Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai was gravely ill. His students came to visit him and when the
master saw his acolytes he began to weep.
“Why are you crying?” they asked.
“If I were going before the king, I know where I stand. After all, he will die too. If he is angry at me I can appease him. If he kills me I die only once.
“But of God, I do not know this. I cannot appease Him. I can die forever. I do not know which direction I am
headed.” -Berachot 28b
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