Abraham as the Blessed Man Who Walked Not in the Counsel of the Wicked

"And Abraham took another wife" (Genesis 25:1). It is written, "Happy is the man" (Psalms 1:1-3): this is Abraham. "Who walks not in the counsel of the wicked": this is the generation of the Dispersion. "And stands not in the way of sinners": these are the men of Sodom, as it is said, "And the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners" (Genesis 13:13). "And sits not in the seat of the scornful": this is Abimelech, who said to him, "Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it is good in your eyes" (Genesis 20:15), yet Abraham did not accept it of him. "But his delight is in the Torah of the LORD": as it is said, "For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children" (Genesis 18:19). "And in His Torah he meditates day and night": no father taught him and he had no master. From where did he learn Torah? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, prepared for him his two kidneys like two sages, and they flowed and taught him wisdom, as it is written, "I bless the LORD who counsels me; my kidneys also instruct me in the nights" (Psalms 16:7). "And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water" (Psalms 1:3): that the Holy One, blessed be He, planted him in the Land of Israel. "That brings forth its fruit in its season": this is Isaac. "Whose leaf does not wither": this is Ishmael. "And in all that he does he prospers": these are the children of Keturah, as it is said, "And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah." "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age" (Psalms 92:15): this is Abraham. "They shall be full of sap and richness": "And Abraham took another wife." "For there is hope for a tree" (Job 14:7-9): this is our father Abraham, who had hope. "If it be cut down, it will sprout again": if the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, cut the covenant, he cuts the covenant and still renews with commandments and good deeds. "And its tender shoot will not cease": this is the moisture within him. "Though its root grow old in the earth": "And Abraham was old, advanced in days" (Genesis 24:1). "And its stock die in the ground": "And Sarah died in Kiryat-Arba" (Genesis 23:2). "Yet through the scent of water it will bud": through the scent of commandments and good deeds it will bud. "And bring forth boughs like a young plant": it is not written "a plant" here, but "like a young plant"; the addition is greater than the original, "And Abraham took another wife." "In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not let your hand rest" (Ecclesiastes 11:6): if you have children in your youth, take a wife in your old age and raise children. From whom do you learn this? From Abraham, who took a wife and had children in his youth and took a wife in his old age, "And Abraham took another wife." "And her name was Keturah": Rabbi Yehudah says, this is Hagar. Rav Nachman said to him, but it is written "took another [vayosef]." He said to him, by command of the divine word, as you say, "And the LORD spoke yet again [vayosef] to me" (Isaiah 8:5). He said to him, but it is written "and her name was Keturah": because she bound up [kitrah] commandments and good deeds. He said to him, but it is written, "and to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had" (Genesis 25:6). He said to him, "concubine" is written here singular. "While he yet lived" (Genesis 25:6): she who sat by the well and said to the Life of all worlds, "see my disgrace." Rabbi Berekhyah said: even though you say, "and she went and wandered in the wilderness" (Genesis 21:14) you might think a creature was suspected concerning her; therefore the text teaches, "and her name was Keturah," like one who seals a treasury and finds it with its seal intact.