28:11 (also 28:18) records that one
night when Yaakov was on his way to Haran he used a rock as a pillow. This surely must have been uncomfortable, and
this indicates that he did not have a pack with him with any clothing which
could have been used as a pillow. We
know that Esav had at least two pairs of clothing (27:15), so presumably Yaakov
also had at least two pairs of clothing. Why did Yaakov not use some of his clothing
as a pillow?
During the night, Yaakov had an amazing dream, 28:12-15, and when he awoke in the morning, he made a vow. However, Yaakov made several conditions to the vow, one of which was that G-d would give him food and clothing, 28:20. This condition implies that Yaakov was lacking both items.
Later, when Yaakov was returning home he prayed to G-d before meeting Esav, and in the prayer he mentioned that when he left the land of Israel, all he had was his walking stick, 32:11.
These three verses (28:11, 28:20 and 32:11) indicate that Yaakov left home with nothing, and raises the question, why did his parents, Yitzhak and Rivka, not give Yaakov at least some clothing when he left to go to Haran?
One might answer that Yitzhak did not offer Yaakov any assistance since Yitzhak was angry at Yaakov for lying to him and tricking him (27:18-30). However, the Torah never informs us that Yitzhak desired to punish Yaakov for tricking him. When Yitzhak first realized that he had been tricked, he trembled that he had been fooled, but he still said that Yaakov was to be blessed, 27:33. A few seconds later, Yitzhak stated that Yaakov had tricked him, 27:35, but he made this statement matter-of-factly with no apparent anger. Afterwards, Yitzhak gave Yaakov another set of blessings, 28:3,4.
Rashi (on 29:11) quotes from Bereshit Rabbah (70:12) another answer. According to this approach, really Yitzhak and Rivka gave Yaakov lots of material assistance when he left home, but Elifaz the son of Esav was sent by Esav to kill Yaakov. When Elifaz caught up with Yaakov, Yaakov convinced him to rob him of everything (except his staff?) since a poor person can be considered as if he was dead. If this did happen, then it must have occurred almost immediately when Yaakov left home since it seems that Yaakov's dream was on the very first night that he left home.
During the night, Yaakov had an amazing dream, 28:12-15, and when he awoke in the morning, he made a vow. However, Yaakov made several conditions to the vow, one of which was that G-d would give him food and clothing, 28:20. This condition implies that Yaakov was lacking both items.
Later, when Yaakov was returning home he prayed to G-d before meeting Esav, and in the prayer he mentioned that when he left the land of Israel, all he had was his walking stick, 32:11.
These three verses (28:11, 28:20 and 32:11) indicate that Yaakov left home with nothing, and raises the question, why did his parents, Yitzhak and Rivka, not give Yaakov at least some clothing when he left to go to Haran?
One might answer that Yitzhak did not offer Yaakov any assistance since Yitzhak was angry at Yaakov for lying to him and tricking him (27:18-30). However, the Torah never informs us that Yitzhak desired to punish Yaakov for tricking him. When Yitzhak first realized that he had been tricked, he trembled that he had been fooled, but he still said that Yaakov was to be blessed, 27:33. A few seconds later, Yitzhak stated that Yaakov had tricked him, 27:35, but he made this statement matter-of-factly with no apparent anger. Afterwards, Yitzhak gave Yaakov another set of blessings, 28:3,4.
Rashi (on 29:11) quotes from Bereshit Rabbah (70:12) another answer. According to this approach, really Yitzhak and Rivka gave Yaakov lots of material assistance when he left home, but Elifaz the son of Esav was sent by Esav to kill Yaakov. When Elifaz caught up with Yaakov, Yaakov convinced him to rob him of everything (except his staff?) since a poor person can be considered as if he was dead. If this did happen, then it must have occurred almost immediately when Yaakov left home since it seems that Yaakov's dream was on the very first night that he left home.
Ibn Ezra (on 25:34) suggests a third answer that Yitzhak was generally poor even though he inherited great wealth from Avraham (25:5) and became wealthy from his planting (26:13). One of his proofs is the fact that Yaakov came penniless to Haran since he argues that surely Yitzhak or Rivka would have helped Yaakov out if they could have. However, were they so poor not to give Yaakov anything?
Ramban (on 25:34) strongly disagrees with Ibn Ezra, as nothing in the Torah indicates that Yitzhak lost his wealth. Ramban notes that G-d thrice blessed Yitzhak, 25:11; 26:3,24 and what kind of blessing could it have been if Yitzhak was to lose all his wealth? Instead, Ramban suggests a fourth answer that Yitzhak did not want to give Yaakov money when Yaakov went to Haran in order not to increase Esav’s hatred of Yaakov. Yet, Yitzhak had told Esav that Yaakov was to be blessed, 27:33, and had given Yaakov another set of blessing, 28:3,4, which Esav was aware of, 28:6. It is unlikely that letting Yaakov take some clothing would have enraged Esav even more.
My guess is that Yitzhak purposely sent out Yaakov with nothing and did not allow Rivka to supply Yaakov as a test whether Yaakov was truly to be the blessed son. After Yitzhak realized that Yaakov had tricked him, he stated that Yaakov was still to be blessed, 27:33, and he gave Yaakov another blessing, 28:3,4. However, after initially desiring to bless Esav, and then being lied to by Yaakov, Yitzhak must have wondered if Yaakov really deserved to be blessed. Yaakov’s leaving to go to Haran was an opportunity for Yitzhak to test whether Yaakov was truly to be the blessed son. The test was that Yitzhak sent Yaakov away with nothing to see if Yaakov could succeed and flourish completely on his own. It seems that G-d even responded to this test by making Yaakov fabulously successful, 30:43.
I discussed this idea in my synagogue, Yakir Efrayim in Modiin, and some people (including my son Binyamin) questioned me whether a father would really act in this way. One friend, Efrayim Chotam, even called this idea akedat Yaakov. Yet, Yitzhak had experienced the real akedah when G-d tested Avraham, 22:1, and also Yitzhak knew (saw?) that his father sent out his brother Yishmael, with almost nothing, 21:14. Thus, this idea of testing a son by sending him away with nothing would not have seemed foreign or bizarre to Yitzhak. (Later Yaakov would act similarly, also sending out his son, Yosef, 37:14, though in a different context, see our discussion on 37:2-14, "Parenting" https://lobashamayim.blogspot.co.il/2013/11/bereshit-372-14-va-yeshev-parenting.html)