I always wondered why we bless our daughters on Friday night that they should be like the matriarchs. Each faced tremendously difficult challenges.
What are we doing to our girls?
The answer came to me while watching my daughter’s basketball game. One of the players on the opposing team was superior to the others. Our girls focused on stopping her by “double teaming” her. It was because she was so good that she had a tougher defense to break through.
When you’re good, you must be able to handle more challenges.
Perhaps we are giving our girls a “double team bracha” in disguise.
Sarah, for example, was barren and elderly. Suddenly, she was told she would have a child, and she reacted with laughter (Bereishit 18:10-12).
Hashem remembered (pakad) Sarah, and she became pregnant. Rebbetzin Holly Pavlov notes that the word pakad is used instead of the typical word, zachor. Pakad usually describes a deposit.
This word was chosen because our mitzvot are similar to bank deposits. Hashem holds our deposits, ready for redemption at a later time. Hashem remembers our deeds even when we forget them.
In Sarah’s case, it was in the form of a child (Beresishit Rabba 53:18n).
Sarah was superior in her mitzvot and despite the challenges, lived her life full of mitzvot, not expecting anything in return from anyone, even from Hashem.
May we all “forget” in order to allow Hashem to be the ultimate zocher. Through this, may our mouths be filled with laughter from the unexpected, positive “double-team” brachot from Hashem.
