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This section of the story is filled with tension between the different characters. The Torah describes the conflicts between Avraham, Sarah, and Hagar. We will examine Hagar’s actions and her disrespect toward Sarah, as well as Sarah’s strong response. We will also feel compassion for Hagar through the words of the angel and understand the justice behind her returning to serve Sarah. Let’s look at this complex situation and think: where do we encounter tensions between people in our families or communities? How do we deal with these conflicts, and what choices do we make? Where do we have the ability to choose? We’ll notice that every decision we make has a big impact on the world around us. Let’s also consider: could the other side of the conflict have their own struggles or a valid point?
As we explored in previous lessons, Avraham and Sarah were very old and still did not have children, despite G-d’s promise. In this lesson, we will learn about Sarah’s bold decision to address this situation by giving her maidservant, Hagar, to Avraham as a wife. (At the beginning of the lesson, we will discuss the role of a maidservant to help students understand the realities of that time.) We will try to understand why Sarah made this choice (which seems to go against human nature), and what happened to Avraham and Sarah’s family when Hagar shifted from being Sarah’s maidservant to becoming Avraham’s wife. We will study the story in stages, breaking it into scenes that show how the events unfolded. In each scene, we will explore the relationships between the characters and try to answer complex questions like: What exactly did Sarah do to Hagar after Hagar disrespected her? How do we handle challenges and turmoil within a family? Was Sarah right to treat Hagar harshly? Why did G-d hear Hagar’s voice? We can learn from Avraham and Sarah that every relationship, including marriage, has challenging moments. In this story, Avraham and Sarah faced a difficult test but were able to overcome it. It is important to treat others with fairness and respect. This applies to friendships, as well as relationships within the family, even when those relationships are complicated. Every person has free will, and their choices have a significant impact on the people around them.
El éxodo de Egipto. Mapa con explicacionesResponsible decision making: identifying problems, analyzing possible solutions, attempting to solve problems while practicing reflective skills and social and ethical responsibilities.
In this lesson, we will focus on addressing the challenge of Hagar's change in status within Avraham and Sarah's family, which created difficulties and disrupted the family’s balance. We will discuss how the characters dealt with this problem and the consequences of their actions.
The story of Yishmael’s birth follows G-d’s third revelation to Avraham, in which He promised him offspring.
(You can refer back to the presentation on “G-d’s Promises to Avraham,” studied in the previous lesson.)
Yishmael was born as a result of Sarah’s initiative to give her maidservant, Hagar, to Avraham, saying, “Perhaps I will be built up through her.” Some commentators explain that Sarah hoped for continuity through the son of her maidservant, while others suggest she believed that through the self-sacrifice of giving her maidservant to Avraham, she herself might merit having a child.
(Later, we will encounter the barrenness of Rivka and Rachel and emphasize how the barrenness of the Matriarchs was a central, purposeful theme from which we learn lessons about faith and a deep connection to G-d.)
In these verses, Avraham accepted Sarah's initiative, and Hagar indeed became pregnant. Up to this point, the relationships between the characters were relatively harmonious, and events unfolded in a planned and deliberate manner.
However, Hagar’s pregnancy and her negative attitude toward Sarah brought a complication to the story:
"And her mistress was lowered in her esteem" (Bereishit 16:4). Hagar disrupted the family dynamics by disrespecting Sarah, her mistress.
As a result, tension arose between Avraham and Sarah. This is evident in Sarah’s harsh response to Avraham: "The wrong done to me is your fault" and "Let G-d judge between me and you" (Bereishit 16:5). These words also reveal Sarah’s immense pain, likely stemming from her perception that Hagar was attempting to take her place as Avraham’s wife and the one to bear him offspring.
Avraham’s response—"Your maidservant is in your hands; do to her as you see fit" (Bereishit 16:6)—may suggest that, despite Hagar now being his wife, Avraham still primarily regarded her as Sarah’s maidservant. This interpretation is supported by Radak, who explains that Avraham was giving Sarah the freedom to treat Hagar as she saw fit.
In response, Sarah afflicted Hagar. The nature of this “affliction” is open to a wide range of interpretations. It may have involved physical hardship, emotional difficulty, or, as some commentators suggest, simply restoring Hagar to the status of a maidservant and assigning her the duties associated with that role.
The word "inui" (affliction) in the Torah differs from its modern usage and was used to describe a variety of forms of suffering or hardship. For example, on Yom Kippur, it says, “You shall afflict your souls” (Vayikra 16:29), which does not refer to abuse but rather to experiencing discomfort or difficulty.
Commentators also discuss the moral implications of Sarah’s treatment of Hagar. Interpretations vary widely, ranging from a very negative view of Sarah’s actions, which are seen as a sin with severe consequences for future generations, to a more lenient understanding that Sarah acted within her rights.
For example, Ramban states:
"Our mother [Sarai] sinned in this affliction, and so did Avraham by allowing it. God heard Hagar's suffering and gave her a son who would be a 'wild man,' to afflict the descendants of Abraham and Sarah with all kinds of affliction."Others, such as the Bartenura, argue that Sarah’s actions were permissible and within the bounds of her authority.
Rabbi Elchanan Samet, in an article on Herzog’s Atar HaTanakh website, offers yet another perspective. He suggests that Sarah’s intention was not to abuse Hagar but simply to restore her to her role as a maidservant. According to this view, Sarah’s actions were not meant to harm Hagar but to reestablish the family’s hierarchy.
In any case, this “inui” ultimately led to Hagar fleeing and encountering an angel, who commanded her to return to Avraham’s household, accept her role as Sarah’s maidservant (thus restoring the family’s order), and give birth to Yishmael.
The teacher will begin the lesson by reading the following verses:
(1) And Sarai, Avram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar.
(2) Sarai said to Avram, “Look, G-d has kept me from having children. Go, please, to my maidservant; perhaps I will be built up through her.” And Avram listened to Sarai’s voice.
(Bereishit 16:1-2)
Sarah saw that G-d’s promise had not yet been fulfilled, and she was unable to have children.
In response, she made a bold decision.
What was her decision?
Answer: To give her maidservant Hagar to Avram as a wife.
It is possible that Sarah intended to assist in realizing G-d’s promise to grant Avraham offspring, viewing herself as a partner in bringing about the fulfillment of G-d’s promises in the world.
In ancient times, a maidservant was generally considered the "property" of her mistress. Her primary role was to perform household tasks, and she was entirely subject to her mistress's decisions.
Why did Sarah give her maidservant Hagar to Avraham?Sarah believed that perhaps through Hagar, she would “be built up.”
What does that mean?
One possible explanation is that Hagar, her maidservant, would give birth to a child, who would, in some sense, be considered Sarah’s child. Alternatively, Sarah hoped that through this act, she herself would merit to have a child. (It was common in those days for a maidservant to act as a surrogate mother for her mistress.) It’s also possible that Sarah was motivated by her concern to fulfill G-d’s promise to Avraham that he would have offspring.
In this lesson, we will take a close look at the story of Avraham, Sarah, and Hagar.
We will study the story in “scenes,” following the narrative step by step. In each “scene,” we will map out the current relationships between the characters (Avraham, Sarah, and Hagar) and reflect together on the deeper meanings and lessons that emerge from the story.
We will divide the study of the story into six different "scenes," following the order of events. In each scene, we will focus on a set of questions:
At the end of the worksheet, we will turn to a significant question:
As a result of Hagar’s disrespect, Sarah our matriarch afflicted Hagar.
What exactly did Sarah do to Hagar? The commentators disagree on this. Some say she afflicted her with physical or verbal abuse, while others say the affliction refers to Hagar being treated as a maidservant, under Sarah’s authority.
One answer could be that Sarah afflicted Hagar in response to Hagar’s behavior: “Her mistress was belittled in her eyes.” (Bereishit 16:4). Hagar disrespected Sarah. According to some Midrashic interpretations, Hagar verbally abused Sarah due to her infertility, and stopped accepting Sarah’s authority as her mistress. Hagar wanted to be in the position of the wife, instead of Sarah.
Despite Hagar’s improper behavior, we still feel uncomfortable with the phrase "And Sarah afflicted her." Was Sarah’s behavior justified?
We will introduce the interpretation of Ramban, who says that Sarah sinned by afflicting Hagar, and that Avraham also sinned by not stopping Sarah. We will study this topic in the worksheet titled Between Sarah and Hagar.
We will conclude with a Think, Pair, Share activity to help understand the words of the Ramban:
In this section, we will focus on the angel’s prophecy when Hagar fled from Sarah:
"Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Yishmael, for G-d has heard your affliction."
We will ask:
Possible answer: Despite Hagar's poor treatment of Sarah, G-d heard her affliction and, in His mercy, gave her a son.
At the end of each lesson, students will add their reflections to the question: "What did I learn about Avraham in this lesson?" (Values, thinking patterns, traits, interpersonal relationships, leadership).
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