Vayera: What’s in a Name?
He Made Me Laugh
When our matriarch Sarah gave birth to her son she was ninety years old. So ecstatic was she at this miraculous birth that she named her child, Yitzchak. Yitzchak means he will laugh and Sarah’s precise words were, “a laughter G-d has made for me, all that hear my story will laugh along with me.”
Our Impact on Others
Indeed, true joy is infectious. Consider the response you get every morning when you greet your family and friends with a smiling and joyous good morning. Conversely, consider the chilling effect your friends have on you when they trudge tiredly into the room and slump into their chair. We have a direct impact upon the people around us and we must take responsibility for the atmosphere we project.
Faith and Confidence
There is yet another lesson to be found in the name Yitzchak. As joyful as we are today we await even greater joy tomorrow. Yitzchak means he will laugh in the future. Though he laughs today he expects to have reason to laugh again tomorrow. Tomorrow he will not only continue to laugh but increase the tempo of his joy. For a true Jew hopes and believes that G-d will continue to shower him with blessings of joy and love.
Yitzchak and Moshiach
Yitzchak, more so than the other Patriarchs is connected to the era of our redemption. Yitzchak means he will laugh. Moshiach is the ultimate cause for laughter and joy. Yitzchak is a statement of fact, he will laugh, which indicates a total faith in the coming of Moshiach.
Tags: confidence, joy
