The Oral Talmud with Benay Lappe and Dan Libenson Episode 47

On the day that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi died, the Sages decreed a fast, and begged for divine mercy so that he would not die. And they said: Anyone who says that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi has died will be stabbed with a sword. The maidservant of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi ascended to the roof and said: The upper ones are requesting Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, and the lower ones are requesting Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. May it be the will of God that the lower ones should prevail over the upper ones. However, when she saw how many times he would enter the bathroom and remove his tefillin, and then exit and put them back on, and how he was suffering with his intestinal disease, she said: May it be the will of God that the upper ones should prevail over the lower ones. And the Sages, meanwhile, would not be silent, i.e., they would not refrain, from begging for mercy so that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi would not die. So she took a jug [kuza] and threw it from the roof to the ground. The Sages became silent and momentarily ceased praying for mercy. And the soul of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi rested.