Bereshit 27:11-14,19 – Why did Yaakov fool his father Yitzhak?

Bereshit 27:6-10 records that Rivka told Yaakov how he could fool Yitzhak and receive Yitzhak’s blessing instead of Esav. 27:11,12 then record that Yaakov was concerned that the plan would fail since Esav was very hairy and he apparently had smooth skin. 27:13 then records that Rivka told Yaakov not to worry that if the plan failed the blame would fall on her, which was either because she was confidant in the plan or because she was willing to take the chance that it would fail. 27:14-30 then records that Yaakov proceeded to follow Rivka’s instruction, Yaakov lied to his father and Yaakov succeeded in fooling his father Yitzhak. Why did Yaakov agree to fool his father?

One possibility is that Yaakov agreed with Rivka that it was crucial for him to receive the blessing from Yitzhak even if he was not the intended recipient of the blessing. Yet, as noted by many (see N. Leibowitz, 1976, 266-267 and Sarna, 1989, p. 262), Yaakov later suffered by his intended wife, Rahel, being switched, 29:25, and for his sons claiming that Yosef was dead, 37:32,33. In both cases the Torah connects the events to Yaakov fooling Yitzhak. After Yaakov complained to Lavan about not being married to Rahel, Lavan said that in our place we do not switch the older for the younger, 29:26, and Yaakov’s sons fooled him about Yosef by using the same animal, goats, 37:31, that he used to fool Yitzhak. Also, there is a literary connection through the word se'ir. 27:23 (also 27:11) records that Yitzhak was fooled since Yaakov’s hands/ arms were seirot, and the Torah refers to the goat that was used to fool Yaakov as being a hairy goat, se'ir izim, 37:31.

These connections indicate that Yaakov was being punished when Rahel was switched for Lea, and for thinking that Yosef was dead, and this indicates that Yaakov acted wrongly by fooling Yitzhak. Yaakov (and Rivka) should have accepted that Yitzhak would bless Esav to be the dominant brother, and let G-d determine what would actually happen. Yet, still one could claim that Yaakov (and Rivka) were mistaken that they thought that they had to act to fool Yitzhak to receive the blessings or maybe they mistakenly thought that by receiving the blessings then this would serve as some type of immunity for fooling Yitzhak.

A different possibility for why Yaakov participated in the trick on his father is that really he did not want to fool his father, but he felt compelled to listen to his mother Rivka. The Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 65:16) seems to follow this idea.

Another possibility is that maybe Yaakov thought that he was entitled to the blessing since he bought the title of being the firstborn from Esav, 25:33. The problem with this idea is that then he should have told Yitzhak that he had bought the title of being the firstborn and was entitled to the blessings. However, he never made this claim. Also, from Esav’s statement in 27:36, it appears that being the firstborn and receiving the blessing were independent of each other. Hence, when Yitzhak summoned Esav to bless him, Yitzhak did not refer to Esav as the firstborn but as his older son, 27:2.

A fourth possibility is that Yaakov acted simply out of spite for Esav. Maybe he did not like Esav, and he knew that if he received the blessings Esav would be upset. With this idea, Yaakov was willing to fool Yitzhak to annoy Esav.

A fifth possibility is that Yaakov thought that this was another opportunity to show that it is wrong to favor one son simply because the son was born first. This is what Yaakov tried to show when he bought the title of the firstborn son (see our discussion on Bereshit 25:29-34, “Code red”), and Yaakov would demonstrate this belief in the end of his life when he placed his right hand on Efrayim instead of Menashe, 48:14.

In this case and when Yaakov bought the title of the firstborn son, it appears that Yaakov did not plan to point out the unfairness of the concept of the firstborn, but when the opportunity presented itself, he jumped on it. In this case, it is not just that Yaakov, the younger son receives the blessing, but the crucial aspect was for Yaakov to receive the blessings first before Esav. Yaakov knew that Yitzhak and Esav would figure out that he had fooled Yitzhak, but then they would also realize that it was unfair or even ridiculous that one son should receive the blessings just because Yitzhak said the blessings first in front of one son before the second son arrived. This is the same idea that it is wrong that the firstborn child is favored simply because he was born first.

The Torah gives a clue that there is a connection between Yaakov receiving the blessing first and the birth of Esav and Yaakov though the double word ya-so yasa in 27:30, which records that after Yitzhak finished blessing Yaakov, Yaakov left Yitzhak, and Esav came back from his hunting. These are the same words in 25:25,26, which record that Esav first left Rivka’s womb (was born first) and then Yaakov left the womb afterwards. When Yaakov left Yitzhak after Yitzhak’s blessing there is a reversal of the births of Esav and Yaakov, as at the time of their births, Yaakov went out from his mother after Esav, while by Yitzhak’s blessing, Yaakov left his father before Esav.

An indication that Yaakov participated in the deceit of Yitzhak to show the silliness of the firstborn title can be seen from the word me-tateah in 27:12. In this verse, Yaakov is telling Rivka what Yitzhak will think if Yitzhak figures out that Yaakov was trying to impersonate Esav to get the blessings. It is well known that when a person projects the thoughts of somebody else, then this hints what the person is actually thinking. In this case, Yaakov said that Yitzhak will think that Yaakov is me-tateah. What does this word mean? Rabbenu Saadiah Gaon (on 27:12, also Benno Jacob, 1974, p. 179) explains the word as mocking. Yaakov was worried that Yitzhak would think that Yaakov was mocking him. We do not see that Yaakov mocked his father, but Yaakov’s thoughts about what his father was thinking, shows that he was participating in this deception to mock. He was not intending to mock his father, but to mock the idea that just because a person is born first or receives the blessing first, then that person should be blessed.

Based on this idea, I imagine that when Yaakov told his father, that he was Esav the firstborn, 27:19, he was laughing inside. Yaakov did not have say the word firstborn, as he could have just said that he was Esav. Instead, Yaakov might have imagined to himself that all he had to do to become the firstborn was to wear some clothing, and say that he was the firstborn son. This shows again how silly is the idea that a person is treated more special since he is born first. 

Even with this rationale, Yaakov should not have participated in the deceit of his father, but we can understand why he did it. This moral issue of repudiating the special status of the firstborn sons was so important to him, that he could not grasp that it was wrong to fool his father and that fooling his father would pain his father. Also, he would not have been bothered that his actions would be very upsetting to Esav. A similar issue would arise by Yosef that he was so determined to have his dreams fulfilled that he was unaware of the pain it was causing Yaakov that he did not contact Yaakov after he became a ruler in Egypt. This would then be anther way that Yaakov was punished measure for measure for fooling Yitzhak.

Bibliography:

Jacob, Benno (1869-1945), 1974, The first book of the bible: Genesis, commentary abridged, edited and translated by Earnest I. Jacob and Walter Jacob, Hoboken City, NJ: Ktav Publishing House.

Leibowitz, Nehama (1905-1997), 1976, Studies in Bereshit, translated by Aryeh Newman, Jerusalem: The World Zionist Organization.

Sarna, Nahum (1923-2005), 1989, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society.