A woman of striking beauty, Sarah (originally called “Saraiâ€) was the wife of Abraham. Unable to conceive a child, and wanting to uphold the covenant of God that Abraham would be the “father of a great nation†she gave her husband over to her servant, Hagar, in order that she bear him a child. Hagar conceived and bore Ishmael, but then began to look upon her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. So God promises Sarai a son, too – after he changes her name to Sarah. This caused great laughter as Sarah was over 70 (not quite the child-bearing age). Sure enough, Sarah conceived and bore Isaac. They named him Isaac (Yitzac in Hebrew) which, fittingly, means ‘laughter.’ Isaac goes onto have Jacob who becomes the father of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Therefore, Sarai/Sarah would be considered the Grand Pooba of Mothers of the People of Israel.
