Toldot | Two Blessings to Two Sons

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I. Introduction:

A common explanation for the story of "the theft of the blessing" presents Yitzchak as one whose physical blindness points to spiritual blindness.[1] Yitzchak, ignorant of Esav's true nature, is taken in by the righteous questions that he raises – such as, "How does one tithe salt? How does one tithe straw?"[2] – and therefore he wishes to give the blessings to Esav, even though the destiny embodied in them does not fit Esav’s true nature at all.

In contrast, Rivka, whose vision is clear and sharp, considers it her duty to intervene in order to prevent the blessing from reaching the wrong son. She encourages Yaakov to deceive Yitzchak and take the blessing for himself, and even takes care to prepare everything necessary to carry out the deception. And so, thanks to her wisdom and courage, a terrible historical accident is averted and the blessings reach the son who deserves them.

II. Yaakov Pretends to be Esav

Yaakov's success in deceiving his father and taking the blessings meant for Esav reinforces the unflattering image of Yitzchak as one whose impaired vision makes him an easy victim. However, a closer reading of our story indicates that this picture of Yitzchak is far from correct.

In fact, the first words that Yaakov utters in the course of the attempted deception – "My father" (27:18) – suffice to provoke Yitzchak's response: "And he said: Here am I; who are you, my son?" (ibid.). The designation "my son" indicates that Yitzchak knows he is talking to his son but suspects that this is not the son he was expecting.[3]

Yaakov tries to allay his father's inquisitiveness with a detailed answer:

And Yaakov said to his father: I am Esav your firstborn;[4] I have done as you bade me. Arise, I pray you, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me. (27:19) 

Even though Yaakov's answer relates directly to the conversation that had been conducted between Yitzchak and Esav, the elderly father is not easily persuaded. He noticed that his son returned from the field earlier than expected,[5] and so he suspiciously asks: "And Yitzchak said to his son: How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" (27:20). Once again, the designations, "his son" and "my son," allude to an uncertainty in Yitzchak’s mind as to the identity of the son standing before him.

Yaakov, perplexed, replies: "Because the Lord your God sent me a good speed" (27:20). However, this pious response not only fails to allay the father's suspicions, but even deepens them, and so he turns to Yaakov with a demand:

And Yitzchak said to Yaakov: Come near, I pray you, that I may feel you, my son, whether you be my very son Esav or not. (27:21) 

Yitzchak is convinced that the one standing before him is "his son," but he does not believe that he is "his son, Esav."[6] It is true that he is blind and cannot see who stands before him, but since Esav is hairy while Yaakov is smooth-skinned, feeling the person standing before him will suffice to determine whether this "son" is Esav or Yaakov.[7] However, the results of the test amaze Yitzchak:

And Yaakov went near to Yitzchak his father; and he felt him, and said: The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Esav. (27:22)

          It turns out that Yaakov's voice betrayed him, perhaps already from the words "my father" with which he opened the conversation, and certainly since he was forced to speak at greater length to answer his father's questions. Yitzchak knew how to distinguish between the voices of his sons, and perhaps also knew the nature of the son who already at the time of his birth sought for himself his brother's birthright. The activation of the sense of touch was supposed to be the perfect proof that Yaakov had lied to his father and sought to take his brother's blessings by way of deception. Surprisingly, however, the results of the touch test did not match those of the sense of hearing: "The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Esav."

Since the touch test seems to be clear evidence that this is Esav, Yitzchak prepares to bless him (27:23), "and yet he asked him, because of the doubt he had about his voice,"[8] "And he said: Are you my very son Esav? And he said: I am" (27:24).[9]

The doubt has not yet subsided, and Yitzhak seeks the aid of two additional senses:

And he said: Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless you. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat; and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Yitzchak said to him: Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said: See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. (27:25-27)

Yitzchak first turns to his sense of taste, eating the delicacies that were to be made by Esav "such as he loved." He then exploits his son's kiss to put him to the test of smell. The clothes of a shepherd are very different in smell from those of a man of the field. And since the smell of the clothes was like the smell of the field, Yitzchak is convinced that indeed the one standing before him is "Esav ... a man of the field" (25:27), who has just returned from fulfilling his instructions to "go out to the field" (27:3).

Yitzchak was not easily persuaded to bless Yaakov. His suspicion arose from the very first moment and he used all the senses available to a blind man to verify the identity of the son before him. Yitzchak, however, had to contend with an act of deception that had been well planned by Rivka. Had she not prepared "savory food, such as his father loved" (27:14), Yaakov would have been caught by Yitzchak's sense of taste. Had she not dressed Yaakov in "the choicest garments of Esav her elder son, which were with her in the house" (27:15), Yaakov would have been caught by Yitzchak's sense of smell. Had she not dressed him in the skins of the goats "upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck" (27:16), Yaakov would have been caught by his father's sense of touch. Since suspicion rested primarily on the sense of hearing, whereas the sense of touch, the sense of taste, and the sense of smell accorded with the assumption that he was Esav, Yitzchak gave him the blessing:

So God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fat places of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one that curses you, and blessed be every one that blesses you. (27:28-29)

However, even the complex deception does not blind Yitzchak for very long. The appearance of the real Esav quickly leads Yitzchak to the correct conclusion: "Your brother came with guile, and has taken away your blessing" (27:35).[10]

III. Yitzchak’s Plan – Two Blessings for Two Sons

At the end of the parasha, in a scene that is almost overshadowed by the story of "the theft of the blessing," it is related that Yitzchak gives another blessing, which from the very outset was designated for Yaakov:

And God Almighty bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a congregation of peoples; and give you the blessing of Avraham, to you, and to your seed with you; that you may inherit the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Avraham. (28:3-4)

In light of the bitter struggle over the previous blessing, the appearance of a new blessing is astonishing.[11] This astonishment seems even more justified when we recall the painful conversation that took place between Yitzchak and Esav after "the theft of the blessing":

And he said: Have you not reserved a blessing for me? And Yitzchak answered and said to Esav: Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him; and what then shall I do for you, my son? And Esav said to his father: Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esav lifted up his voice, and wept. (27:36-38)  

Even when Yitzchak fills with mercy for Esav, and wants to bless him with something, he does not bestow a real blessing upon him, but rather the remnants of the blessings taken by Yaakov:

And Yitzchak his father answered and said to him: Behold, of the fat places of the earth shall be your dwelling, and of the dew of heaven from above; and by thy sword shall you live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you shall break loose, that you shall shake his yoke from off your neck. (27:39-40) 

Unlike the previous blessing, these words do not mention the name of God, nor the word "blessing," and the truth is that there is no real blessing here. Yitzchak opens by declaring that the fat places of the earth and the dew of heaven would remain far away from Esav, because these things had been assigned to Yaakov,[12] but he has the possibility of living by his sword. He was indeed destined to serve his brother, but he can free himself of that subjugation by wandering off and leaving the land.[13]

It seems that after Yitzchak gave Esav's blessing to Yaakov, all he could offer Esav was help in finding "loopholes" in that blessing, which would allow Esav life and liberty. But if Yitzchak actually has another blessing available, why did he not give it to Esav, as compensation for the blessings that Yaakov took from him?

It stands to reason that Yitzchak’s plan did not include the rejection of one of his sons in favor of the other, but was intended to give his two sons the blessings that would best suit their respective characters and qualities. Esav, who was endowed with impressive governmental skills, was supposed to receive the blessing of power, whereas Yaakov, who was endowed with a more spiritual character, was supposed to receive the blessing of Avraham,[14] as stated in the Midrash:

Just as the name was applied to Yaakov, so it could have been applied to Esav. Esav was fit to be called Yaakov, and Yaakov was fit to be called Esav. Esav was fit to establish [a line of] kings, and Yaakov was fit to establish [a line of] priests. The first blessings were fit for Esav and the last ones for Yaakov. Lea and Zilpa were fit for Esav, and Rachel and Bilha were fit for Yaakov. But all these gifts were taken away from him… The name was taken from him and applied twice to Yaakov… The birthright was taken from him and given to Yaakov, who merited the kingdom and merited the priesthood. Lea and Zilpa were taken from him, and Yaakov merited all four of them… (Shir ha-Shirim Zuta [ed. Sh. Buber], Vilna 5685, 1, 15 [p. 16])[15]

Rivka's intervention in the story led Yaakov to receive a blessing that did not suit him best. Ostensibly, one might have expected Yitzchak to try to correct the distortion by handing over the blessings intended for Yaakov to Esav. However, such an act would not have corrected anything, but would only have doubled the distortion, for no one would have received the blessings that befit him. Thus it happened that Yaakov received all the blessings and Esav was left with no blessing at all.

IV. Why Did Rivka Interfere in Yitzchak’s Plan?

It stands to reason that Rivka did not recklessly interfere in Yitzchak's plan. She too operates according to her own plan. After all, already when she was pregnant, Rivka received a prophecy that opened a window into what would happen between her two sons:

And the Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. (25:23) 

This is an extraordinary prophecy. First, Rivka took the initiative to inquire of God.[16] Had she not asked, it is not clear that God would have sent her the prophecy on His own initiative. Second, the prophecy includes no instruction for action, but only foretelling of the future.[17] Third, the wording of the prophecy is ambiguous and it is difficult to say with certainty what the future holds.[18] The determination of how to interpret the prophecy and how to act came not from the prophecy itself, but from Rivka.

And yet one may ask, was Rivka not forced to support Yaakov because of that prophecy? And if Rivka was aware of Yitzchak's plan for cooperation between the brothers, does not the prophecy teach that this idea is doomed to failure?[19] After all, these are not just two brothers who are being asked to make up for each other's shortcomings, but rather the founders of two nations, who were already engaged in a bitter struggle from their mother's womb.

V. Did Yitzchak’s Plan Have a Chance to Succeed?

It is now clear that Yitzchak is not acting in total blindness when he tries to bless Esav, but has an orderly plan to exploit the talents of his two sons – each in accordance with his own character traits. Like him, Rivka does not act recklessly when she relies on her prophecy and interferes with Yitzchak's plan.

Could it really be possible to take brothers who are fighting for control over the family to the point of death, divide the blessings between them in a way that corresponds to their qualities, and establish one people from them?

There is no need for speculation in order to answer this question, for such an attempt did indeed occur one generation later, among the sons of Yaakov. The points of contact between the two stories are quite numerous,[20] and it can even be argued that the tension was greater in the generation of the sons of Yaakov.[21]

For example, Rivka merited a vision of the future reign of her youngest son, and Yosef, the youngest son of Yaakov, merits two dreams that seemingly promise his future rule. What is more, Yosef reports his dreams once to his brothers and a second time to his father and brothers. Just as Esav wishes to kill Yaakov, so Yosef's brothers wish to kill him, only they attach serious actions to their words. Just as the family separates when Yaakov leaves his father's house for hard work in a foreign land, so the family separates when Yosef goes down to Egypt, only Yosef is sold as a slave and does not flee as a free man. Just as the old and blind Yitzchak blesses Yaakov before his death, so the old and blind Yaakov blesses the two sons of Yosef before his death. This time as well, the younger son merits the preferred blessing, though not through deception and without causing his older brother to lose his blessing. Just as Esav loses his birthright and ends up receiving what may be a blessing or a curse, so Reuven loses his birthright and in the end receives something that may be a blessing or a curse, only Esav sells his birthright to he who receives the blessing (see 27:36) whereas Reuven forfeits his birthright in the wake of his sin.

The climax of the comparison, in my opinion, lies in the blessings that Yaakov gives all his sons, when it becomes clear that each of his sons can receive the blessing appropriate for himself: "everyone according to his blessing he blessed them" (49:29). From the blessings we learn that Yaakov assigned leadership roles to both Yehuda and Yosef.[22] Yehuda's blessing, similar to the blessing that had been meant for Esav, includes: "Your father's sons shall bow down before you" (49:8), for he is worthy of kings arising from his seed. Yosef, like Esav, receives the blessing: "Even by the God of your father, who shall help you, and by the Almighty, who shall bless you," for he is designated to be "the prince among his brothers" (49:26; and compare Devarim 33:16).

VI. A Second Look at Rivka’s Plan

Yosef and his brothers, who found a way to overcome hatred and jealousy and live together as one family, reinforce the belief that Yitzchak's plan also had a real chance to succeed. Still, as one broadens the perspective beyond the boundaries of the book of Bereishit, the picture seems to change.

We have not merited prophecy as did Rivka, but because we have read the rest of the stories of the Bible, we get to see what the future holds for the heroes of the book of Bereishit. As with the prophecy concerning Yaakov and Esav, the struggle between Yehuda and Yosef also reveals itself to be broader than the story of two brothers in one generation. Even though Yehuda and Yosef find a way to live in peace together, the tension between them continues to trickle down to future generations. Soon the brothers become tribes, and as the generations pass, the tribes split up and establish two kingdoms. Even though the kingdoms were born to one family, they do not find a way to reunite until the end of the stories of the Bible. The peace between Yehuda and Yosef remains a matter for the prophecies relating to the future.[23] From this vantage point, it is certainly possible to long for Yitzchak's innocent and inclusive perspective, but is it possible to discount Rivka's skepticism altogether?

(Translated by David Strauss)