Program Description:

Participate in a 3,500-year-old Jewish tradition that teaches us how to share our legacy with future generations. Ethical Wills are for every age and stage of life and can be a powerful exercise in self-reflection of our values, beliefs, and world views. Join us for this experiential writing workshop to explore examples, unpack this Jewish tradition, and create some raw material for our own needs.

Recording:

Resources:

• L’Chaim: The Jewish Letters Project - check out the recent interview with Shomer Collective!

• Jewish Ethical Wills (Tzava’ot)

• The Ethical Will, an Ancient Concept, Is Revamped for the Tech Age

• So That Your Values Live On: Ethical Wills & How to Prepare Them

• The Forever Letter

• For You When I Am Gone: A Journal: A Step-By-Step Guide to Writing Your Ethical Will

• Hebrew Ethical Wills

• Sholom Alechem’s Ethical Will

• Sinai Chapel’s Ethical Will Resources

Presenter:

Dr. Lesley Simpson is a former Canadian journalist who worked as a staff reporter for Canadian daily newspapers and CBC radio. She recently defended her PhD dissertation about Jewish ethical wills. Lesley creates customized writing workshops for people drafting their own ethical wills or wisdom letters.
Lesley is now collecting Jewish letters from around the world for a substack newsletter called "L'chaim The Jewish Letters Project."