Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
In the meantime approached the hour when Joshua was wont to arise,
whereupon Moses entered his room and extended his hand to him. When
Joshua saw that Moses served him, he was ashamed to have his master
minister to him, and taking the shirt out of Moses' hand, and dressing
himself, trembling, he cast himself to Moses' feet and said: "O my
master, be not the cause wherefore I should die before half my time is
done, owing to the sovereignty God has imposed upon me." But Moses
replied: "Fear not, my son, thou sinnest not if thou are served by me.
With the measure wherewith thou didst mete out to me, do I mete out to
thee; as with a pleasant face thou didst serve me, so shall I serve
thee. It was I that taught thee, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself,' and
also, 'Let thy pupil's honor be as dear to thee as thine own.'" Moses
did not rest until Joshua seated himself upon the golden chair, and
then Moses served Joshua, who still resisted, in every needful way.
After he was through with all this, he laid upon Joshua, who still
resisted, his rays of majesty, which he had received from his celestial
teacher Zagzagel, scribe of the angels, at the close of his instruction
in all the secrets of the Torah.
When Joshua was completely dressed and ready to go out, they reported
to him and to Moses that all Israel awaited them. Moses thereupon laid
his hand upon Joshua to lead him out of the tent, and quite against
Joshua's wish insisted upon giving precedence to him as they stepped
forth. When Israel saw Joshua precede Moses, they all trembled, arose,
and made room for these two to proceed to the place of the great, where
stood the golden throne, upon which Moses seated Joshua against his
will. All Israel burst into tears when they saw Joshua upon the golden
throne, and he said amid tears, "why all this greatness and honor to
me?" [898]
In this way did Moses spend the time from the first day of Shebat to
the sixth of Adar, during which time he expounded the Torah to the
sixty myriads of Israel in seventy languages.
THE LAST DAY OF MOSES' LIFE
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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