Question
What is an “ethical will”?
Answer
An ethical will is a document in which a parent urges his children to live good lives after he is gone. The two-volume collection “Hebrew Ethical Wills” (edited by Israel Abrahams; Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1926) has an introduction to the subject, as well as many examples of such wills. There’s also an article on “Wills, ethical” in the Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 16, cols. 530-532.