Moses vs The Angel of Death

When Aaron died, the pillar of cloud was removed, and both [Miriam's well & Aaron's cloud] returned in the merit of Moses....

When Aaron died, all of Israel gathered to Moses and said to him "Where is Aaron your brother?" He answered: "God has secreted him for eternal life." But the people did not believe him.

And the people said to him: "We know you that you are a very strict person. Perhaps Aaron said something objectionable and you punished him with death."

What did God do to prove Moses' innocence? He took Aaron's bier and suspended it in the highest of heavens, then God eulogized him and the ministering angels echoed afterwards in praise of Aaron.

And what was said in that eulogy? The verse "The Torah of truth was in his mouth, and wrong was not found on his lips. In peace and uprightness did he walk with Me and many did he turn from sin."(Malachi 2:6).

Before the death of Moses, God said to the angel of death: "Go and bring Me Moses' soul."

The Angel of Death went and stood before Moses, whereupon Moses said: Where I sit, you have no right to stand, and you say "Give me your soul!" Moses continued to rebuke him and the Angel of Death left in shame.

The Angel of Death went back and repeated Moses' words to God. God replied with the same command and said to the Angel of Death: "Go and bring Me Moses' soul."

The Angel of Death, again went back to Moses' usual place and searched for Moses, but he could not find him.

The Angel of Death went to the Red Sea and said to it: Have you seen Moses? The Red Sea replied: From the day that the People of Israel passed through me, I have not seen him.

The Angel of Death went to the mountains and valleys and said to them: Have you seen Moses? They answered "God understands its way" (Iyyov 28:23) [The mountains and valleys were hinting to God's intervention in the matter]:

God hid Moses for eternal life, and no one knows of his exact fate, as the verse states "And [God] buried him in the valley." (Devarim 34:6).

From the moment Moses died, Joshua cried and screamed and mourned for him many days, until God said to him: "Joshua, how long will you mourn your teacher Moses?"

And God continued: "Are you the only one for whom Moses has died? Has he not also died for Me? In fact, from the moment Moses died, I have also been in mourning."

[The Midrash cites the verse]: "And God called for crying and lamenting." (Isaiah 22:12).

God continues to console Joshua: And, what is more, he is assured of life in the world to come.

[The Midrash cites the verse]: "Behold, you shall lie down with your fathers." (Devarim 31:16).

"I lost the three shepherds in one month" (Zecharia 11:8); and thus, in one month, Aaron, Miriam, and Moses died. Miriam died on the 1st of the month of Nisan, and the well closed up; and in the second of Nissan, Aaron's sons died; On the first of Av, Aaron died, and the clouds of glory dissipated; On the seventh of Adar Moses our teacher, and God's servant, died. Even though they didn't all die in the same month, it's considered as if it were one month. Each had a gift that they gave to the Israelites. By the merit of Miriam, God gave the well, by the merit of Aaron, the clouds of glory, By the merit of Moses, the Mana. When Miriam died, the well closed so the Israelites could see that it was by her merit that God granted them the well. Moses and Aaron bewailed her internally, and the Israelites did so publicly. Moses didn't know about the Israelites mourning until after six hours, when the Israelites came to them and said: "how long will you sit and mourn?" He said to them "should I not continue to mourn my sister who has died." "They said to him: "just as you mourn for one soul, all the more so mourn for all of us." He said to them: "why" They said to him "because we do not have water to drink." He stood and went and saw that there was no water in the well, and he began to argue with them, he said:"did I not say to you that I can't carry this people on my own, did I not appoint for you officers for the thousands, and officers for the hundreds, and the fifties, and the twenties, I gave you officials, and chiefs, and great elders, and they are to busy themselves with your problems." They said to him: "Everything is on you, for you are the one who brought us out of Egypt and brought us to this terrible place, if you give us water, everything will be fine, but if you don't, then we will stone you." When Moses heard this, he fled from them and went into the tent of meeting. God said to him "Moses what is going on?" Moses said before the Master of the World: "your children want to stone me, and were I not to have fled, I would have already been stoned to death." God said said: "how long will will you speak ill of my children, was it not enough for you that I told you at Horeb, just a little more and they will stone you. Now go and pass before them and see whether they will actually stone you, and it is said the Torah: "God said to Moses, pass before the people." Moses went first and his cohort after him, and Moses didn't know which rock God had intended to give to them for bringing out water. The Israelites found a rock that was dripping, and they stood upon it. When Moses saw them standing on it, he turned around and said to God "how long will you put our lives at risk?" He said to them, "until I bring water out of the rock." The Israelites said: "give us water so that we can drink!" Moses responded to them "How long will you continue to rebel? Does a creation rebel against its creator? As such, you are rebelling against God. Moses said: "God wants to give you water." The Israelites said: "you are the prophet who shepherds us in the dessert and now you say you don't know which rock God intends you to bring water out of? Moses and Aaron gathered the people around a different rock, as it says in the Torah "Moses and Aaron gathered the community at the face of the rock." Moses said to himself: "If I command the rock to bring out water and it doesn't, I'll be embarrassed before the community, and they will say to me, 'Moses, where is your alleged wisdom.'" At the very same moment Moses told the Israelites, "you know that God can do miracles for you, and you know that miracles are beyond me. For when the knowledge of man is divinely inspired, it is not his own knowledge or wisdom. Moses brought down his staff upon the back of the rock, and he did so himself, as he spoke to the Israelites, as it says in the Torah "from this rock, we will bring you water." The rock began to fill itself to bring out water, and when Moses saw it, he lifted his arm again and struck the rock, as it says in the Torah "he hit the rock twice with his staff." This time though, blood came out, as it says in the Psalms, "yes, he hit the rock and the waters flowed (Psalm 78:20)." It's a flow of blood, as we see from the laws of menstruation "when a woman has a discharge of blood (Leviticus 15:25)." Moses came and said to God "the rock isn't bringing out water, only blood." God said to the rock: "why are you only bringing out blood, and not water?" The rock said "Master of the Universe, why did Moses hit me?" God then asked Moses, "why did you hit the rock?" Moses responded: "In order to bring out water." God said: "Did I tell you to hit the rock? Did I not tell you to speak to it with words?" Moses responded: "I did speak to it, but nothing came out!" God responded "did you not command all of Israel "in justice you shall judge your people (Leviticus 19)? Thus, why didn't you judge the rock with justice? This is how I raised you in Egypt, as it says in scripture 'God fed him honey from the rock, (Deuteronomy 32:13).' It befits you to lead, and thus say to my children "listen you rebels!" Don't read "rebels" rather "idiots" shotim (also a hominem for drinkers). They are idiots, and you have your eyes open. A nation of idiots will not enter the land of Israel, as it says in the Torah "you will not bring this community . . ." Therefore God said to Moses, "tell the rock to turn it's blood into water." It is thus written in scripture: "who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flinty rock into a spring (Psalm 114:8)." (Note this is a Psalm recited during Hallel on Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the month). When they reached the beginning of the month, God said to Moses, "your time has come to an end." Moses said before him, "please God, let it not be soon." "It is tomorrow" responded God, thus Moses was distressed all day, for he didn't know when exactly his death would come. ...