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Why does Avrohom marry Keturah after Sarah's death, and what is the significance of these children who seem to be sent away? The shiur develops the yesod that Avrohom's covenant as "Av Hamon Goyim" requires him to influence the entire world, not only Israel. The Bnei Keturah serve as the link between Avrohom's spiritual legacy and universal humanity, carrying his midos of chesed (חסד) and mishpat to the nations.
The shiur opens with textual difficulties in the account of Avrohom's marriage to Keturah. The unusual language—"Vayosef Avrohom" (Avrohom added/continued), "Vayikach Isha" (he took a woman), and the fact that Keturah is identified without lineage or background—all suggest this marriage requires explanation. Rashi (רש"י) identifies Keturah with Hagar, but this raises further questions about why the Torah (תורה) gives her a different name and why Avrohom would remarry her. Rabbi Zweig proposes that the key to understanding this parsha lies in the covenant of "Av Hamon Goyim" (father of a multitude of nations) made at the Bris Bein HaBesarim. This covenant was not yet fulfilled through Yitzchok and Yishmael alone. The Bnei Keturah—Zimran, Yokshan, Medan, Midian, Yishbak, and Shuach, along with their descendants—represent the fulfillment of Avrohom becoming a father to many nations, not merely to the Jewish people.
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Why does the Midrash connect Pharaoh's expulsion of the Jews to the mitzvah of shiluach hakan? The shiur develops a chiddush that Pharaoh's sin wasn't only drowning the children, but the insensitivity of expelling the parents afterward. The deeper analysis reveals that Pharaoh may have valued the Jews greatly and wanted to control them—making his expulsion an act of tremendous cruelty, not liberation.
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Bereishis 25:1-6 (Parshas Chayei Sarah)
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