ib.). These and those said, He entereth into peace, they rest in their beds, each one that walketh in his uprightness (Isa. LVII, 2); The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing  (Prov. X, 7), and his soul for the life of the World to Come. Amen. May this be His will. Blessed be the Lord for ever. Amen and amen.