Asher Tetzaveh – the name is derived from Bereshit 18:19, “For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the L-rd to do righteousness and justice, so that the L-rd may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken concerning him” – is the title of an anthology of customs and ethical wills by prominent rabbis that is being published by the Ahavat Shalom Research Institute of Jerusalem.
An anthology of Jewish ethical wills was first published by Israel Abrahams (“Hebrew Ethical Wills,” with English translation, 2 volumes, Philadelphia, 1926). A few years ago, Gershon Nof published in New York a large work titled Sefer Tzivita Tzedek (see Psalms 119:138) – Tzavaot Shel Gedolei Yisrael.
The first volume of Ahavat Shalom’s new publication, which appeared a short time ago, features the comportment and the last wills of 26 prominent rabbis, “disciples of the Gaon of Vilna and Geonim of Lithuania.” The book, which is chronologically arranged, opens with a chapter about Rabbi Abraham Meir HaLevi Epstein, a son of Rabbi Aryeh Leib Epstein – rabbi of Koenigsberg and author of Sefer HaPardes – who died in 1772 at the young age of 46 (his last will was printed as part of a biography of his father, Gevurot HaAri, Vilna, 1889), and concludes with Rabbi Eleazar Menahem Man Shakh, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ponevezh in Bnei Brak, who died several years ago.
Included in the volume before us are, inter alia, biographies as well as religious and moral instructions and exhortations by Rabbi Abraham Danzig, author of Hayyei Adam and other books, by Rabbi Meir of Vilna, a grandson of Rabbi Abraham, the brother of the Gaon of Vilna, and by Rabbi Elijah Ragoler, who is said to have gone through the entire Talmud at least 400 times and who also studied Kabbalah. He served in various communities, including Slobodka, where he was rabbi for 16 years, and Kalisz, where he was rabbi for 10 years.
A chapter is devoted to Rabbi Israel Lipschutz, author of Tiferet Yisrael on the Mishna, and another to Rabbi Joseph Zundel of Salant, who was a very close disciple of Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin, and after the latter’s death, traveled to Posen to study with Rabbi Akiva Eger. Rabbi Joseph Zundel, who was the teacher of Rabbi Israel Lipkin Salanter, declined to serve as rabbi. He engaged in commerce for one or two hours a day, devoting the rest of the time to the service of the L-rd and the study of the Torah. He settled in Jerusalem in 1838 and died there in 1866, at the age of eighty.
The volume also features chapters on several other rabbis, including Rabbi Yitzhak Elhanan Spektor, the famous Kovno rabbi;
Rabbi Elijah David Rabinowitz-Teomim (known as “the Aderet”), a prolific author (some of his unpublished writings were recently printed by the Ahavat Shalom Institute), who served as rabbi of Ponevezh and Mir and, from 1901 until his death in 1905, as rabbi of the Ashkenazi community of Jerusalem;
Rabbi Hayyim Berlin, a son of Rabbi Zevi Judah Berlin (Netziv), who was educated by his father and his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak of Volozhin. At the age of nine he was already well versed in three Sedarim of the Talmud – Mo’ed, Nashim and Nezikin. He served in various communities in Eastern Europe and for a period of time assisted his father in the administration of the Yeshiva of Volozhin. He settled in Jerusalem in 1906. After the death of Rabbi Samuel of Salant, the leaders of the Ashkenazi community of Jerusalem chose him to be head and spokesman of the Holy City’s Ashkenazi rabbis. He died in 1912;
Rabbi Jacob David Willowski (Ridbaz), the author of commentaries on the Jerusalem Talmud, who served as rabbi in various communities in Russia. His last rabbinical position there was in Slutsk, where he established a Yeshiva which developed into a great center of Torah. After spending about two years in the U.S., he settled in 1905 in Safed, where he was chosen rabbi and established a large Yeshiva. He called for the strict observance of the laws of Shmittah, opposing the transfer of land to non-Jews for that year, and raised funds for the support of Jewish farmers who did not want to work the land in the Shemittah year. He died in 1913;
Rabbi Naftali Amsterdam, one of the most important students of Rabbi Israel of Salanter, who served as rabbi in Helsinki, Finland, for eight years. He settled in the Land of Israel in 1906 and died there in 1916, at the age of eighty-four.
The volume carries an introduction by Rabbi Jacob Moshe Hillel, head of Yeshiva Ahavat Shalom and of the research institute and publishing house of the same name, explaining the importance of studying the customs and the ethical wills of great rabbinical authorities. He expresses thanks to the compiler and editor of the volume, a great Talmudical scholar who chose to remain anonymous, who not only selected the customs and last wills of the rabbis from manuscripts and rare books, but also added short biographies of these rabbinic personalities. Rabbi Hillel also expresses thanks to Mr. Raphael Harari – the book is dedicated to him and to his wife, Elisheva – for his generous support of Ahavat Shalom’s endeavors to spread Torah among our people.
***
In several of the last wills reproduced in Asher Tetzaveh, the volume before us, the writers ask not to be eulogized. Rabbi Elijah Ragoler wrote: “I request to make it known in faraway as well as in nearby localities, especially in those places in Russia where I am well known, that I have prohibited to eulogize me, and this prohibition is not to be undone under any circumstance.”
Rabbi Moses Nehemiah Kahanov, after serving for 16 years as rabbi of Khaslavich, Russia, settled in 1864 in Jerusalem, where he was chosen head of the Etz Hayyim Yeshiva. He asked in his will “not to be eulogized here, in the Holy City, nor anywhere else.” He also asked that no title be inscribed on his tombstone.
Rabbi Hayyim Berlin wrote: “I caution not to eulogize me. I will never forgive the person who will eulogize me.” He gave special orders to make it known in five communities in Russia where he had served that he didn’t want to be eulogized and would not forgive those who did so. He also asked in his will to be described on his tombstone only as “the well-known rabbi,” but not, G-d forbid, as Gaon or Tzaddik, “because such lies are not acceptable in the World of Truth.”
Rabbi Joseph Zundel of Salant and Rabbi Naftali Amsterdam, too, did not want to be eulogized. The latter stressed that he didn’t want to be eulogized either in Kovno, where he had lived for many years, or in Jerusalem, where he died.
The general reason for the objection to eulogies by leading rabbis was the fear that the Maspidim, the eulogizers, might exaggerate when speaking in their praise. What prominent rabbis desired was that those who eulogized them, as well as others who wanted to honor their memory, would influence people who felt that they had been offended by their rabbis, or that they had been monetarily damaged by some of their decisions, to forgive them.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman Hirschowitz, who was a very close disciple of Rabbi Israel Lipkin Salanter and served for about 50 years, until his death in 1904, as rabbi of Goldingen, Latvia, writes in his will: “If they eulogize me, I would like to beg the Maspidim to ask the community to forgive me for what I might have sinned against them, whether in matters of money or with regard to honor. Perhaps I did not accord them the honor due to each of them. Perhaps I sinned against the poor, the orphans and the widows when distributing charity, by giving to some more and to others less than they deserved, for it was difficult to ascertain who of them was in greater need. I ask of the Maspidim to appeal to the community to forgive me and to state openly that they forgive me wholeheartedly for what I sinned against them in matters of money or with regard to honor. I appoint the Maspidim as my representatives to ask forgiveness for me from every person.”
Rabbi Elijah Levinson of Kretinga, Lithuania, who was also a close disciple of Rabbi Israel Salanter, delegated his Maspidim, in one of his wills, to ask forgiveness in his name from people he might have sinned against. In a later will he asked not to be eulogized at all.
Rabbi Isaac Eisik Wildman (Haver), a great Talmudist and Kabbalist, author of response Binyan Olam and other works, served as rabbi in various localities, including Rozinoi, Volkovysk, Tikocyn and Suwalk. In his will he requested that upon his death notices be displayed in synagogues and Battei Midrash (in Suwalk), where he asked for forgiveness from people whom he might have offended or spoken evil about, or who, because of a mistake on his part, had to pay him more money than was due to him. Persons who thought that he owed them money were told to notify the Beth Din so that it might collect the debts from his estate.
We are also told that he asked that letters be sent to localities where he had served in the past, asking for forgiveness from people living there or who were buried there for any injustices the rabbi might have committed against them or for monetary damages he might have caused them.
Rabbi Abraham Danzig, author of Hayyei Adam and other books, wrote requests for forgiveness from people he might have offended or to whom he might have caused unjustified extra expenses. The requests were printed and distributed at his funeral.
***
Rabbi Abraham Danzig of Vilna, author of Hayyei Adam, wrote an ethical will for his children. He called it Beth Avraham and asked that it be printed soon after his death. He asked his children to study it, at least during the first month of mourning. He also asked them to study the introduction to his Zikhru Torat Moshe, which is full of “Mussar and the fear of the L-rd”, as well as the treatise Mitzvat Moshe, his abridgement of Sefer Haredim. On every Sabbath, at least during the first year after his death, they were to study the laws of the Sabbath in his Zikhru Torat Moshe.
Following are some excerpts from Beth Avraham:
During the winter it is advisable to rise several hours before the day dawns and engage in the study of Torah, Aggadah, books of Mussar, or Tehillim.
Immediately after the morning prayers, if possible, at least one chapter of Mishnayot is to be studied – slowly, not in a hurry.
If possible, study also a portion of Gemara. I also charge you to study every day after the morning prayers some passages of this will, as well as the laws of the Sabbath in Zikhru Torat Moshe, until you know them well.
Be careful to compensate a worker in the customary way so that he will be satisfied. If this is not done, one transgresses the prohibition of Lo Ta’ashok (“You shall not withhold from your neighbor that which is due to him”, Vayikra 19:13). Be careful also not to transgress the prohibition of Lo Talin Pe’ulat Sakhir Itkha Ad Boker (“You shall not keep overnight, until the morning, the wages earned by a day laborer,” ibid.). As soon as the workman had completed the work he has done for you, pay him even if you have to borrow the money against a pledge, and even if you have to miss the Minha prayer when looking around to borrow money…
Be very careful in distributing charity. Give wholeheartedly and with joy, and do not offend the poor.
If the L-rd has blessed you with riches, give a lot of charity. If you cannot give much, see to it that whatever you give reaches the most needy.
Do as many good deeds as possible. Do a small or big favor for friends, by yourself or with your money, all according to your ability. If you have an old garment in your home, don’t let it go to waste, but give it to a deserving poor man.
I implore you to study every day at least one page from books of Mussar. The study of Mussar takes precedence over the study of Mishnayot and Gemara. It is better to miss the study of Mishnayot than to miss the study of Mussar. You should always have Misillat Yesharim by Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto and Orhot Tzaddikim at hand, because all the good qualities of man are described there.
Rabbi Elijah David Rabinowitz-Teomim wrote a treatise, Nefesh David, in which he described his customs and comportment in Torah and good deeds. He didn’t write it in order to take pride in his behavior, but so that his children and offspring might follow in his path and behave likewise.
Following are some quotes from Nefesh David:
Whenever I travelled I would take along several Mezuzot and a few small nails in order to affix Mezuzot to doors in inns and lodging places that did not have any. I also affixed Mezuzot to the doors of many private homes. Sometimes they did not reimburse me for the Mezuzot and I forgave them wholeheartedly.
I also used to take along several small Siddurim and copies of Tefillat HaDerekh in order to remind travelers to recite this Tefilla and enable them to say it without waiting for each other…
The following are some additional quotes from Nefesh David by Rabbi Elijah David Rabinowitz-Teomim:
I would not put on a new garment for the first time on a weekday, reserving it for the Sabbath.
When I stepped out of the synagogue I would, whenever possible, take off the clothes I wore when I was praying and studying and replace them with lesser garments, in accordance with the saying of the Sages (Shabbat 114a), “The clothes he wore when cooking for his master he should not wear when pouring him a drink.” Later I found out that this had been the custom of the Gaon Rabbi Zalman Margulies.
I was always careful not to kiss my children if there was a Torah scroll, or Sefarim, in a room. In the month of Heshvan of the year 1880 my son Ezriel Binyamin fell ill. He was bedridden in a room where there was a Sefer Torah. I restrained myself from embracing and kissing him.
Before Kol Nidrei as well as before the Ne’ilah prayer I would walk through the Beth HaMidrash and look at the people, in case I would remember someone I had to appease or someone to whom I owed an apology for having sinned against him during the year.
On Shemini Atzeret I would sit in the Sukkah as on all the other days of the festival, in accordance with the view of the Gaon of Vilna. When nobody was looking I kissed the wood of the Sukkah. When the day was waning I felt very sad, remembering that soon I was going to take leave of this lovely Mitzva for an entire year, sometimes even for 13 months.
On Hoshana Rabbah I would pick up the Four Species many times. I would kiss them with tears in my eyes and a short prayer on my lips that I would be privileged to fulfill this Mitzva again in the coming year.
Rabbi Israel Lipschutz, author of Tiferet Yisrael on the Mishna, wrote in his will, inter alia: “I charge you, my sons and daughters, not to refuse the request of a person who comes to you asking for a favor, whoever that person might be, even if that person is an enemy of yours, or a total stranger. If you cannot grant him his request, at least give him some help. If you cannot do even that, encourage and console him so that he might feel better.”
Toward the end of his will he told his children that he had always been careful not to burden the maid with work that was too hard or unpleasant for her. He added that when he was a child he had asked the maid, who was eating with them at the table on the Sabbath, to bring him a drink. His father had been angry with him for bothering the maid while she was eating. He had to get up to fetch the drink for himself.
We have quoted from several of the wills reproduced in Asher Tetzaveh. Various rabbis also gave detailed instructions regarding their funeral, the study of Torah in their memory, and the distribution of charity.
Rabbi Moses Nehemiah Kahanov, rabbi of Khaslavich, Russia, who had settled in Jerusalem in 1864, asked in his will that the four capital punishments be carried out on his body:
“Carry out the four capital punishments on my body, as explained in our Sefarim, and as was done to many Sephardi and Ashkenazi Gedolim. I also ask that before the funeral procession reaches the Mount of Olives, they should stop seven times and throw my body to the ground – not place it on the ground with their hands, but throw it there – as was done in the Diaspora to several Gedolei Yisrael who were incomparably greater than I. My body should also be immersed in a Mikveh…
“Ten G-d-fearing men, students of Torah, including several Yeshiva students worthy of the task, are to pray in my home for a month’s time. They are to pray slowly, listen carefully to the Sheliah Tzibbur, and respond to his blessings. After the morning prayer they should study Mishnayot for half an hour, and between Minha and Ma’ariv they should learn the Shulhan Arukh and Ein Yaakov. They should study slowly and carefully…”
The Jewish Press
May 13, 2005
May 20, 2005
May 27, 2005
June 3, 2005