Vayeira 5774

“And she [Sarah] said to Avraham (Abraham), ‘Drive out this handmaid with her son [Yishmael/Ishmael], for the son of that handmaid shall not inherit with my son, with Yitzchak (Isaac).’ (Bereishit/Genesis 21:10)

"And G-d said to Avraham,...'Whatever Sarah tells you, heed her voice.'” (Bereishit 21:12)

Why is Sarah concerned that Yishmael and Yitzchak might share an inheritance? Harav Elyakim Schlesinger explains that as long as the half-brothers' relationship does not involve finances, Sarah is not concerned that Yishmael may negatively influence Yitzchak. However, she fears that if they were to share an inheritance, they would have to spend more time together to make joint decisions about their holdings. Writes Rabbi A.L.Scheinbaum in Peninim on the Torah: “This increased fraternizing between the two would have created a climate that would be spiritually detrimental to Yitzchak.”

Regarding Sarah’s perceptiveness, foresight and sensitivity, our Sages comment that Sarah’s prophetic powers rival those of Avraham. Writes Rabbi Scheinbaum: “Whether we attribute her keen perception to experience or intuition, Sarah was able to sense what Avraham did not. Therefore, Hashem told Avraham to heed Sarah’s voice.”

As parents, it is important to follow our intuition when it comes to our children’s welfare. If we sense that an environment or one of our children’s friends might have a negative influence on our child, we must remove our child from the environment and limit contact with the child’s peer. In this way, we will benefit from foresight rather than hindsight.