What I would like to focus on, however, is an interesting juxtaposition of two instances of laughter. In last week’s parsha, Avraham laughs when God tells him that, despite his old age, he and Sarah will be blessed with a child. This week, Sarah has a similar reaction. God and Jewish tradition, however, have two very different interpretations of their laughter. Let’s look at the text in both instances:
Abraham’s Laughter:
And
God said to Abraham, As for your wife
Sarai, you shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah. I will bless her; indeed, I will give you a
son by her. I will bless her so that she
shall give rise to nations; rulers of peoples shall issue from her. Abraham threw himself on his face and
laughed, as he said to himself, Can a child be born to a man a hundred years
old, or can Sarah bear a child at ninety? And Abraham said to God, O
that Ishmael might live by Your favor!
God said, Nevertheless, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you
shall name him Isaac; and I will maintain My covenant with him as an
everlasting covenant for his offspring to come. [Genesis 17:15-19]
Sarah’s
Laughter:
Then [one of Avraham’s
guests] said, I will return to you [Avraham] next year, and your wife Sarah
shall have a son. Sarah was
listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in
years; Sarah had stopped having the periods of women. 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? I will return to you at the same season next
year, and Sarah shall have a son. [Genesis 18:10-14]
God’s
reaction to Sarah’s laughter seems to stand in sharp contrast to that of Avraham. The way I have heard it most often explained
is that Avraham’s laughter was laughter of joy and therefore God did not
question the laughter as he knew it was done with complete faith that God would
do as he said (this interpretation is taken up by Rashi). Sarah’s laughter, on the other hand, was
viewed as being almost cynical with disbelief that she would actually bear a
son in her old age. [There are also less-well-known
commentaries critical of Avraham’ s laugh; e.g. Yalkut Shimoni 82.] Therefore, God openly criticizes Sarah. It appears to me, however, that the text can
be read in another way (and is perhaps even more easily read this way).
To
begin, Avraham “threw himself on his face and laughed” seemingly similar to one
who falls out of their chair in laughter due to an absolutely ridiculous
statement that someone said. Then, when
God replies to Avraham’s laughter he begins with the Hebrew word “Aval”. I have seen this translated in this context
as nevertheless (above), nay, and but (which reads a bit awkwardly). In short form, God is saying with this word: Avraham,
despite your disbelief and your hope that Ishmael will find My favor, Sarah
will be given a son! Perhaps this is
because it is not just Avraham who God is blessing with a son who will upkeep a
covenant with God. Sarah, too, has won
God’s favor (see my other post linked above) and God therefore says despite Avraham’s
reaction God will be giving him a son because Sarah is the primary one that God
is blessing with Isaac. Avraham would
have been happy with Ishmael as his only son, as is apparent through the verse:
O that Ishmael might live by Your favor!
Sarah, however, would have died barren and without a legacy. Isaac was more of a blessing for Sarah than
for her husband.
Sarah’s
laughter, which very well may be in disbelief, may not be in anyway directed
toward God. Avraham laughed directly at
God, face-to-face. Sarah, however, was
not in direct conversation with Him.
Rather, she is overhearing a conversation between her husband and men
(God’s messengers, perhaps angels) that she has not just never met, but never
seen (as can be assumed from the fact that the Rabbis emphasize she stayed in
the tent for modesty reasons). God’s
messengers, who Sarah believes are just passersby, deliver God’s message to
Avraham; Sarah merely overhears this message.
Her reaction is no different than what is to be expected from an elder
woman who has been barren her whole life.
Not until God speaks directly (rather than through the messengers) does
Sarah realize that the men were not ordinary men but carried a divine message. Upon this realization, she responds to God’s
claim that she laughed, lying and saying: I did not laugh. Only then does God speak directly to Sarah: You
did laugh. Simple as that.
Neither
Avraham or Sarah’s laughter result in any changes in God’s will. In neither instance does he rescind his
promise of Isaac being born to Sarah. This
makes their inclusion in the Torah even more interesting. The Torah is very brief and includes only
essentials; the Talmud and Midrashim fill in the details behind what is
actually written in the Torah. Why aren’t
the verses describing Sarah and Avraham’s laughter relegated to a Midrash? To this, I do not have an answer.
Perhaps
it is to teach us something of human nature, of the human psyche. Perhaps it is to show the importance of a
name, as Isaac (“Yitzchak”) is named after laughter (also “Yitzchak”). Or perhaps the effect of our fore-father
and –mother’s laughter was only felt in later generations (Rabbi Pinchas in the
name of Rabbi Levi claims this).
No
matter the reason for its inclusion, in this week’s Torah portion we are shown
the beauty – and the complex dynamics – of a laugh.
Shabbat
Shalom.
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