"Isaac summoned Jacob and he blessed him. He commanded him and said to him: Do not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan" (Genesis 28:1). Simple enough, right? But Rabbi Abahu sees something deeper. He suggests that the blessings Jacob received earlier, when he cleverly impersonated his brother Esau, were somehow…unsettled. Lacking something. Incomplete.
Why? Because they were obtained under false pretenses. Jacob himself might have felt that uncertainty. So, where did those blessings finally become firm, unshakeable? Right here, Rabbi Abahu says. "Isaac summoned Jacob." This time, Isaac blesses Jacob knowingly, intentionally, without deception. As Bereshit Rabbah 67 tells us, this blessing was given on Isaac's "own initiative."
Rabbi Elazar adds another layer. Think about signing a document. It’s only truly valid with the signatures of those involved, right? Rabbi Elazar says this is like Isaac blessing Jacob. It's a way of saying that even if Jacob hadn't tricked Isaac earlier, he still would have received those blessings. This moment solidifies it. It’s an affirmation, a deliberate act.
Rabbi Berekhya offers a lovely parable: Imagine a king's son secretly digging, trying to unearth a pound of gold. The king sees this and says, "Why do it in secret? Come, take it openly!" That's the spirit of Isaac's blessing. It's about taking something that is rightfully yours, without the shadow of doubt or deceit.
And then, the story takes another turn. "He commanded him" (Genesis 28:1) – Isaac cautions Jacob against marrying the daughters of Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. Now, these weren't just random people. They were allies of Abraham, as we see back in Genesis 14:24. But for some reason, Isaac didn't want Jacob marrying into their families. Bereshit Rabbah says he cautioned him specifically against marrying them.
The next verse, Genesis 28:7, tells us, "Jacob heeded his father and his mother, and he went to Padan Aram." He listened. And that simple act of listening becomes a powerful lesson in itself.
The text then brings in a verse from Proverbs 21:2: "Every way of a man is fitting in his own eyes." The Rabbis use this to contrast two figures: Samson, who stubbornly followed his own desires ("Take her for me, as she is fitting in my eyes" – Judges 14:3), and Jacob. Samson saw what he wanted and pursued it. But Jacob? He "heeded his father and his mother." The Rabbis connect this to another proverb, Proverbs 12:15: "And one who heeds counsel is wise."
So, what are we left with? It's more than just a story about blessings and marriages. It's a reflection on the nature of certainty, the importance of intention, and the wisdom of listening to those who came before us. It asks us: Are we like Samson, blindly following our own desires? Or are we like Jacob, open to guidance and wisdom? And perhaps most importantly, are the blessings we seek obtained through honesty and integrity, or through deception and trickery? These are questions worth pondering.