גרש האמה ואת בנה • מצוות ה׳ מימי אברהם אבינו ועד לימינו | הרב אליהו ובר

This week we are reading the Torah about the order of Abraham our father in his relationship with Ishmael. It might be a bit relevant that we already read last week that Abraham our father understood there must be seed from him. So when Ishmael says to him, "May Ishmael live before you." But the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: "But Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac, and I will establish My covenant with him." The covenant is with Isaac, not with Ishmael. And further on we see in this week's portion that Sarah says to Abraham: "Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, with Isaac." And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son; he did not want it that way. But the Holy One, blessed be He, finally tells him: "Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her voice, for in Isaac your seed shall be called." Do you want the entire Land of Israel to remain in your name? And since "in Isaac your seed shall be called," if a part of the Land of Israel is not in your name, then you will have a problem . We must do the opposite—drive her out, and then And then, for in Isaac your seed shall be called, and truly. Abraham our father awakes, rises in the morning, and Abraham rises early and sends Hagar away to the wilderness of Beersheba. And in this way, we have seemingly finished with this matter of Ishmael. But the Sages say that later, when Abraham our father came to the Binding, taking his two young men—the Sages say one of them was Ishmael. Meaning that Ishmael is still present, still in the background. There is an entire Aggadic Midrash that Abraham our father missed Ishmael and went to visit him, and saw that he had a wife who was not good, and then later he arrived a second time and saw that he had a good wife. It’s an entire story in the Midrash—I don’t know how early this Midrash is, I don’t remember the details, but in any case, at the end of this Midrash, the Sages already say that it is Ishmael and Eliezer of Damascus; they are standing there. And once again we see Abraham arriving with Isaac, and Ishmael is in the background . And when they reach Mount Moriah, Abraham says to the young men: "Stay here with the donkey." The Sages say in the Midrash (Rashi brings this): He says to them, "Do you see what I see?"" Do you see the cloud?" There, Isaac says—when asked what they see, Isaac says, "I see the cloud." He asks them if they see it, and they say to him, " We do not see it." So he says: "Fine, if that is the case, you are like the donkey, and since you do not see, you have no understanding, it is impossible , so you will stay here, and Isaac—we will take Isaac to the Binding." Truly, throughout the generations, throughout the years with Abraham our father, and this has really happened throughout the generations, there have been all sorts of attempts at connection where people who have in their ways many, many ties to the people of Israel and everything, but they are not entirely there. When Abraham our father arrives in the Land of Israel, he has Lot with him until he parts ways with him. And later, when Ishmael was born, there was Ishmael, until one manages to cut him off. So, both regarding the Land of Israel and regarding Mount Moriah, Ishmael is present until we succeed in cutting him off. And in effect, they teach us. But one thing: he who does not see the cloud resting upon the place of the altar. He who does not look ahead, he who does not see the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Divine Presence resting, is truly a people likened to a donkey. And sometimes there may be one who is from the path of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but because he does not reflect, he connects too much and remains with this matter of Ishmael. So the task of the People of Israel is to look, yes, to gaze and see how the Holy One, blessed be He, dwells in the Land of Israel. How the Holy One, blessed be He , dwells on Mount Moriah, and...The sons of Ishmael can be kept nearby, but not in the Land of Israel, and certainly not on Mount Moriah. May the Holy One, blessed be He, help us fulfill the commandment given to our forefather Abraham: "Cast out this bondwoman and her son." May we, as the seed of Abraham, merit fulfilling this as well, casting out the bondwoman and her son—may it be His will. Yes.