Avraham’s Dilemma |
Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Sharona’s Bat Mitzvah
At the end of Parshat Chayei
Sarah (Breisheet 25:1-2) we read: “Avraham again took a wife. Her name was
Ketura. She bore him Zimron, Yokshon,
In sentences 5-6 we are told:
“Avraham gave all that he possessed to Yitzchak. To the son’s of the concubines
that Avraham had, Avraham gave gifts. He sent them away from Yitzchak, his son,
while he (Avraham) was still alive. He sent them eastward to the Land of the
East.”
Why didn’t Avraham give his
children blessings before he passed away the way that Yitzchak and Yaakov would
later bless their children?
An answer can be found in
Breisheet Raba 61:6: Avraham said to himself: “If I bless Yitzchak, the
children of Yishmael and the children of Ketura will also want to receive that
same blessing. But if I don’t bless any of my children then how is Yitzchak
going to get his blessing?” In the end Avraham decided to leave the blessing
for Yitzchak in God’s hands. Sure enough (Breisheet 25:11): “After Avraham
died, God blessed his son Yitzchak…” A few chapters later in Breisheet 28:4 we see
Yitzchak giving Yaakov the blessing of Avraham: “May God give you the blessing
of Avraham to you and to your descendents with you, that you may inherit the
land of your dwelling which God gave to Avraham.”
It is pretty clear that
Yitzchak’s inheritance was the
What gifts did Avraham give
his other children?
The answer is in the Talmud, Sanhedrin
91a: Rabbi Yirmiyahu bar Abba said: The word “gifts” teaches us that Avraham
gave over to them the knowledge of unholy utterance.
According to Rashi, Avraham
taught them the secrets of the unclean arts of sorcery and demonology.
The Be’er Sheva states that
Avraham was trying to prepare them for their move to places in the world that
were rooted in idol worship and wanted to show them what they would be
encountering.
Gur Aryeh explains that
Avraham educated his sons in how to defend themselves against the practices of
these arts.
Rabbi Avigdor Miller suggests
that Avraham taught them about the natural sciences. However, instead of
teaching science to others, they used it to give the impression that there were
occult powers performing the magic and instead of standing up against idol
worship, they involved themselves in it.
They misused the gifts that
Avraham gave them.
Yitzchak’s gift is the |