When AbrahamAbraham is the first patriarch and the father of the Jewish people. He is the husband of Sarah and the father of Isaac and Ishmael. God's covenant - that we will be a great people and inherit the land of Israel - begins with Abraham and is marked by his circumcision, the first in Jewish history. His Hebrew name is Avraham. breathed his last,
at a good ripe age, his sons,
IsaacAbraham and Sarah's much-longed-for son and the second Jewish patriarch. Isaac is nearly sacrificed by his father at God's command (Genesis 22). He is married to Rebecca and is the father of Esau and Jacob. His Hebrew name is Yitzchak. and Ishmael buried him
in the cave of Machpelah.
Not remarkable,
sons at a funeral,
if one can forget
Abraham banished Ishmael
and raised a knife to Isaac.
Or that Ishmael begot one nation
and Isaac another.
Two mistreated sons
in ancient times
set aside their anger
at the grave of their father.
Dare I imagine the scene?
The children of Abraham,
bowing their heads
to bury the past
and join hands in grief.
originally published in Braided Way
