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After this, Moses looked upward, and beheld Gabriel; Moses
prostrated himself and left. The Holy-One Blessed be He said to Gabriel:
‘Go together with Moses and show him the Garden of Eden’.
So Moses proceeded further and entered the Garden of Eden. Two angels
came facing him and said to him: ’Has your latter end arrived –
considering that you have come hither?’ He replied: ‘My end
has not yet come; I have simply come to see what reward the Righteous
Men receive in the Garden of Eden’. They spoke up and said: ‘Happy
be you, Moses, that you have merited to come hither; happy be the people
who have such a One [=Shekachah]; happy be the people, whose
God is the Lord !’ [Ps. 144:15] (For the numerical value of Shekachah
{in Hebrew} is 345, identical with the numerical value of Moshe
(Moses)). Now, when Moses entered the Garden of Eden and saw a certain
angel seated under the Tree of Life, his name being Shamshiel, the Minister
of the Garden of Eden – Moses approached him. He asked him: ‘Who
are you?’ So he said: ‘I am Moses son of Amram’. He
asked him further: ‘Why have you arrived here?’ He replied:
‘I have come, so that I see what reward the Righteous receive in
the Garden of Eden’. The Holy-One Blessed be He said to Shamshiel:
‘Go with Moses, and show him the Garden of Eden’. He straight
away took hold of Moses’ hand and took the lead, Moses following
him. Moses gazed, and saw seventy thrones in a closely-set array. They
were all made of precious stone and fine jewels; their legs built of jasmine
and solid gold – nofech, sappir and yahalom. Each and every
throne was attended by sixty ministering angels. Within the array –
there was one throne, larger than all the rest, attended by one-hundred
and twenty angels. Moses asked Shamshiel: ‘To whom
does this throne belong?’ He replied: ‘To Abraham your ancestor’.
So Moses approached Abraham, who said to him: ’Has your latter end
arrived – considering that you have come hither?’ He replied:
‘My end has not yet come; I have simply come to see what reward
the Righteous Men receive in the Garden of Eden.’ Then Abraham spoke
up and said: ‘ Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His
kindness is everlasting!’ [Ps.118:1-29] He approached Isaac: Isaac
gave him that very same response; he then approached Jacob: he also responded
similarly.
Then Moses asked Shamshiel: ‘What is the length of the Garden of
Eden?’ He replied: ‘The Garden of Eden has no limited size,
nor is there any way of measuring it. The same applies to its thrones.
Each and every throne is attended by sixty ministering angels. Nothing
comparable exists anywhere. Some thrones are of silver, some of precious
gems’ He remarked: ‘For whom are allocated the thrones of
gems?’ He answered: ‘For the totally Righteous ones’.
So for whom are reserved the golden thrones?’ – he continued.
‘For the men who repent’. He asked further: ‘So, for
whom are allocated the thrones of silver?’ ’For the righteous
proselytes’ [true converts – who
become sincere Jews. (The translator)] – was the answer.
‘Now for whom are the brass thrones?’ – he asked. The
reply was: ‘For the wicked man, whose father was righteous; or for
a righteous man, whose father was wicked’. By the merit of the son,
the Holy-One Blessed be He will grant that man also the Garden of Eden.
An example is Terah (Abraham’s father), who was given [the reward
of] the Garden of Eden by the Holy-One Blessed be He – through the
merit of Abraham. [One such as Terah] was given to sit on the brass throne.
This is stated (Gn. 15:15) ‘You [however], will join your fathers
in peace’.
Then Moses saw a spring of living waters issuing from beneath the Tree
of Life; it ascended, and split up into four branches, and flowed on under
the Throne of Glory. The four divisions encircled the Garden of Eden –
from one extreme to the other. Now under each throne, four streams were
gushing: one stream – of honey, one – of milk, the third –
of wine, and the fourth – of persimmon-balsam. All these
streams flowed under the feet of the Righteous Ones who were seated on
the thrones...
When Moses our Teacher saw all these delightful pleasures, he experienced
great joy, and he said: ‘How great is Your Goodness, [O God,] which
You have hidden away for those who fear You; you have wrought for those
who confide in You – in the presence of all humanity!’ (Ps.
31:20). Moses made his way out, and left the Garden. At that moment of
time, a heavenly voice was manifest; it addressed Moses our Teacher –
Peace be upon him – with the words: ‘Moses, Servant of the
Lord, the dedicated one of His House! Just as you have beheld the reward
of the Righteous Ones, which is secured for them for the Future Time,
so likewise you yourself will merit the Life of the World to Come –
both you, and all the Righteous Ones – with the rebuilding of the
Holy Temple, and with the arrival of the King Messiah, so that –
‘...You may perceive the pleasantness of the Lord and frequent His
Palace’ [Ps. 27:4]
Excerpt taken from Hebrew edition of: "Batei Midrashot",
edited by Abraham Yossef Vertheimer