Take the tale of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau. We all know the basics: Jacob deceives his father, Isaac, and steals Esau's blessing. But what happens after? What was Isaac really thinking? to a fascinating exploration of one particular verse from Genesis, as illuminated by the ancient commentary of Bereshit Rabbah 67.
The verse in question is Genesis 27:37, where Isaac, having realized he's been tricked, says to Esau: "Behold, I have placed him a lord to you, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants, and I have supported him with grain and wine, and for you then, what shall I do, my son?"
Now, Rabbi Berekhya raises a curious point: Isaac says, "Behold, I have placed him a lord to you." This, he argues, is actually the seventh blessing—the blessing of dominance. Why, then, does Isaac mention it to Esau first? The answer, according to Rabbi Berekhya, is that Isaac understood Jacob's blessings essentially encompassed Esau's. Think of it this way: if Jacob is the master, and Esau is the slave, everything the slave owns, including any potential blessings, belongs to the master. A pretty raw deal for Esau. But it gets even more interesting. Isaac's final phrase, "and for you, then [lekha efo]?" is ripe for interpretation. The text delves into this, offering a few different readings. One interpretation suggests that lekha efo implies "your bread is baked [afuya]" – meaning Esau will always have enough to eat, but at the expense of his master. He'll be dependent on Jacob.
Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish, two prominent rabbinic figures, offer even more striking interpretations. Rabbi Yoḥanan reads lekha efo as "Let me be, as an oven is baking for you everywhere." Ouch! The implication here is that Esau will be constantly burned or consumed by Jacob's dominance. Reish Lakish, on the other hand, sees lekha efo as an acronym for "fury and wrath [af veḥema]". In other words, Esau is destined to be a vessel of anger and resentment.
But the commentary doesn't stop there. Rabbi Simlai, or Rabbi Abahu in another version, brings in a divine perspective. The Holy One, blessed be He, challenges Isaac: "Did you say to him: 'For you, then'?" Was Isaac intending to bless Esau? Isaac responds, essentially pleading, "Grant him grace [to bless him]."
But God's response is stark. Quoting Isaiah 26:10, God says, "He is 'wicked.'" Isaac tries to defend Esau, asking, "Did he not learn righteousness? Did he not honor his parents?" But God counters with another line from Isaiah 26:10: "In the land of the upright he will perform evil" – foreshadowing Esau's descendants' (understood as Rome) future destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Finally, Isaac, seemingly defeated, asks God to grant Esau tranquility in this world, so that "he may not see the majesty of the Lord in the future." In essence, Isaac is pleading for Esau to at least have some peace in this life, even if he is excluded from the world to come.
What are we to make of this? Bereshit Rabbah uses this verse to explore profound questions about destiny, free will, and the nature of blessing. It paints a complex picture of Isaac, not just as a blind old man easily deceived, but as a figure wrestling with divine will and the consequences of his actions. The midrash suggests that even within a seemingly fixed destiny, there's room for negotiation, for pleading for mercy, and for understanding the long-term implications of our choices. It’s a reminder that even in stories we think we know, there are always deeper layers of meaning waiting to be uncovered, offering us new perspectives on ourselves and the world around us.