“Jacob approached Isaac his father and he felt him, and he said: The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau” (Genesis 27:22). “Jacob approached Isaac…The voice is the voice of Jacob” – this voice is the voice of a wise man, but his hands are those that flay dead animals. Another matter, “the voice is the voice of Jacob” – Jacob rules only with his voice. “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau” – Esau rules only with his hands.
Another matter, “the voice is the voice of Jacob” – Rabbi Pinḥas said: The voice of Jacob withdraws into itself.36When he does not use his voice for prayer and Torah study. The Matnot Kehuna suggests that the fact that the word hakol is without a vav it can be read as if the voice of Jacob is demeaned (kal). “But the hands are the hands of Esau” – He signals to him and he comes.37The Holy One blessed be He signals to Esau and he comes to attack Jacob.
Another matter, “the voice is the voice of Jacob” – Rabbi Berekhya said: When Jacob murmurs with his voice,38Uses his voice for matters which are said quietly, such as slander. the hands of Esau dominate, as it is written: “the people complained,”39The specific words mentioned in the verse preceding the advent of Amalek are slightly different, see Exodus 17:3. (Exodus 15:24), “Amalek came” (Exodus 17:8).
But when he calls loudly with his voice, the hands are not the hands of Esau, the hands of Esau do not dominate. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: No philosophers stood in the world like Bilam son of Beor and like Avnimos the weaver. All the idolaters gathered before him.40Avnimos (see Etz Yosef). They said to him: ‘Do you say that we can confront this nation?’
He said: ‘Go and circulate among their synagogues and study halls; if you find children there crying out,41Words of Torah. you will not be able to confront them, as this is what their ancestor promised them: “The voice is the voice of Jacob” – when the voice of Jacob is found in the synagogues, the hands are not the hands of Esau, but if not, “the hands are the hands of Esau” – you can overcome them.’
“The voice is the voice of Jacob” – in the case of the concubine in Giva –“cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin” (Judges 21:18).42The Etz Yosef explains that here the midrash is stating that there are instances in which the use of the voice of Jacob in an unwise manner can lead to behavior reminiscent of Esau. Because the Israelites issued a (spoken) curse forbidding the giving of any daughter in marriage to any man from the tribe of Benjamin, they had to later tell the men of Benjamin to "steal" women as wives for themselves, which is Esau-type behavior (see Judges 21:18–22).
“The voice is the voice of Jacob” – in the days of Yerovam. The sound of weeping because they killed five hundred thousand among them, as it is written – “Yerovam did not gain strength again [in the days of Aviya; and the Lord afflicted him, and he died]” (II Chronicles 13:20). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: What do you think; that Yerovam was afflicted? But was it not Aviya who was afflicted?
Why was he afflicted? Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: It is because he defaced the identifying features of Israel’s faces, as it is written: “The expression of their faces testifies against them” (Isaiah 3:9). Rabbi Levi said: Because he positioned guards over them for three days until their form decayed, as we learned: One may testify43The reference is to giving testimony that a husband died so that his widow could remarry. only about the countenance of the face with the nose, even if there are distinguishing marks on his body and his belongings…and one may testify only up to three days.44Yevamot 120a. In their regard he says: “Their widows proliferated for Me beyond the sand of the seas” (Jeremiah 15:8).
Rabbi Yoḥanan, Reish Lakish, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Because he denigrated Aḥiya the Shilonite, as it is stated: "[Worthless and] wicked people [gathered around him]”45The Hebrew does not bring the exact quote of the verse. (II Chronicles 13:7) – he called Aḥiya the Shilonite wicked. Reish Lakish said: Because he humiliated them publicly, as it is stated: “You are a great multitude, and with you are the golden calves” (II Chronicles 13:8).
The Rabbis said: It is because an idol came into his possession and he did not nullify it,46He did not destroy the golden calf which Yerovam had erected in Beit El. as it is stated: “Aviya pursued Yerovam” (II Chronicles 13:19), and it is written: “And captured cities from him: Beit El and its environs” (II Chronicles 13:19), and it is written: “He placed one in Beit El” (I Kings 12:29). The matters can be derived a fortiori: If a king, because he mistreated a king like him, the verse punished him and he was defeated, a commoner who mistreats a commoner, all the more so.