We're looking at the story of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, when she overhears that she's going to have a child at the ripe old age of 90. Her reaction? A little chuckle to herself. As Genesis 18:12 puts it: “Sarah laughed to herself, saying: ‘After my languishing, shall I have youth [edna], and my husband is old?’”
But here's where it gets interesting. Bereshit Rabbah delves into this laughter, specifically referencing a moment in history when the Torah was translated into Greek for King Ptolemy. It says that the sages, in their wisdom, actually emended the verse. They altered the wording to read: “Sarah laughed among her relatives [bikroveha].”
Why the change? The Rabbis were concerned about the apparent inconsistency. Abraham also laughed when he heard the news (Genesis 17:17), yet he wasn't reprimanded. Why was Sarah? The emendation suggests her offense wasn't the laughter itself, but sharing her skepticism with others. It wasn't a private moment of disbelief, but a public display that perhaps undermined faith. Pretty clever, right? It's like they're saying, "Doubt is okay, just keep it to yourself!"
The text then goes on to unpack Sarah’s words, "After my languishing, shall I have youth [edna]?" What is this edna? The Rabbis play with the word, offering multiple interpretations. One suggests it refers to adornment – jewelry. A young woman wears jewelry to attract her husband, but Sarah says, even after her "languishing," she still wears edi (ornaments), quoting Ezekiel 16:11: “I decked you with ornaments [edi].” She is, in essence, still vibrant and desirable.
Another interpretation connects edna to menstruation – "set times" (idanin). A woman past childbearing age no longer has cycles, but Sarah claims she will have edna again. It represents a return to fertility. And yet another connects it to pregnancies themselves – iduyim. Even in her old age, Sarah believes that edna signals a renewed ability to conceive.
But what about Abraham? "My husband is old," Sarah says. Rav Yehuda offers a rather blunt interpretation: “He grinds but does not discharge.” Ouch! A delicate way of saying that intimacy isn't quite what it used to be.
However, Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon offers a stunning counterpoint. He imagines God Himself responding: "Each of you considers yourself young, and your counterpart old, but am I too old to perform miracles?" This is an interpretation of the words “and I have grown old” in the following verse. God is essentially asking, have I, too, grown old and lost my power?
It's a powerful reminder that miracles are always possible, regardless of age or circumstance. And it's a testament to the Rabbis' incredible ability to find layers of meaning within a single verse, wrestling with doubt, faith, and the very nature of the Divine. As Ginzberg recounts in Legends of the Jews, this episode highlights not just Sarah's initial disbelief, but also the immense power of faith to overcome even the most seemingly impossible obstacles.
So, what does this all mean for us today? Maybe it's a reminder to be careful with our doubts, to cherish our vitality at every age, and to never underestimate the power of hope, even when the odds seem stacked against us. After all, who are we to limit the power of the Divine?