Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir
Sarah commanded Abraham, “Drive away this slave together with her son. The son of this slave will not share the inheritance with my son Isaac,” and the Torah commented, “This troubled Abraham very much on account of his son” (Genesis 21:10-11). For Abraham, a man of kindness whose whole being was devoted to reaching out to those far removed, it was exceedingly painful to part from his son, but G-d commanded him, “Do not be troubled because of the boy and your slave. Do everything that Sarah tells you.” (Ibid., v. 12). Rashi comments, “Because Ruach Hakodesh [prophetic intuition] speaks from her throat. She is greater than you in prophecy.”
While Abraham acted in accordance with the emotions of a loving, merciful father, he was now forced to send Ishmael and Hagar into the desert, out of recognition of the truth of Sarah’s words.
Right now, the intent to separate from the Arabs, Ishmael’s descendants, as a solution to the Arab-Jewish conflict, seems similar to Abraham’s separating himself from Ishmael. Yet the two are really exceedingly different. It is true that Abraham sent Ishmael into the desert because he well understood Sarah’s argument, “The son of this slave will not share the inheritance with my son Isaac.” Yet the intent today to separate from the Arabs, and simultaneously to leave them in control over parts of the land of our ancestors is in opposition to Abraham’s deed. As it says, “Abraham gave all that he owned to Isaac” (Genesis 25:5; see Sanhedrin 91a).
This effort is inherently doomed and will not succeed. Sooner or later the power struggles will be renewed between the Jews and the Arabs for control over our land. We therefore have a need of, and must gather, military strength, and no less than that, spiritual resources, to fight for our survival and our control over Eretz Yisrael.
Yet the sword will not consume forever. The divine promise, “For the L-rd will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance” (Psalms 94:14), shall live and endure forever and ever. Both the Arabs and the other nations will ultimately recognize the right of the Jewish People to rule over Eretz Yisrael, and they will repent: “When the L-rd brings back the captivity of Zion, we will be like dreamers.... Then the nations will say, ‘The L-rd has done great things for them, and He has done great things for us as well’ ” (Psalms 126:1-2).
Only then will the vision of Isaiah be fulfilled: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4).
Longing for salvation and complete redemption,
Shabbat Shalom.
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