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IIRC, Sarah was completely rejuvenated in order to give birth to Itzhak, but I don't remember that G-d took it back after he was born.

Apparently, Avraham was eager to have more kids in his old age.

Why Sarah didn't have more kids with Avraham?

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2 Answers 2

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Maybe Sarah did have more children with Abraham. The Torah says:

"-V'Avraham zaken ba bayyamim, v'Hashem berach et Avraham bakol -- And Abraham was old, and well advanced in days, and the Lord had blessed Abraham with everything." [Gen. 24:1]

The Talmud asks: What is meant by 'with everything' [bakol]? In the fact that he had a daughter and her name was Bakol. [Bava Batra 16b]

Later in that tractate, the Talmud says that all one may infer is that the All Merciful did not deprive Abraham even of daughter. [Bava Batra 141a] In other words, you can't say you have everything unless you have a daughter!

In fact, didn't Hillel say: To fulfill the commandment to be fruitful and multiply, you must get married and have a boy and a girl? [Yevamot 6:6]

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  • Maybe the numeric value of בכל corresponds to בן that is rather a son? 🙂 Commented Nov 24, 2019 at 17:25
  • @Kazi There's another interpretation in that Gemara which says Bakol means Avraham didn't have a daughter. But this is still a valid opinion in that Gemara.
    – DonielF
    Commented Nov 24, 2019 at 18:24
  • @DonielF Of course, I'm just pointing out that it's not the only one. Commented Nov 24, 2019 at 18:46
  • Sorry, where do you read "Sarah" here?
    – Al Berko
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 14:47
  • I said 'maybe'. Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 18:47
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Sarah having a single child at 90 was a supernatural miracle. Having multiple children afterwards would have been multiple supernatural miracles. Since G-D already 'accomplished His mission' of continuing Abraham's progeny through Sarah with that one miracle, there was no need for Him to continue doing miracles by giving Sarah more children.

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  • All commentators agree that the miracle wasn't that she got pregnant or gave birth, THe miracle was that she was rejuvenated, so she was perfectly healthy to bear more children anytime after.
    – Al Berko
    Commented Nov 24, 2019 at 16:26
  • As the OP says, wasn't it a similar miracle that Abraham had further children later on at such a high age? Commented Nov 24, 2019 at 16:31
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    @Kazibácsi judaism.stackexchange.com/a/96476/13438
    – Alex
    Commented Nov 24, 2019 at 17:42
  • Thus Sarah wasn’t 90.
    – Turk Hill
    Commented Nov 24, 2019 at 21:31
  • @AlBerko You can disagree with the commentators, you know. Commented Nov 27, 2019 at 6:48

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