In BusinessWeek magazine and in an American Bar Association electronic newsletter it is described as an aid to estate planning; (Murphy; Friedman) in health care and hospice (Baines; Freed) and as a spiritual healing tool.
Other biblical examples of ethical wills include Deuteronomy 32:46–47 where Moses instructs the Israelites to be a holy people and teach their children, and Matthew 5, where Jesus blesses his disciples.
Eleazar ben Samuel HaLevi of Mainz, Germany, who died 1357, wrote to and instructed his sons to "Put me in the ground at the right hand of my father ...".
But most were written in a personal writing style, and were intended for the private use of children and relatives, or of some beloved pupil who held a special place in his teacher's regard.
Israel Abrahams, while editor of the Jewish Quarterly Review, judged that many of these ethical wills are intellectually poor, but of a high moral level.
Alami shared the sufferings of the Jews of the Iberian Peninsula in 1391, and this gives context to his counsel: "Flee without hesitation when exile is the only means of securing religious freedom; have no regard to your worldly career or your property, but go at once."
Ethical wills are written by both men and women of every age, ethnicity, faith tradition, economic circumstance, and educational level.
[attribution needed] The content of an ethical will may be similar to that of a memoir or autobiography, but is differentiated by its "intention to transmit love and learning to future generations".
[attribution needed] Writing can include family history and cultural and spiritual values; blessings and expressions of love for, pride in, hopes and dreams for children and grandchildren; life-lessons and wisdom of life experience; requests for forgiveness for regretted actions; the rationale for philanthropic and personal financial decisions; stories about meaningful objects for heirs to receive; clarification about and personalization of advance health directives; and requests for ways to be remembered after death.