Rashi on the first pasuk of our parsha asks “Why is it necessary for the repetition – “Yitzchak the son of Avraham” and then “Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak”? If the pasuk begins by saying ‘Yitzchak the son of Avraham’, it is obvious that Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak?”
Rashi, quoting a Gemara (Bava Metzia 87a), goes on to explain. The There were some “clowns of the generation” who mocked and said that it was not possible that Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak. Avraham was married to Sarah for 75 years and in all that time she never became pregnant from him. Suddenly Avimelech kidnaps Sarah and a short time later Sarah is pregnant and gives birth to Yitzchak. It must be that she became pregnant from Avimelech.
That is not the incredible part. There were some clowns who mocked, so what? Who cares about some small-minded idiots? The mind-blowing part of this is that HaKadosh Baruch Hu, specifically and only because of this mockery, changed Yitzchak’s facial appearance so that it matched Avraham’s exactly, that anyone who saw Yitzchak, could not mistake the physical resemblance to Avraham. HaKadosh Baruch Hu completely changed nature, simply because some clowns mocked.
If HaKadosh Baruch Hu was so “extreme” in His response to this mockery, then it cannot be such a trivial thing and we need to further explore why such drastic steps were necessary.
The next thing we need to examine is – why wait until now, until parshat Toldot to state this fact? If the incident with Avimelech took place just before Yitzchak was born, then why bring it up here, 40 years later, when Yitzchak is now already 40-years-old and married to Rivka?
In parshat Vayeira we read about Avraham throwing a big party on the day that Yitzchak was weaned. Why does the pasuk not state it there, why wait until Yitzchak is forty? Or even better, why wait until he was weaned? Why not throw the party at Yitzchak’s brit milah, when he was 8-days-old?
Rashi (ibid.) says that this party in Vayeira was attended by many important guests, including Shem and Ever … and Avimelech! We can understand Avraham inviting his Roshei Yeshiva to the celebration, but why Avimelech? The no-goodnik who had just kidnapped his wife, Sarah?
In order to understand how, when and why this “mockery” began, we have to backtrack to the beginning of parshat Vayeira.
Three angels come to visit Avraham, Michael, Rafael and Gavriel. Michael’s mission was to inform Sarah that she will have a son. Sarah overhears Michael’s conversation with Avraham through the opening of the tent and reacts with mocking laughter (Ramban/Malbim). HaKadosh Baruch Hu confronts Avraham “Why did Sarah mock?” Sarah vehemently denies it, but HaKadosh Baruch Hu replies “No – you mocked!”
As a result, Sarah was punished measure for measure and when she gives birth to Yitzchak, she admits her mistake “I mocked, and now HaKadosh Baruch Hu has made other people mock me!” What mockery is she referring to? The mockery referred to above at the beginning of our parsha, that Yitzchak’s biological father is Avimelech and not Avraham!
That is why the mockery began. How did it begin? It began with Yishmael mocking (Bereishit 21:9). According to the Sforno Yishmael mocked Yitzchak’s lineage, claiming that Avimelech was Yitzchak’s father and not Avraham.
What was Yishmael’s purpose? It wasn’t just idle banter. It had a definitive and targeted purpose – to establish Yishmael as Avraham’s only heir and not Yitzchak!
When did this mockery begin? The Sforno brings two possibilities. The first is that it began at the party when Yitzchak was weaned. Yishmael previously overheard the “clowns of the generation” joking about it and decided to take it one step further. The other possibility is that he already started disseminating this mockery immediately after Yitzchak was born, but Sarah never overheard it before that because she was preoccupied nursing Yitzchak. Now that Yitzchak was weaned, Sarah was more “out and about” and she heard it only now, at the party.
The Malbim (ibid.) adds an extra dimension to this saying that Yishamel overheard the mockery from Hagar, his mother. That Hagar was the source, she was the “clown of the generation,” for the same purpose – to preserve her son Yishmael’s status as sole heir.
Why was the Avimelech invited to the party? So that everyone could see with their own eyes that Yitzchak was Avraham’s son. HaKadosh Baruch Hu took this episode so seriously that He was prepared to alter the course of nature and change Yitzchak’s face to look like Avraham’s.
HaKadosh Baruch Hu conveyed the seriousness of this incident to Sarah in a prophecy, which resulted in her demanding that Avraham banish Yishmael and Hagar, the mockers. Avraham was appalled at the prospect, but HaKadosh Baruch Hu tells him – “In this case you are wrong and Sarah is right! Do exactly what she says.”
Why mention this episode 40 years later? In this parsha we read about the struggle of Eisav and Yaakov over who was to be Yitzchak’s heir. The Torah is telling us – it is the same, age old, struggle, that continues to this day.
Fast forward 3,698 years …
There is a new buzzword in the media – “Narrative.” Everyone is speaking about this “narrative,” that “narrative,” etc. “Narrative” is just a euphemism for – lie. Just like thousands of years ago, their ancestors Yishmael and Eisav were manipulating their “narrative,” so today, theiIf HaKadosh Baruch Hu was so “extreme” in His response to this mockery, then it cannot be such a trivial thing and we need to further explore why such drastic steps were necessary.r descendants are propagating similar “narratives.”
There is no such thing as a “narrative,” there is only truth and lies. Using “double speak,” “turn speak” and fancy words like “narrative,” groups with agendas are duping people into believing their doctrine of lies. Sometimes the lies are so subtle and intricate and even have some ingredient of truth embedded deep down, perverted and taken out of context – that people cannot readily identify them as a lie.
So how can we tell what is true and what is false? The answer is – look for the mockery. Only a liar needs mockery to lend “authenticity” to his lie. The truth does not need to mock or belittle someone or something, it stands on its own merit. A lie is inherently lacking merit, so it requires all kinds of tricks to prop it up, like mockery.
Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: Why did Yaakov give Eisav bread and red/brown lentil stew (Bereishit 25:34), when Eisav only asked for the lentils?
Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: How did Avraham’s eulogize Sarah (Bereishit 23:2)? The song Eishet Chayil Mi Yimtza (Mishlei 31:10-31), that husbands sing to their wives on Friday nights (Midrash Tanchuma, Buber, Chayei Sarah 3).
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