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Was Yishmael a genuine rasha who did teshuvah, or something else? The Gemara (גמרא) calls him a tzaddik when saved in the desert, yet Rashi (רש"י) says his "teshuvah" was simply giving Yitzchok precedence at Avrohom's funeral. The shiur develops that Yishmael's sins stemmed from trauma over losing his inheritance, not genuine evil - and his teshuvah was recognizing that Yitzchok was truly more worthy.
The shiur examines a fundamental question about the nature of Yishmael's character and repentance. Rashi (רש"י) describes Yishmael as engaging in the three cardinal sins - avodah zarah, giluy arayos, and murder - yet when he cries out in the desert, the angels argue that one whose descendants will kill God's children shouldn't be saved. God responds that he should be judged "ba'asher hu sham" (as he is now), calling him a tzaddik at that moment. The Tosafos (תוספות) Yeshanim asks why we name children Yishmael if the names of reshaim should rot. They answer that Yishmael did teshuvah, evidenced by his allowing Yitzchok to go first at Avrohom's burial. But this raises a troubling question: if Yishmael committed the three cardinal sins, how can his repentance consist merely of giving his younger brother precedence?
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Parshas Vayeira
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