Ethical wills started back with Abraham when the father would impart his wisdom to his children when he thought that he had a short time to live because of the age expectancy in those days. Actually, if you read Genesis 18:19 you will see that the old testament writes of God’s Ethical Will to Abraham. This is considered the first recorded ethical will.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius, Lord Chamberlain to the King of Denmark, shares some parting words with his son Laertes, who is about to depart on a lengthy journey to France. This was the last time he would see his son and is considered an ethical will: “Give thy thoughts no tongue, nor any unproportioned thought his act.”
Gluckel von Hameln’s (Germany, 1700’s) 2nd husband squandered her financial fortune. She wanted to leave a legacy to her 14 children so she imparted her family stories, lessons learned and her philosophies by writing 7 volumes which contained her ethical will.
What is your legacy? What have you learned that you would like to impart to your loved ones? We would like to hear from you.
Madeline Binder
I’m not sure what my legacy is. But I would like my loved ones to know and understand family values. As family is very important to me. Being there for each other, spending time together and never growing apart.
I thought that your Ethical Will book looked very interesting. I have never seen anything of its kind. My mother has been working on telling us about the history of her family and her life experiences - via talking tapes. She has made over 41 tapes so far, which will take a LOT of time to listen to and edit. This book looks like a wonderful way to actually put my mother’s work on paper, in that it offers direction. I think this book would also be a wonderful resource for retirement hotels, assisted living facilities and nursing homes, also community centers and adult education programs, all of which often offer classes about how seniors can leave a written legacy for their descendants.
I’ve appreciated reading about the ethical will–it’s a new concept to me, although I’ve thought many times about how to impart my thoughts and conclusions about the world and life in general to my children. I provided a tape recorder to my grandmother and later to my mother and asked for them each to talk though any memories that they wanted to share, but this was not extremely successful, I think because of the unstructured approach. Many of us have already carried through with preparation of a medical living will in order to transmit wishes to our survivors, and I think that’s very important, too. But the ethical will can be a much more personal statement about anything important. One’s survivors can use it in any way that makes sense to them and seems to be a great way to have a continued impact in the lives of our loved ones.