<b>And the Lord remembered Sarah, as he had said (Gen. 21:1).</b> May it please our master to teach us: What is considered <i>ona’ah</i> (wrong doing)? Our masters teach us: A man is forbidden to hurt his fellow man by asking “How much do you want for this article?” when he has no intention of purchasing it; nor should he grieve a person who has repented by reminding him of his previous behavior; nor should he taunt a man who is the son of a proselyte by saying: “Remember how your forebears behaved, the flesh of swine is still lodged between their teeth.” The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Strive to act as I did, as though that were possible. When I fashioned the world I had no wish to bring grief to My creatures, and therefore did not disclose to the inhabitants of the world the tree from which Adam ate the forbidden fruit.

Observe that anyone who causes his neighbor to grieve is the first to be punished. Conversely Sarah was rewarded because she brought grief to herself when she said to Abraham: <i>Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid</i> (Gen. 16:2). The Holy One, blessed be He, told her: Inasmuch as you inflicted distress upon yourself, you may be assured that with the very words you spoke, I will remember you. You said: <i>The Lord hath restrained me;</i> therefore it is written: <i>The Lord hath restrained the wombs of the house of Abimelech</i> (Gen. 20:18). The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Abraham pleaded with Me in behalf of the wicked Abimelech, until I became merciful toward him; therefore, I shall remember Abraham together with him, as it is said: <i>And God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his handmaids</i> (ibid., v. 17). What is written next? <i>And the Lord remembered Sarah</i>.