REACCESS TWO ETHICAL WILLS

...To read these wills together is to see how far and how fast Jewish life moved in this country, but how, n e v e r t h e l e s s , the deepest values have remained constant...

...1) Even though I have said above that 1 want no eulogy, if there are any rabbis present at the funeral, they may, if they wish, say a few short words of comfort to the mourners and teach those present a lesson in how to live, but, if it so please them, let their address not be too long...

...He writes widely on a variety of Jewish concerns, and his JEWISH REFLECTIONS ON DEATH was published recently by Schocken...

...5) Then 1 s h o u l d be given the book: Ma'avar Yabbok and together with the quorum of ten Jews let me recite what is written there...

...6) If it is known that I am on bad terms with anyone, I should be reminded of this so that I can forgive him...

...REACCESS TWO ETHICAL WILLS JACK RIEMER There was a lovely Jewish custom, fallen by the wayside in recent years, w h i c h is w o r t h y of b e i n g reintroduced: the ethical will...

...Leave her undisturbed in the use of the small estate, and assist if there should be want...

...Therefore, there ought to be many people present at such a time, so that they can divide into two groups: one group to pray, the other to stand by the sick p e r s o n ' s side...

...We present these wills for two reasons: first, that you may meet two righteous and upright Jews whoselast words of wisdom deserve to be known and studied...

...No funeral oration...

...I know well you could not, if you would, practice Judaism according to my views and as I practiced it...

...Therefore, it is important that at this time he say: " H e a r O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is O n e , " and take upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of heaven...

...n THE WILL OF RABBI LIEBMAN ADLER Rabbi Liebman Adler was born and educated in Germany, and served for many years as Rabbi of a Reform congregation in Chicago...

...Rabbi Yitschak Kelman was born in the village of Mazerivaku in Galicia in 1867...

...Do not speculate...

...1 adorned her with glory and honor until her dying day...

...Women should not be allowed in, for it is their nature to weep uncontrollably...

...My copy can be found in the section of my library where the booklets are kept...

...I here present two of them...

...The children should be kept away from the time of dying until the time to say Kaddish at the grave...

...The experiences of those European rabbis who came to this country in those years were very difficult, but he remained a kind and gentle person...

...and let that charity be promptly placed in the charity box of that fund...

...Our ancestors may have had less property to worry about than we d o , but they had another concern...

...He and his family lived through years of great upheaval in Europe...

...The two men w h o w r o t e these wills never met, and they were very different in o u t l o o k and in background...

...10) You should be very careful to see to it that I do not neglect any commandment which a well person is required to fulfill...

...If the p h y s i c i a n who t r e a t e d me should find it desirable in the interest of science to hold a post-mortem examination, 1 would like that he be not interfered with...

...9) The Holy Presence is with the s i c k . T h e r e f o r e , my family should be reminded to keep the s i c k r o om and the house clean and pure as if a king were coming...

...The text can be found on page 12 of the Ma'avar Yabbok...

...His friends and his students, wherever they may be, are requested to study the Mishnah for the first month, and especially for the first week, and to say that they do this for his sake, and let them make mention of any good quality of his to which they can testify, such as the loving kindness that he did for many people...

...By doing this you will fulfill a double commandment — h o n o r i n g her, and h o n o r i n g me through honoring her...

...For it was she who kept me in health, for 1 was always a sickly person, and she kept me from sin as well...

...One was a rabbi of the old s c h o o l who c a m e to the U n i t ed S t a t e s from Eastern Europe...

...No blessing rests upon it even if it be successful ! Throw your whole energy into the pursuance of the calling you have chosen...

...The example of eleven children to one father, who stand t o g e t h e r in love and trust, would be to his grave a better decorat i o n than the most magnificent wreath of flowers, which I willingly decline, but leave to your judgment...

...This month's contributor is Jack Riemer, rabbi of Beth Abraham Synagogue in Dayton, Ohio...

...I THE WILL OF RABBI YITSCHAK KELMAN REACCESS is our column for presenting classics out of the Jewish past...

...2) Let there be only pious observant Jews who put my body into the grave...

...They wanted to make sure that their values would continue...

...3) I should be reminded to repent and to recite A'don 01am and Yigdal for they contain the thirteen essential principles of faith which a person must believe...

...Each chapter should begin with a letter of my name...

...Therefore, do not be ungrateful and do not aggravate her in any way in her old age...

...Therefore, only those men who know that they will not break down should be there...

...And I, too, should be kept clean...

...His granting of permission for an autopsy is in itself a departure from tradition...

...Whatever rituals are performed out of respect to the living may be done after me, but let there not be any praise that is not true, for this is a great detriment to the soul...

...secondly, that these examples may stir other people to leave behind for their children a statement of who they are and what they stand for...

...Another point, children...

...After service, let several chapters of Psalms be said...

...One does not have to be a poet or a philosopher to write such a l e t t e r . " W o r d s that come from the heart enter the h e a r t , " as t h e Talmud says — and s i m p le truths, sincerely said, will be understood and treasured...

...Since a person is not always in full possession of his faculties then, I set these requests down now: 1) People should visit frequently so that when the final time comes there will be a minyan present...

...Serve the Lord and keep Him always before you...

...But remain Jews and live as Jews in the best manner of your time, not only for yourself, but also where it is meet to further the whole...

...and let charity on my behalf be given to the fund that is named for Rabbi Meir Ba'al Ha-Nes in the Holy Land...

...Farewell, wife and children...

...He died in 1933...

...He was often called upon to be an arbiter of their disputes because of his fairness and his love of peace...

...2) I should be reminded to recite the confessional, and before this to give charity in a c c o r d a n c e' with my means...

...Honor your mother...

...My coffin shall not cost more than $7...

...I ask that it be announced in the synagogue that I forgive any and every one who may have aggravated me and that I ask any and every one whom I may have aggravated to please forgive me...

...The heritage which is already yours is a good name and as good an education as I could afford to give...

...A minyan of pious and o b s e r v a n t Jews should be brought into the room so that I may recite the declaration in their presence...

...toward man be amiable, accommodating and modest, and you will fare well even without riches...

...and if money is not a v a i l a b l e , then let the best clothes or the watch or books be s o l d and the money given to charity, both before and after my g o i n g . It is best to do these things in the morning after the p r a y e r s , for this is a time of mercy and a favorable moment...

...I m m e d i a t e l y after the week of m o u r n i n g , let a t o m b s t o n e be erected, or at least by the end of the first thirty days, for, according to the Zohcir, the soul yearns for the body and craves at least to know where it rests...

...If the people wish, they may study a c h a p t e r of Mishnah each day...

...He was descended from a long line of scholars and rabbis, and he continued the family tradition...

...4) The book: Shevet Mussar should be brought, or Reb Feival Sfard of Z l o t n i c k should be asked to bring the fourteenth sect i o n of the Sedei Hemed in which the text of the declaration of intention is found...

...The other was a rabbi of the new kind who came to America from Germany...

...He did not write for publication, but his studies, sermons and notes were lovingly preserved by his family, and they have now been published by them in a volume called Moreshet Avot, from which this will is translated...

...I know you...

...You will find the earth in a package which is in my dresser...

...They should say Psalms, study Mishnah and do those t h i n g s that are p r e s c r i b e d in the Ma'avar Yabbok...

...For example, when I am given food to eat or water to drink I should be reminded to say the appropriate b l e s s i n g , and I should be reminded to wash before I say the blessing, as it is written: " I will wash my hands in c l e a n l i n e s s ." 2 At the Time • of Death The Sages have taught that it is a good deed to be present at the time of death, and that this takes precedence even over prayer...

...3) I ask that the washing be done in the mikveh of my dear friend, Reb Avraham Reizman, but only if my death should occur on a weekday...

...v The soul is pleased when relatives are nearby at the time of death, but only if they do not wail...

...I ask that they break the bottom of the coffin so that the body rests directly on the earth...

...If it should be on the eve of the Sabbath, especially if it is in the winter when the days are very short, then let the washing be done as quickly and simply as possible so as not to lead, God forbid, to a desecration of the Sabbath...

...Nowadays, we leave behind complicated and technical legal docum e n t s , p r e d o m i n a n t l y c o n c e r n ed with property and possessions...

...I may trust that you will not meet in an unfilial way about possession and disposition...

...Dear Hannah: In view of your delicate health, I desire that you remain at home and not join the funeral if the weather is the least inclement...

...Do not be worried by it...

...If funds are available, let them be distributed to poor scholars and to ordinary poor Jews...

...Remain strictly h o n e s t , t r u t h f u l , i n d u s t r i o u s and frugal...

...7) Let ten pious and observant Jews say Psalms on my behalf, and let a prayer for my recovery be recited with my name and the name of my mother...

...My last word to you is...

...My children, hold together...

...My funeral to be directly from the place of demise to the cemetery...

...It begins with t h e phrase: " M y b r o t h e r s , my friends, and my teachers . . . " When the Soul Separates • from the Body If possible, let me be attended by those who have purified themselves in the mikveh that day . . . Let there be no eulogies for me, but if someone knows something good that I have done they may mention it...

...They sought, therefore, to set down in words their innermost aspirations and deepest convictions, so that their children might have a permanent record of what their parents wanted for them and from them...

...This is a part of human dignity, so that those who come to visit the sick should not feel any discomfort, as it is written: " L e t your camp be holy for the Lord is in your m i d s t . " Let there be a fresh sheet and a fresh garment regularly...

...No flowers...

...Even though they were originally intended only for the eyes of the immediate family, each one has a message that will have meaning to others, and so we are grateful to the families for permitting us to share their legacy of wisdom with others...

...It does not look as if any one of you had a disposition to grow rich...

...I have recently chanced across several ethical wills, written in the twentieth century, that I believe are remarkable documents...

...Before the purification and the washing, let charity be given in an amount equal to the numerical value of my name, and when my body is put into the coffin, let this be done again...

...And if it is known that anyone is on bad terms with me, he should be requested to forgive me...

...No longer is there the meticulous concern for the law that was reflected in Rabbi Kelman's will...

...And know, my children, that you should show very great reverence for my helpmate...

...Let this be the contents of the ann o u n c e m e n t that a p p e a r s in the i newspaper after my death: On such and such a day, in the week of such and such a Torah portion, on such and such a day of the m o n t h , Rabbi Isaac, the son of Mirel, who was once Rabbi in Wizn i o w c z y k , and for one year in P o d h o r v y z e , and then here in Jamaica in America, departed this life...

...This was what I did for my father, my teacher, may his soul be in heaven...

...Those children who do not live too distant should, if the weather permits, and if it can be done without disturbing their own domestic relations, gather every Friday evening around the mother...

...In case I am not lucid at the end, I hereby authorize my closest friends to recite the declaration of intent for me, and I hereby declare this aut h o r i z a t i o n to be non-cancellable...

...1. These are my instructions as to what is to be done for me in my time of illness and from the time of my death until after the burial...

...5) Let services be held all during the week of shivah in the room in which my soul expires and let a light be kept lit there all during the week...

...His request that the coffin not cost more than seven dollars sounds odd in the face of current prices...

...I cherish the Kaddish — prayers of mourning in the synagogue — of my sons and daughters as it deserves, but I do so only if you, after the expiration of the year of mourning, do not omit attendance at the synagogue without necessity...

...Show her reverence, please, just as I did for my mother, after the death of my father...

...He should ask them to pray for me, both in this world and after my d e p a r t u r e , that no harm should come to me...

...His will reflects the acculturation problems of American Jewry in his time...

...But certain Jewish values are common to both wills: the concern for the continuation of the Jewish way of life, the concern for the welfare of the widow who remains, the respect for Torah and for charity, and the desire to bring one's life to an end in an atmosphere of peace and forgiveness...

...In this let no sacrifice be too great to assist each other and to uphold brotherly and sisterly sentiment...

...8) Before the prayers and the giving of the charity, one of the ten should say a word of instruction • to the people, reminding them that they should realize and repent, and asking them to learn a lesson from what is happening...

...He won the affection of his people by his piety, his learning, his scrupulous devotion to the law, and his many deeds of lovingkindness...

...His book Sabbath Thoughts was one of the first volumes of sermons on Jewish themes to be published in English, and he worked assidously to raise the standards of Jewish education in his community...

...He served as Rabbi in several communities in Eastern Europe, in Vienna, and then in 1924 at the invitation of his landsleit he came to America to serve as Rabbi in Jamaica, Queens...

...This is in keeping with the teaching of Rabbi Judah the Prince, whose last words at the time of his death were: " B e careful of the honor of your m o t h e r . " I know that it is enough to ask this of you just once...

...And let no one say anything derogatory, for it is surely forbidden to speak badly of the dead...

...Help her bear her dreary widowhood...

...4) After the burial, let charity be given to the poor once again in a c c o r d a n c e with the numerical value of my name...

...I ask that a bit of earth from the land of Israel shall be put into my grave...

...The small saving which I leave will come to you only after the death of the' mother...

...Each deed of love you do to one another would be balm to my soul...

...Since a person is not always in full possession of his faculties at the end, there is the danger that he may deny his faith...