In Parshas Lech Lecha, we are introduced
to the first Jew, Avraham Avinu, who at the time was known as Avram. From the
beginning of the parsha, we are given examples of Avraham’s complete devotion
to Hashem. These examples still shine through to us today as examples of what it
means to be a God-fearing Jew.
The Torah tells us how Sarah and Avraham
went many years without having children. At a certain point, Sarah suggested to
Avraham that he take her maidservant, Hagar, in the hope that this kindness
would merit them having children of their own. This practice was imitated years
later with Yaakov and Rachel (See Bereishis 30:1-4). Hagar immediately became
pregnant, leading Sarah to respond to Avraham, “וַתֹּ֨אמֶר
שָׂרַ֣י אֶל־אַבְרָם֘ חֲמָסִ֣י עָלֶ֒יךָ֒ אָֽנֹכִ֗י נָתַ֤תִּי שִׁפְחָתִי֙
בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָ וַתֵּ֨רֶא֙ כִּ֣י הָרָ֔תָה וָֽאֵקַ֖ל בְּעֵינֶ֑יהָ יִשְׁפֹּ֥ט
יְהֹוָ֖ה בֵּינִ֥י וּבֵינֶֽיֹךָ” “So Sarai said to
Avram, ‘My injustice is upon you! I gave my maidservant into your bosom, and
she saw that she had conceived, I became lighter in her eyes. Let Hashem judge
between me and you!” (Bereishis 16:5). She felt that Hagar’s pregnancy
showed that while she was still not worthy of bearing children, Avraham had no
such issues. According to Rashi, she blamed him for not davening that she
should be worthy of children as well.
Of course, fourteen years later, Sarah
had her child from Avraham. The question always bothered me, was giving Hagar
to Avraham worth it? Did it help her merit to have children?
This year, I discovered an explanation
in the Kli Yakar which I believe answers this question. At the end of the
parsha, Hashem changes the names of Avram and Sarai to Avraham and Sarah;
adding a letter ה to Avram, and changing
the י at the end of
Sarai to a ה. Rashi (17:5) brings a
famous medrash that says that the י
from Sarai didn’t disappear, it waited around for many centuries until it was
given to Hoshea bin Nun when his name was changed to יהושע. (Understanding the importance and necessity of recycling letters
is beyond the scope of our discussion.)
The Kli Yakar brings a Kabbalistic
explanation to the fate of this letter י. In Kabbalah, the letter ה has the power of fertility. (Again, the power of letters and
their significance goes beyond the scope of this Dvar torah.) Hashem gave one ה to both Avraham and Sarah, giving them this power. Where did
these letters come from? The numerical value of the letter י
is ten and the value of ה is five. Hashem took the י
from Sarai, split it in two, and gave one to each of them allowing
them to have a baby together. We see clearly that the ability for both of them
to have children came from Sarai/Sarah.
To me, there is no doubt that the zchus Sarah
had to give this power to both herself and Avraham came from the act of chessed
she did with Hagar. Ultimately, her pain and sacrifice led to her becoming the
mother of the entire Jewish nation. As we work through Sefer Bereishis, we will
see stories of the many great acts of our forefathers. Through these stories,
we marvel at their greatness and feel pride at being their descendants. This
great act of Sarah’s is just such an example to lead off with.
Shabbat Shalom!
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