Remembering Sarah – Vayyera
The sidra says, “God remembered Sarah as He had said” (Gen. 21:1). What is the meaning of “as He had said”?
Depiction of Abraham & Sarah
It indicates a Divine promise, which Rashi says was in Gen. 15 where God said Abraham and Sarah would have a child; Ibn Ezra says the promise was given in Gen. 18:10. Possibly the promise arose out of Gen. 20:17, where Abraham prayed that Avimelech should be healed.
If the context was Sarah having a child in her and Abraham’s old age, it reminds us of how important it is that Jewish parents should have the privilege of posterity and how important it is that they themselves should have the Jewish knowledge and commitment to give their children a firm basis of Judaism.
