Another Look At Hagar

When we start to learn Chumash in elementary school, we develop personal opinions and perceptions of certain events and characters. We fail to challenge those notions when we grow older and wiser. Perhaps one such individual who requires a second look is Hagar, the maidservant and concubine of Avraham. She is seemingly a second-class character with little virtue. However, an anecdote related in this week’s daf should cause us to challenge that position.

The Romans decreed that the Jewish nation was forbidden to observe Shabbos, milah (circumcision), and the laws of family purity. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was chosen as an emissary to convince the Roman government to annul the decrees. Rebbe Elazar bar Rebbe Yosi was chosen to be his companion for the trip. They approached the city where the Roman government was based and they encountered a demon named Ben Tamalyon. (The Ramchal writes that a demon is a cross between a spiritual being and a physical one.) The demon offered to assist them in their mission.

It seems that Hashem was indicating that a demon would help them and not an angel. Rabbi Shimon wept that the slave of the Patriarch was privileged to meet three angels while he was not privileged to meet even one. “Let the miracle come from any source,” he exclaimed and accepted the demon’s offer. The strategy was for the demon to precede Rabbi Shimon’s arrival in Rome and enter into the body of the Roman emperor’s daughter. She would subsequently go mad and cry for the help of Rabbi Shimon, whose whispered command to the demon would cause him to depart. The princess would then regain her senses. The plan worked perfectly and the grateful emperor rewarded the sage by allowing him to enter the royal vaults and take whatever he wished. Rabbi Shimon thus succeeded in finding the document containing those awful decrees and destroying it.

Who was the “slave of the Patriarch” to whom Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was referring? Tosfos says he was referring to Hagar. When she conceived, she ran away from Sarah. Hashem wanted her to return to Avraham Avinu’s house, so he sent three angels to speak to her. Rashi on Chumash concurs and explains that every time the Torah stated the word angel in this episode with Hagar, it refers to a different angel. One angel told her to return home. The second informed her that she would be the mother of a large nation. The third angel told her to name her son Yishmael.

How are we to understand this point? Why did Hagar merit speaking to angels? The Chochmas HaMatzpun says we must reevaluate our opinion of her. According to Chazal, Hagar was the daughter of Pharaoh. Being the daughter of a powerful king, she could have married into the finest royal family. She would have had servants and slaves fulfilling her every command. However, she turned down this life of luxury. Why? Her father witnessed the miracles performed for Avraham Avinu. He declared, “Better my daughter should be a maidservant to Avraham Avinu than a wealthy maiden in a different house.” She willingly agreed to forgo riches to attach herself to Avraham’s household. To be able to make such a sacrifice, she surely must have been righteous.

Further, Sarah approached Hagar to become the concubine of Avraham. This would have certainly raised her stature in the household. Yet Chazal explain that Hagar initially refused! Would any maidservant of her time refuse such an offer? They would have jumped at it. Yet she refused on spiritual grounds that she wasn’t worthy. It was only after Sarah convinced her that she accepted the offer.

When Hagar conceived, she began to look condescendingly at Sarah. She thought that she was a bigger tzadeikes and therefore conceived right away. This was wrong. The malach rebuked her by addressing her as “Hagar, the maidservant of Sarah.” She immediately understood the rebuke and admitted her error. She told the angel, “I am running away from Sarah, my master.” Why did Hagar have to say “from Sarah, my master”? The angel already made clear that he knew who she was. Chazal learn a lesson of humility from Hagar. She immediately admitted her error and stated that she was only secondary to Sarah. She was admitting that Sarah was a bigger tzadeikes.

When Hagar was eventually sent away from Avraham’s house, she ended up in a desert with no water. Her son was dying of thirst. Hashem miraculously provided water for her and her son. She gave her son water from the well and also filled up a flask with water. Our sages state that Hagar was lacking trust in Hashem. She should have believed that Hashem would continue to provide her with water and she should not have filled up the flask. This is incredible! Her son was dying of thirst in a desert. Hashem performed a miracle and a well appeared. Shouldn’t she grab the opportunity and take as much water as possible? Evidently, someone on Hagar’s spiritual level, after witnessing the miracle, should have had complete trust in Hashem and not filled up her flask. This is just another indication of the high spiritual level that Hagar reached. It is no wonder, then, concludes the Chochmas HaMatzpun, that she merited conversing with three angels.