Moses’ death and burial are the subjects of Deuteronomy 34. For Abravanel, this final chapter of the
Torah presents a golden opportunity to launch a discourse on death and dying in general, and the
prophet’s death in particular. Our chapter invites, really begs, this full-blown analysis. For our purposes
here, we focus on Moses’ burial. Admittedly, we hardly touch the tip of the iceberg.
“So Moses the servant of God died there in the land of Moab, according
to the word of God. And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab
over against Beth-peor. And no man knows of his sepulcher unto this
day.”
Abravanel asks: Why did God conceal Moses’ burial ground? Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to
make the place known, so to build a shrine to commemorate the greatest of all prophets? After all, had
the spot been marked, Jews world over would flock to it and pour out their hearts to God in supplication
– on the merit of God’s servant. And, Abravanel continues, if concealment was aimed to prevent
unlettered visitors from treating Moses as a deity and engaging in idol worship, why is the location of
the Tomb of the Cave in Hebron known to all, the burial ground for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Underlying Abravanel’s commentary, he presupposes this truism: God sees into man’s heart, paying him
according to his deeds. How will this play out with Moses? Specifically, how did God determine that the
seer’s burial place will forever remain an enigma – “And no man knows of his sepulcher unto this day?”
Fundamental to Moses’ death and burial requires an understanding of the prophet’s life and lifework.
What was his essence, his inner most being? To answer succinctly, he strove for intimacy with the
Almighty. Moses’ rapport with Him had been direct, without needing to rely on non-corporeal
intermediaries – “With whom God knew face to face.”
Abravanel gives background: How did Moses achieve intimacy with God? Sinai offers clues. Recall, he
had spent three forty-day stints on the hallowed mountain without food or drink. Without hyperbole,
we can attest to a body that derived its nourishment in supernatural ways. In that altered physical state,
practically devoid of normal needs, Moses forged a bond with the Maker based on the spirit.
Let us circle back. Seeing that Moses’ pure soul sought union with God, to the extent that mortals can
cling to Him, what might Heaven equitably decree for the prophet’s body and soul at the end of his life?
Unshackled, Moses’ soul desired to find ways to attain ever tighter intimacy with the One Above. Thus,
Abravanel surmises that God granted Moses’ exquisite soul to situate itself among the very highest
cosmic entities, those stationed near His heavenly throne.
Elaborating, Abravanel asserts that to the prophet’s soul, even a nano particle of it, had not stuck
around its former body. A clean break. Such a surgical severance would have enabled the prophet’s
mighty soul entrée into heaven’s innermost, holy chambers, the rendezvous for cerebral celestials.
As for the burial ground, how would that dovetail into Moses’ day job, per se, as leader of the nation? As
stated elsewhere, he yearned to grant his brethren deed to the holy land, dividing it among the twelve
tribes, a culmination of God’s promise to the patriarchs. He also pined to see Canaan. Owing to the
prophet’s burning desire, the Creator accommodated. He facilitated Moses’ up-close viewing of Israel.
Concurrently, the Creator decided something else. In all fairness, the Maker mused, Moses’ body should
be interred in the very spot from whence his eyes had wistfully peered out over Canaan, from that
selfsame spot from where he gazed upon the land he would never enter.
But what of Moses’ burial ground? Was the prophet’s body really interred? If so, by whom? Abravanel
posits, as stated above, that due to Moses inordinate amount of time on Mount Sinai, his physical frame
became inured to hunger and thirst. Depravation brought resilience, both in copious quantities. After
passing, his body had not experienced decay or decomposition. The prophet may just as soon have been
made of silver or gold, or any material not subject to rotting.
Given Moses’ body’s unnatural composition forwent putrefaction, Abravanel says that it also eschewed
normal disintegration processes. Clearly, only miracle can account for this. Is there anything beyond the
reach of the omnipotent One? Anything the Almighty cannot do?
What, then, did transpire with Moses’ body, if it hadn’t decomposed? Here is what happened. After he
took his last breath, his body had been reduced to its respective primordial elements, piece by piece.
When the transformation concluded, nothing but the purest dust could be detected. Not a single trace
of bone, not a single trace of sinew, not a limb could be identified as Moses’ erstwhile DNA.
Miracle or divine will saw to it. Simultaneously, for the prophet, when his final exhalation had not been
followed by a successive inhaling, Moses was no longer. A pristine, physical casing melted into desert
sands, indistinguishable from the rest of the arid landscape. Thus transitioned Moses’ body/soul from
one world to the next with nature playing not the slightest role in it. Vermin and worms, in vain,
searched for prey – a futile hunt. A holy body had been distilled into its elemental particles. The sages
teach this. It is the truth.
“And no man knows of his sepulcher unto this day.” The Torah attests to Moses’ burial. No man can
ascertain the prophet’s sepulcher, because his body had not been interred like all other people who
walk the planet. It required no grave marker, because there is nothing to mark. His body regressed to its
primordial elements, returning to dust, as is. These ideas represent Abravanel’s understanding of
Moses’s burial, the divine disposition of his body and soul.