Parsha:

Vayeira 

Collections: R' Wolfson Bereishit

Description

If there is one constant theme of Bereishit it is that of multiple sibling rivalries in which the first born never wins. Yishmael, Avraham's banished firstborn is sometimes read in a purely negative light. But a more charitable reading is also possible, one which sees him as an individual caught in the midst of the conflict of others. We will suggest, that the Biblical text and the midrash, even show Yishmael as a certain paradigm of teshuva, and point towards an eventual reconciliation between father and son.