​Parashat Vayera, 5786, 2025: "And Elokim Heard Yishmael’s Voice"

Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
Yishmael’s behavior at the moment he is about to die of thirst presents us with a number of interpretative challenges: “And Elokim heard kol ha’na’ar (the lad’s voice), and an angel of Elokim called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, ‘What is troubling you, Hagar? Fear not, for Elokim has heard kol ha’na’ar ba’asher hu sham (in the place where he is).’” (Sefer Bereishit 21:17, this and all Tanach and Rashi translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach) The terms, “kol ha’na’ar” and “ba’asher hu sham” are very difficult to understand. Does kol ha’na’ar refer to Yishmael’s voice, his cry, or something else entirely? Then, too, ba’asher hu sham seems unnecessary on every level, for after all, where else would Hashem have heard Yishmael other than the “place where he is?”

Midrash Pirkei d’ Rabi Eliezer, contextualizes and explains the phrase, “kol ha’na’ar” in this manner:

Yishmael’s very being was exhausted from thirst, and that point, he went and he threw himself under one of the desert bushes. [He then] said: “Master of all worlds! If You have the desire to give me water to drink, give me water to drink and do not allow my soul to depart from me as a result of the extreme thirst I am suffering; for death from thirst is different from and more difficult than all other forms of death!” And the Holy One blessed be He heard his tefilah, as the texts states: “And Elokim heard kol ha’na’ar.” (Chapter 30, translation my own)
 
According to the midrash, “kol ha’na’ar” refers to the heartfelt tefilah Yishmael uttered at his moment of mortal danger. As such, it teaches us something of universal value: Yishmael’s personal prayer experience, and its positive outcome, is available to everyone. David HaMelech gave voice to this idea when he famously declared, “Hashem is near to all who call Him, to all who call upon Him with truth.” (Sefer Tehillim 145:18)
 
At first glance, ba’asher hu sham does not seem connected to kol ha’na’ar and appears completely unnecessary. If so, why is it found in our pasuk? Perhaps this question is one of the reasons Rashi (1040-1105) suggests this interpretation:

Where he is: According to the deeds that he does now he is judged and not according to what he is destined to do (Talmud Bavli, Rosh Hashanah 16b). For the ministering angels acted as accusers and said: “O’ Lord of the Universe, for one [that is, Yishmael’s descendants] who is destined to kill Your children with thirst, You are bringing up a well?!” And He answered them, “What is he now, righteous or wicked?” They replied, “righteous.” He said to them, “According to his present deeds I judge him” (Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 53:14). And that is the meaning of “where he is.”
 
In one deft stroke, Rashi’s midrashically-infused analysis teaches us that ba’asher hu sham does not refer to a physical location; rather, it is a description of Yishmael’s existential state at the moment of uttering his tefilah to the Almighty. Consequently, kol ha’na’ar and ba’asher hu sham are closely interwoven, as each advances the understanding of the other. Knowing that Hashem judges us according to our present deeds, instead of any future missteps we may take, infuses us with a sense of security and the ongoing opportunity to draw near to Him through heartfelt mitzvot observance and tefilah. As Shlomo HaMelech taught us some 3,000 years ago: “The end of the matter, everything having been heard, treat Hashem with awe and keep His commandments, for this is the ultimate purpose of man.” (Sefer Kohelet 12:13) 
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May we ever know that Hashem hears and answers, our tefilot. This thought is given powerful voice in one of the brachot of the daily Shemoneh Esrei: “Hear our voice, Hashem our God, pity and be compassionate to us, and accept—with compassion and favor—our prayer, for God Who hears prayers and supplications are You…” (Translation, The Artscroll Siddur) V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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