Hi,

Mazal Tov!

It’s a boy!

Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah. (Genesis, 21:1)

Isaac represents the Jewish future.

… Earlier, Abraham had married Sarah’s servant Hagar.

And they had a son, Ishmael.

But G-d had told Abraham that Sarah will have a child.

And that the Jewish People will come from Isaac.

… Sarah sees Ishmael acting inappropriately.

The Torah doesn’t tell us what Ishmael did.

But the Hebrew word used, sometimes implies pretty serious things.

Sarah saw the danger of Ishmael influencing Isaac.

And how that would threaten the future of the Jewish People and its mission.

She tells Abraham to send Ishmael away!

“This troubled Abraham very much…” (21:11)

How could he send Ishmael away?

… Disagreements between people are pretty common.

But it’s not very often that we get “Official Word” on who’s right.

But in this case we do.

How?

G-d gives it.

G-d tells Abraham, “… Do everything that Sarah tells you.”

(My mother in law’s name is Sarah.  This is her favorite verse in the whole Torah!)

… We’ve spoken quiet a bit about Abraham.

How he taught the world so much.

About G-d.  And about man.

And, of course, sending away Ishmael was a heart wrenching thing to.

But Jewish tradition credits Sarah with saving the day.

Because the stakes were very high.

Everything that the Jewish People would teach the world was in jeopardy.

She saw the danger in Ishmael being part of the Jewish future.

A danger that Abraham did not see.

… It’s something that repeats itself again and again in the Torah.

In pivotal times when the Jewish future was in danger?

And the men wavered?

The women rose to the occasion!

 All the best,