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By Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal
 SAN DIEGO--After the miraculous birth of Isaac, Sarah worried about his half-brother Ishmael's negative influence upon him. She was so concerned that she asked Abraham to banish Ishmael and his mother, Hagar, from her household and the tribe.
Although Abraham is horrified at the thought of sending his son away, God reassures him that Ishmael and Hagar will be protected: "As for the son of the slave-woman, I will make a nation of him, for he is your seed." (Gen. 21:13)
Hagar and Ishmael wander in the wilderness. When their water is used up Hagar bursts into tears: "Let me not look on as the child dies." (Gen. 21:16)
The Torah tell us: "God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel of God called to Hagar and said to her,'What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is.'...Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and let the boy drink." (Gen. 21:17-19)
Rashi cites a Midrashic text in which the angels are disturbed that God saved Ishmael. "Master of the Universe! The descendents of the one that you are saving will one day try to kill the Children of Israel by denying them water! How can you now save Ishmael by providing him with a well filled with sweet water?"
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God asked them, "Is this child before you innocent or guilty?"
They replied, "At the moment he is righteous!"
God said, "Then I will judge him on his merits today, not on what he might do tomorrow."
This is what the Torah means when it says, " God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is." Where he is today and not tomorrow.
Based on this verse, Rabbi Yitzchak said that one should only judge a person on his current deeds, not on what you think he might do in the future. (Da'at Chachamim, p. 71)
Rashi's comment led me to consider one of the outcomes of prejudice. A dictionary definition of prejudice is "an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason." Prejudice is forming an opinion about someone without the benefit of knowing anything about them. It is pre-judging someone based not on their present or future deeds, but rather on their ethnicity, race, or religion.
Rabbi Yitzchak cautions us not to judge someone on what they might do or who they might be, but rather on who they are today. We must not make quick or snap decisions about people we meet and learn what makes them tick as human beings and children of God. We must not prejudge them and learn to accept them "where they are."
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