Vayeira 18:15 · unit 2

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'. אָמַר רַבִּי בֵּירִי, כַּמָּה כִּרְכּוּרִים כִּרְכֵּר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בִּשְׁבִיל לִשְׁמֹעַ שִׂיחָתָן שֶׁל צִדְקָנִיּוֹת, הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב וַיֹּאמֶר לֹא כִּי צָחָקְתְּ.

English: “And He said…” Rabbi Biri said: How many circuits did the Holy One, blessed be He, make in order to hear the conversation of the righteous women? This is what is written: “And He said, ‘No, but you did laugh.’”

On the daf / in context: The divine response is taken as evidence of Hashem’s eagerness to engage with the speech of the righteous matriarchs.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Yerushalmi) — not a formal named middah of the 13. The direct reply is read as a special attentiveness to the words of tzidkaniyot.

What Is Learned

Hashem went out of His way to hear and respond to the words of the righteous women; the correction to Sarah illustrates that attentiveness.