The current charity era’s hallmark is the phenomenon of the online campaign. Matched funding, teams aplenty as donors converge upon a set target. Note certain key words that appear in many campaigns, particularly the word “future”. A call to “build the future” is an attractive proposition. Yet the delicate interaction between present and future is not always well navigated.

Ishmael, though posing a future danger to the Jewish people (Rashi cites the particular incident), is deemed worthy of rescue by virtue of his present innocence. The Gemara expands: “A person is judged based on their current deeds,” irrespective of future failings.

Yet all is not so simple. The verdict meted out to the rebellious son is due to his future deeds (Deuteronomy 21). The Israeli angels leave Jacob at the onset of his journey out of Israel, since his destination was the diaspora (Genesis 28). Thus, we see that future trajectory can define a person too.

Future visions are crucial, whether a fitness target or a company goal. But an unrealistic future vision that fails to take into account present issues or does not  delineate a road map to get there is but a pipedream. While we encourage children to aspire and dream big, this must be tempered with present realism.

Jewish thought frowns on predicting a date for the arrival of the Messiah, yet in generations of turmoil Jewish authorities did predict dates: there is a tension between future and present focus. Indeed, the psychiatrist Victor Frankl records several instances of Auschwitz prisoners dying after their dates for liberation predictions had passed.

However, if our future plans are connected to our present, they form part of who we are. Someone who has started a diet or an organisation that has taken concrete steps on their journey to that promised-land target is connected to that future goal. A person who has planned to commit a crime has already started his guilty path, and one who plans to do something good has already incorporated future trajectory into current topography — they are already defined by that future status.

Yet Ishmael, whose present had not been affected by any future deeds, will find his identity defined by his present state.

“Build the future” is the clarion call. But the background that accompanies that call is how that future vision is incorporated into the present.