Hagar's Ordeal

Torah Thoughts on Parshas Lech Lecha by Rabbi Chaim Twerski

"וְשָׂרַי אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם לֹא יָלְדָה לוֹ וְלָהּ שִׁפְחָה מִצְרִית וּשְׁמָהּ הָגָר: וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרַי אֶל אַבְרָם הִנֵה נָא עֲצָרַנִי ה' מִלֶדֶת בֹּא נָא אֶל שִׁפְחָתִי אוּלַי אִבָּנֶה מִמֶנָה וַיִשְׁמַע אַבְרָם לְקוֹל שָׂרָי"  בְּרֵאשִׁית ט''ז:א'-ב' 

“And Sarai, Avram’s wife, had not borne him a child. She had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. Sarai said to Avram, “Behold, God has withheld from me the ability to give birth. Take my maidservant. Perhaps I shall have the ability to build a home with her child. And Avram listened to Sarai.”  Bereshis 16:1-2

As we learn about Hagar’s relationship with Sarah, several questions arise. 1) One must wonder how such a righteous woman as Sarah had it within her to cause her maidservant to suffer so much that she had to flee from her home. 2) Why did the angel refer to her as “the maidservant of Sarah” after addressing her by name? 3) Why did the angel ask her where she was coming from and where she was going? The angel surely knew this. 4) Why did the angel tell her to return only to suffer under Sarah?

Hagar was not a common woman. She was at enough of a spiritual plane that she saw and even conversed with several angels of Hashem. She was a princess in Egypt and agreed to be a maidservant in the house of Avraham, saying, “I prefer to be a maidservant in Avraham’s home than to be a princess in Egypt.” The mere fact that Sarah felt her worthy to be a second wife to Avraham indicates her lofty spiritual status. Hagar was not only a maidservant of Sarah, but her protégé as well.

When Hagar became pregnant, she considered herself more worthy than Sarah, since Sarah had been married for many years without a child whereas she merited to become pregnant immediately. Sarah, though her mentor, was now in Hagar’s eyes an equal, and maybe even less than equal. This distressed Sarah. Her protégé was going off the path of the righteous. She blamed Avram for not stressing to Hagar that she was not on the level of Sarah. Sarah gave Hagar to Avraham to have a child that she, Sarah, would raise. Hagar now said, “No, I am just as worthy as Sarah, and I will raise the child myself.”

Avraham accepted Sarah’s complaint and gave her the right to correct and criticize Hagar. The criticism was meant as mussar, to improve Hagar’s character, for Hagar was afflicted with arrogance. However, this was not accepted by Hagar, for since she considered herself as an equal to Sarah, she could not tolerate any criticism from her. She therefore fled the house of Avraham.

The angel addressed her not merely by name but by title. “Hagar, the maidservant of Sarah”. This implied that her claim to spiritual greatness was only as the maidservant of Sarah. She was far from being Sarah’s equal, and she was told so. The next words were not asking her anything, but rather telling her something. “From where are you coming and where are you going?” This was a rebuke! Where do you think you are going? Is there a better place in this world wnere one can grow spiritually? Go back to Sarah and accept her criticisms, painful as these may be to you. You have much to gain from her. For your own sake, go back and accept everything she says to you.

According to a Midrash, Keturah, with whom Avraham had six more sons, was none other than Hagar, called Keturah for her deeds were as fragrant as incense. Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 2:4) wrote that when a person does teshuvah he (or she) should take a new name. Of course, this does not mean when a person does teshuvah for a single sin, but when one changes his (or her) essential character for the better. By accepting Sarah’s words, Hagar merited to become a new person, far above the spiritual heights she had acquire hitherto. Sarah’s beneficial influence lasted for Hagar’s lifetime.