ֶ
דְּ בָ רִַה חַ רַ֙א
ל ־ אֶ רְַא
הָ ֣אdֱהְִ֔ו הֶלּ אֵָ֔ה
מְ֣בּ
ת ־ הָ אֶָא
יַָּה
ת ־ ֶא סָּ ֖הִנ
בְ רַָא
֣
of Awe - ש מ ע ק ו ל י נ ו - hear our voices . Cast out to the desert , the water runs dry , and in an unimaginable scene Hagar , distances herself from her son Yishmael so that ; ה֖ ֶא וֹ ת ֑ דֶ ל “ Let me not see the death of the child ”. ו ת ש ב מ נ ג ד This poignant expression is repeated twice , she sat from afar-- mineged , raised her voice and wept .
These heart wrenching scenes become part of the unforgettable images that contribute to our remembering for Rosh Hashanah . This year in ways that we could never have imagined . The curious term מ נ ג ד conjures additional memories and associations . As we will read again in a few weeks , at the very end of Moshe ’ s life , God summons him to go up Mount Nevo where he will die and be “ gathered to his People ” and from there he is able to take a glimpse of the Land Israel . The word used to describe that episode in Devarim 32:52 is Mineged י֥ ִכּ ִמ ֶנּ ְרִתּ ה֣ ֶא ֑ ר ץ For from afar , you will see the land , but you will not come there .
Returning to our account of Hagar and Ishmael , the narrative informs us that God heard Yishmael ’ s voice , this after the vivid description of Hagar ’ s pleading and an absence of any reference in the text to Yishmael ’ s beseeching . Yet with a closer look and listen , the response as with Yitzchak , is implied in his name ; י ש מ ע א ל , Yishma El , God will hear . God “ opens her eyes '' and Hagar sees the well that will save her child .
The harrowing theme of potentially losing a child is continued in the reading for the second day with the account of the binding of Isaac ; The text almost implies this connection with the dramatic opening
ִהְיַו ֗ י ים ים to Chapter 22
… And it came to pass after these things , and ם֑ ָה God ( now ) tested Abraham … The congruence is remarkable . Yet we choose to close our reading
61
דֶג֖