Enemies From Within

‎This Parasha describes the transition between the first generation of our אבות, the legacy of Abraham and Sarah, and into the lives of the second generation, Yitchak and Rivka. The Parasha begins with the death of Sarah, and in order for the next generation to continue there must be a role model to carry on what she left behind. Therefore the Parasha discusses the building blocks of how Rivka was found and how she will continue on her mother-in-law's legacy. But towards the end of the Parasha there is a deterrent: an individual that will try to pervert this path from accomplishing its mission of perfecting the world, and this seed will last throughout all of the generations and is alive and well today. In order for the "life" of Sarah to endure, this individual must be stopped and be terminated from accomplishing his goal. Twice it is recorded in the Torah that Sarah herself tried to thwart this individual: once by discharging the mother of this individual from the "house of Abraham," and a second time she tried to evict this individual himself. His name is Yishmael.

The Last Verse of the Parasha

The Baal Haturim (Beresheit 25:18) hints to us about the downfall of this individual, which takes place in the very last verse of the Parasha and will occur at the very end of days: "על פני כל אחיו נפל," as the Ibn Ezra translates this verse to mean "He died in the presence of all his brothers" (referring to Yishmael). The very next verse continues the opening of the next Parasha, "ואלא תולדות יצחק," beginning the days of משיח, which will ultimately come from the children of Yitchak. The Baal Haturim is teaching that the passing of Abraham will be foreshadowing the time period ending the exile, right before the days of משיח. Then the next generation will be Yitchak, which represents "אז ימלא שחוק פינו" - then will our mouths be filled with laughter, alluding to the name יצחק, the time of redemption. And it must be Yitchak, who was precisely the character that bound his own will to Hashem's will by binding himself down to be a human sacrifice. Therefore only specifically Yitchak can combat Yishmael, the nation that claims whatever actions they do is sanctioned in the name of G-d, and they believe their behaviors are G-d's will. It is evident from here the Torah is hinting to us the only way to pass through one time period of exile into the time period of redemption is to fulfill and complete this final verse of "על פני כל אחיו נפל" by overcoming this nation called ישמעאל. We must further understand: what is this aspect called ישמעאל? How do we strengthen ourselves to overcome and combat what we call ישמעאל?

Why G-d's Name Is in Yishmael

Chazal in their cryptic ways allude to us the power of ישמעאל, based on a Midrash (Pirkei DeRebbi Eliezer 30). בלעם says there are 70 nations of the world, and Hashem placed His name only within the names of ישראל and ישמעאל, as the verse says, "אוי מי יחיה משומו ל-א." Further in the same Midrash (Chapter 32) it asks, "Why is ישמעאל named in the future tense? Because in the future Hashem is going to listen to them with what they are doing in the land near the end of days." Chazal are saying that in the end of days this nation ישמעאל will be causing pain and suffering for the Jewish people on the level of "אוי," woe, and that is the time Hashem will listen to them.

A Kingdom Unlike the Others

Our Rabbis have said many times there will be 4 world powers ruling over the world at different periods of time throughout history. They are hinted to in the 2nd verse of the Torah, and they are Babel, Persia and Media, Greece, and Rome. Where does the nation of Yishmael fit within these 4 powerful nations?

‎אבן עזרא explains that Yishmael is actually the fourth nation, and he includes Greece and Rome as one world power. Ramban rejects his explanation and says it is obvious to all that Rome is actually the fourth world power. Ramban explains that he was mistaken because the nation of Yishmael is so great that he couldn't imagine how Yishmael wasn't one of the four nations, but in fact it is not one of them. Still we must wonder, how can Yishmael not be included in one of the great world powers? The Maharal gives an insightful answer (Ner Mitzvah). He explains that the kingdoms of the world that existed throughout history fall under one of two categories. Either there are the kingdoms that claim they replace מלכות שמים, Hashem's kingdom; these kingdoms deny Hashem's unity and turn to Avoda Zara. On the other hand, there are kingdoms that don't deny Hashem's kingdom or unity; rather, on the contrary, their purpose is to further reveal מלכות שמים in the world, and this is the kingdom of Yishmael. Therefore this kingdom of Yishmael doesn't try to destroy Yisrael like the other nations; instead they want to stand strong, independent of Yisrael, and claim everything they do is in the name of Hashem, because Hashem said to אברהם, "ולישמעאל שמעתיך." This is the depth of understanding why Yishmael has within their name the name of G-d. This is why until today Yishmael claims to be doing everything within the name of their G-d, unlike the other nations that believe in Avoda Zara, which is some form of disunity in G-d.

Nesi'im and Alufim

Now we have a better understanding why the Torah calls the leaders of Yishmael נשיאים, while the leaders of Esau are called אלופים. The word אלוף comes from אלף, which means to increase and make many. Their mission is to make many gods in the world and to disunify the oneness of Hashem. While Yishmael's mission is to believe in the unity of Hashem, and therefore they are termed the name נשיאים, which is a sign of importance, because of their vital role of serving Hashem.

Half a Covenant

The other 4 kingdoms are comparable to animals in Sepher Daniel, but Yishmael is called פרא אדם, because they at least are a nation that completes part of the Berit Mila. They are not called a complete אדם, because they do one part of the Berit (מילה), but they don't do the whole thing (לא פרע). Therefore they have some merit of being the child of Abraham, and they will cause the most pain and suffering for the Jews near the end of days. Even though Esau is also a son of Yitchak, he doesn't merit to be called אדם, because the children of Esau are lacking the trait of Emuna, whereas the nation of Yishmael has a strong foundation in the trait of Emuna, even though it is lacking, because they lack the full process of Berit Mila (see the further discussion of Yishmael in Parashat Toledot).

Where Their Emuna Goes Wrong

If it seems from here that this nation's purpose is to reveal the One and True G-d in the world, then what is so evil about Yishmael? Even though this nation believes in Hashem, since at their root their whole goal is to become a פרא אדם, their Emuna is flawed and it will not help to direct their will onto the right path. On the contrary, their Emuna will lead them to believe that whatever they do must be the will of Hashem, and they depend on their actions, that it must be what G-d wants. In other words, they aren't doing Hashem's will; rather, whatever they do, they claim to be the will of G-d. They can do the most evil, terrifying act in the world, and while they are doing it they will claim it is what G-d wants them to do, and they will do it in the name of G-d. The fact that G-d's name is written within the name Yishmael is the cause of why they desecrate G-d's name, by doing whatever they want and claiming G-d is on their side.

The Dust on Their Feet

Now we have a better insight into understanding what Rashi meant when he explained the verse of Abraham taking some water to wash the guests' feet (Bereshiet 18:4). Rashi explains it is because he thought they were Arabs that bow down to the dust on their feet, and he did not want to bring Avoda Zara into his house. Until this point it was understood there were nations that bowed down to idols, but what kind of nation would serve Avoda Zara to the "dust on their feet"? Now we understand this type of Avoda Zara: the belief that whatever decisions I decide to do, and wherever I go, and every burden I go through - Hashem is with me. Just like the dust always follows my feet, so too G-d must sanction my actions, no matter how evil my act can be. Because Hashem's name is within theirs, which signifies a trait of strength and Emuna - this is what causes them to believe they can act in the most abnormal, irrational way, where they can even be prepared to die for their cause and hold onto the cruelest acts of terrorism.

Strengthening Emuna and Mila

What has been said so far is that this nation Yishmael embodies two of the most powerful traits, of Emuna and Mila. As long as Yisrael are lacking in their Emuna, there is room for Yishmael to claim they have rights over the land, and they claim their Berit Mila allows them to establish a covenant (Berit) with Hashem. But since their Berit Mila is not complete and it is considered empty, because it is lacking the stage of (פריעה tearing the membrane from underneath the foreskin), so too their dwelling in the land of Israel will be lacking. (The story is told from the Zohar that after Yishmael received the first stage called Mila, he jumped from his place and never completed the second stage called פריעה, and until today the Yishmael nation only does the first step of Mila and not the second step.) When Yisrael raise themselves up to the Mitzvah of Mila and Emuna, then they merit their portion of the land.

How the Torah Says to Respond

Now that we have an understanding of the deeper aspects of this nation Yishmael, we now have to understand: what is the Torah's approach to engaging and responding to these people? On one hand we can respond with war, violence and battle to overcome this nation. On the other hand we can stay silent, only to protect ourselves when needed, and turn to Hashem and engage in repentance and prayer. The Rambam addressed this exact question in his letter to the Yemenite Jews when they were being oppressed by the Arab countries (אגרת תימן, ד"ה אבל מה). He writes that because of our sins, Hashem has set before us a difficult path with this nation. There is no nation that will treat us as harshly as Yishmael, as King David wrote in Tehilim, "אויה לי כי גרתי משך שכנתי עם אהלי קדר..." (120). There is no other nation from which we would need salvation as much as Yishmael. The way to deal with them is to listen (נשמע) to their lies and stay quiet (ונדום), and then you will rise (נשא). When the verse is mentioning the names of the children of Yishmael (Beresheit 25:14) it says, "ומשמע ודומה ומשא," and Targum Yonatan translates it as "שמע ודום ושא." Anytime we create an uprising against them, it will lead to our death. It is known that the Jews can only fall under another nation's oppression if the Jews are lacking in the same trait that this nation wishes to portray. Therefore, since Yishmael depicts the trait of Emuna, the only way for the Jews to conquer over them is by strengthening their Emuna and by nullifying their will to the will of Hashem. The Rambam was teaching to deploy the trait of staying silent. (Of course, this question is not actual advice on how to deal with them practically, and we would need to defend ourselves. The question we are asking is the proper frame of mind one is to have when dealing with Yishmael.) The right way to act, to break free of the grasp of Yishmael, is to bind our will to the מזבח and to accept upon ourselves Hashem's rulership.