Near the end of this week’s Torah reading of Hayyei Sarah, Ishmael reappears—after being sent away in Genesis 21—to join his half-brother Isaac in burying their father Abraham. In a careful analysis, David Curwin shows a series of textual parallels between the story of Ishmael’s near-death and miraculous rescue and the rescue of the infant Moses in Exodus 2. He finds in the similarities and differences a lesson about free will:
In recent years, there has been much discussion about the lack of human free will. For example, Robert Sapolsky, in his recent book Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, argues that we are entirely a product of our biology and environment, leaving no room for free will. . . .
Following this approach, one might assume that an Egyptian, especially the daughter of the cruel Pharaoh, would be “destined” to share her father’s disdain for the helpless and certainly would not show compassion for a Hebrew enemy. At a minimum, she would remain passive and accept this as the way of the world. Yet, the parallels between Miriam and Pharaoh’s daughter and the rescuers of Ishmael demonstrate that we are not merely advanced animals with additional intelligence; we possess an element of the divine.
Particularly surprising were the choices of Pharaoh’s daughter. Her actions set into motion the process that ultimately led to the liberation of the Hebrews. This was possible because she had the courage to see the baby, [Moses], for what he was at that moment—deserving of compassion—not merely as the condemned child of a slave. That choice changed everything.
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