To the sons of the
concubines that he had taken, Abraham (also) gave gifts. Then, while he was
still alive, he sent them to the country of the East ,
away from his son Isaac. Genesis 25:6
Our father Abraham was
tested with ten tests and he withstood them all--in order to make known how
great was our father Abraham's love (for God). Pirkei Avot 5:3
The
Mishna does not list the ten tests of Abraham. Maimonides in his
commentary on the Mishna, lists only what is stated explicitly in the
verses, while Rashi’s list includes tests which are not explicitly stated, but
derived from Midrashim. In order to complete his list, Maimonides is
forced to count two versions of the same test separately (viz. Sarah in
the palace of Pharaoh and again in the palace of Abimelech, king of the Philistines),
while Rashi avoids give double accounting.
According
to Maimonides, we may ask why sending away the sons of the concubines
does not constitute one of the tests,
since it apparently is a six-fold repetition of the expulsion of Ishmael.
My
grandson noted the difference between the two expulsions: Abraham was
specifically instructed by God to send Ishmael out of his home [Genesis 21:12],
while it was Abraham himself who initiated the expulsion of the sons of the
concubines. While Abraham’s experience, no doubt, was no easier than when he
chased out his first born son, and perhaps even more intense, since he was now
expelling six sons, it cannot be considered a test, since Abraham himself was
the initiator.
With
all the pain involved, it seems that Abraham realized that fulfillment of the
Divine promise “It is through Isaac that you will gain posterity”
[Genesis 21:12] required him to send away his remaining sons.
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