Why Bless Esav/2

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Why Bless Esav?

Exegetical Approaches

THIS TOPIC IS STILL BEING DEVELOPED AND UPDATED

Yitzchak Favored Esav

Love

Yitzchak simply loved Esav more, and therefore wanted to give him as much as possible.

What did the blessing constitute? According to R"Y Bekhor Shor, the blessing was, in essence, the birthright itself.  It included Yitzchak's material inheritance and supremacy over all members of Yitzchak's household.
Was Yitzchak aware of the prophecy to Rivka? R"Y Bekhor Shor does not relate to the issue.  He might suggest that he was unaware, or that he thought the prophecy was ambiguous.1
Was Yitzchak aware of the sale of the birthright? R"Y Bekhor Shor claims that Yitzchak knew of the sale, and that the blessing was, in fact, designed to circumvent it.  By blessing Esav before he died, Yitzchak was able to ensure that Esav did not lose out on the inheritance that he had sold to his brother.  This was in effect a "living will".
Why ask Esav to prepare food? Yitzchak told Esav that he had lost his inheritance for a meal; now he was to retrieve it in return for a different meal.
What was Rivka thinking? Just as Yitzchak was acting to ensure that his beloved prevailed, Rivka acted on behalf of her preferred son, Yaakov.
Evaluation of Esav – R"Y Bekhor Shor views Esav as a neutral character; thus Yitzchak's preference is understandable.
"גַּם בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה" – Yaakov realized that once the blessing was given, it could not be retracted.

Firstborn Status

Esav's status as firstborn was enough to merit him the blessing.

Character versus age order
  • According to Ramban, Esav was not a particularly wicked character and thus his status as firstborn sufficed to make Yitzchak want to give him the blessing. 
  • According to Abarbanel, in contrast, Yitzchak assumed that unless Hashem told him otherwise, the blessing was the right of the firstborn.  As Hashem had given Esav that position at birth, Hashem would have told Yitzchak if he should remove such status.3
What did the blessing constitute? Both Ramban and Abarbanel maintain that Yitzchak was planning to give Esav the blessing of Avraham.
Was Yitzchak aware of the prophecy to Rivka? Both these commentators assert that Rivka had never shared the prophecy with her husband; otherwise Yitzchak would never have acted against it.
Was Yitzchak aware of the sale of the birthright? According to Ramban, Yaakov had bought either a double portion of the inheritance or honored status, but not the legacy of Avraham.  As such, the sale should not have affected Yitzchak's choice in blessing regardless.  Abarbanel would likely suggest that Yitzchak was unaware of the sale.4
What was Rivka thinking? Rivka, aware both of the prophecy and Yaakov's superior nature, wanted to ensure that the correct child be blessed.  According to Ramban, she feared that if Yitzchak knew, he would simply not give any blessing and leave it all in the hands of Hashem.  Thus, she took efforts that Yitzchak bless Yaakov with a willing heart.5
Evaluation of Esav – Ramban paints a negative but not overly wicked portrait of Esav.  Yitzchak was thus swayed both by the delicacies he served and his firstborn status to prefer him. Abarabenl, in contrast, views him as wicked, but assumes that Yitzchak was unaware of this.
"גַּם בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה" – Ramban suggests that Yitzchak realized that the blessing was effective and that, against his will, it would take hold.

Unaware of True Nature

Yitzchak was blind to Esav's faults and did not realize that he was unworthy of the blessing.

Why was Yitzchak oblivious? According to most of these commentators, Esav actively misled his father into thinking that he was a righteous person.  Abarbanel adds that Yitzchak's natural love for his eldest son blinded him, while Ralbag asserts that his constant communion with Hashem made Yitzchak less aware of the doings of his children.9
וַתִּכְהֶיןָ עֵינָיו מֵרְאֹת – Tanchuma and Abarbanel suggest that the dimming of Yitzchak's eyes refers to his blindness to Esav's character.10
What did the blessing constitute? Abarbanel asserts that Yitzchak was planning on blessing Esav with the legacy of Avraham, while Ralbag, Seforno, and R. Hirsch assert that this was just a blessing for material good.11
Did Yitzchak know of the prophecy to Rivka? Abarbanel claims that Yitzchak must not have been aware of the prophecy, for if were, he would never have attempted to circumvent it.12
Was Yitzchak aware of the sale of the birthright?
  • Rashi presents Yitzchak as unaware of the sale; when Esav reveals it to him,13 he is relieved that even according to strict justice, the blessing went to the proper son.
  • The other commentators do not address the question, but both Ralbag and Abarbanel suggest that the blessing Yitzchak was bestowing was in essence what Yaakov had bought.14  As such, it is likely that they would suggest that Yitzchak was either unaware of the sale or thought it was invalid.  Seforno, on the other hand, asserts that the birthright was related to religious status, and thus was unconnected to the blessings.
What was Rivka thinking?
  • Aware of children's ways – Unlike Yitzchak, Rivka recognized the true nature of each of her sons and tried to ensure that the blessing did not go to the undeserving child.15 Ralbag points out that she thought that the blessings of a prophet automatically come to fruition, and so she feared that Yaakov would lose out.
  • Acting on prophecy – Abarbanel adds that Rivka knew that Yaakov was Hashem's choice due to the prophecy of "the elder shall serve the younger".
  • Show Yitzchak his error – R. Hirsch posits that Rivka's real motivation in her ruse was not to obtain the blessing for Yaakov,16 but to prove to Yitzchak how easily fooled he was.  She could thus convince him that he had been similarly deceived by Esav throughout.
Why ask Esav to prepare food? Both Abarbanel and Seforno suggest that Yitzchak wanted Esav to do a good deed so as to make him more worthy.17  Alternatively the meal was needed to put Yitzchak in the proper frame of mind to receive Divine inspiration.
Evaluation of Esav – According to this position, Esav was undeserving of the blessing.  Most of these sources claim that he was outright wicked, but deceived his father into believing otherwise.
"גַּם בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה" – R. Hirsch asserts that Rivka's plan worked, and Yitzchak  finally recognized the true nature of Esav, leading him to wholeheartedly bless Yaakov. Ralbag and Abarbanel similarly conclude that, after the fact, Yitzchak realized that this must be Hashem's desire, leading him to affirm the blessing. Seforno more simply suggests that Yitzchak recognized that the blessing had already taken hold.

Both Brothers Were to be Blessed

Yitzchak had planned that each brother would receive a blessing.  While Esav was to be given the material blessing, the legacy of Avraham was meant to be inherited either by Yaakov alone or by both brothers together.

What did the blessing constitute? Radak, R. Hirsch, and Malbim all maintain that the blessing was a material one.  According to Shadal, it was mainly one of dominion, while according to R. D"Z Hoffmann it was the blessing of Avraham.
Who was to get what?
  • Split leadership – According to R. Hirsch and Malbim, Yitzchak had assumed that his two sons would share in the leadership of the nation, with Yaakov taking on the spiritual role (and receiving the blessing of Avraham) and Esav caring for the physical needs (thus meriting the material blessing).18
  • Share Avraham's blessing – Shadal and R. Hoffmann, on the other hand, assert that Yitzchak thought that both brothers would be chosen to share Avraham's blessing and live together in the land of Israel. Nonetheless, Yitzchak had hoped to give Esav an advantage over Yaakov, and thus blessed him that he would be the dominant of the two.19
Evaluation of Esav's nature – R. Hirsch and R. Hoffmann assume that Yitzchak was somewhat deceived by Esav and thought him more righteous than he was.  Malbim, on the other hand, asserts that he recognized Esav's wickedness,20 but also saw how his material traits and might could be used for good.
Was Yitzchak aware of the prophecy to Rivka?
  • No – Malbim claims that he was unaware of the prophecy, which was part of the reason for his preference for Esav.  Malbim could have suggested, though, that even had he been aware, he might have interpreted it to mean that the elder shall serve the younger in the sense of providing for his material needs.21
  • Yes – R. Hirsch, on the other hand, claims that it was likely that he knew of the prophecy and recognized that the son who gained the material blessing would ultimately serve the other son.  The partnership, thus, would not be totally equal, but a partnership nonetheless.  If this is true, though, it is not clear why he intends to bless Esav: "הֱוֵה גְבִיר לְאַחֶיךָ".
Was Yitzchak aware of the sale of the birthright?
  • Yes – Malbim asserts that he was, and this was one of the reasons that he knew that Yaakov, rather than Esav, was to inherit the blessing of Avraham.
  • No – Shadal asserts that the brothers never told Yitzchak of the sale, as evidenced by the fact that each still referred to Esav as the first-born when speaking to their father. Shadal claims that this proves that Yaakov had never thought that he had rights to the blessing after the sale, for the birthright and blessings were two distinct things.22
  • No legal standing – Though R. D"Z Hoffmann assumes that Yaakov bought rights to inherit Avraham's legacy which could have impacted the blessing, he maintains that the sale was like child's play and had no legal validity.
What was Rivka thinking?
  • Unaware of YItzchak's plans – Radak suggests that Rivka thought that Yitzchak was giving the only blessing to Esav.   She did not realize that Yitzchak meant for Yaakov to inherit the blessing of Avraham separately.
  • Splitting the blessing would be  catastrophic – R. Hirsch and Malbim assert that Rivka believed that Yitzchak was mistaken to think that the brothers could share in the leadership of the nation.23  She insisted that the blessing could not be split, for if the physical is not combined with the spiritual in one person, it would only be detrimental.24
  • Esav unworthy – According to R. Hoffmann, Yitzchak was not as aware of Esav's true nature as she was,25 so only she could see that giving him an extra blessing of dominion was problematic.
"גַּם בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה" – Malbim asserts that Yitzchak realized that what transpired must have been Hashem's will and thus he too agreed while R. Hoffmann claims that this is a statement confirming that because the blessing had already been given, it had indeed taken hold.

Esav Needed the Blessing More

Yitzchak recognized that Esav was not as righteous as his brother, and he hoped that  the blessing would help improve his character.

What did the blessing constitute? According to Radak, Yitzchak reserved the blessing of Avraham for Yaakov and only meant to give Esav a material blessing.
Why ask Esav to prepare food? According to Radak, Yitzchak desired that Esav treat him to delicacies so that he would be inclined to bless him.  As he was undeserving on his own, Yitzchak realized he needed to be proactive to bestow one upon him.
Was Yitzchak aware of the prophecy to Rivka? According to Radak the prophecy was ambiguous.  Due to the fact that the clause had no defining article, "את"  it could read either  "the elder shall serve the younger" or "the elder shall the younger serve".  As such, even if Yitzchak knew of it, he could interpret it as he pleased.
Was Yitzchak aware of the sale of the birthright? According to Radak the birthright referred to honored status.  This was distinct from the blessing and as such the sale was irrelevant to Yitzchak's decisons.
What was Rivka thinking? This position might suggest that Rivka might have questioned the efficacy of giving a blessing to an undeserving son so as to improve his ways.  Moreover, she might have found it unfair to Yaakov.27
Evaluation of Esav – All of these sources suggest that Esav was a negative character and Yitzchak was aware of the fact.
גַּם בָּרוּךְ יִהְיֶה – When Yitzchak recognized that the blessing had gone to his son, albeit not Esav, he upheld it.