[Avodah] chutra or ketura?

[Ilana Sober]

A thought on the parsha:

The last time Hagar is mentioned in the Torah - vatikach lo imo isha
me'eretz mitzrayim - Rashi quotes the midrash, "throw a stick in the air and
it will come back to where it started." Hagar (shifcha mitzrit) started out
in Mitzrayim , a country known for moral and spiritual degredation. She
experienced great elevation as a member of Avraham's household, where
interacting with malachim was an everyday occurrence. But in the end,
banished from that household, she descended back to the low standards of her
birthplace.

A stick does not continue to move upwards forever through inertia, nor does
it remain suspended at the highest point of its trajectory. It falls back to
earth. We can be inspired and elevate ourselves, but if we do not constantly
invest the effort in moving upwards, our progress is ephemeral and
reversible.

After Sarah's death, Avraham marries Keturah. Rashi tells us that Keturah
is, in fact, Hagar but is called Keturah because her deeds were as pleasant
as ketoret (incense). Ketoret is not thrown into the air. It is ground fine
and then burned - transformed completely. The smoke rises and rises and does
not fall down.

Perhaps Hagar teaches us something about growth and transformation. The
stick represents the model of external change. We can make great progress by
changing our environment and our actions, but if we do not change ourselves
internally, our growth may be ephemeral. Ketoret, on the other hand,
represents internal, essential, change. It is through this kind of teshuvah,
that, like incense burned on the altar, we can achieve lasting
transformation.

- Ilana