Parashat Toldot.

And these are the progeny of Isaac. viz, Jacob and Esau who are spoken of in this section.

Abraham begat Isaac. Just because Scripture wrote, “Isaac, son of Abraham” it felt compelled to say “Abraham begat Isaac”, because the cynics of that time said, “Sarah became with child of Abimelech. See how many years she lived with Abraham without becoming with child”. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He shaped Isaac’s facial features exactly similar to those of Abraham’s, so that everyone had to admit that Abraham begat Isaac. This is what is stated here: that Isaac was the son of Abraham, for there is evidence that Abraham begat Isaac (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 1).

Forty years old. For when Abraham came from Mount Moriah he received the news that Rebecca was born (22:20). Isaac was then thirty-seven years old, because at that time Sarah died and from the birth of Isaac until the Binding, when Sarah died, there were 37 years since she was 90 years old when Isaac was born and 127 when she died, as it is said, (23:1) “And the life of Sarah was [one hundred and twenty seven years]”, thus Isaac was then 37 years old. At that period Rebecca was born and he waited until she was fit for marriage, 3 years, and then married her (Seder Olam).

The daughter of bethuel the syrian of padan-aram, the sister to laban. Has it not already been written that she was the daughter of Bethuel and sister of Laban of Padanaram? But we are told these facts once more to proclaim her praise, she was the daughter of a wicked man, sister of a wicked man, and her native place was one of wicked people, and yet she did not learn from their doings (Genesis Rabbah 63:4).

From padan-aram. Because there were two Arams, Aram-Naharaim (Mesopotamia) and Aram-Zoba, it is called Padan-aram, (Padan meaning pair). It has the same meaning as צמד in the phrase צמד בקר (Samuel 11:7) which we know signifies a pair of oxen and which is translated in the Targum by פדן תורין a Padan of oxen, so that we see that Padan means a pair. Some, however, explain Padan-aram to be the same as (Hosea 12:13) “the field (country) of Aram”, because in the Arabic language a field is called Padan.

And Isaac entreated. He prayed much and urgently.

Was entreated of him. He let himself be urged, conciliated and influenced by him. I say that wherever this root עתר occurs it has the meaning of heaping up and increasing. E. g., (Ezekiel 8:11) “And a thick (עתר) cloud of incense” which means an abundance of ascending smoke; (Ezekiel 35:13) “You have multiplied (העתרתם) your words against me”; (Proverbs 27:6) “The kisses of an enemy are importunate (נעתרות)”, they appear to be too many and therefore they are burdensome. old French encresser; English to increase.

Facing his wife. He stood in one corner and prayed whilst she stood in the other corner and prayed (Genesis Rabbah 63:5).

[and the Lord] was entreated of him. of him and not of her, because there is no comparison between the prayer of a righteous person who is the son of a righteous person and the prayer of a righteous person the child of a wicked-person, therefore G-d allowed himself to be entreated of him and not of her (Yevamot 64a).

And [the children] struggled. You must admit that this verse calls for a Midrashic interpretation since it leaves unexplained what this struggling was about and it states that she exclaimed “If it be so, wherefore did I desire this” (i.e. she asked whether this was the normal course of child-bearing, feeling that something extraordinary was happening). Our Rabbis explain that the word ויתרוצצו has the meaning of running, moving quickly: whenever she passed by the doors of the Torah (i. e. the Schools of Shem and Eber) Jacob moved convulsively in his efforts to come to birth, but whenever she passed by the gate of a pagan temple Esau moved convulsively in his efforts to come to birth (Genesis Rabbah 63:6). Another explanation is: they struggled with one another and quarrelled as to how they should divide the two worlds as their inheritance (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 111:2).

. means AND SHE SAID, “IF the pain of pregnancy be so great

Why is it. that I longed and prayed to become pregnant?” (Genesis Rabbah 63:6).

And she went to enquire. at the school of Shem (Genesis Rabbah 63:6).

To enquire of the Lord. that He might tell her what would happen to her at the end.

And the eternal said unto her. through a messenger: it was told to Shem by holy inspiration and he told it to her (Genesis Rabbah 63:7).

Two nations are in thy womb. The word is written גיים (exalted, noble persons), an allusion to Antoninus and Rabbi (Rabbi Judah the Prince) from whose table neither radish nor lettuce was absent neither in summer nor in winter (Avodah Zarah 11a)

And two races. The word לאם always denotes a people that has all the characteristics of a kingdom (Avodah Zarah 2b)

Shall be parted from thy bowels. as soon as they leave thy body they will take each a different course, one to his wicked ways, the other to his plain life (Genesis 5:27)

Shall be stronger than the other race. They will never be equally great at the same time: when one rises the other will fall. Thus it says, (Ezekiel 26:2) “[Because Tyre (colonised by Esau) says about Jerusalem] I shall be filled with her that is laid waste”, Tyre became full (powerful) only through the ruin of Jerusalem (Megillah 6a).

And when her days to bear were full. But in the case of Tamar it is written, (37:27) “And it came to pass at the time of her travail”, for her days were not fulfilled as she gave birth to them (her children) at the end of seven months.

Behold, there were twins. The word for twins is written defective (without א and י) whilst in the case of Tamar it is written תאומים (with א and י); because in the latter case both children proved righteous whilst here one was righteous and the other wicked (Genesis Rabbah 63:8).

Red. a sign that he would always be shedding blood (Genesis Rabbah 63:8).

. means full of hair like a woolen garment that is full of hair. (Old French floche; English flock).

And they called his name esau. every one called him thus because he was made (עשה means to make) and fully developed with hair as a lad several years old.

וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יָצָא אָחִיו.... שָׁמַעְתִּי מִדְרַשׁ אַגָּדָה הַדּוֹרְשׁוֹ לְפִי פְּשׁוּטוֹ: בַּדִין הָיָה אוֹחֵז בּוֹ לְעַכְּבוֹ: יַעֲקֹב נוֹצַר מִטִּפָּה רִאשׁוֹנָה, וְעֵשָׂו מִן הַשְּׁנִיָּה. צֵא וּלְמַד מִשְּׁפוֹפֶרֶת שֶׁפִּיהָ קְצָרָה: תֵּן בָּהּ שְׁתֵּי אֲבָנִים זוֹ אַחַר זוֹ – הַנִּכְנֶסֶת רִאשׁוֹנָה תֵּצֵא אַחֲרוֹנָה, וְהַנִּכְנֶסֶת אַחֲרוֹנָה תֵּצֵא רִאשׁוֹנָה. נִמְצָא עֵשָׂו הַנּוֹצָר בָּאַחֲרוֹנָה יָצָא רִאשׁוֹן, וְיַעֲקֹב שֶׁנּוֹצַר רִאשׁוֹנָה יָצָא אַחֲרוֹן. וְיַעֲקֹב בָּא לְעַכְּבוֹ, שֶׁיְּהֵא רִאשׁוֹן לְלֵידָה כְּרִאשׁוֹן לִיצִירָה, וְיִפְטוֹר אֶת רַחְמָהּ וְיִטּוֹל אֶת הַבְּכוֹרָה מִן הַדִּין (בראשית רבה סג,ח).

Esau’s heel. a sign that this one (Esau) will hardly have time to complete his period of domination before the other would rise and take it (his power) from him

And he called his name Jacob. The Holy One, blessed be He, thus named him (Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot 4). [Some versions add: He said to them (to those who gave Esau that name cf. Genesis 5:25): You have given your first-born a name, I, too, will give my son, my firstborn, (cf. Exodus 4:23) a name. That is what is written, “And He called his name, Jacob” (Genesis 26:26).] Another explanation is: his father called him Jacob because he was grasping Esau’s heel.

Threescore years old. Ten years passed from the time when he married her until she became thirteen years old and capable of child-bearing, and a further ten years he hopefully waited as his father did in regard to Sarah. When even then she did not become with child he realised that she was barren and he prayed for her. But He did not wish to take a maidservant as a second wife because he had been sanctified on Mount Moriah to be a burnt-offering without blemish.

ויגדלו… ויהי עשו and they grew … and esau was. So long as they were young they could not be distinguished by what they did and no one paid much attention to their characters, but when they reached the age of thirteen, one went his way to the houses of learning and the other went his way to the idolatrous temples (Genesis Rabbah 63:10).

A cunning hunter. literally, understanding hunting, understanding how to entrap and deceive his father with his mouth. He would ask him, “Father how should salt and straw be tithed”? (Genesis Rabbah 63:10) (although he knew full well that these are not subject to the law of tithe). Consequently his father believed him to be very punctilious in observing the divine ordinances.

A man of the field. Explain it literally (i.e., not in a Midrashic manner): a man without regular occupation, hunting beasts and birds with his bow.

A plain man. not expert in all these things: as his heart was his mouth (his thoughts and his words tallied). One who is not ingenious in deceiving people is called תם plain, simple.

Dwelling in tents. the tent of Shem and the tent of Eber (Genesis Rabbah 63:10).

[there was hunting] in his mouth. Understand this as the Targum renders it: in Isaac’s mouth (i. e. Isaac ate the venison he brought home). But its Midrashic explanation is: there was hunting in Esau’s mouth, meaning that he used to entrap and deceive him by his words (Genesis Rabbah 63:10).

. means boiling, as the Targum renders it.

And he was faint. through murdering people, just as you mention faintness in connection with murder, (Jeremiah 4:31) “For my soul fainteth before the murderers” (Genesis Rabbah 63:12).

Let me swallow. I will open my mouth and you pour a lot in. The word is really used of feeding animals as we find the word in the Mishna, (Shabbat 155b) “One may not fatten up a camel on the Sabbath but one may put food (מלעיטין) into its mouth. ”

From this red, even this red thing. red lentils. On that day Abraham had died in order that he might not see his grandson Esau falling into degenerate ways. This would not have been the “good old age” (cf. 25:8) which G-d had promised him; therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, cut his life short by five years, for Isaac lived 180 years and he only one hundred and seventy five. Jacob was boiling lentils to provide the customary first meal for the immediate mourners. Why should lentils be the mourner’s food? Because they are round like a wheel and mourning (sorrow) is a wheel that revolves in the world (it touches everyone sooner or later as a revolving wheel touches every spot in turn) (Bava Batra 16b). And a further reason is: just as lentils have no mouth, (the word mouth פה is used in Hebrew of a serrated edge), so, too, mourners have no mouth (appear dumb), for speech (greeting others) is forbidden to them. For this reason, also, it is customary to give eggs to a mourner as his first meal, because they are round and have no mouth (serrated edge) and similarly a mourner has no mouth (may not greet others), just as we say in Moed Katan 21b. “A mourner during the first three days (of the week of mourning) may not respond to the greeting of any person, it follows, of course, that he may not be the first to greet anyone, and from the third to the seventh day he may respond to a greeting but may not be the first to offer a greeting etc.” From “And a further reason” is to be found in an old Rashi text.

Sell me this day. (literally, like the day), Explain it as the Targum renders it “as this day”: just as this day is certain, so make me a sure sale.

Thy birthright. Because the sacrificial service was then carried out by the first-born sons, Jacob said, “This wicked man is unworthy to sacrifice to the Holy One, blessed be He” (Genesis Rabbah 63:13).

Behold i am in peril to die. The birthright is something unstable, for not always will the sacrificial duties be performed by the first-born, for the tribe of Levi will assume this. Further Esau said: What is the nature of this Service? Jacob replied, “Many prohibitions and punishments and many acts involving even the punishment of death are associated with it, just as we read in the Mishna, (Sanhedrin 22b): The following priests are liable to death: those who carry out their duties after having drunk too much wine and those who officiate long-haired. He said: If I am going to die through it, why should I desire it.

Thus esau despised. Scripture testifies to his wickedness: that he despised the Service of the Omnipresent!

Go not down into Egypt. Because he thought of going down to Egypt as his father had gone down in time of famine. He said to him, “Do not go down to Egypt for you are a burnt-offering without blemish and residence outside the Holy Land is not befitting you” (Genesis Rabbah 64:3).

. is the same as האלה THESE.

And in thy seed shall bless themselves. A man will say to his son, “May your seed be as the seed of Isaac”. Such is the meaning of this phrase wherever it occurs in the entire Scriptures. The following passage is that from which this meaning may be derived for all such passages: (48:20) “By thee shall all Israel bless their children saying, “May G-d make thee [as Ephraim and Manasseh]”. So, too, in the case of a curse do we find a similar idea: (Numbers 5:27) “And the woman shall become a curse”, meaning that one who curses his enemy will say “May you be like such and such a woman”. Similar, also, is (Isaiah 65:15) “And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto mine elect”, meaning that one who takes an oath will say “May I be like such-and-such a person if I have really done so-and-so”.

Abraham hearkened to my voice. when I put him to the test.

And kept my charge. This refers to precautionary measures which are intended to make us avoid the infringement of Biblical prohibitions: such are the Rabbinical inhibition of marriage between relatives in the second degree and the Rabbinical regulations regarding not doing certain acts on the Sabbath (cf. Yevamot 21a).

My commandments. those matters which, had they not been written in the Torah, we would nevertheless hold that they are fitting matters to be the subject of a commandment, such as robbery and murder (cf. Yoma 67b).

My ordinances. matters which our evil inclination and the heathen nations argue against the necessity of prohibiting, such as the eating of swine’s flesh and the wearing of garments made of a mixture of wool and linen, things for which there are no apparent reasons but which are the King’s decrees and enactments imposed on His subjects (Yoma 67b).

And my laws. The plural serves to include with the written Law also the Oral Law which prescribes commands that are an ancient institution given by G-d to Moses from Sinai (cf. Genesis Rabbah 64:4).

. means CONCERNING HIS WIFE, just as (20:13) “Say about me (לי), He is my brother”.

כִּי אָרְכוּ. אָמַר: מֵעַתָּה אֵין לִי לִדְאוֹג, מֵאַחַר שֶׁלֹּא אֲנָסוּהָ עַד עַכְשָׁיו, וְלֹא נִזְהַר לִהְיוֹת נִשְׁמָר.

וַיַּשְׁקֵף אֲבִימֶלֶךְ.... רָאָהוּ מְשַׁמֵּשׁ מִטָּתוֹ (בראשית רבה סד,ה).

One of the people. the one singled out from the people, viz., the king (cf. Targum).

. means had he really lain with her you would have now brought guiltiness upon us (i. e. the verb is not in the future but in the conditional past tense).

In that land. although it (Gerar) had not the sacred importance of Erez Yisroel proper, i. e., as the territory of the seven nations, and is therefore not as fertile as the Holy Land (cf. Ketubot 112a).

In that year. although it was not a normal year, being a year of famine.

. In that land and in that year., Why is there mention of the two, that land and that year? To tell you that that soil was hard and that year was a hard one (Genesis Rabbah 64:6).

An hundredfold. for they had estimated how much it should have yielded and it yielded one hundred for every measure which they had estimated. Our Rabbis said that the estimate was made for the purpose of the tithe (Genesis Rabbah 64:6).

Until he became very great. so that people used to say, “Rather the dung of Isaac’s mules than all Abimelech’s gold and silver”(Genesis Rabbah 64:7).

. means a great many things to do (i. e. great undertakings) O. F. ouvraine. The word עֲבוׂדָה denotes one thing to be done whereas עֲבֻדָּה denotes many things to be done (a collective noun)

The philistines stopped them. saying, “They may become a source of danger to us because of marauding troops that may invade us” (i.e.,they may invade our country to obtain possession of the wells, or if they invade us for any other reason they will be able to find a supply of water). (Tosafot Sotah 10.) The rendering of the Targum טמונין means “stopping up” and we find it in the language of the Talmud (Pesachim 42a) “Chokes up (מטמטם) the heart”.

In the valley of gerar. far away from the city.

And Isaac digged again. those wells which they had dug in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up before Isaac left Gerar he once again dug.

. means DISPUTE.

. means THEY ENGAGED WITH HIM about it in strife and DISPUTE.

. old French nuisement; English hindrance.

We shall be fruitful in the land. as the Targum translates it וניפוש and we shall increase in the land).

. as the Targum renders it: וסיעת מרחמוחי which means a company formed from his friends, the מ meaning from סיעת ממאוהביו. There are some who explain that in מרעהו the מ is part of the noun מרע, just like (Judges 14:11) “Thirty companions (מרעים)” in the narrative of Samson, in order that the word ואחזת should be taken to be the construct state to מרעהו (the company of his friends). But it would not be a polite thing to speak thus of a king, the company of his friends, for if this were the meaning it would imply that he (Abimelech) took with him the whole company of his friends and that he had no more than one group of friends. For this reason it should be interpreted in the first way (that אחזת is not construct). And you need not be surprised at the ת of אחזת although the word is not in the construct state, for we have similar cases in Scripture: (Psalms 60:13) “help (עזרת) against the adversary”, and (Isaiah 51:21) “Drunken, (שכרת) but not with wine”.

. signifies a collection and band, and a band is so called because the people who constitute it are held נאחזין together.

We saw plainly. (literally, seeing we have seen), We saw it in the case of your father and we see it in the case of yourself (Genesis Rabbah 64:10).

. ‘תהי נא אלה בינותינו וגו means LET THE OATH that has existed BETWEEN US since the days of your father CONTINUE NOW BETWEEN US AND YOU.

בֵּינֵינוּ וּבֵינֶךָ. (לפי התרגום "תִּתְקַיַּים כְּעַן מוֹמָתָא דַּהֲוָת בֵּין אֲבָהָתַנָא בֵּינַנָא וּבֵינָךְ").

We have not touched thee. when we said to you “Go from us”.

Thou. thou, also, do with us in a like manner.

. [AND HE CALLED IT] SHIBAH (swearing), in allusion to the Covenant (cf. v.31; “And they swear” etc.).

[and esau was] forty years old. Esau is compared to a boar, as it is said, (Psalms 80:14) “The boar from the wood doth ravage it”. The boar when it lies down stretches forth its cloven hoof as much as to say, “See, I am a clean animal” (whilst really cloven hoofs are a feature of clean animals only in conjunction with another that is lacking in the swine). In the same way these dukes of Esau rob and extort and pretend to be honorable (Genesis Rabbah 65:1). For the whole forty years Esau enticed women from their husbands and ill-treated them; when he reached the age of forty he said, “My father took a wife when he was forty and I shall do the same” (Gen. R. 65).

[and they were] a vexation of spirit. the expression means opposing the spirit of a person. The first word is of the same root as (Deuteronomy 9:24), “Ye have been rebellious (ממרים)”: all their actions tended to be a grief

To Isaac and Rebekah. because they worshipped idols (Genesis Rabbah 65:4).

His eyes were dim. through the smoke raised by these women in offering incense to idols (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 8). Another explanation is: When Isaac was bound upon the altar and his father was about to slay him, at that very moment the heavens opened, the ministering angels saw it and wept, and their tears flowed and fell upon Isaac’s eyes which thus became dim (Genesis Rabbah 65:10). Another explanation is: They became dim just in order that Jacob might receive the blessings (Genesis Rabbah 65:8).

I know not the day of my death. R. Joshua the son of Korcha said: When a person approaches the age at which his parents died he may well be anxious five years before and five years after. Isaac was then one hundred and twenty three years old and he said, “Perhaps I shall only reach the age of my mother who died at the age of 127 and I am now within five years of her age: therefore, I know not the day of my death, I may only reach the age of my mother or it may be the age of my father” (Genesis Rabbah 65:12).

לֹא יָדַעְתִּי יוֹם מוֹתִי. שֶׁמָּא לְפֶרֶק אִמִּי, שֶׁמָּא לְפֶרֶק אַבָּא (בראשית רבה סה,יב).

. The word שא means sharpen, similar to what שא read in the Mishna (Beitzah 28a) “One may not sharpen the knife in the usual manner but one may sharpen it by passing it (משיאין) over another”. Isaac said to Esau, “Sharpen your knife and slaughter an animal according to the regulations so that you may not give me to eat נבלה” (i.e. the flesh of animal that is not killed according to the ritual rules) (Genesis Rabbah 65:13).

. means thy sword which is usually hung (at the side).

And hunt for me. [SOME VENISON] of animals that are ownerless, but not of such as are acquired by theft (literally, by robbery).

To hunt for venison in order to bring it. What is the force of to bring it? It means that he intended that if he would find no venison (flesh of a wild, ownerless animal) he would bring home of the flesh of an animal acquired by theft (Genesis Rabbah 65:13).

Before the Lord. By his permission: that He should approve of what I do.

And take for me. (The words may mean “Take that which belongs to me”), these are mine and not the proceeds of theft. Isaac had made provision in her marriage contract that she should receive daily two kids of the goats (Genesis Rabbah 65:14).

Two kids of the goats. Did then two kids of the goats form a meal for Isaac? But the explanation is: it being Passover he offered one as his Paschal sacrifice and of the other he prepared the savoury food. So is it stated in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 32).

Such as he loveth. (Genesis 27:5), For the taste of a kid is similar to the taste of a deer.

וַיֵּצֵא יַעֲקֹב. עַל יְדֵי שֶׁבִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁרָעוֹת בְּנוֹת כְּנַעַן בְּעֵינֵי יִצְחָק אָבִיו הָלַךְ עֵשָׂו אֶל יִשְׁמָעֵאל, הִפְסִיק הָעִנְיָן בְּפַרָשָׁתוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב, וְכָתַב "וַיַּרְא עֵשָׂו כִּי בֵרַךְ..." (לעיל פסוק ו), וּמִשֶּׁגָּמַר חָזַר לְעִנְיָן הָרִאשׁוֹן.

וַיֵּצֵא. לֹא הָיָה צָרִיךְ לִכְתּוֹב אֶלָּא "וַיֵּלֶךְ יַעֲקֹב חָרָנָה", וְלָמָה הִזְכִּיר יְצִיאָתוֹ? אֶלָּא מַגִּיד שֶׁיְּצִיאַת צַדִּיק מִן הַמָּקוֹם עוֹשֶׂה רוֹשֶׁם. שֶׁבִּזְמַן שֶׁהַצַּדִּיק בָּעִיר, הוּא הוֹדָהּ הוּא זִיוָּהּ הוּא הֲדָרָהּ. יָצָא מִשָּׁם, פָּנָה הוֹדָהּ פָּנָה זִיוָּהּ פָּנָה הֲדָרָהּ. וְכֵן "וַתֵּצֵא מִן הַמָּקוֹם" (רות א,ז) הָאָמוּר בְּנָעֳמִי וְרוּת (בראשית רבה סח,ו).

וַיֵּלֶךְ חָרָנָה. יָצָא לָלֶכֶת לְחָרָן (בראשית רבה סח,ח).

. means A HAIRY MAN.

He will feel me. The word is of the same root as the verb in (Deuteronomy 28:29) “One groping (ממשש) at noon-day”.

The costly garments. the clean ones, as the Targum has it, דכיתא (clean); (cf. Rashbam). Another explanation: They are called חמדות literally, coveted ones, because he had coveted them from Nimrod (who also was a hunter; cf. Genesis 10:9) (Genesis Rabbah 65:16)

Which were with her in the house. But he had several wives and yet he stored them with his mother! But the reason for this was that he was acquainted with their practices and was suspicious of them (Genesis 10:9) (he feared that they might steal his clothes) (Genesis Rabbah 65:16).

I am esau thy first-born. I am he that brings food to you, and Esau is your first-born.

עֵשָׂו. הוּא

בְּכוֹרֶךָ.

I have done. many things at different times כאשר דברת אלי ACCORDING AS THOU SPAKEST UNTO ME

Sit. The word means to sit at the table and therefore it is translated in the Targum by אסתחר (from סחר to “go round” corresponding to the Hebrew סבב from which the term מֵסֵב to recline at, to sit round the table at a meal is derived).

Step near, i pray thee, that i may feel thee. Isaac said to himself, “It is not Esau’s way to mention the name of G-d so readily, and this one says, “Because the Lord thy G-d caused it thus to happen to me! קול יעקב (Genesis Rabbah 65:19).

The voice of Jacob. because he speaks in an entreating strain, “Arise I pray thee.” Esau, however, spoke in a harsh strain (v. 31) “Let my father arise” (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 11).

And he said i am. He did not say, “I am Esau”, but “It is I”.

. ’וירח וגו AND HE SMELLED etc., Surely there is no more offensive smell than that of washed goat-skins! But Scripture implicitly tells us that the perfume of the Garden of Eden entered the room with him (Genesis Rabbah 65:22).

As the odour of a field which the eternal hath blessed. to which G-d has given a pleasant perfume: it refers to a field of apple-trees. So have our Rabbis, of blessed memory, explained it (Taanit 29b).

Therefore G-d give thee. May he give thee and give thee repeatedly (Genesis Rabbah 66:3). However, according to its real meaning it must be connected with the preceding statement, viz., with the words, “See, the smell of my son, which the Holy One, blessed be He, has given him is like the smell of the field etc.“ And may He also give thee of the dew of heaven

Of the dew of heaven. Take it in the ordinary sense of the words; but there are Midrashic explanations giving many different meanings

G-d [give thee]. What denotes the use here of the Divine Name אלהים which signifies G-d 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 G-d’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. This explanation of האלהים is found in an old and correct text of Rashi.

Thy mother’s sons. Jacob, however, said to Judah (49:8) “Thy father’s sons (shall bow down to thee]”, because he had sons by several wives, but here, because he (Isaac) had but one wife he said “thy mother’s sons” (Genesis Rabbah 66:4).

They that curse thee shall be cursed and they that bless thee shall be blessed. But in the case of Balaam Scripture says (Numbers 24:9) “Blessed be everyone that blesseth thee and cursed be every one that curseth thee”. The explanation is: the righteous have sufferings first and happiness afterwards, so that in point of time those who curse and afflict them (cause them suffering) come before those who bless them (cause them happiness), therefore Isaac, a righteous man, invokes a curse upon those who themselves curse before he invokes a blessing upon those who bless. The wicked however have happiness first and suffering afterwards; therefore Balaam, a wicked man, invokes the blessing before the curse (Genesis Rabbah 66:4).

[Jacob] was yet scarce gone out. this means, as one went out the other came in (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 11).

[and Isaac] trembled. Explain it as the Targum renders it ותוה, which means he was perplexed. The Midrashic explanation (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 11) is that he saw Gehinnom opening beneath him (Esau).

Who then is he. The word אפוא is an independent particle having no etymological connection with any other Hebrew word and is used with many different shades of meaning Another explanation of אפוא is that it is the same as איה פה where here, so that מי אפוא means “Who is he and where is he here that hath hunted venison”?)

And i have eaten of all. all tastes that I desired to find in it I indeed found therein (Genesis Rabbah 67:2).

Yea, and he shall be blessed. In order that you may not say “If Jacob had not deceived his father he would never have received the blessing”, he, therefore, confirmed it, blessing him now of his own free will (Genesis Rabbah 67:2).

With subtlety. with cleverness (cf. Onkelos).

Is it because he has been called [Jacob]. This is a question, like (29:15) “Is it because (הכי) thou art my brother?” Perhaps that is why they have given him the name Jacob, in reference to what was to happen in the future, that he would some time or other supplant me (יעקבני)? (Tanchuma). Why did Isaac tremble? He thought: Perhaps I have sinned in blessing the younger before the elder, thus changing the order of relationship between them. But when Esau began to cry out, “for he hath supplanted me these two times”, his father asked him, “What did he do to you?” He replied, “He took away my birth-right”. Isaac thereupon said, “It was on account of this that I was grieved and trembled: perhaps I had overstepped the line of strict justice. Now, however, I have really blessed the first-born, ‘And he shall indeed be blessed’”.

That he hath supplanted me. Explain it as the Targum renders it, וחכמני, which means “and he lay in wait for me.” The word (Deuteronomy 19:11) וארב “and he lies in wait” is rendered by the Targum וכמי. There are some who read in the Targum not וכמני but וחכמני which means “he showed himself clever against me” (outwitted me).

Hast thou not reserved. the word means “separating״, “setting aside״, like (Numbers 11:25) “And he separated.

And behold i have made him thy master. This blessing is the seventh in the series of blessings which Isaac gave to Jacob (cf. w. 28. 29) and yet he (Isaac) singles it out as though it were the chief blessing? But the explanation is, he said to him (Esau): “What benefit will a blessing be to you? If you acquire property, it will belong to him, for “Behold, I have made him thy master״, and whatever a servant acquires becomes the property of his master (Genesis Rabbah 67:5).

And what shall i do now unto thee [my son?]. Where here (איפה) shall I look for something that I can do for you?

Hast thou but one blessing?. The ה in הברכה is the interrogative prefix, as in (Num. XIII. 19, 20) “whether in camps (הבמחנים)”, “whether it is fat (השמנה)", and (2 Sam. III. 33) “Should Abner die (הכמות) as a churl dieth”?

The fatness of the earth. etc., This refers to the Greek portions of Italy (Graeca Magna) (Genesis Rabbah 67:6).

חרבך. The phrase is equivalent to בחרבך BY THY SWORD. The word על is sometimes used instead of the prefix ב, as (Ezekiel 33:26) “Ye stand by your sword (על חרבכם)”, which is the same as בחרבכם; (Exodus 6:26) “by their hosts (על צבאותם), which is the same as בצבאותם.

And והיה כאשר תריד and it shall came to pass that when thou rovest about. The word תריד signifies grief, pain, as (Psalms 55:3) “I am distraught (אריד) in my complaint”. It means: when Israel will transgress the Torah and you will have reason to feel aggrieved with regard to the Blessings, ופרקת עלו וגו THEN THOU SHALT PULL HIS YOKE FROM OFF THY NECK (Genesis Rabbah 67:7).

וּפָרַקְתָּ עֻלּוֹ.... (לפי התרגום "וִיהֵי כַּד יִעְבְּרוּן בְּנוֹהִי עַל פִּתְגָמֵי אוֹרָיְתָא, וְתַעְדֵּי נִירֵיהּ מֵעַל צַוְרָךְ"; בראשית רבה סז,ז).

The days of mourning for my father approach. Explain it according to the evident meaning of the words, (I will wait to kill him until my father is dead), that I may not cause grief to my father. There are Midrashic explanations of various kinds.

Were told to Rebekah. It was told her by the Holy Spirit what Esau was thinking in his heart (Genesis Rabbah 67:9).

Doth comfort himself concerning thee. He regrets the brotherly relationship existing between you, harbouring thoughts other than those of brotherhood, to estrange himself from you and to kill you. The Midrashic explanation (Genesis Rabbah 67:9) is: In his eyes you are already regarded as dead and he has drunk for you (i. e. because he regards you as dead) the cup of consolation (which it was customary for near relatives of the deceased to drink). But according to the real meaning the word signifies “comforting”, he will comfort himself for the loss of the blessings by killing you.

. means A FEW.

. means WHY SHOULD I BE BEREAVED משניכם OF BOTH OF YOU?, The one who buries his children is termed שכול bereaved: so we find in the case of Jacob (43:14), “If I am to be bereaved (שכלתי) let me be bereaved”.

Of you both. If he attacks you and you kill him his children will rise and kill you. The Holy Spirit poured itself forth upon her and she prophesied (had a presage) that they would both die on one day just as it is stated in the Chapter המקנה לאשתו (Sotah 13a).

. means I AM DISGUSTED WITH MY LIFE.

. is the same as לפדן to Padan;

. is the same as לבית בתואל to the house of Bethuel. To every word requiring a ל prefixed you may attach a ה as a suffix (Yevamot 13b).

And G-d almighty. He who has a sufficiency of blessings שָׁדִּי for those who are blessed by Him, יברך אתך MAY HE BLESS THEE.

יְבָרֵךְ אוֹתְךָ.

The blessing of Abraham. (i. e. the blessing which He gave to (Abraham) to whom He promised, (12:2) “and I will make of thee a great nation”, and (26:4) “and all the nations shall bless themselves by thy seed”: may these blessings have been said regarding you, may that great nation and that blessed seed issue from you.

Mother of Jacob and esau. I do not know what the addition of these words is intended to tell us.

And that Jacob hearkened. This is to be connected with the proceeding statement, (v. 6) thus: And when Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and that he had sent him away to Padan-aram … and that Jacob had hearkened to his father and had gone to Padan-aram and that the daughters of Canaan were evil … then he also determined to take a wife from his own family and went to Ishmael.

The sister of nebaioth. By a logical inference from what is stated that she was “the daughter of Ishmael” would I not know that she was the sister of Nebaioth? But the words are added to tell us that Ishmael died after he had betrothed her to Esau and before her marriage, and that her brother Nebaioth gave her away in marriage And we may learn, also, that Jacob was at that period sixty-three years old For Ishmael was seventy-four years old when Jacob was born, since Ishmael was fourteen years older than Isaac, and Isaac was sixty when they (Jacob and Esau) were born, making seventy-four and his (Ishmael’s) years were one hundred and thirty seven, as it is said (25:17) “And these are the years of Ishmael etc.”, consequently when Ishmael died Jacob was sixty-three years old. We learn from this that he (Jacob) concealed himself in Eber’s School for fourteen years and only after that did he proceed to Haran. For before Joseph’s birth he had stayed in Laban’s house only fourteen years, as it is said (31:41) “I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters and six years for thy flock”, and he received the sheep as wages only after Joseph was born, for it is said (30:25) “And it came to pass when Rachel had borne Joseph etc. [that Jacob wished to leave Laban and he agreed to remain with him on condition of receiving certain sheep as wages]. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he became ruler in Egypt, and from then until the time that Jacob came down to Egypt was nine years, seven of plenty and two of famine, and Jacob then said to Pharaoh (47:9), “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty years”. Go and calculate: the fourteen years he passed with Laban before Joseph’s birth, and the thirty years of Joseph’s life before he became ruler and the nine years from when he became ruler until the time that Jacob came to Egypt make fifty three years from the time he joined Laban until the time he came to Egypt But when he parted from his father he was sixty-three years old, as shown above, so that you have 116 years as his age when he came to Egypt, on the assumption that the fifty-three years he spent with Laban etc. began immediately after he had left his father. But he (Jacob) himself said to Pharaoh, “[I am] one hundred and thirty years”. So you see that fourteen years are missing on this assumption. Thus you learn that after he had received the blessings he concealed himself in Eber’ School for fourteen years (Megillah 17a). But he received no punishment for them (these fourteen years) on account of the merit of having studied the Torah in Eber’s School during that period For Joseph was separated from his father only twenty-two years, that is, from the age of seventeen to that of thirty-nine , corresponding to the twenty-two years during which Jacob was separated from his father and could not perform the duty of honouring him (by actively attending to his needs), viz, the twenty years he spent in Laban's house and the two years he passed in travelling home , for it is written (33:17) with regard to his journey homewards, "And Jacob built him a house and made booths for his cattle", and our Rabbis, of blessed memory, inferred (Megillah 17a) from this verse that during his travels he passed eighteen months at Succoth, since a house means a dwelling for the rainy season, and "booths" means for the summer time. And this statement that the study of the Torah protects one from punishment fits in with the calculation which we made above, based upon the Sacred Text, regarding the period from when he left his father until the time when he went down to Egypt at the age of 130 years, where we found a surplus of 14 years, so that he must have been absent from his father for 36 years. But we may regard it as certain that when on his journey to Laban he concealed himself in Eber's house it was for the purpose of studying the Torah with him and that because of the merit of studying the Torah he received no punishment for them (those fourteen years) so that Joseph was separated from him only twenty-two years "measure for measure"(Megillah 17a). Thus far (beginning at "But he received no punishment") is found in an old Rashi text.

Besides his former wives. He added wickedness to wickedness for he did not divorce his first wives (Genesis Rabbah 67:13).