The Torah says that Avraham was compelled to keep him in the house because as long as the child has not reached the age of Mitzvot, he still draws from the strength of his father; when the child reaches the age of thirteen, the father places his hand on his head and recites the Bracha: שׁ ֶ פּ ְ ט ָ רַ נ ִ י מ ֵ ע ָ נ ְ שׁ ו ֹ שׁ ֶ ל ז ֶ ה ב ּ ָ ר ו ּ ך – Blessed is He who has freed me from the punishment of this one! What happened suddenly? Until the age of thirteen, the father carries the sins of the child on his shoulders, so Avraham said: "By the age of thirteen, all the waste will have come out" – so when he finished with him, at that moment he was circumcised. The Torah then says:
וַתֵּרֶא שָׂרָה אֶת־בֶּן־הָגָר הַמִּצְרִ ית אֲשׁ ֶר־יָלְדָה לְאַבְרָהָם מְצַחֵק׃
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had born to Avraham, mocking.
Rashi says מְ צַ חֵ ק (mocking) is a term of idolatry. Another explanation is that the term reflects immorality.
Sarah said to Avraham: "Immediately remove him from here – he is true linen!" When gold or silver must be refined, it is melted in fire to remove its waste or impurities (psolet). Even diamonds contain impurities and must be polished. Yet there is one creation in all of existence that is completely free of any impurity – it is the pearl (פְּ נִינָה). A pearl is drawn from the depths of the sea, pure from the moment it is found. Avraham Avinu said:
אֵשׁ ֶת חַיִל מִי יִמְצָא וְרָחֹק מִפְּנִינִים מִכְרָהּ – A woman of valor, who can find? Her worth is far beyond pearls. Avraham Avinu was saying: “Do you know what this woman told me to do? She told me to send Yishmael away from the house so that she could bring forth a child who would be completely pure, without any trace of impurity – like a pearl!”
If these are the matters, we can now begin our shiur. In next week's Parsha, Parshat Toldot, Yitzchak Avinu marries Rivka and for 20 years they have no children. Finally, she conceives twins, and as she passes by a cinema, Eisav jumps to come out; while as they pass by a Beit Midrash, Yaakov jumps to come out.
ו ַ תּ ֵ ל ֶ ך ל ִ דְ ר שׁ א ֶ ת ה' – so she went to find out what was going on here. Rivka said: "What is happening here?! All the waste went to Yishmael. I married Yitzchak – the pearl! How can there be psolet in him?!"
The Torah says:
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' לָהּ שְׁנֵי גוֹיִם בְּבִטְנֵך – Two nations are in your womb; Hakadosh Baruch Hu did this intentionally, so that both Eisav and Yaakov would be in one womb. But why?
The sefer Lechem Lefi HaTaf writes that converts come from Eisav but not from Yishmael. It seems, as written in the Zohar, that before Avraham was circumcised, his seed was not holy because it emerged from the foreskin and adhered to the foreskin below. After he was circumcised, his seed emerged from holiness and adhered to the holiness above. Therefore, Eisav, who was born from the holiness of Yitzchak, who was circumcised, and from the holiness of Avraham after he was circumcised, although he became wicked, retained some holiness from his ancestors, and these are the converts that come from him. But Yishmael, who was born from the impurity of the foreskin and has no holiness, does not produce converts because the scent of holiness did not reach him.
The Ba’al HaTanya writes (5562, 505) that this is the reason why converts are not found from the nation of the Yishmael except by chance once in a Shemitah cycle; because they emerged from Avraham Avinu before he circumcised himself.
Based on this learning, sefer Meir Derech comes and explains the words of the Gemara (Sukkah 52b):
אַרְ בָּעָה מִ תְ חָרֵ ט עֲלֵיהֶן הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּך הוּא שׁ ֶבְּ רָ אָם, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: גָּלוּת, כַּשְׂ דִּ ים, וְיִשׁ ְ מְ עֵאלִים, וְיֵצֶר הָרָ ע.
There are four creations that Hakadosh Baruch Hu created yet regrets that He created them. And they are: Exile, Chaldeans, and Ishmaelites, and the evil inclination.
The question arises: why does Hakadosh Baruch Hu regret creating Yishmael specifically, and not Eisav? Meir Derech says, when Rivka went to inquire of Hashem, it was said to her "Two nations are in your womb," and Chazal say (Yalkut Shimoni Bereishit 25:110) that these are Antoninus and Rebbe. The Chida explains that because Eisav was in the womb of Rivka Imenu, therefore, from his descendants there are converts like Antoninus and others (and among them Gedolei Yisrael like Ovadiah the Edomite convert, and Onkelos the convert), but from Yishmael, who was in the womb of Hagar, there are no converts.
This is why Hakadosh Baruch Hu regrets creating Yishmael and not Eisav; because from Eisav come converts, and if so, there is some benefit from them, but from Yishmael, from whom no converts come, there is no benefit at all, and therefore Hakadosh Baruch Hu regrets having created them!
If so, to achieve the completeness of the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, Eisav and Yaakov had to be in one womb! And all this came from that pearl – Yitzchak! Therefore, it is said about the Torah: יְקָרָה הִיא מִ פְּנִינִים – She is more precious than pearls; because all the precious Torah came from Yitzchak Avinu, who is compared to a pearl!
This week's Parsha ends with the death of Yishmael. The Torah says: {25:17}
וְאֵלֶּה שְׁנֵי חַיֵי יִשְׁמָעֵאל מְאַת שׁ ָנָה וּשְׁלֹשִׁים שׁ ָנָה וְשׁ ֶבַע שׁ ָנִים וַי ִגְוַע וַיָּמׇ ת וַיֵּאָ סֶ ף אֶ ל־עַמָּ יו׃ וַי ִשְׁכְּנוּ מֵחֲוִילָה עַד־שׁ וּר אֲשׁ ֶר עַל־פְּנֵי מִצְרַיִם בֹּאֲכָה אַשּׁ וּרָה עַל־פְּנֵי כׇל־אֶחָיו נָפָל׃
These are the years of Yishmael’s life, one hundred years, thirty years and seven years. He expired and died and was gathered to his people. They lived from Chavilah to Shur, which borders on Egypt, going towards Asshur. He lived in the presence of all his brethren.
The Ba’al HaTurim writes, עַל־פְּנֵי כׇל־אֶחָיו נָפָל juxtaposes וְאֵלֶּה תּ וֹלְדֹת יִצְחָק (at the start of next week’s Parsha) to say that when Yishmael falls in the end of days, then the son of David, who is from the generations of Yitzchak, will sprout. This means that when the kingdom of Yishmael falls, Mashiach ben David will arrive!
We are in the midst of a very challenging war and I just want to say one thing: know that Tefillah helps! We must not stop even for a moment! And why am I telling you this? Yesterday, I spoke with one of my students, a very senior officer in the army. I asked him, "Tell me, how much did you sleep last night?" "First of all, you should know that the main fighting happens at night. But let me tell you a story – just promise me you'll tell everyone not to stop davening because that's what saves us!!! Do you want to hear a story?" "Of course!" I said to him. And he then told me the following:
"I entered the command center at night, where there are large screens broadcasting live from Gaza, showing what’s happening with our forces. In the background, you can hear the sounds of the communication devices, and suddenly I see all the commanders with their hands on their heads, as if some terrible disaster had occurred! 'What happened?!' I asked. 'Come and see!' they shouted. I looked at the screen and saw three Namer vehicles (armored personnel carriers); each Namer carrying 12 soldiers. That means 36 soldiers dead inside these Namers, chalilah. Suddenly, one of the commanders comes on the communication device. The commander immediately asks him, 'Where are you?' And then he tells him about the great miracle that happened! It turns out that the track of one of the vehicles fell off, and the commander decided to get out of the Namer and take cover; otherwise, they would be an easy target for anti-tank squads. So, the crew from the first Namer got out – the crew from the second Namer saw them and got out too, and then the crew from the third Namer saw them and got out as well! A few seconds later, they were hit by several anti-tank missiles that set all the vehicles on fire! And not a single soldier was harmed, with Hashem’s help! Tell me if that's not the power of Tefillah!!!"
Let's learn another point. The Gemara (Berachot 54a) says: One who sees the crossing of the sea where Bnei Yisrael crossed Yam Suf, or the place where Bnei Yisrael crossed the Yarden, or the place where Bnei Yisrael crossed the Arnon streams, the valley of Ben Zukim, the hailstones in the descent of Beit Horon, the stone that Og Melech HaBashan wanted to throw on Yisrael, the stone on which Moshe sat when Yehoshua fought Amalek, the wife of Lot, and the wall of Yericho that was swallowed in its place – for all of these, one must give thanks and praise before Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
Another Gemara (Ta'anit 11a) says: When Bnei Yisrael are in distress, and one separates himself from them, the two ministering angels who accompany a person come and place their hands on his head and say: This person who separated from the community will not see the consolation of the community... just as we find with Moshe Rabbeinu, who shared in the distress of the community. They took a stone and put it under him as Yehoshua led the battle against Amalek, and he sat on it. Did Moshe not have a cushion or a pillow to sit on more comfortably?! Rather, Moshe said: “Since Bnei Yisrael are in distress, I too will be with them in distress,” and whoever shares in the distress of the community will merit and see the consolation of the community. The Maharsha asks, why does one bless שֶׁעָשָׂה לִי נֵס בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה on the stone that Moshe Rabbeinu sat on? Did the stone bring you the miracle? If anything, you should bless the place where the battle took place! He answers, do you know what won the battle? Not the stone, but the Tefillah of Moshe Rabbeinu by the stone – that is what helped win the courageous battle!
The Abarbanel writes regarding the 37th quality through which the Torah is acquired: נוֹשֵׂא בְ עֹל עִם חֲבֵרוֹ – Bearing the burden with one's fellow. He says, its meaning is that the Rosh Yeshiva and leader of the generation, even though he is worthy due to his stature to be free from the burdens of the community, and according to the law, every Torah scholar should not have imposed upon him any of the communal taxes, military lodgings, head taxes, and the building of walls, and the community should pay for him. Yet, with all this, a person who rises in the stature of wisdom should not separate from the community and should be bearing the burden with his fellow. For from him, everyone will learn, and he will merit the many. And it is already mentioned in the first chapter of Rosh Hashanah (17a) that one who separates from the community is among those who have no share in the World to Come. And in the first chapter of Ta'anit (11a), it is said that he does not see the consolation of the community. And included in this, when the community is fasting and in distress, the leader and head of the yeshiva should not eat and drink in private chambers, nor should he think that since his Torah is his profession, he is exempt. About him, it is said (Yeshayahu 22:14):
אוֹת אִם־יְכֻפַּר הֶעָוֺן הַזֶּה לָכֶם עַד־תְּמֻתוּן -צְבָ וְנִגְלָה בְ אׇ זְנָי ה' – And it was revealed in my ears, by the Lord of hosts: Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you till you die. And about him, it is said in the Mishnah: הַמְחַלֵּל שׁ ֵם שׁ ָמַיִם בַּסֵּתֶר – He profanes the name of heaven in secret. And about this matter it is said: נוֹשֵׂא בְעֹל עִם חֲבֵרוֹ.
Our brothers are fighting on the battlefield, and you are not praying for them?! Sit and cry! Why did Amalek come to fight us?! Whom did they catch exactly, when Bnei Yisrael were surrounded by the Clouds of Glory?! Chazal say, it was the idol worshippers whom the cloud expelled; and yet for them, Moshe Rabbeinu sought mercy! Moshe said: "This is my duty at this time; not to stop davening for even a moment!" This is our duty as well at this time! We saw the anguish of Yaakov Avinu when Yosef HaTzaddik disappeared. How much anguish! How much anguish it is for parents whose children are in Gaza and Lebanon, who do not return home for weeks on end!
May it be the will of our Father in Heaven, that He protects our soldiers, and us, from the hand of all our enemies; and may He return our soldiers to their homes healthy and whole in body and soul; and may the words of the Ba’al HaTurim at the end of the Parsha be fulfilled: the moment Yishmael falls, the Malchut Beit David David will rise – speedily in our days, Amen v’Amen!
