[Avodah] A few notes on Parshas Vayeiro

[Richard Wolpoe]

On 10/25/07, SBA <sba at sba2.com> wrote:
>
> Q: Why did HKBH 'complain' to Avrohom - "Lomo zeh tzochako Sarah"?
>
> After all, if a few itinerant Arabs tell a 90 year old woman that she will
> soon become pregnant - isn't she justified in laughing it off?
>
> True, Sarah was greater in neviyeh than Avrohom, but - al pi pshat - it is
> quite obvious that she didn't realise that this promise was coming from
> Hashem. (Ayen Ramban - posuk 15)
>
> And from Rashi (18:16) dh 'Leshalchom' it is mashma that even as they
> left,
> Avrohom still thought of them as guests - not malochim.
>
> (See the Or Hachaim Hakodosh (18: 13-15, some very nice pshat on these
> matters.)
>
> Also, lechoreh, it seems that Avrohom didn't talk too much to Sarah - even
> important matters - eg. Hashem's promise to him (Lech Lecho 17-19) that he
> and Sarah will have a son !!



I just heard this the other day as follows:

We know HKBH changed the lashon from Adoni Zoken to va'ani Zokanti...
Now, the Targum supports the read that Avraham's laughter was not cynical
but Sara's was.  However, apparently the story CAN be read the other way,
that really Avraham was being incredulous and Sara's laughter was out of
genuine joy. [apparently this can be cullled from the story linee but I am
not sure how]


So according to this revision, how is it that HKBH talks about SARA and not
about Avraham himself ? This is becasue HKBH was chastising Sara ONLY as a
strawperson to chastise Avraham himself for laughing at the end of Lech
Lecha.  It was a form of an oblique hint.

There is a Yiddish saying: "She says the daughter but MEANS the
daughter-in-law" IOW when a Mother-in-law cannot chastise her
daughter-in-law directly, she instead talks to her own daughter whose and
the hint is giventhereby to the daughter-in-law indirectly.

Same idea. By HKBH telling Avrham to about Sara's laughter Sara, He was
really hinting at Avraham's own laughter.

-- 
Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
RabbiRichWolpoe at Gmail.com
Please Visit:
http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/
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