Parashat Toldot

Parasha Thoughts

By Rabbi Shemuel Akhamzadeh

וַיְהִי֙ כִּֽי־זָקֵ֣ן יִצְחָ֔ק וַתִּכְהֶ֥יןָ עֵינָ֖יו מֵרְאֹ֑ת וַיִּקְרָ֞א אֶת־עֵשָׂ֣ו ׀ בְּנ֣וֹ הַגָּדֹ֗ל וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ בְּנִ֔י וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו הִנֵּֽנִי׃

When Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” He answered, “Here I am.”

Some tend to make the mistake of thinking that יצחק אבינו had not only lost his sight, but that he was also mistaken in giving the blessings to his older son Essav as he was wicked.

But this is clearly not the case as we know many Rabbanim in our own time are capable of seeing things even in their old and fragile states that regular people are unable to understand. יצחק אבינו was a prophet and obviously understood the spiritual levels of his sons and still decided to give the blessings to his eldest.
However the question is a valid question. Why did יצחק אבינו intend to give the ברכות to עשו הרשע?

To explain the answer האלשיך הקדוש brings a parable.
The story is told in regards to a very kind man that out of his kindness decided to become a medicine maker. השם rewarded him with much wealth and a large family of seven boys. However out of the seven children only his youngest son decided to take on his father’s kindness and join his father’s business.
As the man became older and realized his days were numbered, he decided to write a will. He called his old friend and asked him to record the will for him. In the will he split all his belongings amongst his 6 older sons and left nothing for his youngest. His friend was bewildered by the man’s decision and asked him for an explanation. The father responded that his youngest had taken after his footsteps and this son would clearly become as blessed as he was. However, his other children were wasting their days and there was nothing for them to be blessed with, so he wanted to at least leave them something.

This parable clearly explains the intentions of יצחק אבינו . As יעקב אבינו was following in his footsteps, יעקב didn’t require the blessing. But he felt for his eldest son and decided to leave him with the blessings. However, רבקה אמנו was given a prophecy to send her son יעקב to receive the blessings since the blessings would last for generations. Even though Yaakov was a righteous man and may be able to acquire his own blessings, his children may need to be given the blessings from יצחק אבינו.

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