The Night Before the Execution
The night before the execution was the night of Shavuos. The Gaon of Vilna came to visit Avraham ben Avraham in prison and found him weeping. "Why do you weep?" asked the Gaon. "Are you afraid to die?"
"No," answered the Ger Tzedek. "On the contrary, I am most joyful that I have the opportunity to publicly sanctify Hashem's Name. I cry because I fear that I will be alone in Gan Eden. I have no father. I have no children. Who will be with me in the World to Come?"
"You are making a mistake," replied the Vilna Gaon. "There is a midrash explaining the verse in Yishayah, 'So says Hashem... I am the First and I am the Last.' It says: I am the First, for I have no father; I am the Last, for I have no son. It is a puzzling midrash. Why should the verse need to tell us that Hashem has no father and no son?"
The Gaon continued, "This is a mistake printed in the midrash. The proper wording is: I am the First, to those who have no father; I am the Last, to those who have no sons. You shall not be alone in Gan Eden. Hashem Himself will be your Companion."