Isaac's Great Trembling and the Blessing That Stood Firm

"And Isaac trembled with a very great trembling" (Genesis 27:33). "The trembling of a man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be set on high" (Proverbs 29:25). The trembling with which Ruth made Boaz tremble - by right she should have been cursed, but "whoever trusts in the LORD shall be set on high": the Holy One, blessed be He, put it into his heart and he blessed her, "And he said, Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter" (Ruth 3:10). The trembling with which Jacob made Isaac tremble - by right he should have been cursed, but "whoever trusts in the LORD shall be set on high": He put it into his heart and he blessed him. Rabbi Hama bar Hanina said: "very [me'od]" - greater than the trembling he felt upon the altar. He said, Who is it that became the broker between me and the Omnipresent, that Jacob should take the blessings? - referring to Rebekah. Rabbi Yohanan said: one who has two sons, one going out and one coming in, trembles; but here, when Esau entered, Gehinnom entered with him. Rabbi Natan in the name of Rabbi Aha: the walls of the house began to seethe. Isaac said, Who then is it that is destined to be baked here, I or Jacob my son? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, Neither you nor Jacob your son, but "he who hunted the prey" (Genesis 27:33). As it is written, "The deceitful man will not roast his game" (Proverbs 12:27): the Holy One, blessed be He, will not delay punishment for the deceiver and his prey. For Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: all that day Esau hunted deer and bound them, and an angel came and freed them; he caught birds and bound them, and an angel came and made them fly off. Why all this? "But the diligent man's wealth is precious" (Proverbs 12:27) - so that Jacob might come and take the blessings, which are the precious things of the world set apart for him. Rabbi Yehuda says: "And I ate of all [mikol]" (Genesis 27:33) - of all that was created in the six days of creation. Rabbi Nehemiah says: of all that is prepared for the righteous in the time to come. He said to him, What was it in essence that he fed you? He said, I do not know, but I tasted the taste of bread, the taste of meat, the taste of fish, the taste of locusts, the taste of every delicacy in the world. Rabbi Berekhiah said: when he mentioned meat he wept at once, saying, He fed me one bowl of lentils and took my birthright; this one who fed you meat, how much more! Rabbi Levi said: because Isaac our father was afraid, saying, perhaps I did not act properly in making the one who is not the firstborn into the firstborn - when Esau said "he took my birthright" (Genesis 27:36), Isaac said, then I blessed rightly. Rabbi Elazar said: a deed of writ is confirmed only by its signatories; so that you should not say, had Jacob not deceived his father he would not have taken the blessings, Scripture teaches "he shall also be blessed" (Genesis 27:33). Rabbi Yitzhak said: he came to curse him, and the Holy One, blessed be He, said, Take heed, for if you curse him you curse yourself, since you already said "cursed be those who curse you" (Genesis 27:29). Rabbi Levi said: six things serve a person; three are in his control and three are not. The eye, the nose, and the ear are not in his control - he hears what he does not wish, smells what he does not wish, sees what he does not wish. The mouth, the hand, and the foot are in his control: if he wishes he toils in Torah, if he wishes he speaks slander; if he wishes the hand gives charity, if he wishes it steals or kills; if he wishes the foot goes to synagogues and study houses, if he wishes it goes to theaters and circuses. When a person is worthy, the Holy One, blessed be He, makes even those in his control not subject to him: the mouth - "he shall also be blessed"; the hand - "his hand which he put forth against him dried up" (1 Kings 13:4); the foot - "My son, do not walk in the way with them... for their feet run to evil" (Proverbs 1:15-16). "When Esau heard the words of his father" (Genesis 27:34): Rabbi Hanin said, whoever says the Holy One, blessed be He, is lax in justice - may his innards burst; rather He is long-suffering but collects His due. One cry Jacob caused Esau to cry; when was it repaid? In Shushan the capital, "and he cried a great and bitter cry" (Esther 4:1). Esau shed three tears, one from his right eye, one from his left, and one that stayed within his eye, and this is "you have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure [shalish, a third]" (Psalms 80:6). Israel said: if the wicked Esau was shown such mercy for shedding three tears, we whose tears flow constantly day and night like bread, how much more, as it is said, "my tears have been my bread day and night" (Psalms 42:4). David said, "do not be silent at my tears" (Psalms 39:13). "And I ate of all" (written above).