You make the call. I happen to see my neighbor's bank deposit slip with his account number. So I disguise myself and pretend to be him, and I go into his bank. I manage to fool the clerk and I withdraw $10,000 from his account. Later, the neighbor discovers the fraud and informs the bank. Do they let me keep the 10 grand?
Obviously not! So why, I ask you, does Yaakov "keep" the bracha after Yitzhak learns it was all a sham and a scam? Why doesn't Yitzchak call it all back and right the wrong?
Next question. Who, in the end, will cause the blessing to come to fruition? Hashem, of course. Now, doesn't G-d see what's going on here, even if Yitzchak doesn't? Is G-d really prepared to affirm a bracha given under false pretenses, in violation of His own maxim, "ayn mitzvah leeyday avera" - no mitzvah can be effected via a sin?
So what really is going on?
Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch offers a brilliant answer. Rivka, as we know, grew up in the same house as Lavan HaArami, Lavan the Trickster, the con man, the master swindler. Rivka could spot a scam and a phony a mile away, and she is convinced that Esav is not the person he appears - or pretends - to be for his father.
And so, Rivka stages an elaborate play: Yaakov the Scholar, the man of the spirit, acts as the rough 'n tough macho hunter, complete with hairy arms and eau d'prairie. Esav the Physical becomes the sensitive, emotional, vulnerable child. And Yitzchak is fooled; he blesses Yaakov ("Esav") with the prime bracha.
When the real Esav arrives, Yitzchak is aghast. He "trembles a mighty trembling. Who? Where?" What in the name of Nimrod is going on here? Suddenly, he has a revelation. Just as he was fooled now, just as he misread the situation here, so was he off the mark about his boys all along. And so, on the spot, even as Esav is pleading for "justice", Yitzchak affirms the bracha he gave to Yaakov: "Gam baruch hu" - he shall remain blessed. Yitzchak has seen the light; Rivka, the wise and wonderful producer, nods a knowing nod off-stage.
Still later, when the passion has died down, Yitzchak yet again affirms Yaakov's bracha: "May G-d bless you and grant you birkat Avraham"; i.e., you and only you will continue the legacy of the Jewish people.
The curtain goes down, and it's curtains for Esav.
Obviously not! So why, I ask you, does Yaakov "keep" the bracha after Yitzhak learns it was all a sham and a scam? Why doesn't Yitzchak call it all back and right the wrong?
Next question. Who, in the end, will cause the blessing to come to fruition? Hashem, of course. Now, doesn't G-d see what's going on here, even if Yitzchak doesn't? Is G-d really prepared to affirm a bracha given under false pretenses, in violation of His own maxim, "ayn mitzvah leeyday avera" - no mitzvah can be effected via a sin?
So what really is going on?
Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch offers a brilliant answer. Rivka, as we know, grew up in the same house as Lavan HaArami, Lavan the Trickster, the con man, the master swindler. Rivka could spot a scam and a phony a mile away, and she is convinced that Esav is not the person he appears - or pretends - to be for his father.
And so, Rivka stages an elaborate play: Yaakov the Scholar, the man of the spirit, acts as the rough 'n tough macho hunter, complete with hairy arms and eau d'prairie. Esav the Physical becomes the sensitive, emotional, vulnerable child. And Yitzchak is fooled; he blesses Yaakov ("Esav") with the prime bracha.
When the real Esav arrives, Yitzchak is aghast. He "trembles a mighty trembling. Who? Where?" What in the name of Nimrod is going on here? Suddenly, he has a revelation. Just as he was fooled now, just as he misread the situation here, so was he off the mark about his boys all along. And so, on the spot, even as Esav is pleading for "justice", Yitzchak affirms the bracha he gave to Yaakov: "Gam baruch hu" - he shall remain blessed. Yitzchak has seen the light; Rivka, the wise and wonderful producer, nods a knowing nod off-stage.
Still later, when the passion has died down, Yitzchak yet again affirms Yaakov's bracha: "May G-d bless you and grant you birkat Avraham"; i.e., you and only you will continue the legacy of the Jewish people.
The curtain goes down, and it's curtains for Esav.