“ותצחק שרה בקרבה לאמר, אחרי בלתי היתה לי עדנה ואדני זקן”
“Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have withered, shall I again have delicate skin? And my husband is old’!” Malachim who looked like people came to Avrohom and Sarah’s tent to bring them messages. One malach told Avrohom that his wife Sarah was going to have a son in a year. Sarah laughed; she did not think that she could still have children. Nor did she think that her husband could have children. The Ribbono Shel Olam came to Avrohom and had a complaint against Sarah, why she laughed. Avrohom confronted Sarah about this. Out of fear, Sarah responded that she did not laugh. Avrohom reiterated to her that she did laugh. (21:12) Rashi says that Sarah’s nevuah was greater than Avrohom’s. Sarah Imeinu was certainly a tzadeikes. How are we to understand this story? What is even more perplexing is that when Sarah did have a baby, he was called Yitzchok. It seems quite embarrassing for Sarah Imeinu that the baby should be called Yitzchok, when she was reprimanded for laughing when she heard the news that she would have a baby. (Albeit Rashi says that the name Yitzchok was for the laughter of Avrohom, who laughed from joy.)
The reason that Sarah laughed was that she heard the news that she would have a son while she was standing before the tent (18:10) “ושרה שמעת פתח האהל והוא אחריו”. Sarah was listening as the malach told Avrohom that she will have a son, “והוא אחריו”. Targum Yonason ben Uziel explains that “והוא אחריו” means that Yishmael was standing there with Sarah and heard as well. When one gives a brochah to another, he should make sure that none of the person’s enemies are there because the enemy can cause the brochah to not be mekuyum. Sarah believed that the brochah would come true. However, she was scared that Yishmael would try to nullify the brochah. Sarah laughed so that Yishmael would not think that the brochah was real and would not try to nullify it. When Avrohom asked Sarah why she laughed, she responded that she did not laugh because she did not believe in the brochah, but rather so that Yishmael would not believe in it. (קרן לדוד)
Sarah was a great tzadeikes. She had full emunah and bitachon that the Ribbono Shel Olam can make anything happen. She may have laughed to thwart a potential bitul of the brochah by Yishmael. She may not have realized that the brochah was coming from the Ribbono Shel Olam. She may have laughed because she was scared that she would ultimately not be zoche to the brochah because she would do aveiros. Whatever the reason, she certainly never meant to question the awesome power of the Ribbono Shel Olam.
Hakodosh Boruch Hu had Avrohom name this son Yitzchok as an everlasting reminder that no one should ever question the abilities of the Ribbono Shel Olam. The Ribbono Shel Olam created the world with “teva,” “nature,” but He certainly can change it at will. A Yid needs to “laugh” at the rest of the world. Yitzchok stands for gevurah, strength. A Yid needs the strength to stand up to anything or anyone in the world and to know that the Ribbono Shel Olam is all-powerful and can do what humans call “the impossible.”
RABBI YAKOV YOSEF SCHECHTER
