New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-17
81 Die Sure People Will
Not Forsake MyOrphans,'
Wrote Jewish Twain.
BEGS HIS CHILDREN
TO GUARD DESCENT
Those Who Even Want to Take
Another Faith Cut Themselves
Off by That Wish.

Something Of the pathos in the life
Of the late Solomon Rabinovitz, or Sho-
lem Aleichem, "the Jewish Mark
Twain was shed yesterday in the pub
LEGATION of his will. Something of the
Simple Jew" in his epitaph is reflect
ed in the words which form his last
testament and his last message 20 the
thousands who wept at his funeral on
Monday.
Wherever die" he wrote. 81 want
to be placed not among the aristocrats,
or among the powerful, but among
plain Jewish laborers, among the very
people itself, so that the grevestone
that is TO Re placed on my grave should
illumine the simple graves about me-
and these simple graves should adorn
my gravestone, even as the plain, good
people during lifetime illumlned their
Folksch ber."
my last wish" continues the will,
"to my successors and my prayer 10 my
children: To protect mamma, TO beautlfy
her old age, 10 make her bitter life sweet,
to heal her broken heart, not TO weep
.
me with Joy, and the main thing, 20
live together in peace, to bear no ha-
tired one for another, 70 help one an
other in bad times, TO remember one
another upon occasion in the family
10 have pity on poor man, and when
circumstances permit to pay my DEBTS
should | have any. Children. carry
with honor my hard earned jewish
name, and may God in heaven come TO
your help. Amenl"
Sholem Aleichem had suffered too
much in the Russian pogroms and the
Kishinev outrage not to remember IN
his will their solemn meaning.
my children and chlldren's children
may have whatever convictions they
will" he wrote, "but | beg Of them tc
guard their Jewish descent. Those OF
my children who want 70 cut them
selves off from their race and want tc
Join another faith, have by that very
desire already cut themselves of from
their race and family, and have thus
erased themselves from my will, and
they shall have no portion and In
heritance among their brethren
AT my grave" the writer specifies,
my remaining son and my sons-ln-
law, if they are so minded. should say
Kaddish (the Jewish death prayer
And if they do not wish to do this they
may be absolved only ii they come, to-
gether with my daughters and my
grandchildren and my good friends, and
read this my will, and select one Of my
stories, one of the really joyous ones
and read il aloud in whatever language
they understand best, and let my name
be mentioned by them with laughter
rather than not be mentioned at all.
There should be no movement
among my colleagues 70 make my name
eternal, as 10 a monument to be erect
ed in New York, etc. | shall not b.
able to rest quietly in my grave II M
colleagues make themselves foolish
The best monument for me will be II
my works are read and if among the
better-to do classes of our people some
Mecenas will publish and distribute
my works in Yiddish or in other Ian
guages, and thus give the people the
possibility of reading and my family
an honorable existence. II / have not
earned Mecenases during my lifetime
perhaps | shall be worthy of them
after my death. go away from the
world In the full belief that the people
will not forsake my orphans.
"Out of all the income there should
be taken for the Fund for Jewish Writ
ers ) per cent up 70 500 rubles, and If
the income be more than 5000 rubles
a year, 10 per cent"
A committee has been formed TO care
for Sholem Aleichems family and 70
foster the Yiddish and Hebrew liter
allure TO which "the Jewish Mark
Twain" had devoted his life.