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Friday, December 27, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
511511:127
TORAH PORTION
REARTS
TRESSA'S
call . . .
Jacob's Ethical Will
Deserves Emulation
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BY RABBI IRWIN GRONER
Special to The Jewish News
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Jacob as painted by Lorenzo Lippi, circa 1600.
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Specials Good Through The Following Wednesday
Of profound significance are the
last words that a person speaks
lying on his death bed. Under
those conditions, he articulates
thoughts that are most precious to
him. His final words are an au-
thentic disclosure of his spirit.
One of the richest men in
America of an earlier generation
was John Jacob Astor. On his
death bed, as his strength waned,
he motioned to his subordinates
and asked for a pen. He then
signed a legal document, the
foreclosure of a mortgage he held,
and then he died. What a flood of
light that final act casts upon the
character of John Jacob Astor.
At the conclusion of the Book of
Genesis, we witness Jacob, the
venerable Patriarch, preparing
for the end. He gathers his sons
together. What are his thoughts
at these last moments? What do
they reveal of his spirit? The
Sages describe the scene thusly:
Jacob turns to his children saying,
"My sons, serve God as I have
sought to serve Him, as my
fathers sought to serve Him." His
children reply: "Revered father,
we know what is in your heart.
Sh'ma Yisrael . . . Hear, 0 Israel,
The Lord Our God, The Lord Is
One."
Our concern is uppermost in the
mind of Jacob. He sees his sons
and their families growing upoin
the midst of a powerful and seduc-
tive Egyptian civilization. Will
they succumb to the temptation of
this environment, or will will they
remain true to their heritage? He
draws up his last will and testa-
ment in which he , asks them to
preserve their faith in one God, for
that is the legacy he wishes to
leave them.
The text is significant not only
in what it describes, but also by
what it omits. One does find any
distribution of material assets in
Jacob's will. One finds instead a
spiritual legacy.
This is the exemplar of a dis-
tinctively Jewish form of bequest,
not probated in any court of law,
but in the hearts of prosperity. A
"will" meant for the Jew of tradi-
tional piety not only the ordering
of his business affairs, but also the
manner in which he would convey
to his heirs the legacy of his val-
ues.
In the Talmud, the Rabbis de-
scribe the last words of some of the
great Sages. When Rabbi Yocha-
Vayechi: Genesis
47:28-50:26. I Kings
2:1-12.
nan ben Zakkai anticipated his
end, his disciples implored him:
"Our teacher, import to us your
final words of blessing." He re-
sponds: "May you fear God as
much as you fear man." As impor-
tant as public opinion is the "Se-
eing Eye" above.
A whole branch of Jewish liter-
ature is based on Jewish ethical
wills, inspired by the example of
Jacob. An 11th Century sage be-
queathed to his sons a will in
which he laid down the proper
rules of conduct in daily life, in
eating and drinking. He ad-
monished his children at all times
to follow the tradition of their
father to give charity.
In a letter attributed to
Maimonides, there is a passage
which echoes through the cen-
turies: "I have no greater source of
courage than truth and righte-
• ousness. No javelin or coat-of-