What you will witness this morning is the story behind the story. A midrash of
what happened in Genesis 21. The characters you will meet this morning are – in
order: Sarah, Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael & Isaac. Their tales are based on
Jewish teaching, the Torah text itself, and a bit of my own conjecture.
Walk to other podium.
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SARAH: I, Sarah, was just sitting at my son’s weaning ceremony – taking it all in.
The spread was magnificent and all our friends were there that day to enjoy Isaac’s
growth and maturity. For just a three year old, he really is so smart. I still can’t
fully believe that I have a child – at this point in my life. What did I do to deserve
such good fortune? I laughed when those messengers came with news that I would
be pregnant. How did they know? Abraham said that it was a message from God. I
said it was plain foolish. How could my husband – old and tired from the journeys
of life – get me pregnant? While we have had difficulty getting pregnant before, I
figured my time was done. I’m no spring chicken either. Frankly, I wasn’t so sure
I still wanted a child, but once I was pregnant, I just laughed and rejoiced, which is
why we named my precious son: Isaac. Yitzchak. Laughter. Funny, how things
develop. He has made me laugh from even before he was conceived. Very
different from his half-brother, who has never made me laugh. I only see what I’m
not when he is around. Hagar and I used to be intimate friends, which is why I
offered her to Abraham. He so badly wanted a son. He needed a son. I needed a
son, even a son from Hagar who would protect me if Abraham died before me.
But once she was pregnant. Uch. I couldn’t be near her. She – Hagar – with all
those airs…would have nothing to do with me. I was unimportant. Me.
Unimportant! My very name means princess. Who is she calling unimportant?
When she got all high-and-mighty, I made her work. Boy did I make her work.
Abraham told me I could cast her out of the tent. And so I did. Sent her right into
the desert. Foolish woman. But she came back. And Abraham was pleased to see
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her. Stupid man. He entered Ishmael into the covenant. At that time, I was so
jealous. I was green. I was … I was … I was just very sad.
But we moved on. The boy grew. I actually thought Ishmael had potential.
But there were times I saw him standing among the herds. I didn’t like the way he
treated the animals. I thought he was mean to them. Abraham and Lot were always
so gentle, yet firm. Abraham and Lot spoke to God. Ishmael didn’t hear the same
God. His mother was an Egyptian. She had her gods and beliefs. They prayed
together. They bowed down together. And then I saw how Ishmael reacted when
Isaac was born. I could have sworn I saw him touching him one day. Then it was
at the weaning party. And Ishmael took out his idols. He was playing, mtzacheik.
He was joking, m’tzacheik. He was worshiping idols, m’tzacheik. He was … I
can’t say it … but the word is: m’tzacheik. I told Abraham in no uncertain terms:
SHE LEAVES WITH THE BOY. NOW. Stupid man. He didn’t know what to do.
No ONE treats my son like that. It’s not right. He had to ask God. God. Like he
would know. Abraham: let me spell it out for you: we were laughing once. Now
I’m crying: Get rid of Hagar and Ishmael. Ishmael is fulfilling God’s prophecy: he
will be a wild-ass. Even a wild-ass doesn’t behave in such a way. We don’t need
them. Your loyalty ended now that Ishmael has proven himself unworthy. WE’RE
DONE with them. (Switch podiums.)
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ABRAHAM: And so I, Abraham, got rid of them. God said that they would be
alright. He had explained to Hagar earlier, when Sarah drove Hagar out the first
time, that Ishmael would come to no harm. God warned us that he would be wild,
hated among the nations. My seed. How come? Why would God give me a child,
who would be wild? A vilda chayah? Is this what I needed? I hate if Ishmael did
something to Isaac. I wasn’t there. I should have been there to watch over Isaac. I
don’t know what happened, but it couldn’t have been good. I trust Sarah. And I
trust God. If God says to heed Sarah’s voice, He must be right. For shalom bayit, I
sent them on. But the guilt is overwhelming.
Why is life so complicated? What have I done? I’ve sent Hagar and Ishmael
into the desert, with provisions for a day. Should I have stayed in Charan? What if
I just ignored that voice inside me: “Go forth, to the land that I will show you?”
Blessing. Blessing. What blessing? A wife who suffered years of infertility. A son
who is to be despised by many but on his own doing. And another son, who in is
youngest years has already been psychologically and maybe even physically
wounded. Blessing. We almost died in Egypt. I had to fight wars to get my
nephew brought out of captivity. I had to watch God destroy cities of wicked
people.
Sometimes it is just too much, this whole faith-thing. God keeps testing me
and I can tell that I’m not done. Why me? Why does he want to challenge me?
Have I got some big sign on my back saying: KICK ME? I don’t get it. I may
never. I know I love my sons. Even with the older one’s faults. I don’t like his
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behavior. I’m repulsed by it. But he is still my son. And Isaac. Isaac. We’re not
laughing so much anymore around here.
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HAGAR: I, Hagar, came from Egypt. I met Sarah and Abraham when they were in
my father (the Pharaoh)’s court. There was a terrible famine in the north, where
they had just come at the insistence of their god. Why the left Charan has always
been a little unclear to me. Abraham felt that he had been in communication with
someone he called God. I didn’t understand but I knew my father treated them
really well, having been fooled by Abraham. See things got off on a rocky start:
Abraham said that he and Sarah were brother and sister. So when they came into
Egypt, they were both put up in separate places. Sarah was a part of the harem. I
got to know her and we hit it off. When things turned sour for my father, he found
out in a dream that Abraham was really Sarah’s husband. He set Abraham up with
loads of cattle and livestock because I could tell that he didn’t want to have to see
him again. So Abraham left with Sarah and … well … me, too, only because I
really liked Sarah. She was funny and had a way with people. They evidently took
on a lot of people coming out of Charan because they always had the best parties.
They never traveled alone but always with dozens of people – good natured folk –
people you could feel safe around. So I became a part of the crowd.
I guess you could say I had a special relationship with Abraham once Sarah
realized she wasn’t going to get pregnant. She really loved Abraham. So much,
she trusted me with him. When I got pregnant, well, she didn’t have much interest
in me and, well, quite frankly, I lost interest in her, too. It was really tough for
both of us. She wanted a baby and I wanted security. Of course, she did too. But
then the shock of all shocks came when she banished me from the tent – with
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Abraham’s approval. Double-crossers. I called out to their god and get a load of
this: he heard me. He saw and understood my affliction. He swore to me that my
son would grow up to be a nation. He told me to go back to Abraham and Sarah
and put up with the tension in our relationship. I really didn’t want to return. But
Abraham deserved to know his son and quite frankly: a single-mother doesn’t
stand a chance in the world I come from - in the desert - on her own.
So I went back. I had Ishmael, naming him that Hebrew name because the
Hebrew God (El) really did hear (shama) me. But Ishmael was always a thorn in
Sarah’s side. And Sarah really did not want there to be any inheritance issues. She
was sure that Abraham would divide his property between both boys. He would
not have – I’m convinced of it. He never saw me as an equal to Sarah. She was
just jealous of me. And then at the weaning party, Ishmael was playing. I swear,
that is all it was. He was playing, jesting. It’s something I taught him from my
home culture. And so we were sent out. Abraham sent us off early in the morning,
so Sarah wouldn’t see us. He gave us little to drink or eat. By noon, we were dying
of thirst. I put my son down, who was already so weak. I couldn’t be there with
him. The pain was too great. I sat nearby…a few meters away. Maybe it was
more. I prayed. I prayed initially for strength to carry on and provisions to survive
this journey. But then I began to pray for a quick and easy death if my first prayer
was not answered. I prayed. I screamed. I cried. And God heard Ishmael. God
heard his suffering. I spoke but God heard him. God assured us there would be a
future and sure enough – when I opened my eyes, I saw there was water to drink.
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It’s amazing how sometimes it takes deep suffering and intense reflection for us to
finally be able to see.
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Ishmael: I am Ishmael, the son of Abraham.
Isaac: I am Isaac, the son of Abraham.
Ishmael: I never understood my father.
Isaac: I never understood God.
Ishmael: I always treasured what God stood for.
Isaac: And I always treasured what my father lived for.
Ishmael: I grew up with demands from my father to sacrifice.
Isaac: I grew up with demands that nearly led to my sacrifice.
Ishmael and Isaac: My father was here for me, when I asked for him.
Ishmael and Isaac: My father was happy with my mother.
Ishmael and Isaac: My father was confused by the world around him.
Ishmael: My mother was a blessing to me.
Isaac: My mother was a blessing to me.
Ishmael: I loved my mother. I loved my father.
Isaac: I loved my mother. I loved my father.
I & I: I never really knew my brother.
I & I: I always wanted to play with my brother.
I & I: Our parents kept us apart.
Ishmael: I almost died in the desert.
Isaac: I wasn’t there when my mother died.
Together: I never saw my brother … until our father died. We got together at
the funeral. We are both the heads of our nations.
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Ishmael: People look to us as the fathers of their religions.
Isaac: But we never really had a lot of religion in our household.
Ishmael: I wish we could have our childhood all over again.
Together: Only this time, we would ask that our parents get some help.
Mark: Od yavo shalom aleinu v’al kulam.
Steve: Salaam aleinu v’al kol haolam.
Mark: Salaam.
Steve: Shalom.
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