Reply To: Short & Sweet

Vayeira: Never Say Never

When Sarah overheard what seemed to be three simple Arabs bless her to have a child, she laughed. After all, she was almost 90, and having a child seemed physically impossible.

However, Hashem rebukes Sarah for this laughter. R’ Moshe Feinstein explains that we must believe that Hashem can do anything, and to dismiss anything as being impossible is at odds with that belief.

R’ Moshe goes on to explain Sarah’s response, ותכחש שרה לאמר לא צחקתי כי יראה not as a false denial motivated by fear, but rather as Sarah’s explanation of her actions. Sarah told Avraham that she laughed כי יראה, “because I saw” that this wish simply isn’t possible. To which Avraham answers: “No”, nothing is impossible.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום