“And Sarah laughed to herself, saying ‘Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment — with my husband so old?’ Then the lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am? Is anything too wondrous for the Lord?'”
Genesis 18:12 – 18:14
Sarah laughed. And why shouldn’t she? Both she and Abraham are advanced in age; Abraham is 100 and Sarah not much younger. But God promised Abraham a long time ago that he would be the father of multitudes, and now it appears God is ready to make good on that promise. There is a question whether God or Abraham scolds Sarah for laughing; the Hebrew text is not clear. But even though she gets frightened and tries to deny that she laughed, the fact is memorialized in the name of her child, Yitzchak (laughter).
There’s not a lot of laughter in the Torah. The very child whose name is Laughter, Isaac, doesn’t even get to smile, much less laugh, as his life unfolds. His father nearly kills him, and as a result, he and Abraham never speak again. He goes blind, giving his wife, Rebecca, and son, Jacob, the opportunity to deceive him. And his favorite son, Esau, sells his birthright for a portion of lentil stew. So it’s nice to know that, before he was born, his mother laughed in pleasant surprise that she was to have a child.
Why does Sarah laugh? If we take her literally, she simply can’t believe that she is going to have a baby. That’s understandable — she’s in her nineties. True, God has told Abraham repeatedly that his descendants will be “as numerous as the sands on the shore of the sea,” but nothing really has happened to prove it, at least as far as Sarah is concerned. It doesn’t seem to be Abraham’s fault; he already has a son, Ishmael, whom he conceived with Hagar, Sarah’s slave. Sarah knows that, and she is definitely not happy about it. But as far as Sarah is concerned, nothing happens — until it does — and Sarah laughs.
Does Sarah’s laughter necessarily show derision? God and Abraham seem to think it does. But people laugh for a number of reasons, one of which is pure relief. Sarah has waited so long. She has been a good wife to Abraham and has endured many hardships because of him. She left her native land with him, traveled many, many miles, pretended to be his sister to save him from harm. And now, at last, she finds she is going to have a baby. What joy!
She names her child “Laughter.” If only his life, and hers, had turned out to be joyful. Unfortunately, it did not. The following Parashah is called “Chaya Sarah,” the Life of Sarah, but sadly, it tells of her death, not her life. Sarah dies of sorrow, thinking that her son, Laughter, has been killed by his own father.
Women are often cast as villains in the Bible. Eve is blamed for getting Adam thrown out of the Garden of Eden, although she certainly didn’t put a gun to Adam’s head to get him to take a bite of the apple. Rebecca goads Jacob to deceive his father and steal his brother’s birthright.
Lot’s daughters get their father drunk and then sleep with him. But we have to remember who wrote the Bible, and it wasn’t women.
As a mother, I can only imagine what I would have thought if my husband, unbeknownst to me, tried to sacrifice my son. I certainly wouldn’t have laughed then! So it’s nice that Sarah gets a giggle before the child is born, because his life, and hers, are not going to be a laughing matter.
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Commentary on Parashat Vayeira
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By Bettijane Eisenpreis
“And Sarah laughed to herself, saying ‘Now that I am withered, am I to have enjoyment — with my husband so old?’ Then the lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I in truth bear a child, old as I am? Is anything too wondrous for the Lord?'”
Genesis 18:12 – 18:14
Sarah laughed. And why shouldn’t she? Both she and Abraham are advanced in age; Abraham is 100 and Sarah not much younger. But God promised Abraham a long time ago that he would be the father of multitudes, and now it appears God is ready to make good on that promise. There is a question whether God or Abraham scolds Sarah for laughing; the Hebrew text is not clear. But even though she gets frightened and tries to deny that she laughed, the fact is memorialized in the name of her child, Yitzchak (laughter).
There’s not a lot of laughter in the Torah. The very child whose name is Laughter, Isaac, doesn’t even get to smile, much less laugh, as his life unfolds. His father nearly kills him, and as a result, he and Abraham never speak again. He goes blind, giving his wife, Rebecca, and son, Jacob, the opportunity to deceive him. And his favorite son, Esau, sells his birthright for a portion of lentil stew. So it’s nice to know that, before he was born, his mother laughed in pleasant surprise that she was to have a child.
Why does Sarah laugh? If we take her literally, she simply can’t believe that she is going to have a baby. That’s understandable — she’s in her nineties. True, God has told Abraham repeatedly that his descendants will be “as numerous as the sands on the shore of the sea,” but nothing really has happened to prove it, at least as far as Sarah is concerned. It doesn’t seem to be Abraham’s fault; he already has a son, Ishmael, whom he conceived with Hagar, Sarah’s slave. Sarah knows that, and she is definitely not happy about it. But as far as Sarah is concerned, nothing happens — until it does — and Sarah laughs.
Does Sarah’s laughter necessarily show derision? God and Abraham seem to think it does. But people laugh for a number of reasons, one of which is pure relief. Sarah has waited so long. She has been a good wife to Abraham and has endured many hardships because of him. She left her native land with him, traveled many, many miles, pretended to be his sister to save him from harm. And now, at last, she finds she is going to have a baby. What joy!
She names her child “Laughter.” If only his life, and hers, had turned out to be joyful. Unfortunately, it did not. The following Parashah is called “Chaya Sarah,” the Life of Sarah, but sadly, it tells of her death, not her life. Sarah dies of sorrow, thinking that her son, Laughter, has been killed by his own father.
Women are often cast as villains in the Bible. Eve is blamed for getting Adam thrown out of the Garden of Eden, although she certainly didn’t put a gun to Adam’s head to get him to take a bite of the apple. Rebecca goads Jacob to deceive his father and steal his brother’s birthright.
Lot’s daughters get their father drunk and then sleep with him. But we have to remember who wrote the Bible, and it wasn’t women.
As a mother, I can only imagine what I would have thought if my husband, unbeknownst to me, tried to sacrifice my son. I certainly wouldn’t have laughed then! So it’s nice that Sarah gets a giggle before the child is born, because his life, and hers, are not going to be a laughing matter.
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