The story starts with a prayer. Abraham had prayed for Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, and when Abimelech recovered, the angels took notice. They cried out to God, pointing out that Sarah, Abraham’s wife, had been barren for years, just like Abimelech’s wife. Now that Abraham's prayer had been answered for another, wasn't it time for Sarah to be remembered too?
This wasn’t just any day, mind you. It was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, a time when, as we find in tradition, destinies are decided in heaven. The angels' plea, spoken on this auspicious day, bore fruit quickly. Barely seven months later, on the first day of Passover, Isaac was born.
Can you imagine the joy? It wasn't just in Abraham's house. The whole world rejoiced! As the story goes, God remembered all barren women along with Sarah, and they all conceived. The blind regained their sight, the lame walked, the mute spoke, and the mentally ill were restored. It was a time of miracles, echoing the messianic age.
And there's more! On the day of Isaac's birth, the sun shone with unparalleled splendor, a brilliance not seen since the fall of man, and only to be matched again in the world to come. Talk about a celestial celebration!
But, of course, not everyone was convinced. People whispered, "Can a man of a hundred years really father a child?" So, to silence the doubters, God commanded the angel in charge of embryos to fashion Isaac precisely in Abraham's image. The resemblance was undeniable. "Abraham begot Isaac!" people exclaimed, seeing was believing.
Why did Abraham and Sarah have to wait so long? Why them? There was a reason for their advanced age. Abraham needed to bear the sign of the covenant – circumcision – on his body before he could father the child who was destined to be the father of Israel. And because Isaac was the first child born after Abraham was circumcised, the circumcision was celebrated with great pomp.
Shem, Eber, Abimelech (with his whole retinue), even Terah (Abraham's father) and Nahor came to celebrate. Abraham threw a huge party, not just for the men, but for the wives of the dignitaries too. He even invited them to bring their babies, and here’s where things get even more miraculous. Sarah, the elderly Sarah, had enough milk to nurse all the babies!
Now, according to Midrash Rabbah, the effects of this weren't just physical. Those whose mothers were pious when they allowed Sarah to nurse them grew up to become proselytes, converts to Judaism. Those whose mothers were merely testing Sarah grew up to be powerful rulers, but ultimately lost their dominion because they refused to accept the Torah at Mount Sinai. The descendants of those infants, the story goes, became all the pious heathens and converts to come.
Even Og, king of Bashan, was there. You know, the giant. He couldn't resist teasing Abraham, calling him a "sterile mule" who would never have offspring. Og sneered at the baby Isaac, saying he could crush him with a finger. But God rebuked Og, declaring that he would live to see millions of Abraham's descendants, and eventually fall into their hands.
So, what does this all mean? The birth of Isaac is more than just a personal story. It's a story about faith, about promises kept, and about the ripple effects of answered prayers. It’s a reminder that even in the face of seemingly impossible odds, hope can blossom, and that even the smallest child can change the course of history. And maybe, just maybe, it's a reminder that sometimes, a little bit of divine intervention is exactly what the world needs.
When the prayer of Abraham for Abimelech was heard, and the king of the Philistines recovered, the angels raised a loud cry, and spoke to God thus: "O Lord of the world! All these years hath Sarah been barren, as the wife of Abimelech was. Now Abraham prayed to Thee, and the wife of Abimelech hath been granted a child. It is just and fair that Sarah should be remembered and granted a child." These words of the angels, spoken on the New Year's Day, when the fortunes of men are determined in heaven for the whole year, bore a result. Barely seven months later, on the first day of the Passover, Isaac was born. The birth of Isaac was a happy event, and not in the house of Abraham alone. The whole world rejoiced, for God remembered all barren women at the same time with Sarah. They all bore children. And all the blind were made to see, all the lame were made whole, the dumb were made to speak, and the mad were restored to reason. And a still greater miracle happened: on the day of Isaac's birth the sun shone with such splendor as had not been seen since the fall of man, and as he will shine again only in the future world. To silence those who asked significantly, "Can one a hundred years old beget a son?" God commanded the angel who has charge over the embryos, to give them form and shape, that he fashion Isaac precisely according to the model of Abraham, so that all seeing Isaac might exclaim, "Abraham begot Isaac." That Abraham and Sarah were blessed with offspring only after they had attained so great an age, had an important reason. It was necessary that Abraham should bear the sign of the covenant upon his body before he begot the son who was appointed to be the father of Israel. And as Isaac was the first child born to Abraham after he was marked with the sign, he did not fail to celebrate his circumcision with much pomp and ceremony on the eighth day. Shem, Eber, Abimelech king of the Philistines, and his whole retinue, Phicol the captain of his host in it—they all were present, and also Terah and his son Nahor, in a word, all the great ones round about. On this occasion Abraham could at last put a stop to the talk of the people, who said, "Look at this old couple! They picked up a foundling on the highway, and they pretend he is their own son, and to make their statement seem credible, they arrange a feast in his honor." Abraham had invited not only men to the celebration, but also the wives of the magnates with their infants, and God permitted a miracle to be done. Sarah had enough milk in her breasts to suckle all the babes there, and they who drew from her breasts had much to thank her for. Those whose mothers had harbored only pious thoughts in their minds when they let them drink the milk that flowed from the breasts of the pious Sarah, they became proselytes when they grew up; and those whose mothers let Sarah nurse them only in order to test her, they grew up to be powerful rulers, losing their dominion only at the revelation on Mount Sinai, because they would not accept the Torah. All proselytes and pious heathen are the descendants of these infants. Among the guests of Abraham were the thirty-one kings and thirty-one viceroys of Palestine who were vanquished by Joshua at the conquest of the Holy Land. Even Og king of Bashan was present, and he had to suffer the teasing of the other guests, who rallied him upon having called Abraham a sterile mule, who would never have offspring. Og, on his part, pointed at the little boy with contempt, and said, "Were I to lay my finger upon him, he would be crushed." Whereupon God said to him: "Thou makest mock of the gift given to Abraham! As thou livest, thou shalt look upon millions and myriads of his descendants, and in the end thou shalt fall into their hands."
