מדרש על בראשית 20:18

Observe that anyone who causes his neighbor to grieve is the first to be punished. Conversely Sarah was rewarded because she brought grief to herself when she said to Abraham: Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing; go in, I pray thee, unto my handmaid (Gen. 16:2). The Holy One, blessed be He, told her: Inasmuch as you inflicted distress upon yourself, you may be assured that with the very words you spoke, I will remember you. You said: The Lord hath restrained me; therefore it is written: The Lord hath restrained the wombs of the house of Abimelech (Gen. 20:18). The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Abraham pleaded with Me in behalf of the wicked Abimelech, until I became merciful toward him; therefore, I shall remember Abraham together with him, as it is said: And God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his handmaids (ibid., v. 17). What is written next? And the Lord remembered Sarah.

And Abimelech became impotent, and all the women of his house became barren, even || to the smallest insect (which also became) barren, as it is said, "For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech" (Gen. 20:18). And the angel Michael descended and drew his sword against him. Abimelech said to him: Is this a true judgment and a true sentence to slay me as long as I had no knowledge? "Wilt thou slay even a righteous nation?" (Gen. 20:4). He said unto him: "Restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet" (Gen. 20:7). "And he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live" (ibid.).

... The angels said before the Holy One, ‘Master of the World! Isn’t this Jerusalem?!’ as it is said “This is Jerusalem; in the midst of the nations I have placed her…” (Yechezkel 5:5) He replied to them, “But she exchanged My judgments for wickedness more than the nations…” (Yechezkel 5:6) They said to Him, “But they are Your people and Your inheritance, which You brought out with Your great strength…” (Devarim 9:29) He replied to them, “For My people have forgotten Me; they burn incense to vanity…” (Yirmiyahu 18:15) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the forefathers!’ He replied to them, “…the fathers are kindling fire…” (Yirmiyahu 7:18) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the children!’ He replied to them, “But they rebelled against Me and would not consent to hearken to Me…” (Yechezkel 20:8) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the tribe of Yehudah!’ “And Judah did what displeased the Lord…” (Melachim I 14:22) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the leaders!’ He replied to them, “Its heads judge for bribes…” (Micha 3:11) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the tribes!’ He replied to them, ‘and Gad, and Reuven and the half tribe of Menashe…’ They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the tribe of Dan!’ He replied to them, “And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image.” (Shoftim 18:30) They said to Him,’ act for the sake of the students!’ He replied to them, “…And those who hold onto the Torah did not know Me…” (Yirmiyahu 2:8) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the prophets!’ He replied to them, “[It was] for the sins of her prophets, the iniquities of her priests…” (Eicha 4:13) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the kings!’ He replied to them, “And the altars that were on the roof, [the roof of] Ahaz's upper chamber, which the kings of Judah had made…” (Melachim II 23:12) The ministering angels said to Him, ‘act for our sake!’ He replied to them, “But they mocked the messengers of God…” (Divre HaYamim II 36:16) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of Your name which is called upon them!’ He replied to them, ‘they have profaned My holy name.’ They said to Him, ‘You do not want to be appeased, what is the image of their father doing by You?’ “He has cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel…” (Eicha 2:1) This statement with which they clothed You, what has it done to You?! If the thing were not written, it would be impossible to say “The Lord has done what He devised, He has carried out His word…” (Eicha 2:17) They said to Him, ‘Master of the World! Is this not Jerusalem about whom you wrote “Behold on [My] hands have I engraved you…”’ (Yeshayahu 49:16) He replied to them, “I, too, shall clap My hands, one upon the other, and I shall put My fury to rest…” (Yechezkel 21:22) Since Zion saw that He did not want to be appeased, she started up and said “The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me." (Yeshayahu 49:14) May it be Your will Lord our God and God of our fathers that Your Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days, that your Presence return within it, that You gather my exiles from the four corners of the world, that they rebuild the cities of Yehudah and settle Shechem and inherit it speedily. Amen.

(Gen. 21:1:) THEN THE LORD VISITED SARAH. Let our master instruct us: What is meant by abuse?¹²⁴Tanh., Gen. 4:14; PR 42:1 ; cf. BM 58b (bar.) Thus have our masters taught: It is forbidden for someone to abuse his neighbor. (According to BM 4:10:) LET HIM NOT SAY: HOW MUCH DOES THIS COST? IF HE DOES NOT INTEND TO BUY. IF SOMEONE HAS REPENTED, ONE SHOULD NOT ABUSE HIM AND SAY TO HIM: REMEMBER YOUR FORMER DEEDS. IF SOMEONE IS A DESCENDANT OF PROSELYTES, ONE SHOULD NOT SAY TO HIM: REMEMBER THE CONDUCT OF YOUR ANCESTORS; just look at < the meat of the > pig stuck between their teeth. The Holy One said to them: It is enough for you to be like me. When I, as it were, created my world, I did not desire to abuse creation. So I did not publicize to those coming into the world from what tree the first Adam had eaten.¹²⁵Thus God even avoided abusing a tree. Come and see: Whoever abused his companion was punished from the start. But Sarah abused herself; so she received her reward. She said to Abraham (in Gen. 16:2): PLEASE LOOK AT HOW THE LORD HAS RESTRAINED ME FROM BEARING! The Holy One said to her: You have abused yourself. By your life, I am visiting you through the very language that you have spoken. You said: RESTRAINED. What is written elsewhere (in Gen. 20:18)? FOR THE LORD HAD COMPLETELY RESTRAINED EVERY WOMB < IN THE HOUSE OF ABIMELECH, DUE TO THE WORD OF ABRAHAM'S WIFE, SARAH >. The Holy One said: When Abraham prayed to me about the wicked Abimelech, I was filled with compassion for him. Behold, I am visiting Abraham along with him. Where it is stated (in Gen. 20:17): AND GOD HEALED ABIMELECH, HIS WIFE, AND HIS FEMALE SERVANTS SO THAT THEY BORE. What is written after that (in Gen. 21:1)? THEN THE LORD VISITED SARAH.

(Gen. 21:1:) THEN THE LORD VISITED SARAH. What is written above on the matter (in Gen. 20:17)? THEN ABRAHAM PRAYED < UNTO GOD; AND GOD HEALED ABIMELECH >…. A parable: To what is the matter comparable? To a king who had a friend and loved him exceedingly; so he did everything that his friend asked of him. Since everybody knew that the king loved him exceedingly, anyone who sought an office came to him. Then he would make a request of the king, and he would fulfill his desire for him. Yet, to that friend he did not give any office at all. The people of his palace¹³⁰Gk.: palation; Lat.: palatium. said to him: Our Lord King, this friend of yours makes requests for others, but for himself he requests nothing. Who is this friend? This is Abraham, of whom it is stated (in Is. 41:8): THE SEED OF MY FRIEND ABRAHAM. When Abimelech took Sarah, the Holy One closed up all their springs, as stated (in Gen. 20:18): FOR THE LORD HAD COMPLETELY RESTRAINED < EVERY WOMB IN THE HOUSE OF ABIMELECH >. When, however, Abimelech made a request of Abraham, he was healed because he had prayed for him. It is so stated (in Gen. 20:17): THEN ABRAHAM PRAYED UNTO GOD; < AND GOD HEALED ABIMELECH >…. The ministering angels said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World, Abraham is healing others, but he < himself > needs healing. He healed Abimelech and his house, so that they bore < children >. Thus it is stated (ibid.): AND GOD HEALED < ABIMELECH >. So are you not healing him? The Holy One said: He is worth having me give him children. Look at the work of the Holy One! It is not like the work of flesh and blood. A human promises to give a gift to his companion. Sometimes he gives it; sometimes he does not give it. But the Holy One is not like that. When he promises to do something good, he immediately does something good. Balaam said (in Numb. 23:19): GOD IS NOT A HUMAN THAT HE SHOULD LIE. And again he said (ibid.): WHEN HE HAS PROMISED, HE WILL NOT ACT.¹³¹Unlike other interpretations of this verse, the midrash does not interpret these words as an interrogative. R. Samuel bar Nahman said: In this verse the end does not correspond to the beginning, nor the beginning to the end. Thus he says < at the beginning of the verse >: GOD IS NOT A HUMAN THAT HE SHOULD LIE…. Yet again he says < at the end of the verse >: WHEN HE HAS PROMISED, HE WILL NOT ACT; < AND WHEN HE HAS SPOKEN, HE WILL NOT FULFILL IT >. It is simply that, in the case of a descendant of Adam, WHEN HE HAS PROMISED, HE WILL NOT ACT. But, when the Holy One promises, he acts; when he decrees, he fulfills.¹³²Cf. yTa‘an. 2:1 (65b); Gen. R. 53:4; Tanh., Gen. 4:13; M. Pss. 13:1. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 21:1:) THEN THE LORD VISITED SARAH < AS HE HAD PROMISED >.

Variantly: "Listen, O heavens": Not only are the righteous righteous, but they "broaden" the world in which they live. For when Israel do G-d's will, what is written of them? (Devarim 28:12) "The L-rd shall open for you His goodly treasure trove, the heavens," "opening" connoting "broadening," as in (Bereshith 29:31) "and the L-rd opened her womb." And not only are the wicked wicked, but they "constrict" the world in which they live. For when they do not do G-d's will, what is written of them? (Ibid. 11:17) "and He will hold back the heavens," connoting "constricting," as in (Bereshith 20:18) "and the L-rd held back every womb."