<b>And it came to pass that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim (Gen. 27:1).</b> Scripture states elsewhere: <i>A gift</i> (bribe) <i>is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it; whithersoever he turneth, he prospereth</i> (Prov. 17:8). What may the gift (mentioned in this verse) be compared to? To a precious stone which shatters whenever it falls.<sup class="footnote-marker">5</sup><i class="footnote">The gift becomes a bribe and ultimately brings harm to the recipient.</i> This verse aptly refers to Isaac, for it is said: <i>Now Isaac loved Esau because he did eat of his venison</i> (lit. <i>the game was in his mouth</i>) (Gen. 25:28). What is the meaning of <i>the game was in his mouth</i>? It means that Esau ensnared<sup class="footnote-marker">6</sup><i class="footnote">A play on words: <i>tzayid</i> (venison) and <i>tzud</i> (trap)</i> the righteous Isaac with the words he spoke. You find that Esau committed every sin which the Holy One, blessed be He, detests; <i>There are six things which the Lord hateth, yea, seven which are an abomination unto Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood; a heart that deviseth wicked thoughts, feet that are swift in running to evil; a false witness that breatheth out lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren</i> (Prov. 6:16–19). Whenever Esau entered the house, he would ask his father: “My father, is one obliged to tithe for salt?” Isaac would exclaim in amazement: “Observe, how scrupulous this son of mine is concerning the commandments!” And when his father would ask him: “Where were you today, my son?” “At the house of study,” the youth would reply and he would add: “Is this not the law under certain circumstances; are not these things prohibited and these permitted?” By such remarks, he entraped his father with his mouth. That is why he loved him. Thereupon, the Holy Spirit exclaimed: <i>When he speaketh fair believe him not; for there are seven abominations in his heart</i> (ibid. 26:25). Why did Isaac’s eyes become weak? They became weak because he beheld the countenance of the wicked Esau; also because he ate the venison he brought him, as it is said: <i>For the gift blinded them that hath sight</i> (Exod. 23:8).
<i>And his eyes were dim</i> (Gen. 27:1). <i>And when Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith the daughter of Be’eri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. And they were a bitterness of spirit unto Isaac and to Rebecca</i> (Gen. 26:34–35), and this is followed by the verse <i>And his eyes were dim</i>. Hence, they must have become dim because of his unhappiness.
Though the Shekhinah hovered over Isaac’s home, Esau had married Canaanite women who sacrificed and burned incense before idols. The Shekhinah, thereupon, departed from Isaac’s home. When Isaac beheld what was transpiring within his home, he was sorely distressed. And so the Holy One, blessed be He, said (to Himself): I will <i>dim</i> his sight so that he may no longer see what is transpiring and become even more disturbed. Therefore, <i>And his eyes were dim</i>.
If this was so, why did not Rebecca’s sight become weak? R. Abahu stated: This may be compared to a person carrying utensils made of bone and earthenware. If he should strike the bone utensils against each other, they do not shatter, but if he should strike the bone and earthenware utensils against each other, the earthenware utensils will crumble. Similarly, when Rebecca and Esau’s wives, who like herself were made of bone,<sup class="footnote-marker">7</sup><i class="footnote">Since she was created from Adam’s rib, she was of bone and therefore remained unaffected.</i> came into contact with each other, she was unaffected by them, but Isaac, who was made of the dust of the earth, as it is said: <i>And God created man from the dust of the earth</i> (Gen. 2:7), was quickly affected. Hence, <i>His eyes were dim</i>.
<i>And his eyes were dim</i>. Why did his vision become impaired? The Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that Isaac would desire to bless Esau, and He decreed, therefore, that his sight should become weak so that when Jacob approached him for the blessing, Isaac would not realize that he was conferring the blessing upon Jacob. David proclaimed: <i>Many things hast Thou done, O Lord, my God, even Thy wondrous works and Thy thoughts toward us. There is none to be compared unto Thee</i> (Ps. 40:6). That is, all <i>Thy wondrous works and Thy thoughts toward us</i> are in our behalf.
<i>He called Esau his greater son</i> (Gen. 27:1). Why did he call him <i>his greater son</i>? To teach us that one must flatter wicked men when they are in power. Isaac foresaw that Esau’s descendants would dominate the world, and therefore he called him <i>his greater son</i>. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: Inasmuch as Esau is now in control you must flatter him, for My kingdom is not yet firmly established, but in the future, when My kingdom is firmly established, I will call him to account, as is said: <i>And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau</i> at that time, <i>and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s</i> (Obad. 21).