Tzipiyah.com

The parshah this week places a great emphasis on the development of the relationship between Jacob and Esau, the two twin brothers born to Isaac and Rebecca (Jacob destined to become one of the three patriarchs). The parshah starts off by describing their unique birth and the ensuing verses then tell us of how the boys grew up and were of different character; it also speaks of a certain incident between them regarding who truly earns the title of “firstborn”. Later on in the parshah, the well-known story is told of how Jacob cunningly receives the blessings from Isaac (their father), which were originally intended for Esau. The parshah concludes with the departure of Jacob due to the enmity and hatred that has built up within Esau towards Jacob because of the “stolen” blessings. So it seems that the main focus this week is strictly on the Jacob-Esau relationship.

However, smack in the middle of the Torah’s recounting of the legendary history between the two brothers, we seem to go off on a tangent. The Torah spends a chapter discussing the episode of Isaac’s temporary dwelling in the land of Gerar and his relationship with Avimelech, king of the Philistines. What was so important about this story that the Torah felt it necessary to take a break from the Jacob and Esau story?

When looking a bit closer, it is clear that this “tangent” comes right before the story of “the blessings” that Isaac bestow upon Jacob. Perhaps, the story of Isaac in Gerar was somehow a precursor to the blessings that He would later endow to Jacob in the future. To understand how, it is important to examine the text of the blessings themselves.

The first part of the blessing reads “And may God give you of the dew of the heavens and of the fatness of the earth, and abundant grain and wine” [Genesis: 27: 28] It seems that an integral element of the blessing was related to wealth. Furthermore, the Torah goes on to describe how Esau, upon realizing how Jacob “tricked” him out of the blessings, begs to his father to bless him as well. After a while, Isaac agrees to bless Esau as well and tells him “… ‘Behold, the fatness of the earth shall be your dwelling and of the dew of the heavens from above’ ” [Genesis: 27: 39] Here again, the blessing seems to revolve around wealth and riches.

Now, how does this relate to our tangent? During Isaac’s stay in Gerar, the Torah tells us that “Isaac sowed in that land and in that year he reaped a hundredfold…he became great and kept becoming greater until he was very great. He had acquired flocks and herds and many enterprises; and the Philistines envied him” [Genesis: 26: 12-14] There are few, if any, verses in the Torah that describe one’s level of wealth to such a degree that it provoked jealousy. These verses therefore go out of their way to emphasize the great level of prosperity Isaac had attained, far beyond the level of riches most people had or would ever possess.

Perhaps, the growth of Isaac’s wealth in Gerar was a necessary path to undergo in order to bestow the appropriate blessings of wealth to his progeny years later. The Torah therefore “breaks” right before the narrative of the blessings of prosperity that Isaac would endow to Jacob (and partly to Esau). Maybe one can say that it was only possible for Isaac to truly give a sincere blessing of wealth to his offspring if he (Isaac) would first experience a certain measure of wealth and prosperity in his own life.

From this idea we can learn, that blessings are not meant to be fabricated and overemphasized speeches. A true and meaningful blessing can be in one sentence, with just the right amount of words and expression that completely originated from one’s will to bestow good upon another person. When someone wishes someone happiness, how can the blessing ever take effect if the giver (of the blessing) has never experienced feelings of happiness himself? He’d be giving a fake blessing, for it would be regarding something he has no relation to or understanding of whatsoever! When one blesses another, it can only truly come into effect if the blessing stemmed from genuine feelings inside one’s heart. It is very important to realize that every time we wish someone “Shalom Aleichem” (literally translated as “Peace be upon you”, a term of greeting), we should be feeling those words in our hearts towards that individual. Even the more so when we recite a blessing to God before eating or before performing one of His commandments; our words contain great significance and literally bring Godliness down into the world.

The blessings that Isaac imbued Jacob with were not merely words to make Jacob feel better. The blessings came forth from the most inner recesses of Isaac’s heart and were meant to act as Jacob’s legacy (and the legacy of all his progeny) until the end of time. So too, the blessings we instill within the people around us are meant to be part of their lives and are meant to last for a very long time as well. With God’s help, may we come to recognize the true power that our words may hold, and the true blessings that we have the ability to give to one another.

Good Shabbos,

NZL