However ? Did Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel deal with their infertility in the same way? Did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob deal with their wives? infertility in the same way? The answer is ? absolutely not. Every patriarch and matriarch had a unique story and way of coping with their infertility. In this week?s Torah portion, we read a short description of the way Isaac and Rebecca coped:
And Isaac prayed to the Lord opposite his wife because she was barren
(Genesis 25, 21)
Isaac turns to God in prayer. What is special about the prayer is that it is recited ?opposite his wife.? Simply, this means that Isaac prayed for Rebecca, not for himself. According to this commentary by Rabbi Ovadia Sforno (a rabbi, doctor, and philosopher, Italy, 16th century), Isaac himself was not in distress since he had faith in God?s promise to Abraham that Isaac would continue in establishing the nation. Isaac had no doubt that he would have children, sooner or later. What Isaac did not know was ? were these promised children going to come from Rebecca or from another wife. Rebecca, however, was in distress. Therefore, Isaac?s prayer was not for himself as much as for his wife, Rebecca.
The great biblical commentator Rashi (France, 11th century) speaks of this verse and describes this prayer of Isaac?s as one of a couple:
Opposite his wife: This one (Isaac) was standing in this corner and praying, and that one (Rebecca) was standing in that corner and praying.
Another commentator, Radak (a grammarian and commentator, Provence, 13th century) added another layer of meaning to the picture Rashi paints:
He prayed in the presence of his wife so that he would be better able to concentrate on her problem.
According to most commentators, Isaac prayed for his wife, not for himself, and he did so when standing near her, looking at her, feeling sorry for her and praying from the depths of his heart.
By reading this carefully and sensitively, the reader finds the compassionate and gentle image of Isaac and grasps the reason God answers his prayer. ??and the Lord accepted his prayer, and Rebecca his wife conceived.?
It is interesting to discover that even at Isaac?s and Rebecca?s very first meeting, before they were married, the sages of the midrash say that Isaac was busy praying. Isaac ? in all his appearances in the bible ? doesn?t speak much, but he is good at empathizing with others, like Rebecca, and doing what he knows how to do ? which is to pray.
When a person prays from a place of compassion and caring for someone else ? that is the kind of prayer God answers.
