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Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Bereshit
- Vayera
"And Sara laughed ‘b’kirba’ (within herself): ‘After I am old, will I have pleasure (‘edna’), & my husband is old?! And G-d said to Avraham, why did Sara laugh, saying ‘Will I, who am old, have a child?!’ Is anything too hard for Hashem? Then Sara denied & she said, ‘I didn’t laugh,’ for she was afraid. And He said, ‘No, but you laughed."
A multitude of questions come pouring out:
- Why is only Sara criticized for laughing, when Avraham does the same (17:17) with no reaction at all from Hashem? - Rashi notes that Hashem omitted Sara’s comment – "and my husband is old" – in the interest of shalom, but if G-d wanted shalom between the couple, why did He have to say anything at all?! - Plus, Sara never claimed she was too old for a child; she talked about ‘edna," pleasure! - And finally, if laughing is apparently such a negative thing, then why is Yitzchak stuck with that name forever?
Let me try to suggest an approach that sorts all this out.
Sara, like all the Imahot, clearly has a heightened sense of ruach ha-kodesh over & above her husband (as we see in the expulsion of Yishmael, when Hashem says, "All that Sara says, listen to her voice"). She intuits deep in her soul ("b’kirba") that there is "edna," another (as in "Od") challenge ahead; her family will have to undergo the traumatic episode of the Akeida, & that will sorely test Avraham’s courage, for "he is old." Can he handle that?
That is why she denies laughing out of a sense of disbelief & states, "Lo, tzachakti ki ya’reah," no, I laughed because of fear – fear that perhaps the Akeida will end disastrously. Hashem then reassures her that all will be well, that she & Avraham will come out of this daunting nisayon with only joy & happiness. That is why G-d brings Avraham into the conversation at all.
And this is exactly why Yitzchak bears the name he does; it is a timeless message that ultimately we, Yitzchak’s descendants, shall rejoice with laughter, despite all the trials & tribulations we will face in our history. Ultimately, the name "Yitzchak" will be read – as we do today at the brit of every Jewish boy – as "Yischak," with a sihn, & not with a tzadi. For that name denotes a higher level of happiness, as we say, "Az y’malay s’chok pinu; when we return to Israel, then our mouths will be filled only with unadulterated joy & jubilation (Jew-bilation?)."
When the angel tells Avraham about the impending birth, the pasuk mysteriously says, "and Sara heard behind him." Sara is the prime mover behind all of this, operating at a stratified spiritual level. She truly epitomizes the truth that, "behind every good man is an even better woman."
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
Rabbis in Midrash
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
