It's right there in Genesis 17:17: "Abraham fell upon his face, and he laughed. He said in his heart: Shall a child be born to one who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?”
That laughter…it's complicated, isn't it? But the Rabbis of the Midrash dive deep, seeking to understand not just the words, but the why behind them.
Bereshit Rabbah, that magnificent collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Genesis, offers a fascinating perspective. It points out that Abraham fell on his face twice in this chapter – once here, and once a few verses earlier (Genesis 17:3). And the Midrash connects these two prostrations to moments when circumcision was delayed for the Jewish people. Once in Egypt, and again in the wilderness. In Egypt, it was Moses who came and circumcised the people so they could partake in the Passover sacrifice. And later, in the wilderness, it was Joshua who stepped up to perform the circumcisions (as we see in Joshua chapter 5).
Pretty powerful connection, right? A physical act of devotion from Abraham mirroring future challenges and renewals for his descendants.
But let's get back to that laughter, and Abraham's internal question: "Shall a child be born to one who is one hundred years old?"
Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Azarya offer insightful interpretations. Rabbi Yudan asks, essentially, why was Abraham so surprised? Why shouldn't an old man be able to father children? His answer? Because Abraham also questioned whether Sarah, at ninety, could give birth! Rabbi Yudan emphasizes the common belief that men don't necessarily lose their fertility with age in the same way women do. It's a question of her age, not just his.
Rabbi Azarya takes a slightly different tack. He suggests that Abraham shouldn't have been so surprised about Sarah either! He then offers a definition of what truly constitutes an "old woman": It's someone who is called "Mother So-and-so" and doesn't mind the title. In other words, Sarah, at ninety, still possessed a certain youthful spirit, a vitality that defied conventional notions of old age.
It's a subtle but important point. It's not just about the number of years, but about the spirit, the inner life force. Sarah, even at ninety, hadn't yet fully embraced the societal expectations of old age.
What are we to make of all this? Perhaps it's a reminder that age is more than just a number. It's about vitality, spirit, and defying expectations. And perhaps Abraham's laughter wasn't just disbelief, but also a dawning realization of the truly miraculous nature of what was about to happen. A miracle that defied not just the limitations of age, but the very fabric of possibility.