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Why did both Sarah and Rochel accuse their husbands of failing to pray for them to have children? The shiur traces this parallel complaint and shows how it reveals a fundamental tension about whether the Avos should have prayed for specific outcomes or trusted Hashem (ה׳)'s providence regarding which wife would bear the covenantal children.
This shiur examines a striking parallel between two incidents in Bereishis involving the Avos and Imahos. Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L analyzes Sarah's reaction to Hagar's pregnancy and conception, focusing on Sarah's complaint to Avrohom that he only prayed for himself to have children, not for her. When Hagar conceives immediately and begins to disparage Sarah, saying that Sarah's childlessness proves she is not a tzadekes while Hagar's immediate conception proves her righteousness, Sarah responds with anger directed at Avrohom. According to Rashi (רש"י), Sarah accuses Avrohom of withholding his prayers from her - when he davened after defeating the kings and feared he had used up his merits, he should have included her in his prayers for children. The shiur explores the troubling aspects of Sarah's response: she causes Hagar to miscarry through an ayin hara, effectively destroying Avrohom's child despite having given Hagar to him specifically for this purpose. Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L questions how Sarah could justify taking away the very child she had orchestrated through her ruach hakodesh, especially when she had said 'ulai ibaneh mimena' - perhaps I will be built up through her. A parallel situation is then examined with Rochel and Yaakov. Rochel makes the identical complaint to Yaakov that he failed to pray for her as his father Yitzchok had prayed for Rivka. Yaakov's response differs from Avrohom's - he argues that since he already has children from Leah, Hashem (ה׳) has not withheld children from him, only from her, and questions why his children must come specifically from Rochel. The Maharal explains that Yaakov knew he would have twelve tribes from four wives but felt it wasn't his place to determine which wife should bear which children. The shiur highlights the complexity of these family dynamics and the theological questions about the role of prayer in determining divine providence, particularly regarding which spouse should bear the covenantal children.
Parshas Lech Lecha - Sarah, Avraham and Hagar; Parshas Vayeitzei - Rochel and Yaakov
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