The Rebbe’s Instructions on Writing a Will

The Inside Story of Chabad in America — The Mindel Archives

Welcome to our weekly program, The Inside Story of Chabad in America, from the Mindel Archives. Next week, G-d willing, is Gimmel Tammuz, and it's already twenty-nine years since the histalkus of the Rebbe. It's hard to believe.

So I want to share with you the Rebbe's instructions regarding a will — how the Rebbe spoke to them, and the Rebbe told them, "It seems like this is the will — this is the authentic will, even though it wasn't written." This is what the Rebbe spoke. And this was in the month of Sivan that he wanted to see the Rav. The Rav was Harav Pikarski [?] — he was the Rosh Yeshiva. [unclear] It was in 770 with a big [unclear]. He was... because I think after a certain Rabbi passed away, he took over [unclear] — I think he was his [unclear]. And he also called Rabbi Hodakov, who was the Menahel of Merkos, and he also called Rabbi Mindel, who was the Mazkir of Merkos. This was in the month of Sivan. After a while he called them again, and he also told them more or less the same thing. And we know the saying that divrei tzaddikim kayamim [the words of the righteous endure]. And this was the will — this is the will that was given to Chabad. It was officially not signed, but the Rebbe said it, and that was that.

But before I share with you about this will — if we have time — I want to share with you today, speaking about a will, that we have here many — I have many wills that people wrote to the Rebbe, and that the Rebbe looked over, people that wrote for their children. So I chose one of the wills; I chose it because I think we can learn from it how we should make a will. So I want to share with you today a letter the Rebbe wrote to a person, in reply to a will this person had drawn up. Let's listen to this.

So first of all, the Rebbe writes — and this is a letter, but I'm going to read the P.S., because the P.S. is about the will.

"Inasmuch as you invite my suggestion in regard to your proposed will — a matter which in this country is an accepted practice to make it early in life, and it is a siman tov [a good omen] for a long life..."

Now, I think I've mentioned in another place — I don't recall where — but when a person gets married, I think it says it's a siman tov to write a will.

Continuing the letter: "...Although I do not, of course, touch upon any of the aspects relating to investments and the commercial handling of the estate and so on, firstly, there is, in my opinion, an omission of an essential point, namely, the matter of tzedakah. To be sure, those who will, after one hundred and twenty years, inherit their share of the estate will, please G-d, make provisions for the distribution of tzedakah of their own good will. Nevertheless, it is a personal mitzvah to provide for the tzedakah rather than to leave it for others to do so, even the closest members of the family. Moreover, the provision of tzedakah should be one of the first clauses of the Jewish will."

That means, even though other people can give tzedakah on their own, he can also give tzedakah, but it should be written in the will — how much tzedakah should be given should be written in the will.

So the Rebbe writes: "Needless to say, the amount of tzedakah provided for in the will should be according to the generosity of the testator, but if you wish my opinion in this matter, I would suggest that the amount so provided should be chomesh" — meaning one-fifth — "of the net estate."

I think this is a suggestion the Rebbe gave to other people as well, who asked the same thing.

"This suggestion [is made] with the proviso that the distribution of this tzedakah should not be delayed until the whole estate is properly and fully evaluated, but that the amount of any and all distributions under the will should automatically be deducted for the tzedakah."

That means, you know, it takes time for the paperwork, but the tzedakah should be given right away — not to wait until all the paperwork is done after one hundred and twenty years. It should be given right away.

"A further point, which is also essential, and indeed should perhaps even precede the tzedakah clause, as customary among Jews, is the matter of arranging for the various expenses connected with the funeral, including the tombstone, the matzeivah, and so on, in accordance with strict Orthodox Jewish observance, so that these expenses should again not be left even to the closest surviving members of the family."

So I think here it seems, like in another place, that people should really speak to a Rav and know exactly what to do as far as the will is concerned.

Now, in another place, [the Rebbe writes] that even the wording of the matzeivah, if possible, should be written out — whatever he wants on it. The reason for that is, I mean, even though the children can also do it, I think the Rebbe says — one of the reasons that we in Chabad don't make a hesped the way the world makes a hesped, is because when the person passes away and goes up above — this world is a world of truth, but when a person is pregnant or not pregnant, you can't be half-pregnant — emes [truth] has to be one hundred percent. And when a person makes a hesped, sometimes they overdo it and sometimes they underdo it; sometimes the person deserves more credit and sometimes less — who knows, while the person is already l'ma'lah [above]? But the person who passed away knows exactly, more than anybody else, what he is. So whatever he wants on the matzeivah — because the matzeivah is not just for now, it's forever — he should write it himself. It would be a good idea for the person to write it, but it doesn't say here exactly [whether it must be so].

Anyway, let's go further.

"In addition to the above, there are several other observations which I would like to make, in order to make sure that everything be done in fullest accord with the Torah and Yiddishkeit, which was very careful especially in the matter of a will. Consequently, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary, I would suggest that the distinction which the will makes between surviving and predeceased children — namely, that those who are alive receive a full share individually, while the children of the predeceased receive one share collectively — if this is the meaning of the clause, be reconsidered, since it does not accord with the Torah. For according to the Torah, the children of each predeceased heir receive their parent's full share. Of course, the children of a predeceased child all receive no more than the share their deceased parent would have received were he alive, but no distinction is made between living and deceased children insofar as their share is concerned."

I would say the difference between "individually" or "collectively" is important — for example, if a person has ten children and one child passed away, and the person leaves, let's say, a thousand dollars, so he gives each one a hundred dollars. Now what about the child that passed away? That share goes to his children. But if that child has, let's say, two grandchildren, you should give exactly fifty and fifty, and let them divide it. It should be exactly the way it would have been if the son were alive. It's an important point — the Torah was very careful about this.

"A further observation from the Torah viewpoint, and I trust you will not mind my mentioning it, is the following: according to the Torah, when there are sons and daughters, the daughters may receive any bequest which a parent wishes to make for them in the form of a gift, but not in the form of inheritance."

In other words, if a person leaves sons and daughters, the daughters don't get the yerushah — they don't get inheritance; they get a gift. You can write it as a gift. So the yerushah goes to the sons, and if you want, you write that the daughters receive a gift but not the yerushah.

"Therefore, it would be right, in my opinion, that a Jewish will should make a distinction between the sons and the daughters, such symbolic distinction being made even if there is no more than a one-dollar difference. The important thing in this case is that the will should bear evidence that it is made by a Jew whose life is based on the eternal truth of the Torah.

"Finally, a technical point: in reference to page eleven, you wrote here, line four, the words 'as then affected' are usually added, according to legal [custom].

"Now I am returning the copy of the will. I have addressed the above letter to you, since it is the reply to the letter which you wrote and signed, but of course, my good wishes and regards go equally to your husband."

So this is how the Rebbe answered a person who sent in a will. Since it's before Gimmel Tammuz, I thought I would share with you this area of how to write a will. The Rebbe was very careful — there is much, much more, but this is what we can learn from this.

Now, I don't know if we have time to actually do the sh'tar [document] — the actual will itself — so maybe if we don't, I'll do it next week. But I want to tell you that this is what Rabbi Mindel [wrote]: when the Rebbe called in Rabbi Mindel and Rabbi Hodakov and Rabbi Pikarski, the Rebbe told Rabbi Mindel that he should write down what the Rebbe spoke, what the Rebbe said. So this is what Rabbi Mindel wrote — this is a reshimah [a written record]. This is not the will itself; this is the notation that he wrote, that today, after Mincha, we were called to go into the Rebbe's room, and he told us, as an introduction — this is in Hebrew, I'm just translating into English — that it is a siman tov for long life to arrange a will for after one hundred and twenty years.

And then the Rebbe continued: we were with the Frierdiker Rebbe — he brought us into his holy work, and he said he settled in the United States, and he took us with him, and he gave us a mission to be at the head of the Hanhalah [administration], to strengthen [unclear] and the work, and this was so until today. And he put emphasis that it should be a siman tov when it's signed and clear, so that there shouldn't be any doubts. Therefore, the Rebbe told us to arrange all the inyanim [matters] that have to do with after one hundred and twenty years, all according to what fits with the Torah, and that it should be [written accordingly]. And after the Rebbe signs, then it has [unclear — the force of a binding document].

And then the Rebbe writes here that regarding all the inyanim for after one hundred and twenty years — he writes: "Since you are the head of the administration of the institutions and organizations, all the institutions of Chabad should remain the way they are now, and it should go over to Rabbi Mindel, with all the merits and responsibilities, and also the mosdos [institutions] should be according to the Rebbe." And also, the mosdos that are going to be established in the future should likewise forever be dealt with in the same way — they have the power and position to appoint, and even the mosdos that will come into being in the future, he added that as well.

And on top of the general will, regarding personal effects — let's say the things that he had in the house: the couch, the dishes, whatever he had — he didn't specify exactly, but whatever was in the house, he left to Marat Dalia Reutman [?], who was the daughter of his brother, Aryeh Leib [?], and her children — they should inherit the things inside and all the things in the house, except for [unclear — certain specific items]. And if there's any doubt or question about this, then Rabbi Mindel and Rabbi Hodakov — meaning, if they wanted to add somebody else to decide with them, they could, but they should decide. [unclear]

This is what Rabbi Mindel wrote. Now, we don't have time today to do this; G-d willing, next week will be part two, a continuation of this program. Thank you.