04 , from All of us af Audeffe Cadillac... Come in and test drive the all new 1999 Cadillacs ries of Abraham and his two sons: how he sent Ishmael with his mother Hagar into the wilderness, where they almost died; and then took his son Isaac up the mountain, there to slaughter him as an offering to God. On behalf of both sons, God inter- vened at the last moment. These stories are rich with many meanings. But especially this year, as we count five years since the Rosh Hashanah when the State of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization signed their first peace agreement, we might draw on the tra- dition that Ishmael was the ancestor of the Arab peoples, as Isaac was of the Jewish people. In some deep and archetypal sense, these Torah readings bespeak the 3,000-year-old brokenness of our families, the families of Abraham. In the Torah, the story does not stop with brokenness. When Abraham dies, both sons gather to bury him in • We Wish You a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 7100 ORCHARD LAKE RD. at the end of Northwestern Highway WEST BLOOMFIELD (248) 851;7200 OPEN MON. & THURS. "TIL 9 • ......••••rn........................ ...................................a. e GIFI Iri S WE'RE HAVING A TERRIFIC 3 DAY SALE ON mg s a s D a ■ s ■ a m a s e a a o : D II : ■ e 30 75% OFF . . II II ■ : (most mfrs) sHERwooD STUDIOS :: • ■ II ■ . At . 11 . 6 a■ le e • • a 9/18 1998 ■ ■ a • III il ■ Shop Sherwoo... d it's ts worth it. Sale end 9/20/98 s • II II II ■ . ■ .. 6644 Orchard Lake Road at Maple in West Bloomfield • 248 855-1600 Mon-Thur 10-9 Tue-Wed-Fri-Sat 10-6 Sun 12-5 . _ I ‘ II 11 ■ 1 II ■ m a e• • ■ c ■ • • 1 8t11C1108 ■ Bow wwwwwwwwwwwwww II iessesmiesmieffisisimmffismiaisimiffismia is the tomb he himself had set aside, in the Cave of Machpelah near Hebron. (Genesis 25:8-18.) There they are rec- onciled, and then Isaac goes to live at Be'er Lachai Ro'i, the Well of the Living One Who Sees Me, the well that had saved Ishmael's life. Perhaps it is time to add this story to the Torah readings for the High Holy Days. Perhaps on Yom Kippur, when repentance is full and forgive- ness is near, we might read the passage where, for the first time, the Torah speaks of both these sons together. We might pause to pray that our decision to make a tshuvah on the terrifying stories of their dangers will mark the next step in a modern reconciliation of both families. We might strengthen our resolve by taking action, just as we do in our individual lives. For example, we might as part of Yom Kippur commit ourselves to ='\