Vayeira 18:15 · unit 1

Parashas Vayeira · Passuk 18:15

The Complete Passuk

וַתְּכַחֵ֨שׁ שָׂרָ֧ה לֵאמֹ֛ר לֹ֥א צָחַ֖קְתִּי כִּ֣י יָרֵ֑אָה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר לֹ֖א כִּ֥י צָחָֽקְתְּ׃

And Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Yerushalmi Sotah 7:1.

TT lemma: ויאמר.

Sefaria — Yerushalmi Sotah

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וַיֹּאמֶר וגו'. רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בַּר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, לֹא מָצִינוּ שֶׁדִּבֵּר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עִם אִשָּׁה אֶלָּא עִם שָׂרָה בִּלְבַד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא כִּי צָחָקְתְּ.

English: “And He said…” Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Shimon: We do not find that the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke with a woman except with Sarah alone, as it is said, “And He said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’”

On the daf / in context: The direct divine address to Sarah is noted as unique among the matriarchs in the Torah narrative.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Yerushalmi) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The second-person reply is taken as evidence of direct speech to Sarah.

What Is Learned

Hashem spoke directly only with Sarah among the women of the Torah; the correction “No, but you did laugh” is the sole instance.