Machshava:

Avraham 

Parsha:

Chayei Sara 

Description

As the story of Avraham's life comes to a close, we are informed that at some point (perhaps after Sarah died), he took another wife - Keturah and, as the straightforward reading indicates, he also took several concubines. He had children with all of these and sent the sons of his concubines away - to the east - with gifts. We aren't told where he directed Keturah's six sons and their progeny to go. More intriguing is the story itself - why did he marry again, and have so many more children - only to send them away? We explore several points in Avraham's life, informed by the opening charge to him (Beresheet 12:1-3) and how his understanding of this charge evolved over time.