In composing my ethical will, I usually find myself resistant to including entries that should, according to my sensibilities, be self-evident. That's not to say that I personally exemplify any of these self-evidently positive traits; rather, it is to say that I wish I did. On the other hand, my ethical will is, by default,… Continue reading Ethical will: Loving-kindness
What do we remember of our departed loved ones? In speaking to other mourners, I have noticed that people's recollections of their deceased loved ones differ widely. Some people seem to remember only the most loving and tender of moments, whereas others recall a wider range of experiences. (I've also met widows who only spoke… Continue reading Ethical will: Patience
Following my previous 'ethical will' entry on 'listening' and the profoundly divisive aftermath of the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections, which once again reveals a country broken jaggedly in half, I've been thinking a lot about the pervasive lack of trust that has come to typify today's global politics. Yes, we must listen to one another… Continue reading Ethical will: Truth
We find ourselves on the eve of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, and voices across the world on both ends of the political spectrum are declaring that all we know as humankind will come to a devastating end if their preferred candidates don't win. What befuddles me is that I personally know well-intentioned and well-educated… Continue reading Ethical will: Listening
Judgmentalism has always come easily to me.-Me, 'The Skeptic's Kaddish 45', May 30, 2019 During my kaddish journey following Papa's death, I struggled with being judgmental of myself. In fact, this was one of the primary impetuses behind that yearlong writing project... Frankly, I had been feeling FAKE by going through the motions of communal… Continue reading Ethical will: Impartiality
Given that I put a premium on being true to one's self, one would be correct to assume that this value fundamentally informs my parenting priorities. As is nearly always the case with my ethics, this is no novel notion of mine. Let us look at Proverbs 22:6 together: חֲנֹ֣ךְ לַ֭נַּעַר עַל־פִּ֣י דַרְכּ֑וֹ גַּ֥ם כִּֽי־יַ֝זְקִ֗ין… Continue reading Ethical will: Raising individuals
The first verse of the Torah (Gen. 1:1) is as follows: א בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ. 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Here, at the outset, the Torah's very first mention of God is as a Creator. Now, fundamental to Jewish theology is the idea that humankind… Continue reading Ethical will: Realize your creativity
In Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers) 2:6, the great Hillel is quoted as follows: הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אֵין בּוּר יְרֵא חֵטְא, וְלֹא עַם הָאָרֶץ חָסִיד, וְלֹא הַבַּיְשָׁן לָמֵד, וְלֹא הַקַּפְּדָן מְלַמֵּד, וְלֹא כָל הַמַּרְבֶּה בִסְחוֹרָה מַחְכִּים. וּבְמָקוֹם שֶׁאֵין אֲנָשִׁים, הִשְׁתַּדֵּל לִהְיוֹת אִישׁ: He used to say: A brute is not sin-fearing, nor is an… Continue reading Ethical will: Curiosity and mistakes
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