Angelic hospitality[1]
ויאמר שוב אשוב אליך כעת חיה והנה-בן לשרה אשתך ושרה שמעת פתח האהל וגו’ ותצחק שרה בקרבה לאמר אחרי בלתי היתה-לי עדנה ואדני זקן
[The angel] said: “I shall surely return to you, at this time next year, and behold! Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah overheard this by the entrance to the tent…Sarah laughed inwardly, saying: “After I have dried up, I would have youthfulness? And my husband is old!”[2]
The commentaries are bothered by Sarah’s lack of belief that she could bear a son. After all, it was an Angel of Hashem telling her that she would have a son, despite her old age. Now, some opinions[3] hold that she and Avraham didn’t realize that these were Angels speaking to them. Or, even if Avraham knew, perhaps she didn’t see who was speaking; she just overheard some stranger saying something that sounded crazy[4]. However, we still have a problem. Hashem Himself told Avraham in last week’s parsha that he and Sarah would have a baby boy. Why didn’t Sarah believe this supposed stranger then, who said the same thing?