The Instinct to Do...

A few years ago I wrote about Eisav. I posed the question as to whether or not he was aware of the wicked person he was. I quoted the Shem miShmuel who writes that Esav was not aware of his wickedness, nor did he ever stop to question his behavior. It was that lack of self-questioning, that surety that as the son of Yitzchok he could not possible be doing anything wrong, that led him to become the evil person he was.

I want to elaborate on this point.

HaChalban, in his commentary on Vayikra, while discussing the story of Nadav and Avihu, explains that before sinning Adam HaRishon had an instinctive understanding of the will of God. This instinct was lost after the Sin and no humans possessed that instinct until the time of the Avos (the Patriarchs). Our Sages teach us that Avrohom fulfilled all the Mitzvoth of the Torah. How did he know what to do if the Torah was not yet given? By instinct.

This sheds some light on the mindset of Esav. He saw his father and grandfather were people who always knew instinctively what it was that God wanted of them. He assumed that his instincts were equally in sync with God's will. He never thought twice that that might not be the case, nor did it dawn on him that his ancestors had worked on their character to become the people they were; he neglected to do so.

Taking this one step further, we can understand the sin of Nadav and Avihu. At the giving of the Torah the world returned to a state akin to that which existed in Gan Eden. They intentionally did something that they were not commanded, but that they instinctively felt was the right thing to do, because they felt that they were living in an age where instinctive service of God was paramount.

Their mistake was predicated on their only relying on their instinct and not combining it with the wisdom of their elders. חכם עדיף מנביא we are taught. A prophet who understands God's will instinctively, still needs the checks and balances created by a Wise Sage to ensure that his instinct is not leading him out of bounds.

For this reason we find that when Pinchas killed Zimri and Cuzbi he was then filled with the souls of Nadav and Avihu. This is because that killing is not halachically mandated, but, in this case, what he did was the will of God. Interestingly, we are taught that prior to killing Zimri Pinchas went to Moshe to ask if it was the right thing to do. Moshe told him that this was outside the realm of Halacha, but if he was so angered by their behavior he was permitted to do so. We see than that Pinchas, even when acting instinctively and even though he was right, first consulted with the Sages to make sure that his instinct was not misleading him.

Yaakov's Truth

I. The Problem
How could Yaakov lie to and mislead his father? How could he have achieved such great blessings through deceitful behavior?

These questions have disturbed people for the longest time. I want to suggest that Yaakov did not fool Yitzchok at all; Yitzchok was fully aware of what was transpiring. Come with me and let's travel through the story and see what we can uncover.

II. Who was Esau?
Why was Yitzchok desirous to give the blessings to Esau? The Torah teaches us that he loved Esau כי ציד בפיו, because his (Esau's) prey was in his (Yitzchok's) mouth. While superficially this would indicate that Yitzchok loved Esau because he kept him well fed, our Sages offer a different understanding. They say that the preying referred to was Esau preying on Yitzchok. Esau used his mouth to fool Yitzchok into thinking that he was righteous, while in reality he was wicked. He would come and pose overly righteous sounding questions to his father and therefore his father loved him.

Why would a father love his son for fooling him?

Our Sages compare Esau to the pig. The pig is the only animal which does not chew its cud but has split hooves. Externally it appears to be Kosher, but internally it is unKosher. It sticks out its hooves in an attempt to trick others into thinking that it is Kosher. This was Esau. Internally he was morally corrupt, but superficially he appeared to be wonderful. He was a reflection of עולם הזה, the physical  world, which has a wonderful veneer, but often what looks good on the surface is not so underneath.

III. Relationship of Yitzchok and Esau
How was Yitzchok to deal with Esau? He knew that his son was morally corrupt, but he perceived his son as fighting that corruption by trying to engage in morally proper behavior despite his internal struggles. Should he reject his flawed son who was struggling to do right?

Perceiving his son to be a reflection of the physical world, Yitzchok felt that by giving Esau  the blessings of the physical world he would empower Esau to utilize that which was a reflection of himself in the pursuit of good. Yaakov, he felt, was completely devoted to spiritual pursuits and had no need for those blessings.

IV. Understanding Mother
Rivkah did not agree with this assessment. She viewed Esau's superficial behavior as being mere manipulation. Furthermore she rejected Yitzchok's notion that Yaakov had no need for the blessings of the physical world. While she was aware that Yaakov personally was an elevated soul, she knew that his offspring in generations to come, who would themselves be struggling with their own issues while trying to do good at the same time, would benefit from these blessings.

She came to Yaakov and told him to cover himself with skins so that he should appear to be Esau. Indeed what he was doing was a reflection of who Esau was. Just as Esau was primarily a superficial person, so too Yaakov was going to be Esau on a superficial level.

V. Yitzchok Figures it Out
Notice carefully what happens when Yaakov enters to receive the blessings. Yitzchok himself seems unsure of who to expect as he asks (27:18), "Who are you, my son?" Introducing his next statement (27:20) the Torah says, "Yitzchok said to his son," still without awareness of who it was. But after Yaakov responds, "That Hashem your God caused to come before me," and invoked the name of Hashem which Esau never did, Yitzchok then sees him differently. The next pasuk begins, "Yitzchok said to Yaakov." Why the change in how Yitzchok addresses him from "son" in pasuk 20 to "Yaakov" in pasuk 21?

To me it is clear that this is the Torah's way of hinting to us that Yitzchok was aware that the person standing before him carried within him the traits that defined Yaakov.

This confused him and he asked to feel Yaakov. As he felt him Yitzchok discovered that externally he resembled Esau. And now Yitzchok uttered his famous words: הקול קול יעקב והידים ידי עשיו, The voice is the voice of Yaakov and the hands are the hands of Esau. He was making it clear that while he may not have known exactly who was standing before him, but this was a person who had the traits of both Yaakov and Esau and this was the person who Yitzchok was ready to bless.

VI. The Scent
 Prior to blessing him Yitzchok asked his son to come forward to kiss him. As he did so "He smelled the scent of his clothes." Our Sages teach us, "Do not read it בגדיו (his clothes) but as בוגדיו (his rebellious ones). As Yaakov stood there Yitzchok perceived the descendants of Yaakov who were sinners and yet full of Mitzvos as a pomegranate is full of seeds."

Sinners who are still performing good deeds. That was Yitzchok's perception of Esau which he was now sensing in the person who stood before him. He may not have known exactly who the person was, but it was clear to him that this was the person he wanted to bless.

VII. No Regrets
This is why we find that Yitzchok never became upset with   Yaakov for fooling him and never withdrew the blessings. He was satisfied that he had given the blessings to the person to whom he wished to give them. He recognized his initial error and never looked back.

When Esau came in and Yitzchok finally figured it all out he said to Esau, "Your brother came with trickery and took your blessings." I believe he was saying, "Your brother came and he had your trait. He was you. He took the blessings that otherwise would have been yours."

VIII. Fate's Twist
There is one interesting conclusion. Esau being the older son was supposed to marry Leah, whereas Yaakov was supposed to marry Rachel. Since Yaakov ended up being the amalgam of the two of them he ended up marrying both.

But how did he end up with Leah?

Because of trickery.