פרשת לך לך תשכ"ז - אברהם

Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart: ‘Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?’

ויפל אברהם על פניו ויצחק AND ABRAHAM FELL UPON HIS FACE AND LAUGHED — This word ויצחק Onkelos translates by וחדי which signifies joy (“and he rejoiced’’) but the similar verb in the case of Sarah (ותצחק Genesis 18:12) he translates as meaning laughter. From this you may understand that Abraham had faith and rejoiced, and that Sarah had no faith and sneered, and that is why God was angry with Sarah (when she laughed) but was not angry with Abraham.

הלבן SHALL A CHILD BE BORN TO ONE WHO IS A HUNDRED YEARS OLD? — There are some questions expressing astonishment which do not imply a doubt but rather affirm the certainty that the circumstance referred to has happened or will happen, as (1 Samuel 2:2) “Did I reveal myself [unto thy father’s house?]” (Of course, I did) and (Ezekiel 8:6) “Seest thou what they do?” (You, of course, have seen it). This question, too, affirms the certainty that it is possible for God to cause Abraham, at the age of hundred, to beget a son and this is in effect what he said to himself: Would there be done to another man one hundred years old this favour that the Holy One, blessed be He, is doing to me”? (Rashi means that the words must be translated, “would a child be born to any other person who is a hundred years old?”).

AND [AVRAHAM] LAUGHED. Onkelus translates [this word] וחדי ("he rejoiced) and so it is for צחוק ("laughter") is sometimes scoffing and sometimes rejoicing like, "playing (משחקת) in the habitable world of His earth" proverb 8:31) and "And David and all the house of Israel made merry (משחקים) before G-d" (II Shmuel 6:5). In my opinion, the intention in this expression is that whoever sees some wondrous that is for his benefit rejoices to the point that his "mouth becomes filled with laughter" this is what Sarah said: "God has made joy for me; whoever hears will rejoice over me." like "Then our mouths will be filled with laughter and our tongues with songs of praise;" (psalm 126:2) Avram acted this way too, when this was told to him he rejoiced and his mouth filled with laughter. AND HE SAID N HIS HEART. [AVRAM MEANT]: this calls for laughter, because it is a very wondrous thing! "Shall a child be born to a 100 year old man? And shall Sarah, a 90 year old woman, give birth" without this causing laughter and joy?! The Torah shortens his expression of wonderment, for its connected with what it said earlier "and he laughed" like Hagar's rhetorical question, "Could I have seen G-d even here?" is connected to the beginning of the passuk ["And she called the name of the Lord, Who had spoken to her, "You are the God of seeing,"] for she said "Could I have seen G-d even here," [that is how can I behold the One] who revealed himself to me because He saw my misery and not call him 'G-d of seeing'" and like "Did I appear to your ancestors family" (I Shmuel 2:27) is connected to "Why do you scorn My sacrifice and My meal-offering?" G-d was saying "Did I choose [your ancestors] and you so that you should scorn My sacrifice and My meal offering?!" Why [then] do you do so?!" Also, "Shall a child be born to a 100 year old man?" is a question expressing amazement, not as an impossible thing. like will you rebuke, will you rebuke a city of bloodshed?" which means "Do you [really] want to rebuke it and inform it of all its abominations?" similarly, "Do you cast your eyes on wealth and it is gone?" Also "have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat" meaning: did it [really] enter your mind to et from the tree!?" likewise in this passuk "Can it [really] be imagined that a child should be born to a 100 year old and Sarah a 90 year old woman should give birth?" After Avram told G-d, "May this miracle happen while Yishmael live" SHALL A CHILD BE BORN TO A HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN. The wonderment isn't that a 100 year-old man should father a child, for men can father children as long as they have moistness [even at] 90 years old, even in these [present]generations, and all the more so Avram, (when they lived longer), and he didnt reach two third of his years. Note that forty years after this he fathered many children with Keturah. Rather, he said, "Shall a 100 year-old man who didn't father any children in his younger years with 'this' wife father children through her now, after a 10o years old, and the 'manner of women' ceased from her?" for he knew that this was so. That's why he didnt say it at first, when it was told to him "I will make nations out of you" till [G-D] told him that it would be thru Sarah that he would have a child. G-D] commanded Avram "and you shall call his name Isaac," because of the laughter Avram laughed, and that's proof it was laughter of joy and faith. After Avram called him thus, as G-d commanded, Sarah said "Is it not that he called his name Isaac? For G-d has made laughter for me!"

And He left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.