I once heard the following idea, and I'm wondering what is the source for it.
Avraham was the pillar of chesed. His son Yishmael was rejected as being part of the Jewish people. Chazal say that Yishmaelites are steeped in illicit relations. This is because he is the corruption of his father's chesed. We see this idea when the Torah says regarding incest with a sister:
וְאִ֣ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִקַּ֣ח אֶת־אֲחֹת֡וֹ בַּת־אָבִ֣יו א֣וֹ בַת־אִ֠מּוֹ וְרָאָ֨ה אֶת־עֶרְוָתָ֜הּ וְהִֽיא־תִרְאֶ֤ה אֶת־עֶרְוָתוֹ֙ חֶ֣סֶד ה֔וּא וְנִ֨כְרְת֔וּ לְעֵינֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י עַמָּ֑ם עֶרְוַ֧ת אֲחֹת֛וֹ גִּלָּ֖ה עֲוֺנ֥וֹ יִשָּֽׂא׃
The Torah calls it chesed. This is a corrupt form of it, and Yishmael embodies it.
Where can I find this idea? The closest thing I found is the Radak explains that chesed is either increasing good to another or increasing immortality (זנות) with another, which might mean what I'm saying, but I'm looking for the Yishmael idea.
Answer
Rabbi Zaddoq HaKohen of Lublin writes this in P'ri Zaddiq (Qedushat Shabbat: Ma'amar 4):
וזהו מדת אברהם אבינו ע"ה איש החסד שמפסולתו יצא ישמעאל המלא בתאוות דגילוי עריות דכתיב בהו חסד הוא שהוא פסולת החסד כידוע
And this is the trait of our forefather Abraham OBM the man of hessed (kindness) from whose p'solet (dregs) Ishmael emerged, full of his lusts of illicit relations, about which are written (Leviticus 20:17) "it is hessed".
he writes similarly elsewhere such as P'ri Zaddiq (Quntres Amala Shel Torah: Ot 5), P'ri Zaddiq (Parashat Vayishlah), and P'ri Zaddiq (Parashat Vayetse: Ot 7).
A slightly earlier source is Torat Hayyim (Parashat Tol'dot pg. 290) of R. DovBer, the "Mittler Rebbe" of Lubavitch, which states that Yishmael had a corrupted version of Abraham's kindness. Note also the writings of his father R. Schneur Zalman if Liadi (Ketavim Vol. II pg. 83).
More recently, rabbi Aharon Lopiansky references this in his Time Pieces page 266. He suggests that Ishmael corrupted Abraham's trait of kindness, leading to such activities as theft and licentiousness.
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