- What part of the Torah story is the prophet lifting up? How does that affect our reading of the Biblical account?
- How is the prophet reinterpreting the original Torah stories? To what end?
- How can we read this selection from the Prophets as a liturgical whole? What message does the choice of verses send to us?
- What are we bringing to the text as a modern reader? How does this change our understanding of the text?
- What does the prophet have to say to us today?
וְאַבְרָהָ֣ם זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים וַֽיהוה בֵּרַ֥ךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָ֖ם בַּכֹּֽל׃
Now Avraham was old, advanced in days,
and YHWH had blessed Avraham in everything.
וְהַמֶּ֤לֶךְ דָּוִד֙ זָקֵ֔ן בָּ֖א בַּיָּמִ֑ים וַיְכַסֻּ֙הוּ֙ בַּבְּגָדִ֔ים וְלֹ֥א יִחַ֖ם לֽוֹ׃
King David was now old, advanced in years; and though they covered him with bedclothes, he never felt warm.
(ה) וַאֲדֹנִיָּ֧ה בֶן־חַגִּ֛ית מִתְנַשֵּׂ֥א לֵאמֹ֖ר אֲנִ֣י אֶמְלֹ֑ךְ וַיַּ֣עַשׂ ל֗וֹ רֶ֚כֶב וּפָ֣רָשִׁ֔ים וַחֲמִשִּׁ֥ים אִ֖ישׁ רָצִ֥ים לְפָנָֽיו׃ (ו) וְלֹֽא־עֲצָב֨וֹ אָבִ֤יו מִיָּמָיו֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר מַדּ֖וּעַ כָּ֣כָה עָשִׂ֑יתָ וְגַם־ה֤וּא טֽוֹב־תֹּ֙אַר֙ מְאֹ֔ד וְאֹת֥וֹ יָלְדָ֖ה אַחֲרֵ֥י אַבְשָׁלֽוֹם׃
(5) Now Adonijah son of Haggith went about boasting, “I will be king!” He provided himself with chariots and horses, and an escort of fifty outrunners. (6) His father had never scolded him: “Why did you do that?” He was the one born after Absalom and, like him, was very handsome.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר נָתָ֗ן אֶל־בַּת־שֶׁ֤בַע אֵם־שְׁלֹמֹה֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הֲל֣וֹא שָׁמַ֔עַתְּ כִּ֥י מָלַ֖ךְ אֲדֹנִיָּ֣הוּ בֶן־חַגִּ֑ית וַאֲדֹנֵ֥ינוּ דָוִ֖ד לֹ֥א יָדָֽע׃ וְעַתָּ֕ה לְכִ֛י אִיעָצֵ֥ךְ נָ֖א עֵצָ֑ה וּמַלְּטִי֙ אֶת־נַפְשֵׁ֔ךְ וְאֶת־נֶ֥פֶשׁ בְּנֵ֖ךְ שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃ לְכִ֞י וּבֹ֣אִי ׀ אֶל־הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֗ד וְאָמַ֤רְתְּ אֵלָיו֙ הֲלֹֽא־אַתָּ֞ה אֲדֹנִ֣י הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ נִשְׁבַּ֤עְתָּ לַאֲמָֽתְךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כִּֽי־שְׁלֹמֹ֤ה בְנֵךְ֙ יִמְלֹ֣ךְ אַחֲרַ֔י וְה֖וּא יֵשֵׁ֣ב עַל־כִּסְאִ֑י וּמַדּ֖וּעַ מָלַ֥ךְ אֲדֹנִיָּֽהוּ׃
Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, “You must have heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has assumed the kingship without the knowledge of our lord David. Now take my advice, so that you may save your life and the life of your son Solomon. Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did not you, O lord king, swear to your maidservant: “Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit upon my throne”? Then why has Adonijah become king?’
וַתִּקֹּ֣ד בַּת־שֶׁ֔בַע וַתִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ לַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ מַה־לָּֽךְ׃ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ אֲדֹנִי֙ אַתָּ֨ה נִשְׁבַּ֜עְתָּ בַּיהוה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ לַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ כִּֽי־שְׁלֹמֹ֥ה בְנֵ֖ךְ יִמְלֹ֣ךְ אַחֲרָ֑י וְה֖וּא יֵשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסְאִֽי׃ וְעַתָּ֕ה הִנֵּ֥ה אֲדֹנִיָּ֖ה מָלָ֑ךְ וְעַתָּ֛ה אֲדֹנִ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ לֹ֥א יָדָֽעְתָּ׃
Bathsheba bowed low in homage to the king; and the king asked, “What troubles you?” She answered him, “My lord, you yourself swore to your maidservant by the ETERNAL your God: ‘Your son Solomon shall succeed me as king, and he shall sit upon my throne.’ Yet now Adonijah has become king, and you, my lord the king, know nothing about it.
וַיִּשָּׁבַ֥ע הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ וַיֹּאמַ֑ר חַי־יהוה אֲשֶׁר־פָּדָ֥ה אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֖י מִכׇּל־צָרָֽה׃ כִּ֡י כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ נִשְׁבַּ֨עְתִּי לָ֜ךְ בַּיהוה אֱלֹהֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כִּֽי־שְׁלֹמֹ֤ה בְנֵךְ֙ יִמְלֹ֣ךְ אַחֲרַ֔י וְה֛וּא יֵשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסְאִ֖י תַּחְתָּ֑י כִּ֛י כֵּ֥ן אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ וַתִּקֹּ֨ד בַּת־שֶׁ֤בַע אַפַּ֙יִם֙ אֶ֔רֶץ וַתִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּ לַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַתֹּ֕אמֶר יְחִ֗י אֲדֹנִ֛י הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ דָּוִ֖ד לְעֹלָֽם׃ {פ}
And the king took an oath, saying, “As GOD lives, who has rescued me from every trouble: The oath I swore to you by the ETERNAL, the God of Israel, that your son Solomon should succeed me as king and that he should sit upon my throne in my stead, I will fulfill this very day!” Bathsheba bowed low in homage to the king with her face to the ground, and she said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
וְאֵ֗לֶּה יְמֵ֛י שְׁנֵֽי־חַיֵּ֥י אַבְרָהָ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־חָ֑י מְאַ֥ת שָׁנָ֛ה וְשִׁבְעִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְחָמֵ֥שׁ שָׁנִֽים׃ וַיִּגְוַ֨ע וַיָּ֧מׇת אַבְרָהָ֛ם בְּשֵׂיבָ֥ה טוֹבָ֖ה זָקֵ֣ן וְשָׂבֵ֑עַ וַיֵּאָ֖סֶף אֶל־עַמָּֽיו׃ וַיִּקְבְּר֨וּ אֹת֜וֹ יִצְחָ֤ק וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל֙ בָּנָ֔יו אֶל־מְעָרַ֖ת הַמַּכְפֵּלָ֑ה אֶל־שְׂדֵ֞ה עֶפְרֹ֤ן בֶּן־צֹ֙חַר֙ הַֽחִתִּ֔י אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י מַמְרֵֽא׃ הַשָּׂדֶ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־קָנָ֥ה אַבְרָהָ֖ם מֵאֵ֣ת בְּנֵי־חֵ֑ת שָׁ֛מָּה קֻבַּ֥ר אַבְרָהָ֖ם וְשָׂרָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃
Now these are the days [and] years of the life of Avraham, which he lived: a hundred years and seventy years and five years; then he expired.
Avraham died at a good ripe-age, old and satisfied [in days],
and was gathered to his kinspeople. Yitzhak and Yishmael his sons buried him, in the cave of Makhpela, in the field of Efron son of Tzohar the Hittite, that faces Mamre, the field that Avraham had acquired from the Sons of Het.
There were buried Avraham and Sara his wife.
"God gave Adam a secret, and that secret was not how to begin, but how to begin again."
The deepest difference between linear and covenantal time is that whereas the first gives rise to optimism, the latter leads to hope. These two concepts, often confused, are in fact utterly different. Optimism is the belief that things will get better. Hope is the belief that, together, we can make things better. Optimism is a passive virtue, hope an active one. It takes no courage – only a certain naivety – to be an optimist. It takes great courage to sustain hope.
"Originally part of ancient Hebrew culture, the concept of an Ethical Will has been passed down for generations. Today, however, the idea has taken a broader appeal, as folks look back on their lives and want to pass on more than just assets to their Beneficiaries.
"Technically, an Ethical Will has no legal bearing. It’s simply communication left by someone who passed away, written for those who survive them. Ethical Wills are usually written for family and close friends.
"However, the name Ethical Will implies something more than just a personal message – it offers the sense of honor and promise, a way for you to pass something, a legacy, on to those you leave behind."
With the help of G-d, Monday the week of Parashat Shemini 5692
To my dear children,
You know how hard I worked and tried my utmost to give you the best I could afford in food, shelter, and education, to lead an honest, clean and respectable life.
Therefore, I plead with you to uphold my wishes as follows:
- Be strict Sabbath observers. Your homes to be strictly kosher and otherwise uphold the Jewish religion and traditions.
- Honor, respect and take care of your mother as long as she lives as she is your best friend in the world.
- Be honorable in your dealings, commercially and socially.
- Be respectful to all—never consider yourself greater than the next man.
- Try your best not to insult anyone.
- Talk and treat everyone as kindly as possible.
- Keep together; be friendly with one another.
- Pass all this along to your children and see that they are brought up as orthodox, honorable, and respectable Jews.
Your dear father William (Avigdor) Schulder
P.S. I hope you will keep this letter and read it once in a while but at least on the day of my Yahrzeit.
Give a copy to each child.
Is this the kind of Ethical Will you would like to leave for a loved one? Why or why not?
After my father died, my brother went to my father’s office, to the drawer we were supposed to go to when he died. There he found not only the financial files he kept so neatly, but also a letter addressed to the family. It was so wonderful to have an indication that we would have a message from my father to read and to learn from: not just then and there, but for times to come. It was really a Torah of his life, and to this day we get together to talk about it. On his birthday we read and discuss it, almost like giving commentary to his teaching and his life. The letter reflects my father’s personality both in its distinctive handwriting and tone. As my father did in life, the letter quotes liberally from the prayerbook and Jewish texts, and I can hear his voice as I read.
There’s no formal or standard structure or form to an Ethical Will. You can use any format you like – from creative to formal – there’s no wrong way to write an Ethical Will.
- Favorite things
- Memories about your professional experiences and life
- Things you learned in life
- Recipes
- Photographs
- Experiences that shaped you
- Your values
- What you believe in
- Your hopes for your loved ones’ futures