“Sarah denied, saying: I did not laugh, for she was afraid. He said: No, but you did laugh” (Genesis 18:15). “Sarah denied, saying: I did not” – Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: The Holy One blessed be He never deigned to speak with a woman, except for that righteous woman [Sarah], and that, too, was out of necessity. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rabbi Idi: See how much He spoke in a roundabout manner in order to speak with her: “No, but you did laugh.”55Instead of saying: “Yes, you laughed,” He said it in an indirect manner.
Rabbi Eliezer says: But is it not written: “She [Hagar] called the name of the Lord who spoke to her”? (Genesis 16:13). Rabbi Neḥemya said in the name of Rabbi Idi: That was through an angel. But is it not written [regarding Rebecca]: “The Lord said to her”? (Genesis 25:23). Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ḥama: That was through an angel.
Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: It was through Shem son of Noah.56Rebecca had gone to consult Shem, who was a spiritual leader at the time. “The men arose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off” (Genesis 18:16). “The men arose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to see them off” – the parable says: You fed them, you gave them to drink, accompany them. So, “Abraham was walking with them to see them off.”