And Sarah Laughed…
Genesis 18:9-15
Abraham’s three guests said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he replied, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will come back to you next year and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were very old; Sarah was at the age when she could no longer have children. And so Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “Now that Abraham and I are so old, how am I supposed to have children?!” Then God said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying ‘Shall I really have a child, old as I am?’ Is anything too wondrous for God? I will return to you in the same season next year and Sarah shall have a son.” Sarah lied saying, “I didn’t laugh,” for she was frightened. But God replied, “You did laugh.”
Genesis 21:1-7
God remembered Sarah as God had promised and God did for Sarah as God had said. Sarah became pregnant and had a son right when God said she would. Abraham gave his newborn son the name Yitzhak . . . Abraham was 100 years old when his son Yitzhak was born. Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh (yitzhak) for me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children! Yet I have given birth to a son in our old age!”
Steps for Completing this Torah Hangout:
When appropriate, follow this level key: All / 2nd-4th graders / 5th-6th graders
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#1 Read the story about Sarah, Abraham and Yitzhak slowly and carefully.
#2 Respond to the following questions with a partner or on a sheet of paper:
- When God remembers to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah, giving them a child at last, how do you think they felt?
- Why does Sarah laugh? What is God’s response to her laughter?
- Yitzhak means “he will laugh.” Why does Sarah think “everyone who hears” that Yitzhak was born will laugh for her?
- What makes you laugh?
#3 Investigate the following piece of commentary and answer the related questions:
A midrash says to understand Sarah’s laughter as joy. It says: “God has brought me joy; everyone who hears will rejoice with me.” Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Isaac said: If one person -- we’ll call him Reuben -- rejoices, why should another person -- we’ll call him Shimon -- rejoice with him? So also, if Sarah was remembered (and she became pregnant), why should others rejoice with her? However, when Sarah was remembered by God, many other women who could not before get pregnant were remembered with her, many sick people were healed, many deaf people gained their hearing, many blind people were given sight, many crazy people were made sane -- forgiveness was granted to the whole world.
Rabbi Levi said: At Isaac’s birth God made the lights in the sky (sun, moon, stars, planets) even brighter. Meaning, when Isaac was born, all -- heaven, and earth, sun, moon and stars and planets -- rejoiced.
→ How does this midrash explain Sarah’s laughter?
→ According to this midrash, what happens when one person is joyous?
#4 For Fun: Why do we laugh? Listen to RadioLab’s podcast on laughter:
#5 Based on your discussion, please answer following question on the blog:
Why is it good to remember and fulfill a promise you made to someone?
Carly says:
ReplyDeleteIt is good to fulfill a promise to someone because they will always have your trust and know that they can trust you and there can be a ripple effect like Sarah's laughter. But also in a negative way, if you don't fulfill your promise people can lose trust in you and they could not trust you and tell other people not to trust you and then lots of people could lose trust in you.