At the end of Parshat Noach
(Breisheet 11:29-30) we read about Avraham’s family: “Avram and Nachor married.
The name of Avram’s wife was Sarai, the name of Nachor’s wife was Milkah, the
daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milkah and Yiscah. Sarai was barren,
she had no child.”
Why is Yiscah mentioned here? Who
was she and why don’t we hear about her again?
According to Rashi, who brings Rabbi
Yitzchak’s interpretation from the Talmud, Megilla 14a ,Yiscah was Sarah. She
was called Yiscah (to see) because she saw the future through Divine
inspiration (she was one of the seven prophetesses). She was also beautiful and
all would gaze at her. Alternately, Yiscah is from the root meaning princely
(nesichut), just as Sarah is from the root meaning ruling (srara).
Avraham later explains to Avimelech
that Sarah is a member of his family (Breisheet 20:12) “In any case, she is my
sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother and she
became my wife.”
Rashi points out that Sarah was
actually Avraham’s brother Haran’s daughter, making her Terach’s granddaughter
and Avraham’s niece. However, one’s children’s children are like one’s own children.
Family members referred to each other as brothers and sisters, as Avraham told
Lot (Sarah’s brother) “we are bothers” even though Avraham was Lot’s uncle.
Breisheet Raba 44:10 points out that
while she is named Sarai, she will not have children as she is barren. However,
once her name is changed to Sarah, she is able to have a child as it says in
Breisheet 21:1-2 “And God remembered Sarah as He had said and God did for Sarah
as He had spoken. She conceived and gave birth to Avraham’s son in his old age
at the designated time that God had declared.”
According to Rabbi Shimon ben
Karcha, when her name was changed from Sarai to Sarah, the letter yud which has
the value of ten was split into two letter heys which each have the value of
five. One hey was given to Avram to become Avraham and one hey was given to
Sarai to become Sarah, bestowing each one with a part of God’s name.
We see from the case of Sarah that a
person’s name(s) can reflect who they are.
