The space between us. The stories told in Baratius chapters 21 and 22, the sending away of Ishmael and the binding of Isaac, are among the hardest to understand in the whole of Tanakh. Both involve actions that strike us as almost unbearably harsh. But the difficulties they present go deeper even than that. Recall that Abraham

was chosen so that he would instruct his children in his household after him to keep the way of the

Lord by doing what is right and just. He was chosen to be a father. The first two letters of his

name, Aviv, mean just that. Avram means a mighty father. Avraham, says the

Torah, means a father of many nations. Abram was chosen to be a parental role model. But how can a man

who banished his son Ishmael, sending him off with his mother Hager into the desert where they

nearly died, be thought of as an exemplary father.

And how could a man who was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac be a model for future generations?

These are not questions about Abraham. There are questions about the will of God.

For it was not Abraham who wanted to send Ishmael away. To the contrary,

it distressed Abraham greatly because Ishmael was his son. It was God who told him to listen to

Sarah and send the child away, nor was it Abraham who wanted to sacrifice Isaac. It was God who told

him to do so, referring to Isaac as, binichah, Yehidachah, Shehah, Your son, your only one, the one you love.

Abraham was acting on both occasions against his emotions, against his parental instincts.

So what is the Torah telling us about the nature of fatherhood?

It seems very difficult indeed to draw a positive

message from these events. And there's an even deeper problem, and it's hinted at in the words

God spoke to Abraham in summoning him to the binding of his son. Take your son, you're only son the

one you love and go, Lechlechah, to the region of Maria. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain, I'll show you. These words, Lechlechah, inevitably remind us of God's first summons. Lechlechlechah, me meleadotichah, and be saviah. These go from your land, your birthplace, and your father's house. These are the only two places in which

this phrase occurs in the whole Torah. Abraham's last trial echoed his first. But note that the

first trial meant that Abraham had to abandon his father, thereby looking as if he were neglecting his duties as a son. So whether

as a father to his sons or as a son to his father, Abraham was commanded to act in ways that

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