ראש השנה יא

The תורה tells us that when the מלאכים came to אברהם אבינו, they told him: “שוב אשוב אליך כעת חיה והנה בן לשרה אשתך.”  This is invariably translated as “We shall return to you at this time next year and your wife שרה shall have a son.”  The use of the word חיה here is rather odd.  The deeper meaning of what the מלאכים said to אברהם is that כעת, now, you think you have a son, namely ישמעאל.  However, he is a חיה; it’s from שרה that you will have a real son.  שרה thought this was funny and thus laughed.  To emphasize that this was no joke, the רבונו של עולם Himself repeated three פסוקים later: “למועד אשוב אליך כעת חיה ולשרה בן.”

05/10/2021