The answer is that the nation of Israel really has two roles in the world – a “Jacob” role and an “Esau” role. The Jacob role is to be internally righteous people – to study Torah, to become more spiritual, and to develop a relationship with God. The studious, tent-dwelling Jacob was clearly grooming himself for such a role from his earliest years.
My personal take on the story, is that in some measure, whether justified or not, Yaakov steals from his brother, and deceives his father. This raises some questions - can you actually steal a blessing? The blessing is ultimately from G-d, so can you steal from G-d? Also, Yaakov, if his intent was to provide for his own family, the act was a failure, and counterproductive. He did not have one day's rest; he was cheated in every area of his life- by his boss; when he wanted to get married. by his sons who stole his own beloved Yosef. Then when Yosef takes Benjamin. There was zero benefit from this theft, and it may have cost him his entire life's struggles.
ReplyDeleteOn top of this, whereas with Sarah, booting out Ishmael, G-d tells Avraham to listen to his wife - in the case of Rivkah, there is no mention of G-d confirming this to Yitzhak. Perhaps she thought the correct thing was to follow on from Sarah's act, in this case it may have been a mistake. I see no gain from this, in fact it has caused eternal enmity for us with Esav's offspring.
One major relationship difference is that Avraham Avinu, and Sarah Imeinu had interactions with each. They spoke to one another. Other than when they met, there's only one record of Rivkah speaking to Yitzchak and it's after the beracha affair. I read one drashah which said that, in fact, they almost never spoke because Rivkah was in such awe of Yitzchak's holiness she was intimidated from speaking to him.
DeleteWas even the deception effective? He was posing as Esav ben Yitzhak. So the blessing may have gone to Esav, he was merely a shaliach. Esav comes later for another blessing, so maybe he ends up with a double blessing?
ReplyDeleteThe text of the actual beracha part studiously avoids a name. Like when Yitzchak Avinu smells Yaakov Avinu and says "See, the smell of my son..." not "See, the smell of my son, Eisav". So the beracha lands on whichever son is standing there.
DeleteWhat text have you been reading? The weekly parsha handout?
Deleteוַיֹּ֕אמֶר אַתָּ֥ה זֶ֖ה בְּנִ֣י עֵשָׂ֑ו וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אָֽנִי׃
יַֽעַבְד֣וּךָ עַמִּ֗ים (וישתחו) [וְיִֽשְׁתַּחֲו֤וּ] לְךָ֙ לְאֻמִּ֔ים הֱוֵ֤ה גְבִיר֙ לְאַחֶ֔יךָ וְיִשְׁתַּחֲו֥וּ לְךָ֖ בְּנֵ֣י אִמֶּ֑ךָ אֹרְרֶ֣יךָ אָר֔וּר וּֽמְבָרְכֶ֖יךָ בָּרֽוּךְ׃
Ironically, it's yaakov who ends up bowiing to Esav when they meet up later. So it's clear this blessing did not help yaakov
You are allowed to marry someone by shaliach. Even if the shaliach thinks they are marrying you, they do not receive kiddushin for themselves. All that yaakov managed to do was get his father to bless Esav, against his own I tuition, that it might bring a curse upon his own head.
DeleteLook what 130 year old yaakov says to pharaoh in bereishit 47
Deleteיַעֲקֹב, אֶל-פַּרְעֹה, יְמֵי שְׁנֵי מְגוּרַי, שְׁלֹשִׁים וּמְאַת שָׁנָה: מְעַט וְרָעִים, הָיוּ יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיַּי, וְלֹא הִשִּׂיגוּ אֶת-יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי אֲבֹתַי, בִּימֵי מְגוּרֵיהֶם. 9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh: 'The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings
Does this sound like the blessings worked for him?
When Yaakov protests that he might get cursed, Rivkah says "Alai kilelaskha." Ayin Lamed Yud - Yaakovs curse was the trouble with Eisav, Lavan and Yosef.
DeleteVery nice. Presumably she didn't know this drush, otherwise she wouldn't have gone through with the plan.
DeleteThe drush comes from later on when the brothers want to take Binyamin down to Egypt and Yaakov gets upset and says Yosef isn't around, Shimon isn't around and now you want to take Binyamin? All this has come upon me. Alai again. So he's saying "Eisav I expeced, Lavan I expected, Yosef, fine but no one mentioned Binyamin!"
DeleteThe rabbis before you do an aveira, picture the avot in your mind. Yaakov listened to his mother but didn't picture his father. Or worse, he did, and was afraid of the klala, but he went ahead with it anyway.
DeleteThere's another aspect to this. Rivka took into her own hands both the expulsion of eisav, and and getting yaakov to deceive Isaac. She should have discussed it with Isaac, not to make a sinner out of yaakov
DeleteThe Netziv explains the lack of communication by saying she was simply overwhelmed by her husband's greatness from the first moment she saw him.
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