So That Your Values Live On: With Selections from Ethical Wills

Plot

From Library Journal
This is a revised edition of Ethical Wills ( LJ 6/15/83). Ethical wills, in contrast to testamentary ones, do not need to be drawn by a lawyer and do not transmit tangible objects. They are a Jewish tradition of passing on the wisdom of a life, more often than not a life of hardship. The book begins with wills from the 18th century, which pass on each writer's religious passions. Next come the heartbreaking cries of Holocaust victims on scraps of paper tucked into cracks in the walls, or even scratched into walls; in their brevity they speak volumes. Wills from the land of Israel follow, informed by a sense of love and duty for a new homeland. The sampling of modern wills are more lighthearted: Sam Levenson leaves his grandchildren and, by implication, us "some four-letter words for all occasions: give, care, love . . . ." Each entry is preceded by a short profile of its writer. A guide to writing these wills concludes this uplifting book.
- Gerda Haas, Holocaust Human Rights Ctr. of Maine
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Scientific American
This remarkable volume will enrich all those who will read it and meditate upon its infinite wisdom.