Muslims know that Hagar and her son Prophet Ishmael are mentioned in the Biblical book of Genesis, (chapter 21); but very few know that every year Jews in synagogues worldwide read Genesis chapters 21 and 22 on the first and second days of Rosh Hashanah; the Jewish New Year Festival. Rosh HaShanah ushers in a ten day period of seeking self-improvement by doing a self-judgement review of our deeds in the past year; and then making specific commitments to doing better in the new year.

Rabbi Kronish writes: “On these very special holy days we read about Prophet Ishmael as well as Prophet Isaac. Reading about the patriarch of the Arab people is part of our Jewish tradition because these foundational events are essential to our identity as Jews and Chapter 21—the story of the birth and banishment of Ishmael—establishes our Jewish connection to God’s non-Jewish children. God saw Ishmael was about to die and the text tells us the God of the Hebrew Bible hears the voice of all children, including Ishmael, in their suffering and misery, as well as in their joyous and hopeful moments.

“After these events we next hear about Ishmael a few chapters later, when Isaac and Ishmael meet again (Genesis 25:9) at the funeral of their father Abraham. Islamic and Jewish tradition both agree that Prophet Abraham visited Prophet Ishmael’s distant home on at least two different occasions to make sure that his family relationships were suitable. These pre and post funeral reconciliations would be why the Torah’s describes Abraham as ‘contented’ in his old age.

“Can we see this as a very good model for family reconciliations [today by] forgiving old hurts? And can it also become a model for the descendants of Prophet Ishmael and Prophet Isaac, the contemporary Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews, to find the grounds to attain, after the military funerals are over, the forgiveness and reconciliation that both Islam and Judaism teach are holy goals.

“Rabbi Kronish’s answer is Yes. “But Jews and Muslims have to overcome some deeply ingrained negative stereotypes of each other. Some of this comes from our understanding –or purposeful misunderstanding — of our sacred texts, which can be very problematic and often lead to negative stereotyping. It is time to choose........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)