In re the Construction of the Will of Rosenthal

I cannot agree with the court’s holding that the testator, Abraham S. Rosenthal, intended to except, from his prohibition against marriage with one not of the Jewish faith, a descendant of his who might be an appointee under the power of appointment given to his grandson, Stephen Tanburn.

We gather a testator’s intent, not by isolating or pinpointing a single word, or even several words, but by a sympathetic reading of his entire will, by taking words in context and by seeking to understand what he had in mind and what he hoped to accomplish. Examined in that spirit, the will reveals a man who…