“Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And He said, No; but you did laugh.” (18:15)

Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “How could it be that I am going to have a child when both my husband and I are so old?” The question is asked: How could such a great woman as Sarah doubt what Hashem had said, especially when she hoped to have a child? The simple answer to the question is that she saw three Arabs, and she had no reason to believe they were messengers from Hashem. (A similar approach is found in the Sforno on this verse.)

The Sar Shalom of Belz (Rabbi Shalom Rokeach 1779-1855) offers a very interesting explanation based on Targum Yonason. The verse (18:10) states, “Sara heard from the door of the tent” and then continues with the words, “וְהוּא אַחֲרָיו.” The simple meaning is that the doorway was behind them. However, Targum Yonason explains that the word “והוא” refers to Yishmael, who was standing behind Sarah listening to the conversation. Since Sarah understood that Yishmael did not want her to have a child, she was concerned that he might cast an ayin hara upon her, causing harm to the future child. Therefore, she reacted as though she were dismissing the information. By doing so, she hoped to prevent Yishmael from giving her an ayin hara. If that was her intention, however, why did Hashem criticize her reaction?

The Rebbe explained that one must ask: When is there reason to worry about an ayin hara? Such concerns apply only when something is occurring through ordinary means. Since the promise came from Hashem Himself, there was nothing for her to fear. Therefore, Sarah was held accountable for worrying about an ayin hara in this instance.

Perhaps this is a lesson we can incorporate into our own lives. Many times, people worry that acting in a way that visibly identifies them as religious Jews will lead to a chillul Hashem or expose them to an ayin hara. Yet when something is required by halacha, we don’t have the option of setting it aside because of such concerns. For example, if someone offers you non-kosher food, you don’t have to eat it. You don’t even need to explain why, as the matter is non-negotiable: A Jew may not eat non-kosher food! When fulfilling the Torah’s commandments, there can be no concern of chillul Hashem or ayin hara merely because others disapprove.

I would like to share a fascinating story told by the father of a friend of mine, a rabbi in Switzerland. My friend was standing with his father when a congregant approached with a question. He had recently learned a gemora that relates how an Amora tore a dress from a woman (Perhaps because it was red, an immodest color, or perhaps because it was it was an immodest style of the gentiles). He later discovered that the woman was not Jewish and he paid substantial compensation for both the value of the ruined dress and her embarrassment. The congregant asked, “How could he rip the dress off the woman? Why wasn’t that a desecration of Hashem’s name?” The Rabbi answered, “If that is what the halacha demands, then it is not a chillul Hashem.” The man accepted the answer and moved on. Afterward, my friend asked his father, “What kind of answer was that?” His father replied, “These German Jews have a simple belief in Hashem, and if the halacha says something is permitted, it is permitted, and if it says it is forbidden, it is forbidden. They don’t have the questions that trouble you. Therefore, if the halacha determines that it is not a chillul hashem, they don’t perceive it as a chillul Hashem.”

Many of us still have a long way to go to develop the emunas hachamim that we are meant to have. We are supposed to trust that if the halacha teaches that something is correct, then it is the right course of action and the one we must follow.

May our emunah in the Torah, its laws, and our Rabbonim bring us the ultimate yeshua, with the coming of Moshiach, bimheirah b’yameinu.