GLEANINGS FROM THE STORY

TORAH
Torah is read when? 
    The parasha is begun Saturday afternoon, repeated Monday and Thursday morning and expanded Saturday morning.
    It is also read on holidays including Rosh Chodesh. 

Why Monday, Thursday and Saturday?  What is the reason given in the story?
    In addition to the answer in the story, those were market day when people were already gathered together and
    could take the time to hear the communal reading. 

FAMILY 
It was Sarah’s idea for Abraham to have a child with Hagar. How do you feel about her sending Hagar and her son away once she had her own son?
 
Why do you think God told Abraham to listen to Sarah’s request?

Have you had family members move far away? How does it change the family?
If you stay in touch, how do you do that?

Jews have been thrown out of many countries.
Imagine being told that you have to leave the only home you know. How do you feel?
Can you think of things that you might do to try to stay?
If you left, why might you want to return?
How do you feel about helping others stay in their home?  
        If you are ready: Let's talk about immigration.

ROSH HASHANAH
In a traditional congregation, the story of the birth of Isaac and the banishment of Hagar and Ishmael is read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Genesis 21.  On the second days the Akeida, the near sacrifice of Isaac, Genesis 22, is read.
What are the similarities between these stories? 

What are the differences?

Why do you think we read them both for Rosh Hashanah? 

If Ishmael had not been sent away, would the Akeida have been the same test for Abraham?

AWARENESS
Have there been times when you were sure of the outcome for an event and it did not happen? (a performance, a test, a game, a race,) What occurred to make the change?

Are there times when you are confused about your situation and can’t seem to find an answer? It seems like a lose –lose proposition? What helps you to open your eyes? What do you do or to whom to you turn to find guidance?

PARENTS – PARENT SUPPORTED CORNER
PARENT:
If you are a parent, make a list of blessings you want for your child (think what you want his/her life to be like 10/15/20 years in the future).

Now mark them in order of importance.

For which of those can you influence the outcome? 

Until what age do you think you will have the most influence?

Consider how you will react to those things that do not evolve in the manner you would like? 


PARENT-SUPPORTED INDIVIDUAL:
If you are still being supported by a parent, make a list of the things with which you would like to be blessed (think what you want your life to be like 10/15/20 years in the future).

Mark them in order of importance to you.

Mark them in order of importance to what you imagine they would be for your parent(s).

For what blessings do(es) your parent(s) still influence the outcome? Explain how.

Explain how you influence the outcome of these blessings. 
 

TRUTH
Ezra says that Hagar found truth.

What is truth? How do you know when you have found it?

Can there be more than one side to truth?

PERSONAL REVIEW
Mama says she knows what kind of person Ezra will be. Project yourself ten years into the future,
what kind of person do you imagine you will be? What would you like people to be saying about you?

MUSIC OF CHAPTER 2
IN YOUR TRUTH
In Your Truth  is composed from verses of Tehillim, psalms. Psalms are found in the section of Tanakh called Ketuvim, Writings. It is the longest section of Ketuvim. There are 150 psalms. The Hebrew word, Tehillim, comes from the root hey-lamed-lamed, meaning praise. Tehillim are songs of praise. The word psalm comes from the Greek or Latin meaning to play a stringed instrument or the twang of a harp. When the Septuagint was written, Tehillim was called Psalterion, a reference to the instrument that accompanied the songs. Hence in church one might find a psalter or hymnal. 

Psalms are not considered to be prayer or petition although they sometimes read as such.Rather, they signify “an exercise for one’s inner self, which is thereby penetrated anew with the perception and acknowledgement of certain truths so that our judgment and evaluation of things may become more correct.” (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, The Hirsch Psalms, Feldheim Publisher, Jerusalem ISRAEL, 1997. pg 107). 

That truth is one’s awareness of God’s nearness. That is to say, if we are humble enough to accept that there is a power greater than humankind, the power of the Divine is open to us for its mere acknowledgement. 

Psalm 86 specifically addresses the need for spiritual solace at a time of attack and near destruction. It expresses gratitude for patience, for mercy, for loving-kindness and for truth. 


 

COVETING – JEALOUSY 
In the Decalogue, the word covet (chet-mem-dalet) and crave (aleph-vav-heh) are used in the tenth commandment for humans desiring that which another person possesses. The bible generally uses jealous (kuf-nun-aleph) when referencing God, as in the second commandment which declares to have no other Gods for Adonai is a jealous God. 

Discussion:
Are there distinctions between coveting, craving and jealousy?
 
If God is jealous and we are to strive to be Divine, is there any positive attribute to jealousy?

The Rambam (Hilkhot Gezeila Va-aveida 1:11) writes:

 "Desire leads to coveting, and coveting leads to stealing. For if the owner (of the coveted object) does not wish to sell, even though he is offered a good price and is entreated to accept, the person (who covets the object) will come to steal it, as it is written (Mikha 2:2), 'They covet fields and (then) steal them.' And if the owner approaches him with a view to reclaiming his money or preventing the theft, then he will come to murder. Go and learn from the example of Achav and Navot."

 Thus, the prohibition of "You shall not covet" is a fence or boundary keeping us at a safe distance from the very serious sins that may result from it and that may cause very serious harm to others: theft, adultery, and – most serious of all – even murder.[1]
 
How difficult is it to control your desire for something? 

What do you gain when you can be satisfied without that which you thought you needed?

How do you obtain the ability to gain that control?

RELATIONSHIPS
 
Throughout our lives we encounter people that are healthy for us to be in a relationship with and other that are not healthy. Sometimes these people are casual acquaintances and pass quickly in and out of our lives. At other times, people are in our lives for extended periods of time. How do we deal with people who are not healthy in our lives?

Consider Ezra in the suit with pins. He “was afraid to move quickly since the pins were now sticking in every direction indicating seams to let out and others to take in.” Have you ever felt that you were in a situation that whatever choice you made, you would be hurt or would hurt someone? Journal about what you did and how it felt. If you found yourself in a similar situation, what would you do the same? What would you do differently? If anyone is comfortable sharing, do so. 
 
BULLYING - need to fill in material from file
(forgive and move on)
 
REFERENCE MATERIAL IN CHAPTER 1 
If you have not worked through the material in chapter 1 on HOME and FAMILY, you can do so here.
 
 
FROM THE TORAH

And they buried him, Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, in the cave of Machpelah...

Discuss what happens at reunions. Are there different events and different reactions to different types of reunions, i.e., family vs. school vs. camp, a few friends vs. a large group?
If you have ever attended a reunion, reflect on what effect it had on your memories of places, events, people.

Imagine Isaac and Ishmael meeting again as adults. Write a narrative for the first ten minutes of their encounter. 

  
[1] Maimonides, Hilkhot Gezeila Va-aveida 1:11, http://www.vbmtorah.org/parsha.63/17yitro.htm , 6.10.2013