The passuk saysו RSRH תצחק שרה Zatzal points out how Klal Yisroel was created by so much laughter over something so absurd and ridiculous, and how Sara found out accidentally and it struck her so suddenly. This is the essence of Klal Yisroel. Orchos Chaim of the Rosh says that the main difference between Klal Yisroel and Goyim is Middas HaBitachon, and “Bitachon” and “Badchan” (comedy) are related.
Just as Klal Yisroel left “Mitzrayim” which means “boundary” and an “enclosed” place, so does the world need our Bitachon which makes a “joke” out of the limitations of “impossible” situations.
ִיַרְצִמְבּ יִתְּלַלַּﬠְתִה רֶשֲׁא םבא י ב Hashem made fun of the Mitzri'im. This is just an example of how He makes a comical joke out of “limitations” and all those locked Matzavim of Yi'ush. And this is the job of a Yid, to break barriers all his life, by playing-down his pecklach, since Hashem can do anything. In this way he saves the world, and he brings-up the Bitachon level.
Laughter kills all our problems. It opens us up and eases us from stress (וּנֵצֲחַל) and pressures which the world is full of. The more you work on laughter, the further you go (and the longer you live!) In Madregas HaAdam, the Alter Zatzal says that there is nothing “weird” or “strange” or “ridiculous” that Hashem cannot do. The weirdest and craziest Yeshuos can come to a Baal Bitachon.
With the birth of Yitzchok, the seeds of K'riyas Yam Suf were born. And every Yid can create more and more weird Yeshuos in his life, and prove the greatness of Hashem and the stupidity of Tevah and all its limitations.
The True Greatness of a Human Is Davka to Have a Negative Side Which He Overcomes
The greatness of Sara Imeinu is that she was human with a gut reaction of laughter, which she overcame with blind Bitachon.
When A Person Truly Respects Himself, He Can Have Amazing Respect for ALL Humans
The passuk says ˃ֶדְּבַﬠ לַﬠֵמ רֹבֲﬠַת אָנ לַא ˃יֶניֵﬠְבּ ןֵח יִתאָצָמ אָנ םִא It is awe inspiring how a great and famous person like Avraham Avinu should have such amazing respect for what appeared to be three low-life Arabs! We can suggest because just like his very name means greatness ( ַאב - ָרם exalted father) so did he respect all humans, since we are all a: לַﬠַמִמ ַקוֹלֱא קֶלֵח piece of Hashem Mamash! Indeed, Avraham was the first person who found Hashem, but he also found himself!
All this took place while he had just had a Bris Mila, which is a most remarkable Mitzva, as if to say that Hashem’s creation of man is lacking, and the human has to “fix”: לוֹכָיְבְכּ (if it was possible) what Hashem left out! ְג ָלוֹדה תַלָבְּקַהֵמ רֵתוֹי םיִחְרוֹא תַסָנְכַה הָניִכְשׁ יֵנְפּ שבת קכז א “Inviting guests is even greater than greeting the Shechina!” was said about this incident! It was when he just had a Bris Mila, that Avraham got the message that Hashem wants the human to: לוֹכָיְבְכּ (if it was possible) have something “over” Him!
This is the opposite of Dor HaMabul which were Nichshal in Gezel and Arayos, i.e., not being serious about the rights of a human, and “making cheap” the whole: הָאיִרְבּ world and the holiness of mankind. At the end of our long Galus, we need extra work to appreciate ourselves and our true greatness.
The True Self-Esteem Person Recognizes His Own and Other People’s Gadlus
Then we have Avraham Avinu giving Tochacha to a powerful king without Hispa'alus. The true self-esteem person can be extreme in recognizing his and other people’s Gadlus, and he is also tough and unafraid of even the mightiest. His energy spills over to those around him, as it says by Avraham: ויָכיִנֲח תֶא קֶרָיַּו יד יד He galvanized his disciples.
And do you know why Avraham Avinu went all out for the wicked Anshei Sedom? He was fighting for the honor of a Tzelem Elokim, which the Mitzva of Bris Mila had taught him!
After all, if she had no challenge or Yetzer Hara to feel differently, what Ma'ala and value is her Bitachon? And just as the very essence of Klal Yisroel was built on laughter, it was also built on an action which was criticized, as Hashem said to Avraham: הָרָשׂ הָקֲחָצ הֶזּ הָמָּל הֵמ אֵלָפִּיֲה' רָבָדּ יח יג -יד Why did Sara laugh? Is there anything that Hashem cannot do??
The true greatness of a human is Davka to have a negative side which he overcomes. Perhaps this is the reason why Avraham fed the Malachim (they “needed” him), to be M'ramez that an Adam is greater than a Malach, since only an Adam says: םָלוֹעָה אָרְבִנ יִליִבְשִׁבּ the entire universe was created just for me, and a Malach, being only a Chelek (portion) of the Adam’s world, needs an Adam.
הָרָשׂ שֵׁחַכְתַּוהָאֵרָי יִכּ יִתְּקַחָצ אֹל רֹמאֵל יח טו Sara denied laughing, since she was afraid. This is the very essence of every Oved Hashem. םָקָו קיִדַּצ לוֹפִּי עַבֶשׁ זט דכ ילשמ A Tzaddik falls seven times, and gets up; i.e., a person who always makes embarrassing mistakes which he’d like to deny, and then he tries again and does Teshuva. So don’t Redd-Zich-Ein (convince yourself) that you, or all those Tzaddikim you admire, aren’t full of mistakes. Sara was most probably the biggest Tzadekes in the history of mankind.
