English translation — חיי שרה ג

Sicha 3, page 94

A.

"And Abraham added and took a wife, and her name was Keturah, and she bore him etc."¹.

And known is the wonder in this: in several earlier verses it is explicit,

that the birth of Isaac when Abraham was one hundred years old was a miraculous thing

(not only because of Sarah's age but also)

since Abraham was at an age that according to nature he cannot father children:

"And Abraham fell<sup>2</sup>

on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is a hundred years old?

(And if Sarah, who is ninety years old, shall bear?)

"; "And Abraham<sup>3</sup>

and Sarah were old, advanced in days etc., and Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am withered shall I have pleasure, and my lord is old"; "And she said, Who would have said to Abraham etc. that I have borne a son to his old age"<sup>4</sup>,

And until "that the scoffers of the generation said, From Abimelech Sarah became pregnant"<sup>5</sup>.

Based on this, one must understand why when there were born to Avraham another six sons,

forty years after the birth of Yitzchak,

when he was one hundred years old<sup>6</sup>,

it is not explained in the verse that this was a miraculous and wondrous thing etc.

And behold, the Ramban<sup>2</sup>

wrote regarding the birth of Yitzchak that the wonder is not in a hundred-year-old begetting<sup>7</sup>,

and he brings a proof from the above — that "after this forty years he begot many sons from Keturah."

But one cannot explain thus the method and opinion of Rashi,

for from the plain sense of the above verses it does not seem so,

and if Rashi held thus, he would have explained it,

and moreover, from his very commentary<sup>2</sup>

it implies the opposite,

that he wrote "although the early generations would beget at five hundred years, in the days of Avraham the years had already diminished and weakness of strength came into the world, and go out and learn from the ten generations from Noach until Avraham who hastened their offspring at sixty years and at seventy"<sup>8</sup>.

And even if you will say that by Avraham⁹

there was no weakness until he was one hundred years old¹⁰

[or that

(after the time of "And Avraham¹¹

and Sarah were old")

he returned to his youth and fathered at the age of one hundred¹²],

behold after this it is said in our parshah

(again)

"And Avraham was old, advanced in days"¹³,

namely<pg>95</pg>

that there was old age by him that was added afterwards,

and if so, behold the birth of the children of Keturah when he was one hundred years old is a miraculous thing.

And as understood from the words of the Midrash&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;

on the verse "And Avraham was old, etc." — "Said Rabbi Yochanan: It is already written 'And Avraham and Sarah were old'; what does it teach us 'And Avraham was old'? Rather, that the Holy One, blessed be He, returned him to the days of his youth; it was necessary to write a second time 'And Avraham was old.'

Rabbi Ami said: Here [it refers to] old age that has moisture; there [it refers to] old age that has no moisture."&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;

— Behold, that even if you say that the birth of Yitzchak was a miracle from Avraham's side

(that old age and weakness of strength related to procreation did not rule over him),

nevertheless, a miracle was needed for the birth of the sons from Keturah, which was after it was already stated the verse "And Avraham was old, advanced in days"&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt;.

2.

And one may say the point of the explanation in this:

In the story of the birth of Isaac it is said&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;

"And Sarah said, 'God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me,'"

and Rashi explains&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

"Many barren women were remembered with her,

many sick people were healed on that day,

many prayers were answered with her,

and much laughter was in the world",

behold, the miracle of the birth of Isaac was in such a manner that it caused salvation and deliverance in the entire world,

until it brought that joy and much laughter was in the world.

And with this will be understood what Rashi said there on the verse&lt;sup&gt;4&lt;/sup&gt;

Sarah nursed children — "What is 'children' in the plural,

on the day of the feast the noblewomen brought their sons with them and she nursed them,

for they were saying, 'Sarah did not give birth, but rather she brought a foundling from the market'"&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;,

and likewise in the portion of Lech Lecha&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;

Rashi explained "And regarding the nursing of breasts when it was needed for that on the day of the feast of Isaac, for they were gossiping about them that they brought a foundling from the market and saying, 'He is our son,' and each one brought her son with her and did not bring a wet nurse, and she nursed all of them."

At first glance,

if the reason for the matter was only to prove that Sarah gave birth to Yitzchak and he is not a foundling from the market,

it would have been sufficient that everyone see that she is nursing Yitzchak,

or that she nurse several more sons,

but why was it necessary for her to nurse "all of them"?

Rather, there was in this an additional matter,

that the miracle of the birth of Yitzchak caused many matters of influence and even to "much laughter...

in the world",

and therefore this was also expressed in that she nursed the sons of all the noblewomen.

And based on this, one can say,

that just as we find by Sarah,

that the miracle of the birth of Yitzchak caused several more miracles by her and in her merit,

and miracles that brought salvation and rescue in the world

("many barren women were remembered with her...

were answered with her",

and even to nursing the sons of all the noblewomen)

— so too is it regarding Avraham,

that the miracle of the birth of Yitzchak caused additional miracles by him,

that more sons were born to him in a wondrous and miraculous way

(after "Avraham was old, advanced in days"),

and these sons are not of the children of Israel but from the nations of the world

(in the manner mentioned above by Sarah).

3.

But a reason is needed: What is the reason that the miracle of the birth of Yitzchak caused additional miracles that there should be "laughter..

in the world"?

And also one must understand the difference in this between Avraham and Sarah:

a)

By Sarah this action was in the world<pg>96</pg>

Immediately and at once,

"Many barren women were remembered on that day",

And also that Sarah nursed children,

Whereas by Abraham this was for a long time — forty years — after the birth of Isaac.

2)

By Sarah this came automatically as a result of the birth of Isaac,

without any special action on Sarah's part,

but by Abraham this was a matter in its own right,

the begetting of children — the nations of the world

(from Keturah)

in a miraculous manner.

And it may be said,

that in this is hinted a fundamental and essential matter in the influence of the children of Israel upon the nations of the world.

For we find that before the birth of Yitzchak there had to be a change of the names of Avraham and Sarah,

as Rashi explains²¹

"Avram has no son but Avraham has a son,

and similarly Sarai will not give birth but Sarah will give birth."

That the reason is because "I call you by a different name and the constellation will change."

Together with this it stands to reason,

that the birth of Yitzchak is connected to the content of the two new names: "Avraham" and "Sarah".

And superficially it is perplexing: The content of the names "Av-raham" and "Sarah"

(in relation to "Avram" and "Sarai")

indicates dominion over the entire world — "A father of a multitude of nations have I made you"²²,

not only "Avram" — "father of Aram" but "father of the entire world"²²,

and "Sarah" means

(as Rashi explains²³)

"

[not]

Sarai

(which implies)

for me and not for others, but Sarah is her name simply that she will be a ruler over all"; and what is the connection between these name changes and the birth of Yitzchak,

which is the beginning of the people of Israel,

"for in Yitzchak will be called your seed"²⁴?

And it is understood from this,

that the essential matter in the birth of Yitzchak

(and the Jewish people)

is the action

(and the control)

over the nations of the world.

And based on this, it can be said,

that this is the content of the matter of the miracles that came in the continuation of the birth of Yitzchak which caused that there be "great laughter..

in the world",

that through this was emphasized the matter of their rulership over the entire world,

that they are the ones who cause that there be salvation in the world; and in this itself there were two types — the miracles that pertain to Sarah and the miracles of Avraham

(the birth of the children of Keturah)

— corresponding to the distinction between the matter of Avraham and the matter of Sarah,

as follows.

4.

And this will be understood with an introduction to the words of the Rambam²⁵

about the obligation of the seven commandments of the children of Noah: "Moshe Rabbeinu commanded from the mouth of the Almighty to compel all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that the children of Noah were commanded,"

"Anyone who accepts the seven commandments and is careful to perform them, behold he is from the pious ones of the nations of the world and he has a portion in the World to Come, provided that he accepts them and performs them because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and made known to us through Moshe Rabbeinu etc. But if he performed them because of intellectual reasoning...

he is not from the pious ones of the nations of the world."

And it is puzzling,

behold "Moshe Rabbeinu did not bequeath the Torah and the commandments except to Israel"²⁶,

and what is the relevance of a Ben Noach to the Giving of the Torah and to the children of Israel, to the extent that the children of Israel must compel all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that the children of Noah were commanded,

and they should perform them because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded thus in the Torah?

And it was explained in this as is known many times

According to the words of our sages, of blessed memory

That all of creation is for the sake of Israel who are called first and for the sake of the Torah which is called first,

[pg] 97 [/pg]

That is, that this is not an additional thing upon the existence of creation,

But this is connected with the essence of its existence.

Therefore,

After the birth of the people of Israel and the giving of the Torah,

It is impossible that there should be any command of G-d to the world without the mediation of the Torah and Israel — and therefore the fulfillment of the seven commandments of the children of Noah depends on the Torah and Israel.

And one can be precise in the aforementioned Rambam,

that the two aforementioned details

(a)

"Moshe Rabbeinu commanded from the mouth of the Almighty to coerce all inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that were commanded to the children of Noah",

(b)

that one must perform them "because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and made known to us through Moshe Rabbeinu" — the Rambam wrote them in two separate halachos.

And at first glance,

from the fact that the Rambam did not mention in continuation of the obligation "to coerce all inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that were commanded" that this obligation includes that their acceptance of the commandments should be because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah,

and wrote this condition

("and that is, that he accept etc.")

in a separate halacha in the definition of "righteous gentiles",

it is understood,

that this law

("and that is, that he accept them..

because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah")

is a law in itself

[and it requires examination if there is an obligation upon the children of Israel to coerce all inhabitants of the world to be righteous gentiles].

But from the fact that the Rambam also brought this condition in the continuation of the obligation of Israel to coerce etc.,

it implies,

that even though this is not part of the first obligation,

nevertheless,

the completeness of the acceptance of the son of Noah

(which initially came about through the coercion of Israel),

that he accepts the commandments because of the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the Torah,

also has a connection with the children of Israel³⁰.

And perhaps one could say,

that there are two modes in the actions of the children of Israel upon the nations of the world: a)

influence through coercion

(whether in its simple sense³¹

or through coercion of words³²)

— to accept the commandments that the children of Noah were commanded,

b)

action indirectly,

that in the continuation of this coercion the nations of the world come to recognition that they must accept the commandments "because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and made them known to us through Moses our teacher etc."³³.

5.

And one can say,

that these two manners are also hinted at in the conclusion of the two final chapters³⁴

of the book of the Rambam³⁵,

at the end of Hilchos Melachim

(and their wars³⁶)

:<pg>98</pg>

At the end of chapter 11, the Rambam concludes "And gather the dispersed of Israel..

and perfect the entire world to serve Hashem together, as it is said³⁷

for then I will turn to the peoples a clear language to call all of them in the name of Hashem and to serve Him with one accord",

And at the end of chapter 12 he concludes "And at that time there will be neither famine etc. for the good will be abundantly bestowed etc. and the entire occupation of the world will be only to know Hashem alone; and therefore Israel will be great sages and know hidden matters and comprehend the knowledge of their Creator according to the capacity of man, as it is said³⁸

for the earth will be filled with knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea".

That is: At the end of chapter 11 it speaks about the activity of Mashiach and Bnei Yisrael among the nations of the world,

"And he will rectify³⁹

the entire world etc.",

Whereas at the end of chapter 12 it speaks about that which is effected among the nations of the world in a spontaneous manner,

that the plain meaning of the phrase "And the occupation of the entire world will be only to know God"

(which intends the entirety of the human species,

also the nations of the world⁴⁰)

is not in a manner that Bnei Yisrael will engage with them.

But nevertheless, this is related to Bnei Yisrael,

namely that this is a result of the service of Bnei Yisrael,

and as is proven from the fact that it includes in that same halacha both the virtue of the knowledge of God of Bnei Yisrael and that the occupation of the entire world will be to know God,

and that is that this that "the occupation of the entire world will be only to know God" will be connected and a result of the state of Bnei Yisrael at that time.

And with this will be understood the precision in the words of the Rambam in the preceding halacha⁴¹

"The sages and prophets did not yearn for the days of Mashiach in order to rule over the entire world, nor in order to dominate the idolaters, nor in order that the nations exalt them, nor in order to eat and drink and rejoice,

but rather in order that they be free for Torah and its wisdom."

For at first glance it is perplexing,

how could it enter one's mind to explain that "the sages and prophets yearned for the days of Mashiach...

in order to rule over the entire world...

dominate the idolaters...

in order that the nations exalt them",

and behold, even regarding the sages of the nations of the world we find that their main occupation and aspiration is in intellectual matters⁴²

and they have no desire to rule and dominate,

and all the more so and how much more so is this the case regarding the sages and prophets of Israel?

But the intention of the Rambam is,

that it might enter your mind to say that the ultimate level which the sages yearned for etc. is to repair the world,

namely to teach the world knowledge of Havayah in a manner of action and influence

(as it is stated in chapter 11),

that this is a matter of true dominion and rule

(in spirituality).

And he teaches us the Rambam here that this is not the perfection of the matter,

and not for this did the sages and prophets yearn for the days of Mashiach,

but rather so that they will be free in Torah and its wisdom and will be great sages and know hidden things.

But nevertheless he continues,

as above,

that also this lofty level of Bnei Yisrael acts upon the world,

that in a manner of course the state of the entire world will be in a most lofty way,

that "the entire world will not engage in anything except knowing Havayah alone etc., as it is said, 'For the earth will be filled with knowledge of Havayah as the waters cover the sea.'"

6.

Based on all the above, the content of the matter will also be understood, that before the birth of Yitzchak there needed to be a change of the names of Avraham and Sarah,

"father of a multitude of nations" and "Sarah over all" — because at the beginning of the formation of the Jewish people through the birth of Yitzchak by Avraham and Sarah, it needed to be emphasized that the existence of Israel

(is not a matter and detail within creation,

but rather)

it is the essence and purpose of all of creation as a whole.

And this is also the reason that the birth of Yitzchak in <pg>99</pg>

In a miraculous way it was in such a manner that it affected the nations of the world as mentioned above,

"Many barren women were remembered with her, many sick people were healed on that day, many prayers were answered with her, and there was great laughter in the world",

And the addition of influence that was in Sarah in the manner of "Sarah nursed children",

And likewise with Abraham,

That the wonder and kindness of Abraham in the birth of Isaac,

Also caused that he fathered additional

(six)

sons from Keturah — because in order that the children of Israel could affect the nations of the world,

There was a special action by the Holy One, blessed be He, that also the nations of the world would feel this very thing,

That the main existence of the world,

Including their existence of the children of Noah,

Is Israel.

[And along the lines of what we find regarding the Torah — that our sages, of blessed memory, said⁴³

"When the Torah was given to Israel, His voice went from one end of the world to the other, and all the kings of the idolaters were seized with trembling in their palaces, etc. They all gathered to Balaam the wicked and said to him, 'What is the voice of the tumult that we have heard? Perhaps a flood is coming to the world, etc.' He said to them, 'He has a precious treasure in His treasury, etc., and He sought to give it to His children,' as it is said⁴⁴

'The Lord will give strength to His people' — immediately they all opened and said⁴⁴

'The Lord will bless His people with peace'"]⁴⁵.

And based on this, the difficulty is simply resolved: It is known that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not perform a miracle for nothing,

and this is understood simply,

that since the Holy One, blessed be He, established creation in an orderly and natural manner,

"they shall not cease"⁴⁶,

He does not change the orders of creation except for a special need⁴⁷.

And if so, it is puzzling,

what is the need and necessity that the miracle of the birth of Isaac should bring about and cause additional miracles — "Sarah nursed children" etc.,

as above, that such a great miracle should be performed,

that many barren women were remembered etc.,

contrary to the nature of creation?

except that there was not in this an additional miracle&lt;sup&gt;48&lt;/sup&gt;,

but rather a continuation and result of the totality of the miracle of the birth of Isaac,

for the birth of Isaac was not a private miracle,

only for Abraham and Sarah,

but rather a general miracle from the outset,

so that the birth of Isaac would make Abraham and Sarah "father to all the world" and "Sarah over all" — and in a way that automatically when the miracle occurred it was activated and extended in "all the world" and in "all",

and the orders of creation were changed

(including the nations of the world).

7.

And behold, in the operation of the miracle of the birth of Isaac upon the nations of the world itself,

there were two details

(from the side of Abraham and from the side of Sarah,

as above)

— it must be said,

that these two matters are the root of the two aforementioned modes in the activity of Israel upon the nations of the world — and corresponding to the distinction in the content of the service of Abraham and Sarah,

which is also emphasized in their new name that was given to them before the birth of Isaac:

Avraham, on account of "father of a multitude of nations,"

"father to the entire world,"

indicates a connection to "a multitude of nations,"

"the entire world,"

and therefore also the miraculous influence that was performed through him among "a multitude of nations" was through a special action on the part of Avraham

(to add in the world)

— "And Avraham continued and took a wife, etc., and she bore to him, etc."

(And for this reason it came

(not close to the time of Yitzchak's birth, but rather)

after a time,

because in this it is emphasized that it came in the manner of a new action).

But not so Sarah, who is "Sarah over all,"

this is the category of rulership and kingship,

that the king is&lt;pg&gt;100&lt;/pg&gt;

Separated from his people,

and therefore the activity of Sarah upon the nations of the world that came together with the birth of Isaac was in a manner of incidentally,

abundance of blessings upon the nations of the world.

And the perfection of this matter will be at the end of the time of exile with the coming of our righteous Mashiach,

in the fulfillment of the prophecy⁴⁹

"And it shall be in the end of days, the mountain of the House of the L-rd shall be established at the top of the mountains, and all the nations shall stream to it. And many peoples shall go and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the L-rd, to the House of the G-d of Jacob, and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.'"⁵⁰

— that from this, that the revelation to the children of Israel will be in ultimate perfection, this will influence incidentally upon many nations and peoples⁵¹,

until the state of "the earth will be filled with knowledge of the L-rd as the waters cover the sea."

(From sichos of Shabbos Parshas Chayei Sarah and Shabbos Parshas Toldos 5745; 19 Kislev 5743)