Our triennial shoots us to the end of the family dynamics of Rivka, Itzchak, Esav and Yaakov; with the end of the famous scene of Itzchak being manipulated to bestow a blessing on Yaakov and the flight of Yaakov to escape Esav's anger.
~ How do you understand the explanation given to Esav by Itzchak about how Yaakov came? How do you see the "trembling" of Itzchak here?
~ Compare the blessing Itzchak receives at the outset with the one he receives just before departing to Haran. What are the differences? What are the similarities? Which one is the blessing that Yaakov and Rivka wanted Yaakov to receive?
~ Was the scheme worth it, in your opinion? Why or why not?
(ב) וַיֶּחֱרַד יִצְחָק חֲרָדָה גְדֹלָה עַד מְאֹד (בראשית כז, לג), אָמַר רַבִּי חָמָא בְּרַבִּי חֲנִינָא מְאֹד, מֵחֲרָדָה שֶׁחָרַד עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ. אָמַר מִי הוּא זֶה שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה סַרְסוּר בֵּינִי לְבֵין הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁיִּטֹּל יַעֲקֹב אֶת הַבְּרָכוֹת, כְּלַפֵּי רִבְקָה אֲמָרוֹ. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ שְׁנֵי בָנִים אֶחָד יוֹצֵא וְאֶחָד נִכְנַס, חָרֵיד, אֶתְמְהָא, אֶלָּא בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁנִּכְנַס עֵשָׂו אֵצֶל אָבִיו נִכְנְסָה עִמּוֹ גֵּיהִנֹּם. רַבִּי אֲחָא אָמַר הִתְחִילוּ כָּתְלֵי הַבַּיִת מַרְתִיתִים, הֲדָא הוּא דְהוּא אָמַר (בראשית כז, לג): מִי אֵפוֹא, מִי הוּא זֶה שֶׁהוּא עָתִיד לֵיאָפוֹת כָּאן אֲנִי אוֹ בְנִי יַעֲקֹב. אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לֹא אַתְּ וְלֹא בִּנְךָ, אֶלָּא (בראשית כז, לג): הוּא הַצָּד צַיִד. ... אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה אָבִינוּ יִצְחָק מִתְפַּחֵד וְאוֹמֵר תֹּאמַר שֶׁלֹא עָשִׂיתִי כַּשּׁוּרָה שֶׁעָשִׂיתִי אֶת שֶׁאֵינוֹ בְּכוֹר בְּכוֹר, כֵּיוָן שֶׁאָמַר (בראשית כז, לו): אֶת בְּכֹרָתִי לָקָח, אָמַר יָאוּת בֵּרַכְתִּי. אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אֵין קִיּוּם הַגֵּט אֶלָּא בְּחוֹתְמָיו, שֶׁלֹא תֹאמַר אִלּוּלֵי שֶׁרִמָּה יַעֲקֹב בְּאָבִיו לֹא נָטַל אֶת הַבְּרָכוֹת, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: גַּם בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה.
(2) And Itzhak feared a great fear etc. - Rabbi Hama bar Hanina: very, more than the fear he feared on the altar. Said: Who is this done broker between me and the place, so that Yaacov will take the blessings, to Rivka they said. Rabbi Yochanan said: When one has two sons, one went out and one came in, will he fear?! But, when Esav entered to his father, hell entered with him. Rabbi Acha said: The walls of the house started to shake/boil. this what he said: "Who, where", who is it that will be baked here, me, or my son, Yaakov? Said God: Not you, nor your son, but is the one hunting game. … Said Rabbi Levi since our father Yitzchak trembled, and said: "It shouldn't be said that I made something not correct, that I made the one who is not a first-born a first-born" since he said "he took my first-born status" my blessing should be appropriate! Said Rabbi Eleazar: There is no standing for divorce papers without signatures, and so that people wouldn't say that hadn't Yaakov mislead his father he would not receive that blessing, the text continues: "he must remain blessed."
Before you came I blessed him, he shall remain blessed. It is not a regular way of a person to tremble a great trembling, and cry out loud: 'who deceived me to bless him' and then continue immediately 'he shall remain blessed'. The regular way would be to curse him, and when Esav cries to him saying 'and why did you bless him dad?!' and how would Esav even believe that he was deceived from the outset when he sees that he remains blessed? And what I think is true is that the language is in the present: "where is the one who gathers game" he is the one "who is able to deceive me to bless him" and also "he remains blessed" needs to point that "I knew" in any instance, otherwise it means that this was against my will, and it is impossible for me to take away the blessing from him - since once he blessed him he knew who he was blessing through divine inspiration. And is the real reason for this great trembling: he knew that his beloved son lost his blessing forever, and this is the meaning of "your brother came in deceit". Once he said "where is he" he understood that the blessings had taken effect on Yaakov, since it is impossible that the blessing would fall only to his [Yaakov's] children.
~ These two sources establish in one way or the other that the blessing was efficacious: whether Yitzchak knew or not, he gives that blessing to Yaakov. However, the content of the two blessings are different - and it really seems that if Rivka and Yaakov wanted Yaakov to receive the blessings of being the continuation of Avraham, those would be given to him regardless.
I want to remind us that if you are going to think about who is more established at this point, Esav is the one. Both "boys" are over 60 years old by now. Only one is married and has children, and knows how to hunt for food and takes care of his family. Yaakov is the "tam" one, the one still living with his family, the "late bloomer" if you wish. From that standpoint alone, Esav is the best man for the job of simply continuing the family.
האלקים. מַהוּ הָאֱלֹהִים? בַּדִּין; אִם רָאוּי לְךָ יִתֵּן לְךָ וְאִם לָאו לֹא יִתֵּן לְךָ, אֲבָל לְעֵשָׂו אָמַר מִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ יִהְיֶה מוֹשָׁבֶךָ, בֵּין צַדִּיק בֵּין רָשָׁע יִתֵּן לְךָ; וּמִמֶּנּוּ לָמַד שְׁלֹמֹה, כְּשֶׁעָשָׂה הַבַּיִת סִדֵּר תְּפִלָּתוֹ. יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁהוּא בַעַל אֱמוּנָה וּמַצְדִּיק עָלָיו אֶת הַדִּין לֹא יִקְרָא עָלֶיךָ תִּגָּר, לְפִיכָךְ וְנָתַתָּ לָאִישׁ בְכָל דְּרָכָיו אֲשֶׁר תֵּדַע אֶת לְבָבוֹ (מלכים א, ח'), אֲבָל נָכְרִי מְחֻסַּר אֲמָנָה, לְפִיכָךְ אָמַר אַתָּה תִּשְׁמַע הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְעָשִׂיתָ כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָא אֵלֶיךָ הַנָּכְרִי (שם), בֵּין רָאוּי בֵּין שֶׁאֵינוֹ רָאוּי תֵּן לוֹ, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יִקְרָא עָלֶיךָ תִּגָּר:
האלהים GOD [GIVE THEE]—What denotes the use here of the Divine Name אלהים which signifies God in His attribute of Justice? May He act in justice! If you are worthy of it may He give it to you, and if not, let Him not give it to you. But to Esau he said, (Genesis 27:39) “The fat places of the earth shall be thy dwelling” —whether you be righteous or wicked He will give you this. From him (Isaac) did Solomon learn when he built the Temple how to compose his prayer (having in mind a similar idea): An Israelite who is a man of faith and acknowledges that God’s judgment is just will not reproach You;—therefore (1 Kings 8:39) “Render unto every man (Israelite; 1 Kings 8:38) according to his ways whose heart thou knowest”. A stranger, however, is lacking in faith; therefore Solomon said, (1 Kings 8:43) “Hear thou in heaven … and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for — whether he be worthy or unworthy grant him his request in order that he may not reproach You.
Reading Rashi onto the blessing, does Itzchak know whom he is blessing? What kind of blessing is this? The name yud hey vav and hey is absent.
In deceit - without speaking truth.
(42) When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. (43) Now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. (44) Stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury subsides— (45) until your brother’s anger against you subsides—and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will fetch you from there. Let me not lose you both in one day!”
It is commonly understood that Yitzchak can bless only one of his two sons, i.e. either Yaakov or Esav, but not both. Should this understanding be correct, then indeed Yitzchak's choice of Esav over Yaakov is quite disturbing. However, one could suggest that Yitzchak actually plans to bless both of his sons. Should this be true, then his blessing of Esav first may actually make a lot of sense: Unlike Yitzchak and Yishmael who come from different mothers, both Yaakov and Esav are born from the same mother. In fact, they are twins! Therefore, it is only logical for us to presume that Yitzchak assumes that both Yaakov and Esav are chosen.
The process of only choosing one child will definitely end with Yaakov, who has so many he cannot possibly chose, even though we know that he prefers one (Yosef) and then another (Benyamin) over the others, but he does not bless only one of them. The same process will be reinforced when Yosef brings his two children to be blessed, and wants the firstborn to be blessed but Yaakov switches them on purpose, saying "yadati, beni, yadati" I know my son, I know.
However, it is possible that Yitzchak, one generation before, having seen the dynamics and the pain of the choice his father had to make, decides he's not choosing one over the other, but wants to bless them both and just like Noach, not choose.
Another point here is that God is not involved in choosing Esav or Yaakov. God was involved in the Ishmael/Yitzchak choice, but here it is all about the humans: because it is Rivka who knows that the process of choosing one child over the other is not over, since God tells her in the beginning of our portion that "the older will serve the younger".
If we understand that there are two processes in place, one process is the chosenness and the other is the blessings of sustenance.
Other fathers blessed their sons: Noach, for instance, blessed (or cursed) his three sons, and chose none.
A blessing, here, is more a mark of a personal destiny (e.g. prosperity, power) - and the two blessings are similar in the general idea of blessings, compare that with the blessings for Yosef and Yehuda.
But the specific destiny of Avraham - the choice, or chosenness - only happens when Yaakov will leave his father's house - just as Avraham did: the language of land and seed, which appears in Avram's blessing by God, meaning, choseness. So it's more that Yitzchak was waiting for Yaakov to prove himself as deserving of the destiny he wants.
Same language appears in three other moments: 12:7; 13:15; 15:18.
But notice: