Rabbi Jacobson presents a fascinating twist to “the names of Ishmael’s sons in order of their birth” from this week’s Parsha Chayei Sarah:
Twelve Princes
It would not be a bad idea for contemporary descendants of Ishmael – and for all of us -- to reflect on the individual names of Ishmael's 12 sons, who all became princes and fathers of Ishmaelite nations. "These are the names of Ishmael's sons in order of their birth," records the Torah in this week's portion, Chayei Sarah, and it goes on to list them in three groups and in three separate verses :
"Ishmael's firstborn was Nebayoth, Kedar, Adbiel, Mibsam."
Then is the second group of sons: Mishma, Dumah and Massa.
Finally, the Torah lists the last five sons: Chadad, Tema, Yetur, Nafish and Kedmah.
The Torah then relates where they lived in the Middle East. It concludes its account – and the entire portion -- by stating these ambiguous words: "They fell in the presence of all their brethren ."
What’s the Relevance?
What is this episode telling us? Is it a mere incidental detail? The Torah does not include mere incidental details. We have no idea, for example, what Abraham, Sarah, Isaac or Ishamel looked like.
Though the Bible records many genealogical and historical facts, it is fundamentally not a book of history or genealogy, but as its very name “Torah” indicates, it is a book of instruction, a blueprint for human life.
The record of Ishmael's family members, then, is not merely a record of dry genealogical facts. Rather, like every sentence and word recorded in the Torah, it is part of a roadmap for our lives journeys. But what is the relevance of the 12 ancient names of Ishmael's children? And why did Ishmael give his sons these particular names?
One more question: Why does the Torah divide the 12 names into three distinct uneven groups: a group of four, a group of three and a group of five?
The First Twelve-Step Program
The writings of Jewish mysticism explain that these names represent Ishmael's 12-step program toward living a healthy and well-balanced life. His guide to good living covers the three primary components of life: health, relationships and work.
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Before adopting this as a blueprint for living, please pay close attention to the last paragraph of the full article here.
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