Judaism
Parashah of the week: Vayera
“Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar. He placed them over her shoulder, together with the child, and sent her away” Genesis 21:14
November 14, 2024 13:52
“Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar. He placed them over her shoulder, together with the child, and sent her away” Genesis 21:14
November 14, 2024 13:52This week’s parashah ends with the epic and troubling story of the Akedah, the binding of Isaac. But first comes a story about Hagar and Ishmael being sent away, which contains a striking number of parallels to the Akeidah. Ishmael’s near-death moment in the desert prefigures that of Isaac on the mountain.
In both, God asks for a severing of the relationship with a son. In both, Abraham wakes early in the morning to fulfil his task. Both cause Abraham pain (let alone that of both mothers and sons).
Both involve a near-death experience. Both take place in a “no man’s land” away from home — the desert and the mountain. In both, an angel intervenes at the last minute to save the child. And both end with blessings for the future.
Reading the stories side by side, we cannot fail but be struck by the many parallels. It even leads Rabbi Michael Hattin, of Jerusalem’s Pardes Institute, to name the first story Akedat Yishmael, “the binding of Ishmael”.
Jon D.Levenson, in his book The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son, argues that cherished children being taken or almost taken from their parents and returned later is a recurring theme throughout the Tanach (think of Moses, Joseph, Samuel and Jephtah’s daughter). He traces the take-up of this theme in Christianity, arguing that this is a great basis for Jewish-Christian dialogue.
Challenging as it might seem, these difficult trials involving the near loss and then return of a beloved child are something God sends to those God considers closest. And just as this theme is a basis for Jewish-Christian dialogue, in these twin stories about Isaac (the ancestor of Judaism) and Ishmael (the ancestor of Islam), it could be a basis for Jewish-Muslim dialogue, so deeply needed right now.
I’ve been privileged to be part of “Scriptural Reasoning” dialogues where Jews, Christians and Muslims study Torah, Bible and Qur’an side by side.
I can imagine how — at this moment in time — it would be transformational for both Jews and Muslims to see the parallels between our ancestors’ stories in the Torah. Particularly so when the message seems to be God’s deep love for both sides of the family. In these troubled times, I believe that religion can be part of the solution, not part of the problem.