Why Avraham gave some sons worldly gifts and sent them east
Avraham gave the sons of the concubines their portion of worldly pleasure and sent them away early, since he himself chose subjugation and the World to Come (like his request that Esav "pass on before" him), while the nations chose this world first, their reward coming now rather than later. In the future, when G-d's Name is complete and His Kingdom is revealed, that worldly gain and glory will itself be transformed into holiness dedicated to G-d.AI summary · anthropic/claude-sonnet-5
"And to the sons of the concubines, etc., kedmah (eastward), to the land of kedem (the land of the east)"—this is extra. And the explanation is as follows: Avraham chose for himself subjugation to the kingdoms and the World to Come (Bereishit Rabbah 44:21), as it is written (Bereishit 33:14), "Let my master pass on before his servant," while the nations of the world chose this world. And this is what is meant after Shirat HaYam (the Song at the Sea): "For the horse of Pharaoh came, etc."—that is to say, all this commotion is already old and stale, for the horse has already come, etc., but in the future to come, when "for the kingdom is the Lord's, etc.," then "saviors shall go up, etc.," and "on that day Hashem will be One and His Name One," as I have explained elsewhere. And now the Name is not complete.
ולבני הפלגשים כו', קדמה אל ארץ קדם הוא למותר, והנ"ל דהנה אברהם בירר לו שיעבוד מלכיות ועוה"ב (ב"ר מד כא) וכמ"ש (בראשית לג יד) יעבור אדוני לפני עבדו ואומות העולם ביררו עוה"ז, וזה"ש אחר שירת הים כי בא סוס כו' כלומר כל הרעש הזה הוא כבר ישן נושן שכבר בא סוס כו' אבל לעתיד לבא כי לה' המלוכה כו' אזי ועלו מושיעים כו' ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד וכמו שפירשתי במ"א, ועכשיו אין השם שלם.
Here is the meaning: "and to the sons of the concubines" — since the Name was not yet complete, Avraham gave them gifts of the pleasure of this world and sent them away, etc., ahead of time, so that they would enjoy their pleasure before the sons of Yitzchak. But in the time to come it is said, "The glory of the Levanon shall come to you, etc." (Yeshayahu 60:13), and "her gain and her hire shall be holiness to Hashem" (ibid. 23:18).
וזהו ולבני הפלגשים, שעדיין אין השם שלם נתן אברהם מתנות תענוג עוה"ז וישלחם כו' קדמה שהם יתענגו קודם בני יצחק, אבל לעתיד לבא נאמר (ישעי' ס יג) כבוד הלבנון אליך יבא כו', והיה סחרה ואתננה קודש לה' (שם כג יח).
Translation: translated by AI (anthropic/claude-sonnet-5)