Sarah Nurses the Children of the City to Prove Isaac Was Hers

Midrash Aggadah, Genesis 21:7

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And she said, 'Who would have said to Abraham,'" etc. (Genesis 21:7). For everyone was saying, "Look at an old man and an old woman who took a child from the marketplace and claimed that he is their son." What did Abraham do? He invited all the people of the city, and Sarah our mother invited their wives. And in order to test her, they brought their little ones along with them among them, and they said to her that she should nurse their sons. Immediately Sarah nursed them among them. At that moment they believed that Isaac was indeed their son. And concerning this it is said, "Sarah would nurse children" (Genesis 21:7).

Themes

SarahIsaac BirthMiracleVindicationMotherhood

Biblical References

Continue Reading

Yalkut Shimoni on TorahAbimelech's Words to Sarah and the Covering of the EyesWhen Abimelech learned that Sarah, whom he had taken into his house, was in truth Abraham's wife and not his sister, he was stung less by the danger he had escaYalkut Shimoni on TorahWhy a Common Man's Curse Should Not Be Taken LightlyThe sages set two explanations side by side for why Isaac's vision failed him in old age. One teaching warns that it is forbidden to fix one's gaze upon the facYalkut Shimoni on TorahMarital Duties and How Abraham's Prayer Loosed the Sealed WombsThe sages thread together a teaching on the obligations of marriage with the moment Abraham's prayer broke open the sealed house of Abimelech. The rabbis first Yalkut Shimoni on TorahThe LORD Remembered Sarah and the Withered Tree That BlossomedThis sweeping passage gathers verse after verse to celebrate the moment the LORD remembered Sarah and gave the barren matriarch her son. The sages read the propYalkut Shimoni on TorahSarah Rachel and Hannah Remembered on the New YearThe sages teach that Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah were all remembered on Rosh Hashanah, the day heaven turns its attention to the world. Rabbi Eleazar links the thYalkut Shimoni on TorahSarah's Laughter and the Healing of the Whole WorldWhen Sarah finally held her son, she said that God had made laughter for her, and that everyone who heard would laugh along with her. The Sages refused to read