Sow Your Seed in the Morning and Abraham's Second Marriage

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Chayei Sara 8:1

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

Another interpretation: "And Abraham took again a wife" (Genesis 25:1). This is what Scripture says: "In the morning sow your seed, [and in the evening do not let your hand rest]" (Ecclesiastes 11:6) — for you do not know which of them [will be made fit] for you. If you have learned much Torah in your youth, do not sit idle in your old age. Why? Because you do not know [which will succeed]. Rabbi Joshua says: If a matter of a commandment comes to your hand in the morning, "sow your seed"; do not say no. And if [a matter of a commandment] comes in the evening, "and in the evening do not let your hand rest," for you do not know which of them will endure for you — that of the morning, that of the evening, or whether the two [together are good]. Rabbi Akiva says: "In the morning sow your seed" — if you have raised up disciples in your youth, do not sit idle from raising up others in your old age. There is a story about Rabbi Akiva, who had three hundred disciples in his youth, and they all died. Had he not raised up others in his old age, he would not have had a single disciple. And he would read concerning himself: "In the morning sow your seed."

Themes

Divine ProvidenceAdam EveAbrahamHumorWit

Biblical References

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