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At the end of our parsha (Chayei Sarah), we are told that “Avraham took another wife and married a woman whose name was Ketura, and she bore him [six sons]Ŕ (Gen. 25:1). This is surprising, because by that time, Abraham was one hundred and forty years old. Forty years earlier, when Isaac was born, the Torah (Gen. 17:17 and 18:11-12) tells us that it was a miraculous event (for both Abraham and his wife, Sarah). So, why does the Torah say nothing about the miraculous birth of six sons forty years later to Abraham and Ketura?
The Ramban (on Gen. 17:17) “turns the story around,” saying that the birth of Yitzhak was not miraculous, since even forty years later Abraham gave birth to six sons. Rashi, however, does not agree. Not only do the verses of the Torah indicate the Isaac’s birth was miraculous, but Rashi himself says so. He says (on Gen. 17:17) that, “even though the early generations would give birth at age 500 and more, in the days of Abraham people lived shorter lives, and began to become tired – see what happened during the ten generations from Noah until Abraham, when people began to give birth earlier, at sixty and seventy years oldŔ
Theoretically, we might say that Abraham was not weary and tired at the age of 140, since at one hundred years old we find that Abraham and Sarah “returned to the days of their youth” and gave birth. However, after the birth of Yitzhak, the Torah (Gen. 24:1) tells us a second time that “Abraham was old, getting on in daysŔ So, after his late “youth,” Abraham once more experienced old age. So, if the birth of Yitzhak (at age 100) was miraculous, the birth of six sons later (at age 140) was certainly miraculous – and why does the Torah say nothing about this?
We can begin to understand this by looking at what happened in the world – not just in the private world of Abraham and Sarah, but in the world at large – when Yitzhak was born. About the birth of Yitzhak, the Torah (Gen. 21:6) says, “And Sarah said, ‘G-d has made me laugh’ – all who hear about this will laughŔ Rashi explains, “Many barren women became pregnant at that time, many sick people were healed that very day, many prayers were answered together with her, and there was much laughter in the world.” So, it is evident that the birth of Yithzhak brought salvation and cure to much of the world, leading to much happiness and joy.
Soon after, when Sarah weaned Yitzhak, there was another “party.” On the verse (Gen. 21:7), “Sarah nursed childrenŔ Rashi, explains that “on the day of Yitzhak’s weaning, various princesses brought their children with them, and Sarah nursed them all. There had been rumors that Sarah did not really give birth but that instead, an anonymous baby was brought from the market.” But, let’s think about this; if the reason that G-d enabled Sarah to nurse many children was in order to quell the rumors that she did not really give birth, then it would have been sufficient for Sarah to nurse Yitzhak alone. Once all the princesses saw that Sarah was nursing her son (only a woman who has given birth can nurse), they would have known that Yitzhak was a true biological son, and not an anonymous infant from the shuk. Why was it necessary for Sarah to actually nurse all of the children?
But, what really happened here was something much bigger – the birth of Yitzhak brought much positive influence to the world – “much laughter” – and this came to fruition in all of the wonderful things that occurred at that time, including Sarah nursing the children of the other princesses and important women of her time.
And just as the birth of Yitzhak was the advent of much new positive influence in the world in the merit of Sarah (“many barren women became pregnant, many prayers were answered together with hers, many sick people were healedŔ), so the birth of Yitzhak was the advent of miracles in the merit of Abraham. In his merit, six more sons were born to him (forty years later) – and those sons were not Jewish, but were part of the nations of the world (just as Sarah’s influence was over the nations of the world).
Nevertheless, more explanation is needed; what was the reason that Yitzhak’s birth added miracles to the world, such that now the world was “full of mirth”? And as well, why is there is a difference between Sarah’s effect on the world and Abraham’s? For, we see that Sarah’s effect on the world was immediate; as soon as Yitzhak was born, the various princesses and important women came and had Sarah nurse their children. Abraham’s effect on the world, though did not occur until much later – only after forty years do we find that he had six sons with Ketura? Moreover, Sarah’s effect on the world happened automatically – it did not require any special effort on her part, but was rather a direct result of giving birth to Yitzhak. Abraham’s effect, though required effort – he had to actually put in effort and do something in order to bring more children into the world.
The explanation to the above questions is connected with the influence that Jews in general have over the nations of the world. And the interesting thing is that began already with the first Jews – Abraham and Sarah. More specifically, it began when Yitzhak was born.
Even before Yitzhak was born, we see that G-d changed their names from Abram to Abraham, and from Sarai to Sarah. The reason, in both cases had to do with the immanent effect that they would have on the world. Abram would now be called Abraham, because “I have made you the father of many nationsŔ (Gen. 17:5). And Sarai (a leader “for Me,” but not for others) became Sarah (“leader,” without specifying for whom, since she was now for the entire world – see Rashi on Gen. 17:15). What is the connection between the change of names, and the birth of Yitzhak? Obviously, the birth of Yitzhak had something important to do with the influence of Jews upon the nations of the world.
Accordingly, it is probable that the miracles that were produced in the world, via the birth of Yitzhak, expressed the positive influence that he brought to the world. Somehow, the miracles expressed the influence that Jews must have over the nations of the world. And that influence brings “mirth” and salvation to the world, similar to the birth of Yitzhak. But, that occurs in two different ways; one that is associated with Sarah, and the other that is associated with Abraham.
We’ll be able to grasp this better by looking into the “Laws of Kings” in the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, where he speaks of the seven Noahide commandments and how Jews must enforce them in the world. He writes (Hilchot Melachim 8:10), “Moshe Rabeinu commanded in the name of G-d to force all of the nations of the world to accept the Noahide commandments.” And (H. Melachim 8:11), “All those who accept the seven commandments and who are careful to fulfill them, are among the ‘righteous nations of the world,’ and they have a portion in the world to come. And this is if they accept and fulfill them because G-d commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moshe Rabeinu…but if they fulfilled them because of their own decision…they are not among the righteous nations of the world.”
Now, this section needs explanation. Moshe Rabeinu brought the Torah to the world and bequeathed it to the Jews alone. What is the connection of the non-Jews to the giving of the Torah to the Jews? And why must the Jews “force” all nations of the world to accept the Noahide commandments, precisely because G-d commanded them in the Torah?
In order to explain, we need to look carefully at the laws mentioned above. First of all, the two details;
1 That the Jews are commanded by G-d through Moshe to “force” the non-Jews to keep the Noahide commandments, and
2 That they must keep the Noahide commandments because they were commanded by G-d, as transmitted through Moshe
are covered in two separate halachas in the Rambam. Although at first glance, we would think that the two details are part of one directive (that since non-Jews are required to observe the Noahide commandments, they must also do so because they come from G-d in the Torah) in one mitzvah, the fact that the Rambam separates them into two halachot suggests that they are two separate laws, independent of each other. Perhaps the way to understand them is the following; even though the second detail (that they must fulfill the Noahide commandments because they are commanded by G-d in the Torah) is not a part of the first detail (that they must fulfill the Noahide commandments) – nevertheless, complete fulfillment occurs when non-Jews fulfill the second stipulation as well – they fulfill the Noahide commandments because they were commanded by G-d in the Torah.
And, perhaps we could say further; that there are two ways in which Jews have an effect on non-Jews in the world;
1 – Directly; we “force” (whether by way of physical coercion if necessary, or by verbal persuasion, etc) them to fulfill the Noahide commandments, or
2 - Indirectly; after they have been “forced” to fulfill the Noahide commandments, the non-Jews themselves come to recognize that they must do so “because they were commanded by G-d in the TorahŔ
We can see these two approaches at work in the final two chapters of the Rambam’s Hilchot Melachim. At the end of the eleventh chapter, the Rambam says that the meshiach will “gather together the exiled Jews…and rectify the entire world to serve G-d togetherŔ And at the end of the twelfth and final chapter, the Rambam says, “At that time, there will be no hunger…goodness will be everywhere…the world will be involved in nothing but getting to know G-dŔ In the eleventh chapter, the language indicates an “action” in order to establish the days of Meshiach – he will “rectify” the world, meaning that he will take some sort of proactive action in order to establish the kingdom of Meshiac. But in the language of the twelfth chapter, we do not see proactive language. There, the language is passive; “there will be no hunger…goodness will be everywhere…nothing but knowledge of G-dŔ Here, the Rambam does not indicate an action, but rather a result. That is, as a result of the actions mentioned in ch.11 – “to rectify the entire world,” the world will become a place where “there is no hunger...goodness everywhere…nothing but knowledge of G-d.” This corresponds to the two kinds of influence that the Jews have upon the world – one, by way of “force” (persuasion) to keep the Noahide commandments, and two, by way of “example,” showing the non-Jewish world how to live according to the precepts of G-d, so that they realize the Noahide commandments are from G-d as commanded in the Torah.
Now, we can understand why in order for Yitzhak to be born, there had to be a change in the names of Abram and Sarai, to Abraham (“Father of many nations”) and Sarah (“leader,” not merely for Me, but for the entire world). And at the same time, miracles occurred that had an open effect on the non-Jews of the world. In the case of Sarah, she showed her effect on the world by “nursing the children of many princesses, and many barren women became pregnant, and sick people healed, and there was much mirth in the worldŔ And in the case of Abraham, he (later) sired six more children, from Ketura, the non-Jewish woman. The purpose was that the non-Jews of the world should also experience and know that through the Jews, G-d instills G-liness and spirituality in the world.
In general, G-d does not perform miracles for “no reason.” There is no reason to change the rules of nature, and “go around” or above them, unless it is necessary. The additional miracles that took place after Yitzhak was born, were really an extension of the miraculous birth of Yitzhak. That was a public event, meant to publicize the effect that the Jews have upon and would subsequently have upon the world. And so the “accompanying” miracles of “nursing many children, of healing the sick, answering the prayers,” were a continuation of the effect of Yitzhak’s birth on the world.
But, within Yitzhak’s birth, there were two details; one associated with Abraham, and the other with Sarah. “And Abraham took another wife and married…and she bore him six sonsŔ This statement indicates a proactive stance on the part of Abraham. He didn’t wait for something to happen – even at the age of 140, he sired six more sons. This indicates a proactive stance regarding the nations of the world. As indicated above, this corresponds to the proactive stance of Jews regarding the non-Jews of the world – to “force” (persuade) them to accept the Noahide commandments. And that is why it took time – forty years after the birth of Yitzhak was when Abraham had this proactive effect upon the world.
On the other hand, Sarah’s effect upon the world was immediate. Right away, upon Yitzhak’s birth, she miraculously nursed other babies, healed the sick, helped answer the prayers, etc. That was because as “royalty,” her mere presence was enough to affect the world. The immediate effect of her giving birth to Yitzhak was to bring many blessings as well to the nations of the world.
From Likutei Sichot of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, ztz’l, vol. 35, pp. 94-100
Rabbi David Sterne, Jerusalem Connection in the old city of Jerusalem