On the day after his funeral in 1916, Sholem Aleichem’s will appeared in the pages of The New York Times and was read into the congressional record. Called “one of the greatest ethical wills in history,” it contained burial directives, charges to his children and specific instructions as to the commemoration of the anniversary of his death. He told his friends and family to gather, “read my will, and also select one of my stories, one of the very merry ones, and recite it in whatever language is most intelligible to you.” “Let my name be recalled with laughter,” he added, “or not at all.”

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