Jewish Tradition of Ethical Wills Provide a Window to the Past 1 By ...

Jewish Tradition of Ethical Wills Provide a Window to the Past 1
By Sarina Roffé
The Jewish tradition of ethical wills was a way for a father to impart wisdom and counsel
to his son or children. The father to son message in ethical wills tell us a lot about the
values of society at a given point in time as well as trends over a long period of time.
Ethical wills were also written as a way to impart the wisdom of a leader, such as a rabbi,
to his followers. The earliest known written ethical will is from the 11 th century, but
certainly this was an oral tradition from the time of Abraham. However, a number of
recorded ethical wills from the Jewish Middle Ages give us a window into the minds of
many Jewish rabbis and leading communal members. The ethical wills documented are
an important literature source and tell us of the influences, values and morals that were
considered important at the time. It is interesting to look at these wills and think about the
values and ethics of today.
The tradition is believed to date from the time of Abraham when God said to Abraham, “I
have known him to the end that he may command his children and household after him,
that he may keep the way of the Lord.” We also see that Isaiah said to Hezekiah “Set thy
house in order.”
Other biblical examples include the blessing of Jacob, Joseph’s dying request to his
brother, the address of Moses and Joshua to the people of Israel and the advice of David
to his son Solomon.
Jacob called his sons together and said to them, “Come together that I may tell you what
is to befall you in days to come. Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob; Hearken to
Israel your father.” He then spoke his ethical will to each of his sons, one at a time. He
told them what he expected of them, what he learned in his own life, and what his
blessing was for them.
Later in the Torah, King David was dying as he spoke these words to his son, Solomon: I
am going the way of all the earth; be strong and show yourself a man. Keep the charge
of the Lord your God, walking in God’s ways and following God’s laws, God’s
commandments, God’s rules, and God’s admonitions as recorded in the Teaching of
Moses, in order that you may succeed in whatever you undertake and wherever you turn.
Then the Lord will fulfill the promise that He made concerning me: “If your descendants
are scrupulous in their conduct, and walk before Me faithfully, with all their heart and
soul, your line on the throne of Israel shall never end!” King David lays the foundation
for the importance of passing on to children, obeying God’s commandments for Israel to
continue. King David instructs his son on how to deal with people who either wronged
him during his life and were generous and kind to him.
In early rabbinical literature, examples of verbal counsel are evident. Rabbi Akiba,
Eleazar ben Hyrkanos, Johanan B. Zakkai, Akabya son of Mahalalel, Rabbi Jose son of
Kisma, and Hanina son of Teradyon are but a few examples in the early rabbinical
literature where verbal counsel is given.

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The idea of imparting certain values to the next generation is so important in Jewish
genre that at times it takes on more importance than Torah study. A widespread belief is
that a person’s acts during life are the only things that will follow you in the world to
come (Abrahams 9). This is a philosophical issue raised by Maimonides in his writings.
At the time many people believed that the messianic age and the world to come were
combined; that the Messiah comes and resurrects those who deserve to be resurrected and
those who deserve it will live in the world to come with body and soul. Maimonides
breaks with this belief and writes that to be in the world to come one need not have a
body, but rather an incorporeal soul in relationship with the divine. Maimonides applies
philosophic knowledge to the Talmud and believes that the rational part of soul can live
on eternally basking in the radiance of the divine (after death).
In looking at Ethical Wills, we can see that the importance of a person’s acts during his
lifetime are or paramount importance because they are believed to be the determining
factor for what happens to a person after death in the world to come. For example, Judah
ha-Nasi tells his sons to help their mother, especially for the Sabbath, appointing each of
them a role. Here we see the importance of the commandment “Honor thy mother and thy
father.”
Rabbi Nehanya ben Hakana says “I never won honor at the cost of a colleague,” in
essence telling his son not to curse fellow man or to advance himself at the cost of
another. He also says he was generous with his money. Rabbi Nehanya the Great tells his
son that he was generous with his money, and that he never accepted presents or “exacted
retaliation.” Rabbi Zera never lost his temper at home or slept in the Bet Hamidrash.
These examples tell us of the importance of respect for a parent and for holy places. In
addition, not accepting presents and being generous with money are examples of the
importance of tzedekah.
Rabbi Eleazar the Great (ben Isaac of Worms, mid-11 th Century) writes Paths of Liberty.
When he is near death, he realizes his mistakes as a father and wants to make up for it. In
his testament, he lists all kinds of things his son should do from reciting the Shema at the
proper hour to keeping water at the bedside so that you can wash your hands quickly in
the morning when you get up. Most of the items in his list are things we know of today as
good and righteous acts or following commandments - keeping the Sabbath, such as
visiting the sick, consoling mourners, honoring the poor and keeping confidences. Rabbi
Eleazar’s will shows the piety of his Ashkenazic and German culture.
We can also see that each of these ethical wills take on a different tone, depending on the
author and the message. For example, Judah ibn Tibbon writes A Father’s Admonition to
his son, which in essence is pages and pages of imparting Jewish guilt on his son, telling
him of all the sacrifices ibn Tibbon made for his son’s benefit. What is interesting in Ibn
Tibbon’s Admonition is that we can see some important Judeo-Arabic influences. For
example, ibn Tibbon tells of the importance of Arabian philosophers, the sciences, ethics,
and physics (62). He also tells his son the importance of knowing Arabic so that
translations can be done, as well as the importance of using quality writing tools. Ibn

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Tibbon also writes some poetry, obviously the influence of his roots in Muslim Spain
when Arabic poetry was translated into Hebrew and the subsequent new genre of Hebrew
poetry. Ibn Tibbon also speaks with the voice of a cultured Spanish Jew and indeed his
son goes on to be quite successful as a translator.
Nahmanides (b. 1195) writes the Virtue of Humility, indeed an important contirbution to
Jewish literature, when writing to his sons after he is forced to leave Spain in 1267 due to
his arguments in the Barcelona Disputations of 1263. He writes letters to his sons,
especially his second son who has a position in the Castillian court. Nahmanides is very
well versed, if not brilliant as seen from his ability to weave together different Torah
sources for argument’s sake. He tells us the importance of knowledge and of learning and
the reflection this has on a person’s individual acts. For example, someone who is poor
and sins is innocent; a person who has knowledge and sins has no excuse, for they sinned
with the knowledge they were doing something wrong. This tells us that ignorance makes
sin excusable, but it’s not an excuse to sin if you know what you did is wrong. The
Ramban also espouses the importance of humility, a character trait Jews have come to
value.
Nachmanides wrote “Accustom yourself to speak in gentleness to all men, at all times.
Thus will you be saved from anger, the fertile cause of sin... Remove anger from thy
heart, and put away evil from thy flesh.” Nachmanides concludes with, “Read this Letter
once a week, and be as regular in carrying out its injunctions, by its aid walking forever
after the Lord, blessed be He; that thou mayest prosper in all thy ways, and be held
worthy of all the good which is treasured up for the righteous.” Like Rabbi Nehanya ben
Hakana and Maimonides (next paragraph), Nahmanides instructions about avoiding
anger, are seen over and over again in numerous ethical wills from this period.
The Gates of Instruction is attributed to Maimonides and is an example of his ability to
paraphrase and weave different sources into a composition. There is some doubt about
the attribution, largely because the address is to ‘children’ and Maimonides is believed to
have had only one son. Yet, there are style issues that appear to derive from Maimonides,
such as the concept of free will (104). Also, the writer quotes from the Guide to the
Perplexed and the Torah.
Gates is an example of a type of ethical will, instructing people how to act, to control
anger and above all to be honest. For example, Maimonides attributes his prosperity to
his faith in God that this faith gave him authority over others that he felt were greater
than him and that this same faith “introduced me into places where my kinsmen could not
admit me (109).” Honesty is touched on over and over again such that one man should
not profit dishonestly, that man should have integrity, not take what doesn’t belong to
him, and that the word of a man should be as good as if it is written.
The Rule of Paths of Light by Rabbi Yehiel Asher (b. 1210) – the Rosh – also espouses
some of the same values, honesty and the treatment of fellow man. “Raise not thine hand
against thy neighbor. Circulate no false reports; slander no man (121).” “Never utter a

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falsehood (122).” Asher also imparts the importance of tzedekeh, of kindness, of
controlling anger, but most importantly, of faith and prayer. Like Nahmanides and
Maimonides, Asher leaves Spain. Yet the values imparted by Maimonides and
Nahmanides were clearly an influence for here again we see the repetition of the idea of
honesty and controlling anger, among other things.
An ethical will written by Asher’s grandson, Judah Asheri, who returns to Spain and
becomes Chief Rabbi of Toledo, indicates a Spanish influence, as does the ethical will of
his brother Jacob Asheri. Both indicate the need to read Torah aloud and have a
scrupulous regard for ceremony, piety with sincere spirituality, as well as a stress on
scrupulous observance of dietary law.
Judah Asheri uses a different way of imparting his will. He tells his life story, explaining
lessons he has learned along the way and observations he has made of others who are not
obeying the laws and not paying attention to the plain meaning of Torah. He spends a lot
of time explaining finances and how things are to be accounted for, that the tithe must be
observed and that one must not accept gifts.
Joseph Ibn Kaspi (b. 1280) writes the Guide to Knowledge as a testament when he was in
his fifties. As a traveler, ibn Kaspi wanted to impart certain values to his children. Again
we see the influence of Maimonides in that ibn Kaspi quotes from the Guide. Ibn Kaspi’s
testament is important because it claims that Aristotle was influenced by early Jewish
sources. We know that Aristotle’s philosophy was an important and significant influence
to Maimonides, but here Ibn Kaspi leads us to think that the reasoning for that is because
Aristotle himself was influenced by Judaism during his lifetime.
Ibn Kaspi’s testament is rather long philosophical work, largely about the philosophical
justification for religion, which he bases on four precepts from the Ramban’s Book of
Commandments. Although the Rambam had 10 precepts, for some unknown reason, Ibn
Kaspi chooses these: to know that there is a First Cause; to recognize that He is One; to
love Him and; to fear Him.
Ibn Kaspi was certainly influenced by the writings of Maimonides and the philosophic
discussions of the time period, as evidenced by his lengthy discussion of the four precepts
as the basis for his entire testament. While the commonly held Jewish belief is that God
was the source of everything in life, including Judaism, it is also proven that Maimonides
believed that philosophy could be justified by religion, and that there had to be a
symbiosis between the two.
In Ideals of an Average Jew, Eleazar of Mayence writes a testament (@1357). His main
concerns are that his daughters observe the laws of modesty, and that all his children pray
regularly, conduct their business honestly, avoid Lashon Hora, keep the Sabbath and
honor their spouse. Overall, he stresses anger management, something seen in many other
ethical wills, the idea that one should not quarrel; also cleanliness with the ideal that if
one studies Torah, good qualities become habitual. Mayence speaks with the voice of a

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very pious Ashkenazic German Jew, but again this idea of anger management, the same
as in Nahmanides’ and Maimonides’ messages, is the same. Mayence would have had the
advantage of reading translations of Maimonides’ work in German, indicating the
Sephardic influence in Germany..
Solomon son of Isaac implores a Regiment of Self-Taxation and the ideal that a family
must support at least one person and his family so that he can study full time.
Ongoing themes in the ethical wills are the importance of honesty, faith, piety, and
treatment to fellow man. The foundation for many of the traditions we live by today
appear to come from many of these ethical wills. The ethical wills, when taken as a body
of literature, show that one does not have to be wealthy to leave a legacy and the wills
give us a crucial window into the minds of the writer. They tell us of the importance of
Jewish values such as kindness, prayer, tzedekah, honesty, ethics and prayer. They also
tell us that the Torah is the source of many traditions and that philosophy was infiltrating
Jewish society more and more. We also see that the early words of King David have set
the tone for this important Jewish genre. Indeed, King David’s words and instructions are
being followed during this time period because of the hope of redemption and the return
to Eretz Israel.
Source: Hebrew Ethical Wills by Israel Abrahams