Educating Against Egypt
Through his experiences with his nephew Lot, Abraham learns valuable parenting skills.
By Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt on MyJewishLearning.com
The birth of Yitzchak [Isaac] is anticipated with prayers, prophecies and Divine promises.
Moreover, his birth and upbringing are prefigured by the trials and errors of his father's two earlier son figures--one a nephew and the other a concubine's child.
The patterns and mistaken assumptions that cost Abraham the fidelity of both Yishmael and Lot also served as parenting instructors. The course adjustments in the wake of these disappointments contributed to the excellence of the third attempt. And although there can be no doubting the primacy of transmission through Yitzchak, the Torah's deference to Yishmael and to Lot's descendants suggests that even a failed son of Abraham is esteemed.
A careful reading of a small passage in Lech Lecha may illustrate how a crucial element in faith-training is discovered.
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