<div><br clear="all">Since we're on the subject, those who read the parsha carefully noticed an example of semantic deconstruction. The verses 21:16-17read:</div>
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<div><em>"And she [Hagar] sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad;"</em></div>
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<div>True, the Midrash notes that Hashem listens to those who pray, and extrapolates that Yishmael must have prayed, but the literay aspect is why didn't he listen to Hagar and why doesn't it explicitly say that Yishmael prayed? There's a subtle dislocation here. A mother's voice is not up to the mark? And why not write "an Yishmael prayed, too and..."?
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<div><br>-- <br>Yisrael Medad<br>Shiloh<br>Mobile Post Efraim 44830<br>Israel </div>