“You Never Know When You Are Going to Run Into an Ishmaelite.”
Apparently, Ishmaelites were quite common in the ancient world. Descendants of Abraham and Hagar’s son Ishmael from a few chapter’s back in Genesis, they are at this point in the story a fearsome nation that lives not too far from the family of Abraham’s other son Isaac. Remembering back to Ishmael’s journey, you might remember we left him in quite an awkward situation – banished from his home, alone with his mother in the wilderness, just struggling to survive. Now a generation later, his grandchildren have their chance to exact their revenge.
In this week’s Torah portion – Vayeshev – the Ishmaelites arrive on the scene just at the moment Joseph’s brothers are about to murder him. Instead, the brothers notice a caravan of Ishmaelites wandering by, and, at Judah’s suggestion, they merely sell Joseph into slavery. The story could have ended right then and there, but of course it did not. The Ishmaelites do not exact their revenge, but deal kindly with Joseph, handing him off to Potifar, a kindly master. The saga continues through many twists and turns, eventually leading to Joseph saving not only his family, but the entire region, including presumably the Ishmaelites, from certain starvation.
The entirety of the Joseph saga is meant to illustrate how interdependent we really are – you just never know who will end up being your savior, or conversely your tormentor. Think about the many times in your life where a stranger extended a hand to help you. As such, you should treat everyone with kindness. One really never knows when a caravan of Ishmaelites may appear on the scene again, so live your life as if one has already arrived.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy early Hanukkah,
Rabbi Alex
Last Updated on 12/20/2019 by Marc Slonim