English: R’ Hoshaya taught: The yud taken from our mother Sarah rose and prostrated before the Holy One. He said to it: Go forth — formerly you were placed in a feminine name and at the end of a word; by your life I will place you in a masculine name and at the beginning of a word — “Yehoshua.”
Type of Learning
Letter midrash — no letter of Torah is permanently discarded.
What Is Learned
The yud from Sarai is restored with greater honor in Yehoshua’s name.