asks, since when are we thankful for a wild donkey as a child? But Hagar was.
When Yishmael grew up, Sarah Immeinu spotted him ‘misbehaving’, including trying to kill a young Yitzchak. Her reaction was swift, asking Avraham to expel both Yishmael and his mother from the house. Avraham was pained by this proposition, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu reassured him, telling him not to resent the child being sent off because Yitzchak would carry his name forth. Avraham was told to listen to Sarah’s request. A sweetener was then thrown in:
וְגַם אֶת־בֶּן־הָאָמָה לְגוֹי אֲשִׂימֶנּוּ כִּי זַרְעֲך הוּא׃
But also the son of the maidservant—a nation will I make of him, for he is your seed.
“Don’t worry, Avraham. Yishmael will be just fine, and he’ll even has lots of children!” Rav Heiman, in Chikrei Lev, asks what this special offer is all about. Avraham was just told that Yitzchak is the son that will carry forward his legacy and build Bnei Yisrael, so how and why does this bone thrown to Yishmael serve him? How would Avraham be relieved to hear there’d be not just one פּ ֶ רֶ א אָ דָ ם, but scores of them? Would it put a smile on his face knowing there’d be not only Hamas but also Hezbollah? What on earth is the bracha here?!?
Rabbotai, what did Avraham Avinu do? He took Hagar and Yishmael, packed them food and water, and sent them off. When their water eventually ran out, it was Hagar’s turn to show her true colors.
וַיִּכְלוּ הַמַּיִם מִן־הַחֵמֶת וַתַּשְׁלֵךְ אֶת־הַיֶּלֶד תַּחַת אַחַד הַשִּׂיחִם׃ וַתֵּלֶךְ וַתֵּשֶׁב לָהּ מִנֶּגֶד הַרְחֵק כִּמְטַחֲוֵי קֶשֶׁת כִּי אָמְרָה אַל־אֶרְאֶה בְּמוֹת הַיֶּלֶד וַתֵּשֶׁב מִנֶּגֶד וַתִּשָּׂא אֶת־קֹלָהּ וַתֵּבְךּ׃
The water in the skin came to an end, so she threw the child under one of the bushes, and went and sat by herself, at a distance, as far away as a bowshot, for she said: Let me not see the child die! So she sat at a distance, and lifted up her voice and wept.
Hagar tossed her child to the side. She didn’t want to see what came next. Did you hear that? The mother of a 17-year-old child in dire need (some say 27) responded by turning away from him and disconnecting herself from his plight. She didn’t hold onto him. She threw him away! She stepped aside to let him die! Where do you find such a mother? Rashi says, we are told וַתֵּשֶׁב twice because as Yishmael neared death, Hagar moved further away from him. Who abandons their child like that?!? And what sort of mother do these vile animals have?
Animals that slaughtered human beings last Shabbat enjoyed every moment as their holy souls cried! When a mother cannot fathom hearing the cries of her own dying child, the child becomes capable of slaughtering without hearing the cries of their victim. She just threw the child away. Now, are you surprised by אֵם עַל־בָּנִים רֻטָּשָׁה – mothers and children sent to death together? What is there to be surprised about when the mother herself tossed her child aside as he was dying! What is then said about Yishmael? He, too, cried out and וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶת־קוֹל הַנַּעַר – Hakadosh Baruch Hu heard his cries, not his mother’s. יִשְׁמָעֵאל – his own cries were heard.
What about this name given to him though? Avraham Avinu called him by the name without having heard from the angel. And the conjugation of the name is future oriented rather than reflecting Hagar’s prayers having been answered. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer says (32:1):
שִׁשָּׁה נִקְרְאוּ בִּשְׁמוֹתָן עַד שֶׁלֹּא נוֹלְדוּ, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: יִצְחָק, וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל, וּמֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, וּשְׁלֹמֹה, וְיֹאשִׁיָהוּ, וּשְׁמוֹ שֶׁל מָשִׁיחַ שֶׁיָבִיא הקב"ה בִּמְהֵרָה בְּיָמֵינוּ... וְלָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁמָעֵאל, שֶׁעָתִיד הקב"ה לִשְׁמֹעַ נַאֲקַת הָעָם מִמָּה שֶׁעֲתִידִין בְּנֵי יִשְׁמָעֵאל לַעֲשׂוֹת בָּאָרֶץ בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָמִים, לְפִיכָךְ נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יִשְׁמָעֵאל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר יִשְׁמַע אֵל וְיַעֲנֵם.
Six were called by their names before they were created, and they are: Yitzchak, Yishmael, Moshe, Shlomo, Yoshiyahu, and Melech HaMashiach... And why was his name called Yishmael? Because in the future, Hakadosh Baruch Hu will hear the cry of the people arising from the oppression which the children of Yishmael will bring about in the land in the last days; therefore, his name was called Yishmael, as in G-d will hear and answer.
Avraham Avinu knew that every name had a tafkid – a mission and purpose. The angel Gavriel is so called due to gevura, and the angel Raphael’s mission is refuah. Avraham Avinu gave him the future oriented name of Yishmael, and not Shamael, because it is not Hagar’s past cries in play here. It is the future cries of Bnei Yisrael! The cries arising from the evil Yishmael would carry out against us in Eretz Yisrael as the days of Mashiach neared! The cries that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will hear and answer! These are our cries!!! The cries of 1300 whose lives were cut short! The cries of those missing, and the families who weep from afar! The cries of all those injured! This is יִשְׁמָעֵאל!
Hakadosh Baruch Hu will hear our Tefillot. Rav Eliyahu Dessler says (Michtav Me'Eliyahu 2:50), Hakadosh Baruch Hu sent us to four exiles: Bavel, Madai, Yavan, and Edom. There is one additional exile – the galut of Yishmael, which we will talk about separately. Rav Dessler asks why we went into these exiles. When we were infected with a certain bad attribute and trait, Hakadosh Baruch Hu sent us to an exile where we were shown what that attribute looks like at its worst. We went down to Mitzraim. Why Egypt and not Jordan?
Galut and Its Lessons
Because Bnei Yisrael were infected with bad speech and that could only be fixed in an Egypt led by Pharoah, who is referred to as a dog (see Chad Gadya). The Gemara says (Pesachim 118a): Anyone who speaks slander, and anyone who accepts and believes the slander he hears, and anyone who testifies falsely about another, it is fitting to throw him to the dogs. There are more connections between Egypt, Pharoah, the Nile, the blood, the snakes, and Moshe’s signs that connect the place to the sin of lashon hara. Each galut has its reason and its tikkun. In a similar fashion, Rav Dessler explains each of the other exiles and connects our sins to their locations.
Galut Yishmael stands on its own. Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants His name to be called. He wants to hear us call His name loudly in a place where we don’t yell out. The wicked Bilaam said: אוֹי מִי יִחְיֶה מִשֻּׂמוֹ אֵל – Alas! Who can survive from G-d's devastation? אוֹי to the ones who will live in those days. The days when the sole person outside of Bnei Yisrael to receive the letters אֵ-ל appended to his name will inflict such horrible pain. Yishmael was injected with G-d’s name because Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants to hear us call out that name! We need to cry out, “אַ בָּ א דַּ י! – Enough, Father! Who can endure any more of this!” That is our job right now. Our job is to recognize and internalize what the Gemara says (Sotah 49b):
עַל מִי יֵשׁ לְהִשָּׁעֵן — עַל אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם
Upon whom is there to rely? Only our Father in Heaven.
The Power of Tefillah
Rabbotai, what is Yishmael’s power? It’s the power of Tefillah. וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶת־קוֹל הַנַּעַר. He davened for himself and his Tefillah was accepted. I chas v’chalila don’t even want to say it, but do you know how many times each day they pray? Five times. The same as us one day a year – Yom Kippur. What do they do while praying? They bow down. The same as we do on Yom Kippur, the only time we prostrate ourselves completely on the floor. The power of Tefillah – everything hinges on it! Everything they do they direct to Heaven. Even their names and the phrase they shout out while committing unspeakable acts. The Maharal says (Ner Mitzvah, Chanukah), all nations want to uproot the name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu from the world, except for one – Yishmael. They look to strengthen it, so that we scream out to Hashem from their oppression. That is Galut Yishmael, and thus what we need to strengthen in this Galut is our Tefillah! Tefillah needs need to be from start to finish. It needs to be without a cellphone in hand or within reach – the communication is with Hakadosh Baruch Hu only during those 45 minutes. Shut off your phone. Learn the power of Tefillah and dive into it.
Nobody and nothing else can stand up for us – only Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The Yamim Noraim ended with us calling out Hashem Hu Ha’Elokim, and the first thing we call out on Simchat Torah, after an intense 52-day period of reflection and teshuva is: אַתָּה הָרְאֵתָ לָדַעַת כִּי ה' הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים אֵין עוֹד מִלְבַדּוֹ.
Holding the Torah in our arms, we declare there is only Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Nothing else will protect us. We may have satellites and know of every spare part flown from Iran into Syria, and we may have the planes and precision missiles to destroy them before they are even unloaded. But when a fence is taken down in front of us, it can go unnoticed. When Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants something to happen, it will find its way to happen. Our job is to respond with cries to heaven. Our tafkid is to support our brethren and to daven. May all the horrific and painful atrocities we are experiencing – embedded in the name of Yishmael and reflecting the Acharit HaYamim – be the final stage of the ultimate Geula. May all the blood shed by our brethren not be in vain. May the conflict we see between the Torah’s writings and the events before our eyes spur us to call out to Hakadosh Baruch Hu and beg for mercy. May Hakadosh Baruch Hu see that despite all we are being put through, וּבְכָל־זֹאת שִׁמְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְנוּ – And yet despite all this, we have not forgotten Your Name. May He hear our Tefillot of נָא אַל־תִּשְׁכָּחֵנוּ – please, do not forget us.
Hallel and the Power of Hashem's Name
In Hallel on Succot and Shmini Atzeret we recited:
כׇּל־גּוֹיִם סְבָבוּנִי בְּשֵׁם ה' כִּי אֲמִילַם׃ סַבּוּנִי גַם־סְבָבוּנִי בְּשֵׁם ה' כִּי אֲמִילַם׃ סַבּוּנִי כִדְבוֹרִים דֹּעֲכוּ כְּאֵשׁ קוֹצִים בְּשֵׁם ה' כִּי אֲמִילַם׃
All nations have beset me; by the name of the Lord I will surely cut them down. They beset me, they surround me; by the name of the Lord I will surely cut them down. They have beset me like bees; they shall be extinguished like burning thorns; by the name of the Lord I will surely cut them down.
That is how we cut our enemies down. With the name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Rashi says, a bee stings and dies. Who stings when they know they’ll die as a result? These vicious animals. They go out and attack us, choosing to die in the process. Their sole purpose is death, and it began with their mother, who didn’t search for ways to heal her child and didn’t hold her child to comfort him. She tossed him away and created a paradigm of not hearing the sound of crying. A paradigm where slaughtering women and children, and burning human beings, was not only natural but enjoyable in the most grotesque and sickest of ways. A paradigm where raping women and cutting the heads off children was not only fathomable but celebrated! These are not human beings! They are פּ ֶ רֶ א אָ דָ ם – animals in the form of human beings! The mothers who educate them and send them to their suicide missions, and who celebrate their sub-human accomplishments, are the same original mother that cast her child away!
Our holy Avodah is to strengthen one another and daven to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Bnei Ashkenaz recite a very powerful Tefillah on Erev Rosh Hashanah written by Rav Saadia Gaon. It deals with those who gave up their lives Al Kiddush Hashem rather than worshipping idols but is equally applicable to us and our situation. I would like close with this Tefillah, praying that if it was not answered by Hakadosh Baruch Hu then, it will be heard and answered now!
אָנָּא הַבֵּט בְּצִדְקַת עֲבָדֶיךָ וַחֲסִידֶיךָ, אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱרוּ נַפְשָׁם לָמוּת עָלֶיךָ, וְלֹא־חָסוּ עַל־נַפְשָׁם וְעַל זַרְעָם, וְקָצוּ וּמָאֲסוּ בְּחַיֵי הָעוֹלָם־הַזֶּה. וּבִטְּלוּ רְצוֹנָם מִפְּנֵי רְצוֹנֶךָ, וְקִדְּשׁוּ שִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל וְלֹא חִלְּלוּהוּ. וְרָצוּ לַזֶּבַח, וּפָשְׁטוּ צַוָּארָם וְעָמְדוּ בְּנִסָּיוֹן וְנֶאֱמָנוּ וְנִבְחֲנוּ בְּצֵרוּף, וְנִמְצְאוּ תְמִימִים: וְנָגְעוּ דְּמֵי אָבוֹת וּבָנִים, וּדְמֵי רַחְמָנִיוֹת וְיַלְדֵיהֶן, וְנִתְעָרְבוּ דְמֵי אַחִים וְאַחָיוֹת, וּדְמֵי חֲתָנִים וְכַלּוֹת, וּדְמֵי חֲכָמִים וַחֲכָמוֹת, וּדְמֵי הֲגוּנִים וַהֲגוּנוֹת, וּדְמֵי בַּחוּרִים וּבַחוּרוֹת, וּדְמֵי פַּרְנָסִים וְחַזָּנֵיהֶם, וּדְמֵי חֲסִידִים וַחֲסִידוֹת, וּדְמֵי זְקֵנִים וּזְקֵנוֹת, וּדְמֵי דַּיָּנִים וְסוֹפְרֵיהֶם, וּדְמֵי מְלַמְּדִים וְתַלְמִידֵיהֶם, וּדְמֵי אֲנָשִׁים וְנְשׁוֹתֵיהֶם, וְנֶהֶרְגוּ כֻּלָּם יַחַד, עַל־קִדּוּשׁ שִׁמְךָ הַמְּיֻחָד:
We beseech You, look at the righteousness of Your servants and Your pious ones, who exposed themselves to death for You, and did not spare themselves or their children, but rejected the life of this world. They subjected their will to Your will and sanctified Your great Name, and did not desecrate It. They willingly offered themselves as sacrifices; they stretched out their necks and withstood the test and were found true; they were proven with cleansing and found to be perfect. The blood of fathers and sons merged, also the blood of mothers and children; the blood of brothers and sisters were mingled, also the blood of bridgrooms and brides, the blood of wise men and women, the blood of worthy men and women, the blood of young men and women, the blood of communal leaders and their adjutants, the blood of pious men and women, the blood of old men and women, the blood of judges and their scribes, the blood of teachers and their pupils; the blood of husbands and their wives; they were all slain together for the sanctification of Your holy and unique Name.
אֶרֶץ אַל־תְּכַסִּי דָמָם, וְאַ ל־יְהִי מָקוֹם לְזַעֲקָתָם, עַד־יַשְׁקִיף וְיֵרֶא יְהֹוָה מִשָּׁמַיִם, וְיִנְקֹם נִקְמָתוֹ, וְנִקְמַת עַמּוֹ, וְנִקְמַת תּוֹרָתוֹ וְנִקְמַת דַּם עֲבָדָיו, אֲשֶׁר־שָׁפְכוּ דָמָם כַּמַּיִם, כְּהִבְטַחְתָּנוּ בְּיַד אֲבִי־חוֹזֶה, הַרְנִינוּ גוֹיִם עַמּוֹ, כִּי דַּם־עֲבָדָיו יִקּוֹם, וְנָקָם יָשִׁיב לְצָרָיו, וְכִפֶּר אַדְמָתוֹ עַמּוֹ:
Earth! Cover not their blood, and let their cry find no resting place, until Hashem looks from heaven and sees, and takes His own vengeance, and the vengeance of His people, and the vengeance of His Torah, and the vengeance of His servants whose blood was poured like water; as You promised us through Moshe, the father of all prophets, “Sing the praises of His people, you nations, for the blood of His servants, He will avenge, and vengeance will He repay to His foes; and His land will be atoned with the atonement of His people.”
Remember these altars, and see these sacrifices... And let Your mind be changed, and let Your anger be stilled, and Your wrath be withheld; and cease destruction and ruin from Your people.
We all know what we went through this week. How much blood was shed? Fathers and sons... Mothers and daughters... אֵם עַל־בָּנִים רֻטָּשָׁה... Infants were slaughtered in front of their mothers!
אֲשֶׁר לֹא כְתוֹרָתֶךָ הָוֵי – Blood was spilled like water and nobody covered it! אֲשֶׁר לֹא כְתוֹרָתֶךָ הָוֵי – Bodies were left to hang overnight in the open! Ribbono Shel Olam, look! Look down from Heaven and see!
הַבֵּט מִשָּׁמַיִם וּרְאֵה כִּי הָיִינוּ לַעַג וָקֶלֶס בַּגּוֹיִם: נֶחְשַׁבְנוּ כַּצֹּאן לָטֶבַח יוּבָל, לַהֲרוֹג וּלְאַבֵּד וּלְמַכָּה וּלְחֶרְפָּה: וּבְכָל־זֹאת שִׁמְךָ לֹא שָׁכָחְנוּ נָא אַל־תִּשְׁכָּחֵנוּ:
Look from heaven and behold that we have become an object of scorn and derision among the nations; we are considered as the sheep led to the slaughter to be slain and destroyed, tortured and humiliated. And yet despite all this, we have not forgotten Your Name; please, do not forget us.
In sefer Ohr LeMeir (Bo), R' Meir Yehuda Spira, grandson of the Bnei Yissaschar, comments on the pasuk found at start of Yetziat Mitzraim: וּלְכָל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה אוֹר בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָם. The numerical value of בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָם is תשפ"ד. B’ezrat Hashem, in this year of 5784 all of Bnei Yisrael will see light. Yehi Ratzon the unspeakable and ungraspable events of this past week are what the Midrash speaks of – the oppression which the children of Yishmael will bring about in Eretz Yisrael in the last days. May Hakadosh Baruch Hu hear the cry of His children and answer us. ◊
