Q:
What are the benefits of making a tzava’ah and at what age should a person make a tzava’ah if he doesn’t know his day will come?
A:
At what age should a person make a tzava’ah?
You have to use your own judgment. If you’re a robust person and you think you’ll live a long time, you can wait a little longer.
It depends what kind of tzava’ah you want. If it’s a tzava’ah of money, that’s not so important; a money tzava’ah is not so important.
But there’s a spiritual tzava’ah. There’s a tzava’ah where people leave over instructions, “Children, I want you to know…”
I remember once in Baltimore there was a family and the father on his deathbed called together all the children and he said, “Look. I want you to promise you’ll keep Shabbos forever.” In those days, keeping Shabbos was a rarity. “I want you to promise to keep Shabbos forever,” he said. And the children promised. Soon after that, he died.
And the children kept Shabbos all their lives. They weren’t frum! But they kept Shabbos. They promised their father on his deathbed and they kept Shabbos.
There are some people on their deathbed, tell their children, “I want you to be careful to go in the derech Hashem, always to be loyal to the talmidei chachamim, always support the yeshivahs, always try to make yourself perfect in behavior.” And he tells them what to do.
By the way, that’s something that’s recommended in the seforim. Because what a man says on his deathbed makes a tremendous impression on his children! The spiritual tzava’ah!
Many people have utilized that opportunity and their last words ring in their children’s ears forever and ever.
Tape # E-254 (November 2000)
