<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 10/25/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">SBA</b> <<a href="mailto:sba@sba2.com">sba@sba2.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Q: Why did HKBH 'complain' to Avrohom - "Lomo zeh tzochako Sarah"?<br><br>After all, if a few itinerant Arabs tell a 90 year old woman that she will<br>soon become pregnant - isn't she justified in laughing it off?
<br><br>True, Sarah was greater in neviyeh than Avrohom, but - al pi pshat - it is<br>quite obvious that she didn't realise that this promise was coming from<br>Hashem. (Ayen Ramban - posuk 15)<br><br>And from Rashi (18:16) dh 'Leshalchom' it is mashma that even as they left,
<br>Avrohom still thought of them as guests - not malochim.<br><br>(See the Or Hachaim Hakodosh (18: 13-15, some very nice pshat on these<br>matters.)<br><br>Also, lechoreh, it seems that Avrohom didn't talk too much to Sarah - even
<br>important matters - eg. Hashem's promise to him (Lech Lecho 17-19) that he<br>and Sarah will have a son !!</blockquote><div><br><br>I just heard this the other day as follows:<br><br><blockquote>We know HKBH changed the lashon from Adoni Zoken to va'ani Zokanti...
<br>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]
<br></blockquote></div><blockquote><br>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.
<br><br>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.
<br><br>Same idea. By HKBH telling Avrham to about Sara's laughter Sara, He was really hinting at Avraham's own laughter.<br></blockquote></div>-- <br>Kol Tuv / Best Regards,<br><a href="mailto:RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com">
RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com</a><br>Please Visit: <br><a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/">http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/</a>