Midrash Aggadah Reader

"On that night" (Genesis 19:33). The Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with her. When she lay with her father he did not know, and when she arose he understood. Therefore it is written, "and when she arose" (Genesis 19:33), with a dot. And he should have stood and guarded himself not to drink wine on the second night, yet he did not guard himself. But concerning the arising of the younger daughter it is not dotted, because she guarded herself so that her father would not become aware of her.

"Ben-Ammi" [son of my people] — because she concealed her father and said that he was only "from my people." And because the elder daughter exposed her father [naming her son Moab, "from the father"] while the younger one concealed him, therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, "Distress not Moab, neither contend with them in battle" (Deuteronomy 2:9) — specifically war, no; but angaria [forced requisition] you may impose upon them. So Israel would go to the cities of Moab armed, and when the Moabites saw them armed, they would flee and leave behind everything that they had, and Israel would come and plunder them. But concerning the children of Ammon He warned them, and said, "do not contend with them in battle" at all.

"Lord, will You slay a nation, even though righteous?" (Genesis 20:4). You suppose concerning me that I am a [mere] nation, and so You say, "Behold, you are a dead man" (Genesis 20:3); but I am nothing other than righteous, and if You slay me, You would be slaying a righteous man. Another interpretation: "Will You slay a nation, even (gam) the righteous?" If You slay me, slay Abraham, for it was he who caused me to take her, as it is said, "Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'?" (Genesis 20:5). And she too should be slain, for she said, "He is my brother." And what is the meaning of "even" (gam)? Even her maidservants — I asked them whether she was his sister, and they all said, "He is her brother."

"For in the simplicity of your heart you have done this" (Genesis 20:6) — that you thought she was his sister, because you asked everyone and they said, "She is his sister." But you did not act with the cleanness of your hands, for a guest who comes to a city — one questions him about matters of eating and drinking, or one questions him about matters of his wife. "And I also withheld you from sinning against Me" (Genesis 20:6). A parable: like a man riding upon a horse, with a child thrown down before it. They all began to say, "How great was the understanding in this horse, that it did not trample the child!" They all began to praise the horse. The man riding upon the horse said to them, "Do not praise the horse — were it not that I drew back the rein and did not let it go forward, it would have trampled him." And so the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let no person praise Abimelech that he did not touch Sarah; rather, let all praise Me, who warned him. Therefore it is said, "And I also withheld" etc. Abimelech said to the Holy One, blessed be He, "And who will inform Abraham that I did not touch her?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "For he is a prophet" (Genesis 20:7).

"You shall not take the name [of the LORD your God in vain]" (Exodus 20:7) — that you should not conduct yourself as though you were pious when you are not pious. And there was an incident concerning a certain man who entered a city on the eve of the Sabbath and did not know anyone, and he had a purse full of small coins. He saw a certain convert sitting in the synagogue, wrapping himself in tzitzit, with tefillin bound upon his head. That man saw him and supposed that he was a great man, because he saw these commandments, and he deposited his purse with him. After the Sabbath he asked him for it. He said to him, "There never were any such things." He began to grieve and said, "Master of the worlds, it is revealed and known before You that I did not hand over my money to him as a deposit except that I saw upon him these commandments." At night Elijah the prophet came to him in a dream and said to him, "Tomorrow go to his wife and say to her, 'Give me my purse,' and if she says to you, 'By what sign?' say to her, 'By the sign that she and her husband ate leaven on the first night of Passover, and on the night of the Day of Atonement, swine's flesh.'" In the morning this man rose early before the wife of the robber and conveyed to her these signs, and she gave him the purse. The robber came to his wife and asked her for the purse. She said to him, "The owner of the purse came and took the purse, and such-and-such signs he conveyed to me." He said to her, "Since the matter has become known, let us return to our evil deeds." And such is the punishment of those who do thus.

"Only there is no fear of God in this place" (Genesis 20:11) — and if they know that she is my wife, they will kill me on her account. And Abraham also said to him: Why do you blame me, that if I had said she is my wife and not my sister — for had you known she was my wife you would not have taken her; and even though I said to you "she is my sister," you should have considered regarding me that perhaps she is my wife — so why [did you take her]? And even were it true that she is my sister, I was able to marry her, since she is my sister on the father's side and not on the mother's side.

"And she became my wife" (Genesis 20:12). And since you did not ask me whether she is my sister, the daughter of my father or the daughter of my mother, [but rather] you yourself took her in marriage — from this you learn that she is not my wife. And as for what you said, that she is my sister, she too said so; do not place guilt upon her.

"Behold." The silver that I have given to Abraham — about whom you say, "He is my brother" — for this I gave it to him: that he should buy you with it a covering of the eyes, so that all will know that you are a noblewoman, and they will not ask thus. And therefore it is said, "and to all that are with thee, and with all, and she was reproved" (Genesis 20:16). And whoever asks about you, "Is she his wife?" — be careful that you no longer speak so, lest they cause you to stumble among people. Another interpretation: "Behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes." If you concealed from me, in that he said "She is my sister" and she said "He is my brother" — therefore you shall have a son who will be for you a covering of the eyes. And therefore the Sages, of blessed memory, said: Let not the curse of a common man be light in your eyes. And because Abimelech cursed Sarah, in that he said to her, "May you have a son who will be a covering of the eyes for you," therefore "And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, his eyes were dim" (Genesis 27:1).

"For the LORD had fast closed up ('atzor 'atzar, lit. 'closing, He had closed')." Why is the closing-up doubled? Because they could neither pass water, nor relieve themselves, nor emit any semen at all. "Because of Sarah" — when Sarah would say to the angels, "Strike Abimelech," they would strike him; and when she would say to them, "Let him be," they would let him be. And from where do you say that Abimelech was stricken with great plagues, just as Pharaoh was stricken? And likewise, from where do you say that Pharaoh was stricken with closing-up, just as Abimelech was stricken? "Because of" / "because of" — by a verbal analogy (gezerah shavah).

"You shall not make [gods] with Me." Not in the likeness of the sun, nor the form of the orb, nor the form of the moon. Another interpretation: "You shall not make with Me" any image whatsoever, as it is written, "And to whom will you liken Me" and so on (Isaiah 40:25), but rather "an altar of earth (adamah) you shall make for Me." Another interpretation: "an altar of earth," and so on. Do not read it "an altar of earth (adamah)," but rather "an altar of the blood (dam) of circumcision." For today Israel is in their exiles, and anyone to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, gives a son and who circumcises him on the eighth day, it is as if he built an altar to the Lord and offered up upon it a burnt offering. Therefore it is said, "an altar of earth." Another interpretation: "altar" (mizbe'ach): Mem stands for milah (circumcision); Zayin for "Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac (and Israel) [and Jacob]" (Deuteronomy 9:27); Bet for berakhah (blessing); Chet for chayyim (life). And the altar must be built so that one does not wield iron upon it, for the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let not the sword that slays human beings be wielded upon the altar that atones for the iniquities of Israel.

"And you shall not go up by steps upon My altar." For the ramp resembles a kind of board. "That your nakedness be not uncovered upon it." For the priests would go up upon it heel beside big toe, for if they were to widen their steps, their nakedness would be seen. Another interpretation: "And you shall not go up by steps (ma'alot)." Do not read it "ma'alot" (steps) but "me'ilot" (acts of misappropriation), that is to say: if there is in your hand anything misappropriated, by which the priest committed trespass, he shall not go up. "Your nakedness shall not be uncovered upon it." And do not bring it near My altar to offer, for I will not accept it, and it will uncover your nakedness before all Israel who stand below and watch; for if the offering is not accepted, the smoke does not rise like a column. "You shall not go up." You shall not bring in, like "a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard" (Proverbs 26:9). And is it possible that it "goes up"? Rather, when he is drunk he stretches out his hand toward the thorns, and the thorn enters his hand and pains him.

"And they wept for Aaron thirty days, all the House of Israel" (Numbers 20:29): What is stated about Aaron is greater than what is stated about Moses. As regarding Moses, only the men wept for him, but regarding Aaron, the men and the women wept for him - since he was one that pursued peace and loved peace, and restored peace between a man and his wife, and between a man and his fellow. This is [the meaning of] that which is written (Malachi 2:6), "He walked with Me in peace and justice, and brought many back from iniquity."

And what did Aaron do? When he heard that two men or a man and his wife were arguing, he would go to one of them and say to him, "Your fellow came to me and is distraught in his heart that he angered you; so he cajoled me that I should come to you [and get your forbearance], so that he [can] come to you and be forgiven by you." And Aaron would not leave from there until he would remove all the hatred in his heart and bring peace between them.

Then he would leave. And when he (the one with which Aaron had spoken) met his fellow, they would immediately love and embrace each other and kiss each other. And so was it during all the days of Aaron, peace be upon him; and such was his trait. When he heard that there was an argument between a man and his wife, he would not leave them until they made peace.

Hence the men and the women wept for Aaron, but only the males wept for our teacher Moses, peace be upon him. And also [because] Moses would say, "Let justice pierce the mountain," whereas Aaron would bring a compromise between two litigants.

"And the LORD remembered Sarah" (Genesis 21:1). At the hour when Sarah was given the tidings that she would have Isaac, Sarah was praying before the Place, blessed be He: "Since You have given me seed, why should there be so great a servitude as this?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her: "I will subtract from the count, corresponding to your years and corresponding to the years of Abraham, which are one hundred and ninety; and therefore Israel will not be enslaved in Egypt except for two hundred and ten years." This is what Scripture says: "And the LORD remembered Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken" (Genesis 21:1).

"And Sarah said, 'God has made laughter for me,' etc." (Genesis 21:6) — for at the time that Sarah conceived, all the barren women in the land conceived, and just as she rejoiced, so all the barren women rejoiced. Another interpretation: "He has made laughter for me" — merit caused Isaac to be born. This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, took from me a yod and raised up for me in place of the yod a heh, and that yod was given to Isaac.

"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).

"Whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking" (Genesis 21:9). For he set up a brick and kissed it, as it is said, "And they rose up to make sport" (Exodus 32:6). And some say that he took a bow and arrows and was shooting the bow toward Isaac, for he sought to kill him, as it is said, "As a madman who casts firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'Am I not but making sport?'" (Proverbs 26:18-19).

"Where he is" (Genesis 21:17). Because the ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: "Master of the universe, the descendants of this one are destined to kill Your children with thirst, and yet You perform a miracle for him, bringing him a well of water!" And from where do we know that the descendants of Ishmael killed Israel with thirst? As it is said, "To meet the thirsty bring water" (Isaiah 21:14). For when Israel went into exile, they went from them to Ishmael. They said to them: "Give us water and bread to eat and to drink, for you are our brethren." They said to them: "Eat first, and afterward you shall drink water." They brought them kinds of salty foods, and empty waterskins, inflated and dipped in water, and they would bring the waterskins near their mouths so that they would drink, but the air would enter their mouths, and they would die. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the angels: "Now, what is he — righteous or wicked?" Therefore it is said, "for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is" (Genesis 21:17).

"The seven ewe-lambs of the flock" (Genesis 21:28). Our Rabbis said: Because Abraham gave Abimelech seven ewe-lambs, he was therefore punished, and the Ark of God stood in the field of the Philistines for seven months. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Abraham, you gave him seven ewe-lambs — by your life, his sons will make war with your sons and will be victorious." Another interpretation: He said to him, "You gave him seven ewe-lambs — by your life, his sons will slay among your sons seven righteous ones." And these are they: Samson, Hophni and Phinehas, and Saul and his three sons. Another interpretation: He said to him, "You gave him seven ewe-lambs — by your life, his sons will destroy seven sanctuaries." And these are they: the Tent of Meeting, Gilgal, Nob, Gibeon, Shiloh, and the Eternal House [the Temple] two times. Another interpretation: He said to him, "You gave him seven ewe-lambs — by your life, my Ark will be abandoned in the field of the Philistines for seven months," as it is said: "And the Ark of the LORD was in the field of the Philistines seven months" (I Samuel 6:1).

"And he planted an eshel in Beer-sheba" (Genesis 21:33). Eshel ( ") is an acronym for "eating" (akhilah), "drinking" (shtiyah), "escorting" (levayah). And some say it was an actual tree, and from it was made the middle bar, and our father Jacob brought it down to Egypt when he went down there. "And he called there in the name of the LORD" (Genesis 21:33). He made an inn, and all who passed and came would enter there, and our father Abraham would give them bread and meat and wine to eat and to drink. After they had eaten and drunk, Abraham would say to them: "Bless the God of the world, for you have eaten from what is His." They would say: "We will bless none but you." Abraham would say: "If so, give me the money for what you have eaten." Once each one saw his distress, he would bless the Holy One, blessed be He, the One who is God of the world.

"And it came to pass after these things" (Genesis 22:1). Everywhere that "after" is stated, it is set apart. What is "after"? That the angels said to the Holy One, blessed be He: This Abraham, You graced him with a son at one hundred years, and he made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned, yet he did not have to offer before You a single turtledove or a young pigeon. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: If I were to tell him to offer up his son before Me, he would offer him. Therefore it is written, "And God tested Abraham." Another interpretation: That Ishmael said to Isaac: I am greater than you, for I received circumcision when I was thirteen years old, and it was in my power to protest, yet I did not protest; but you, when you received the circumcision, were eight days old, and you had no strength to protest, and therefore you did not protest. Isaac said to him: With one limb you make me afraid? Were the Holy One, blessed be His name, to say to me that I should offer up myself, I would offer it and I would not refuse. Therefore it is said, "And God tested Abraham."

"And He said: Take now your son, your only one." Abraham said: I have two sons, and I do not know which son You are telling me to take. He said to him: "Your only one." Abraham said: this one is the only one of his mother, and this one is the only one of his mother. He said to him: "Whom you love." He said to Him: this one I love and this one I love. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Isaac." And why all this? In order to make him beloved in his eyes; and even so, Abraham received the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, with joy. "Moriah" — from there went forth instruction, as it is said, "For from Zion shall go forth Torah" (Isaiah 2:3). And Rabbi Yannai says: from there shall go forth fear of Heaven to the world. Another interpretation: that from there speech goes forth to the world. Another interpretation: that from there the commandments go forth to the world.

"And Abraham rose early in the morning" (Genesis 22:3) — for all the deeds of the righteous are in the morning; and from here we learn that the zealous hasten to perform the commandments. "And he saddled his donkey" — love disrupts the [proper] order. "His two young men" — these are Ishmael and Eliezer. From here the Torah taught proper conduct: that a person should not set out on a journey with fewer than three men, so that if one of them needs to relieve himself, two will remain.

"On the third day." Why did he tarry three days, seeing that the place was near? Rather, this teaches that Ha-Satan came and made himself like a river before him. Abraham said, "I will enter the river and see whether the water is deep," and Abraham was nearly drowned. He lifted his eyes to the Holy One, blessed be He, that He save him from the water, that he not drown in it. Immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked Ha-Satan, and Abraham was found standing on dry land. "And he saw the place from afar." Abraham said to Isaac, "Do you see anything?" He said to him, "I see a cloud bound upon the top of the mountain." And Abraham knew that the lad had consented to be a burnt offering. Abraham said to his lads, "Do you see anything?" They said to him, "No." He said to them, "Stay here with the donkey," for you are like the donkey: just as a donkey sees nothing, so too you see nothing.

"And we will worship and return to you" (Genesis 22:5). He prophesied that the two of them would return. Ten people prophesied and did not know what they prophesied, and these are they: One: Abraham prophesied and did not know, as it is said, "And we will worship and return" — he prophesied that he and his son were destined to return. Two: Jacob prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "And may He send back to you your other brother" (Genesis 43:14) — "your brother," this is Simeon; "the other," this is Joseph; "and Benjamin" (ibid.), as its plain meaning. Three: Laban prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "And they blessed Rebekah" (Genesis 24:60) — they were found to be cursing themselves and blessing Rebekah. Four: the tribes prophesied and did not know what they prophesied, as it is said, "and behold, the youngest is with our father this day" (Genesis 42:13) — they prophesied that Joseph was standing among them. Five: Joseph prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "and let not your eye spare your vessels" — he prophesied that they were destined to plunder Egypt. Six: Pharaoh prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "Come, let us deal wisely" (Exodus 1:10) — he prophesied that they would make war with him and go up from the land. Seven: Job prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "shall we also receive the good?" (Job 2:10) — he prophesied that the Holy One, blessed be He, was destined to restore to him all the good. Eight: our forefathers prophesied and did not know what they prophesied, as it is said, "You will bring them in and plant them" (Exodus 15:17) — they prophesied that their children were destined to enter the land while they themselves would not enter. Nine: Gehazi prophesied and did not know what he prophesied, as it is said, "As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take from him something [me'umah]" (2 Kings 5:20) — "a blemish [mumah]," that is, leprosy; he prophesied concerning himself. Ten: Hannah prophesied and did not know what she prophesied, as it is said, "and I also have lent him to the Lord all the days that he lives, he is lent to the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:28) — Hannah said, all the days that Samuel my son endures, the kingdom of Saul endures.

"And he took the knife" (Genesis 22:10). From here we learn that ritual slaughter must be done with a detached implement. And as they were walking, Ha-Satan came to Abraham and said to him: "Old man, where are your wits? A son whom the Holy One, blessed be He, graciously granted you at a hundred years old, and you are going to slaughter him? I am the one who led you astray and said to you, 'Take now your son, your only one.'" Abraham said to him: "Heaven forbid! It is God who spoke to me." When Ha-Satan saw that Abraham would not listen to him, he went at once to Isaac and said to him: "Isaac, where are you going?" He said: "My father is taking me to study Torah." Ha-Satan said to Isaac: "It is not to study Torah that you are going; rather, your father is taking you to slaughter you." Isaac said to him: "Even so, I rejoice in this, if the Holy One, blessed be He, desires me, and furthermore that I shall do my father's will." When he saw that Isaac would not accept it from him, he went to Sarah and said to her: "Where did your son go?" She said to him: "His father took him to study Torah with Eber." Ha-Satan said to her: "Alas, poor wretched woman, it is not to study Torah that he is taking him; rather, he is taking him to slaughter him." When she heard this, she cried out, groaning first and then wailing, and her soul departed from the abundance of grief. Therefore it is said: "And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her" (Genesis 23:2).

"And he said: Do not stretch out your hand." Abraham said to him: Perhaps you are Ha-Satan, and you seek to deceive me. He said to him: No, rather I am an emissary of the Holy One, blessed be He, who does not desire a human sacrifice. And so Ha-Satan said to Abraham: Thus I heard from behind the curtain — "a lamb for the burnt offering," and not Isaac for the burnt offering. Abraham said to him: All the dealings of a liar are such that even when he speaks the truth, he is not heeded. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to him and said, "By Myself I have sworn," and so forth. "And do not do anything to him." Abraham said: Let me bring forth from him a drop of blood, and it will be reckoned as though I had slaughtered him. The angel said to him: But does the Holy One, blessed be He, not know that Abraham feared the Lord? Rather, "now I know" — I have made known to all the world that you have done My will, until they will say: It is just that He cut a covenant with Abraham and with his seed; and all will know that everything I do well for Abraham, I do in justice.

"And behold, a ram." This is the ram that was created at twilight on the very day that Adam the first man was created, and it was created for the need of Isaac. "Caught in the thicket by his horns." Because it tarried and was not running toward Abraham so that Abraham might offer it, it said: "I will go from here without an offering"; and Satan came and caught it in the thicket so that it could not go. Another interpretation of "in the thicket": At the time when Israel are caught in the thicket of the iniquities of all the days of the year, they are delivered by the blowing of the horn of a ram. Another interpretation: At the time when Israel are caught in the thicket of the kingdoms, He is destined to redeem them by the horns of a ram, as it is said, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown" (Isaiah 27:13). The ram had two horns. With one of them He blew on the day that the Torah was given to Israel, as it is said, "And the voice of the shofar" (Exodus 19:19); and with the right horn the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to blow at the ingathering of the exiles. Therefore he called it "great," because it is the one of the right. "And offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son." When he was offering it, Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He: "May it be Your will that this ram be reckoned before You as though I had slaughtered my son." Abraham said to the Holy One, blessed be He: "You said to me that I should slaughter Isaac my son, and now You say, 'Do nothing to him.' Is it not written, 'God is not a man, that He should lie' (Numbers 23:19)?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Did I say to you, 'Take now your son, your only one, and slaughter him before Me'? I said to you only, 'And offer him up there' — I brought him up, bring him down." And so it is written, "which I commanded not" — Abraham, that he should slaughter his son before Me.

"And Abraham called the name of that place 'The LORD will see'" (Genesis 22:14) — that the Omnipresent should see [it] as if I had slaughtered my son before You. "This day, on the mountain the LORD will see" — tomorrow, when the children of Isaac come to pray before You, You will forgive them for their iniquities. "Will see" — may it be seen before You as if the ashes of Isaac were heaped before You, and You will forgive them. From here they said that Rosh Hashanah was at the time when Isaac was bound.

"For I will surely bless you" (Genesis 22:17) — a blessing for the father and a blessing for the son; and "I will surely multiply" — abundance for the father, abundance for the son. "As the stars of the heavens" — when they are on high. "And as the sand which is on the seashore" — just as the sand is a fence for the sea, and at every time that the sea rages, when it comes to the sand the waves are broken, so too Israel: however much the nations of the world raise themselves up over Israel, in the end they are broken before them. And so you find with Pharaoh, and with Sisera, and with Babylon, and with Haman, and with the Greeks. And so too the children of Edom are destined to fall before them, as it is said: "And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom" (Ezekiel 25:14).

"And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Had Israel not accepted the Torah, the world would have been laid waste; and likewise, all the good things that come into the world come for the sake of Israel, who accepted the Torah. "Because [ekev] you have hearkened to My voice" — to the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He. From here you learn that at three years old Abraham recognized the voice of the Holy One, blessed be He, and knew his Creator. For he was only one hundred and seventy-five years old, and he did the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, for one hundred and seventy-two years — corresponding to the numerical value of "ekev" (ekev).

"And Abraham returned to his young men" (Genesis 22:19) — Ishmael and Eliezer were disputing with one another. Ishmael was saying: Abraham will slaughter Isaac, and I will inherit him. And Eliezer said to him: You will not inherit, for he has already driven you out; but I am the son of his house, and I will inherit him. When Abraham returned to his young men, to the place where he had left them, and they did not see Isaac, they supposed that he had slaughtered him. They said to him: Isaac — where is he? He said to them: I have brought him to the house of Eber his teacher, to study Torah. Therefore it is said, "And Abraham returned" — that is to say, alone, and he did not mention Isaac. "And they rose up" — because he had said to them, "Stay here," therefore it says, "and they rose up." "And they went" — just as it was in Abraham's heart that Isaac was alive, so too they knew that Isaac was alive, for they believed the words of Abraham, since they knew that he does not lie.

"And it came to pass after these things" (Genesis 22:20). "After" (aharei) is adjacent; "after" (ahar) is removed. "After these things [devarim]" — there were musings of words [hirhurei devarim] there: Ishmael and Eliezer were musing, for they supposed that Isaac had been slaughtered; and the tidings came that his son's mate had been born.

"And his concubine, whose name was Reumah" (Genesis 22:24). Just as the sons of the concubines are four, so too the sons of the maidservants are four. Tebah — that the Holy One, blessed be He, slaughtered them. Gaham — that He comforted them out of the world. Tahash — that He hastened them. Maacah — that He crushed them, so that they were neither nations nor families, for He destroyed them from the world. Another interpretation: "After these things" (Genesis 22:20). There were musings of words there. And who mused? Abraham mused, saying: Had Isaac died on Mount Moriah, he would have died without children; but now a miracle has been done for him. I shall marry him to the daughters of Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, who are righteous women — and what do I care about lineage? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You have no need, for his mate has been born, as it is said, "Behold, Milcah also has borne" (Genesis 22:20). What is "she also"? Just as this one is the son of a noblewoman, so she too is the daughter of a noblewoman. Another interpretation: He feared the sufferings. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Do not fear, there is one who will receive them — "Uz his firstborn" (Genesis 22:21), and it is written elsewhere, "There was a man in the land of Uz" (Job 1:1).

"And the life of Sarah." Why did it say "and the life of Sarah"? Rather it is to teach that she did not truly live until Isaac was born. From where do we know this?

From the numerical value of "and they were (vayihyu=37, Isaac's age when Sarah died)". From here we learn that anyone who does not have children does not have life. Not only that, rather that person is considered like one who is dead, as it is stated, "give me children." (Genesis 30:1) Another interpretation: "And the life of Sarah." When she was 100, she was like 20 in sin, and when she was 20 she was like a 7 year old in beauty.

Therefore, they said 100 and 20 and 7 years. Another interpretation: "And the life of Sarah." Why is this parsha next to the verse above, as it is stated: "Milcah has borne?" This is what that sage said: "The sun rises and the sun sets." (Ecclesiastes 1:5) That the sun of Rebecca rose before the death of Sarah, our mother.

Another interpretation: "And the life of Sarah etc." Therefore they counted out Sarah's years of life to tell you that it was due to the merit of Sarah who lived 127 years, that Esther would rule over 127 provinces. Another interpretation: "And the life of Sarah." Why is Sarah's death placed after the binding of Isaac? To tell you that when Abraham came from Mount Moriah, he found Sarah had died because of the words of the Satan.

Therefore they blow the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah in order that Sarah's death can serve as atonement for them, since the shofar blast is a cry and a wail.

"In Kiriat Arbah." Because she had four masters/husbands. Another interpretation: That in it were buried four pairs: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. "It is Hevron." Named for that same friend who bought the cave, and that was Abraham.

"And Ephron was sitting" (Genesis 23:10). [The word] "sitting" (yoshev) is written defective, lacking a vav. At that hour they advanced him to be king. When they heard Abraham, who says, "and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar" (Genesis 23:8), [they did this] so that one as great as Abraham should not be purchasing from a lowly man. And from where did Abraham know of the cave? From the ox that ran and entered there.

"Four hundred shekels." He said: The land is worth four hundred kantarin (talents) of silver, yet in my eyes they are not worth anything because of my love for you; so bury your dead. And concerning this it is said, in my intention that I say, "I will give it to you."

"Take it from me." If you wish, take it as a gift; and if not, but you wish to buy it, this is its price. And when Abraham heard that this was Ephron's answer, that he said, "Such is the price of my field," neither less nor more, immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, had compassion upon Abraham, and he weighed out the silver that Ephron had named and gave it to him, as it is said, "And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron, and Abraham weighed to Ephron." Thus said the Sages: All the shekels mentioned in the Torah are sela'im, except for these, which are kantarin (talents). And thus said our Sages, of blessed memory: Every "Ephron" in this portion is written full (plene), except for "And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron" and "And Abraham weighed to Ephron," which is missing a vav. And why? Because Abraham was weighing out the silver to Ephron, while Ephron was stealing from the coins; and for this reason it is missing a vav.

"Current with the merchant." That he gave him money of the kind that all the merchants would carry about, and there was lacking from its value not a single perutah.

"And the field of Ephron rose up" (Genesis 23:17). It had a rising up, for it went out from the hand of a commoner and came into the hand of a king. Another interpretation: "And the field of Ephron rose up" — that it was higher than the ground that was around it by about half a cubit, so that it would be distinguishable from the other fields. "Ephron" is written deficient of a vav, because he took from Abraham all those centenaria; and concerning him it is said, "He that hastens to be rich is a man of an evil eye, and knows not that want shall come upon him" (Proverbs 28:22) — for one letter was diminished from his name.

"To Abraham as a possession." For he made for himself a deed, and the children of Heth signed the document that Abraham wrote, so that his children would not inherit Jebus, as it is said, "And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, 'You shall not come here'" (1 Chronicles 11:5), because of the oath that Abraham made to them; and they sealed the oath with "Tzalmon Noach Shet." Eight times are the children of Heth written in this passage, and why? Because of the kindness they did with Abraham; and therefore "Heth" is called eight times. "Among all who came in at the gate of his city." This teaches that they all sat in mourning on behalf of the righteous woman.

"And Abraham was old, advanced in days" (Genesis 24:1). "Old" (zaken) — this is one who has acquired wisdom. "Advanced in days" — for the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a taste of a foretaste of the World to Come. And there were three who tasted of a foretaste of the World to Come, and these are they: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Of Abraham it is said, "And the LORD blessed Abraham in all things." Of Isaac it is said, "and I ate of all" (Genesis 27:33). And of Jacob it is said, "and of all that You give me I will surely set aside a tenth for You" (Genesis 28:22). Another interpretation: "and because I have all" (Genesis 33:11).