Adapted from: Rav Pam on the Parashah by Rabbi Sholom Smith

וַיֹּאמֶר ה’ אֶל אַבְרָהָם לָמָּה זֶּה צָחֲקָה שָׂרָה לֵאמֹר הַאַף אֻמְנָם אֵלֵד וַאֲנִי זָקַנְתִּי. הֲיִפָּלֵא מֵה’ דָּבָר לַמּוֹעֵד אָשׁוּב אֵלֶיךָ כָּעֵת חַיָּ’ וּלְשָׂרָה בֵן. — Then Hashem said to Avraham, “Why is it that Sarah laughed, saying: ‘Shall I in truth bear a child, though I have aged?’ Is anything beyond Hashem? At the appointed time I will return to you at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son” (18:13–14).

When Sarah heard one of the guests tell Avraham that she would have a son, she laughed incredulously, not believing that in her old age that was possible. As the pasuk relates, Hashem was upset with her for failing to recognize that nothing is impossible for Hashem. Ramban adds that although Sarah was not aware that the guests were Heavenly angels, and thought they were simply grateful guests who politely offered her a meaningless blessing, she still should have at least said, “Amen, may it be so.” Even though her laugh was “inside her” and she was certainly on a very high level of emunah and bitachon in Hashem, nevertheless, for her exalted level of greatness it was considered a serious failing, which is why Hashem rebuked her.

The Chofetz Chaim offers a fascinating explanation into this incident. What is the Torah teaching us by describing at length her laughing in disbelief, Hashem’s criticism of it, and her subsequent denial of what happened — all of which seem to paint Sarah in a very unfavorable light? 

It is not to diminish Sarah’s greatness, but to teach a timeless lesson for the generations near the end of history, in the days preceding the arrival of Mashiach. Just as Sarah struggled to believe that miraculous change could come so suddenly, many people in the final era will find it difficult to believe that we are on the very brink of redemption. The yeshuah will seem far away, the galus endless, and the world calm and ordinary—without the cataclysmic upheavals one might expect before Mashiach’s coming. 

As the Navi Malachi (3:1) foretells, pis’om, Suddenly, the lord (Mashiach) whom you seek will come to his sanctuary. He will come, even without a moment’s notice, even under conditions that make the Geulah seem to be a distant dream.

History itself has demonstrated this truth. Who could have imagined that after seventy years of Communist tyranny, the mighty Soviet Union would collapse almost overnight, without a single shot being fired? Hashem demonstrated to the world at large, and to Jews in particular, that when the appointed time arrives, He can overturn reality in a moment. The same Divine power that renewed Sarah’s body and granted her a child will one day transform the world in an instant.

Today, Eretz Yisrael remains a small nation surrounded by countless enemies. Even its allies stand by only when convenient. According to all natural laws, salvation seems remote. Yet Hashem’s message to Sarah still echoes through time: “Is anything beyond Hashem?” When the destined moment comes, the Geulah will arrive swiftly and unexpectedly—pis’om—for nothing lies beyond His power.

May we live to see this happen!