Ethical wills & how to prepare them : a guide to sharing your values from generation to generation / edited by Rabbi Jack Riemer & Dr. Nathaniel Stampfer ; foreword by Rabbi Harold Kushner.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Riemer, Jack, editor.

Stampfer, Nathaniel, editor.

Elsie de Renzo Orlando Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wills, Ethical.

Jewish ethics.

Physical Description:

xxxiii, 227 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Woodstock, Vermont : Jewish Lights Publishing, [2015]

Summary:

Ethical wills are precious spiritual documents, windows into the souls of those who write them, and are often a treasured part of a family's history. These "legacy letters" sum up what you have learned in life, and what you want most for, and from, your loved ones. This book-a unique combination of "what is" and "how to"-offers a step-by-step process to help you prepare an ethical will of your own, and provides a wide range of contemporary ethical wills to help you do it. It reveals the ongoing relevance of this traditional Jewish practice for people of all faiths, all backgrounds. The emotional power of the nearly one hundred last letters collected here, written by both famous and ordinary Jewish people, will inspire you to live more fully now, and to record your own blessings for the generations to come. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 Traditional Wills 1

"Preparing provisions for the journey" / Solomon Kluger Kluger, Solomon 3

"A guide for the practices of piety" / Moshe Yeshoshua Zelig Hakohen Hakohen, Moshe Yeshoshua Zelig 9

"A letter to a departing son" / Benjamin M. Roth Roth, Benjamin M. 18

"I shall give you some useful advice" / Mordekhai Mottel Michelsohn Michelsohn, Mordekhai Mottel 25

"Put your trust in God and He will sustain you" / Shmuel Tefilinsky Tefilinsky, Shmuel 28

"We merit redemption by virtue of our choices" / Hayyim Elazar Shapira (The Munkatcher Rebbe) Shapira, Hayyim Elazar, (The Munkatcher Rebbe) 34

"Return the borrowed books in my possession" / Yehuda Leib Graubart (The Stashever Rav) Graubart, Yehuda Leib, (The Stashever Rav) 38

Part 2 Wills from the Holocaust 39

"They treated us like animals" / Hirsch Moshe Zaddok Zaddok, Hirsch Moshe 41

A Mother's Will: "A struggle for the sanctificaiion of the human heart" 42

"No choice hut to the with honor" / Zippora Birman Birman, Zippora 43

Among the Embers: Martyrs' Testaments 45

The last twelve Jews in Chelmno

David Elster, on the synagogue wall

The members of "Dror"

Gina Atlas, on the synagogue wall

A young woman, on the synagogue wall

Berl Tomshelski, on a wooden board

A Polish Jew, to the Blozhever Rebbe

The Chief Rabbi of Grodzisk 47

"Let him come, but let me not see him"

On the Walls of Bialystok Prison 48

"Don't mourn for us with tears and words, but rather with deeds" / Shulamit Rabinovitch Rabinovitch, Shulamit 50

"Our fate lies in wait for us" / Shulamit Rabinovitch's Husband Husband, Shulamit Rabinovitch's 52

Part 3 Wills from the Land of Israel 53

"Always have I received more honor than I deserved" / Elijah David Rabinovitz (Teomim) Rabinovitz, Elijah David, (Teomim) 55

"I wielded my pen as an honest man" / Theodor Herzl Herzl, Theodor 59

"My eldest son James... will further my work" / Edmond James de Rothschild Rothschild, Edmond James de 61

"Help your holy people" / Abraham Isaac Kook Kook, Abraham Isaac 64

The shepherd thanks his flock / Ben Zion Meir Hai Uziel Uziel, Ben Zion Meir Hai 66

"Loyal to his people, its Torah, and its land" / Alter Ya'akov Sahrai Sahrai, Alter Ya'akov 68

To the new life beyond Awareness / Meir Dizengoff Dizengoff, Meir 70

"Come, I will show thee where earth meets heaven" / Yitzhak Ben Nehemia Margalit Margalit, Yitzhak Ben Nehemia 73

"I have only one request" / Naftali Swiatitsky Swiatitsky, Naftali 75

"There are events without which one's life becomes unimportant" / Hannah Senesh Senesh, Hannah 78

"Do not eulogize me; I did my duty" / Noam Grossman Grossman, Noam 81

"When I die, for you I shall continue to live" / Avraham Kreizman Kreizman, Avraham 82

"Life by itself is worth little unless it serves something greater than itself" / Eldad Pan Pan, Eldad 83

"I am leaving you an extended family" / Dvora Waysman Waysman, Dvora 84

Part 4 Wills of Modern and Contemporary American Jews 87

"From me, your friend and father" / Nissen Sheinberg Sheinberg, Nissen 89

"A wisp, a whisper of immortality becomes mine, and yours" / Emil Greenberg Greenberg, Emil 94

"The Holy Presence is with the sick" / Yitschak Kelman Kelman, Yitschak 96

"Be bound by the oath taken at the foot of Mount Sinai" / Bernard L. Levinthal Levinthal, Bernard L. 101

An affirmation of life / David De Sola Pool Pool, David De Sola 104

"Bury me... among the common Jewish folk" / Sholom Aleichem Aleichem, Sholom 107

"Have no fear of being in the minority" / Mordkhe Schaechter Schaechter, Mordkhe 110

"Find favor in the eyes of God and man" / Dora Chazin Chazin, Dora 112

"Never consider yourself greater than the next man" / William Schulder Schulder, William 114

"I have erred not out of love of sin" / Hayim Greenberg Greenberg, Hayim 116

"In America the women are the saintly souls" / Rafael L. Savitzky Savitzky, Rafael L. 117

"Live together in harmony" / Samuel Lipsitz Lipsitz, Samuel 120

"The principles of Judaism and the basis of civilization" / Sadie S. Kulakofsky Kulakofsky, Sadie S. 122

"I wanted to do something to make the world better" / Sidney Rabinowitz Rabinowitz, Sidney 123

"You are the nearest stars in my heaven" / Samuel Furash Furash, Samuel 125

"So that all mankind could live in a free and peaceful world" / Harold Katz Katz, Harold 128

"They carry something of me in their lives" / Madeline Medoff Medoff, Madeline 130

"An ineffable peace entered our house" / Allen Hofrichter Hofrichter, Allen 135

"You should always be together" / Jennie Stein Berman Berman, Jennie Stein 137

"Don't forget your seats at Park Synagogue" / Leonard Ratner Ratner, Leonard 138

"Be forever vigilant for those in need" / Harold 139

"Open your hearts and your homes" / Randee Rosenberg Friedman Friedman, Randee Rosenberg 141

"Your good character will earn you your way" / Rosie Rosenzweig Rosenzweig, Rosie 144

"What I consider really important" / William Joseph Adelson Adelson, William Joseph 147

"We have both loved the United States" / Hayyim, Esther Kieval Kieval, Esther 150

"What is important is to make each day good" / Nitzah Marsha Jospe Jospe, Nitzah Marsha 152

"Ritual is only a tool to remind us who we are" / William Lewis Abramowitz Abramowitz, William Lewis 156

"As Jews within the human family" / Marcia Lawson Lawson, Marcia 159

"I leave you... some four-letter words for all occasions" / Sam Levenson Levenson, Sam 161

"With a love that has been well seasoned" / Richard J. Israel Israel, Richard J. 163

"From Vilna to Connecticut to Jerusalem" / Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman Friedman, Rabbi Herbert A. 175

"Finish your final business / Stanley J. Garfein Garfein, Stanley J. 183

"Life here is a great and wonderful adventure" / Rabbi Monroe Levens Levens, Rabbi Monroe 193

Part 5 Three Wills from Classics of Modern Jewish Literature 195

Yossel Rakover Speaks to God / Zvi Kolitz Kolitz, Zvi 197

Four Generations-Four Wills / Y. L. Peretz Peretz, Y. L. 203

The Will of Nissim Laniado / Avraham Sutzkever Sutzkever, Avraham 208

Part 6 A Guide to Writing Your Own Ethical Will 213.

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 222-224) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Elsie de Renzo Orlando Fund.

ISBN:

9781580238274

1580238270

9781580238298

1580238297

OCLC:

895730740

Publisher Number:

99962780788