Date: November 25th 2022

Parshas Toldos contains the episode of the brachos which Yitzchok gave to his sons. Unaware that Yaakov had purchased the bechorah from Eisav and that the brachos were thereby rightfully his, Yitzchok intended to give the brachos to Eisav instead. Rivkah, on the other hand, was aware of the transfer of rights to Yaakov and she understood that Yaakov was destined to be the father of the Jewish nation. The brachos of Yitzchok were a matter of great importance. They were not simply good wishes or prayers for the welfare of his son, rather they would define the future roles that his children would have in this world. Rivka knew prophetically what the outcome had to be, and that something needed to be done to ensure that Yaakov received the blessing for his family and all future generations of Klal Yisroel. She instructed Yaakov to pose as Eisav and deceive Yitzchok so that he would confer the blessings on Yaakov. The Torah tells us that Yaakov responded do his mother directive wi
th great reluctance. “My brother Eisav is hairy and I am smooth skinned. Perhaps my father will feel me and I will be as a scoffer in his eyes and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing.”

The simple meaning of Yaakov’s response was that he was afraid of being found out and punished with a curse for his actions. The commentary of the Divrei Shaul, however poses a novel interpretation of Yaakov’s response. There are two words in Hebrew for ‘perhaps’ - ‘pen’ and ‘ulay’. The word ‘pen’ connotes perhaps something that the speaker does not want and the work ulay connotes perhaps something that the speaker does want. When Yaakov stated ‘perhaps my father will feel me’ the word the pasuk uses is ‘ulay’. In his heart, Yaakov did not want to deceive his father yet he also felt an obligation to honor his mothers directive. The Divrei Shaul explains that so great was Yaakov’s trait of emes that in his response to his mother he was actually hoping that he would be found out and that the truth would be borne out despite the consequences.

It can only be understood that Rivkah was directing Yaakov to do something that was permissible according to halacha. For if not so, Yaakov would not have listened to her as Chazal state, ‘the words of the master and the words of the student, to whom do you listen?’ Nevertheless, it was still Yaakov’s inner desire that he should rather be found out that deceive Yitzchok.

There are two very important lessons we can learn from Yaakov’s conduct in this manner.

Yaakov understood the situation just as much as Rivkah. He knew his destiny and the drastic and eternal consequences of Eisav receiving the brachos instead of him. He also knew that Rivkah was being guided by her prophetic vision and that the Will of Hashem was for him to act in accordance with her plan. Despite all of that, he did not embrace the falsehood he was required to perpetrate. Apparently, the proper application of the trait of emes applies even in cases where the mitzvah is to employ a deception. It is proper that a person should experience great distress at any departure from truth even when doing so is the Daas Torah and is actually obligatory. It should be noted that Yaakov’s desire was to be caught in a lie and receive a curse as a result. It is not as though he wanted the ability to tell the truth himself. Such was his desire for truth that he preferred the truth to come out even if he was still going to have to lie.

In addition, it is clear from the words of the Divrei Shaul that Yaakov would not have embarked on Rivkah’s plan if he had not been directed by her to do so. He explains that Yaakov was torn between his desire for truth and his obligation to honor his mother. It seems that without Rivka’s prophetic directive Yaakov would have allowed for the blessings to go to Eisav rather than employ a deception to correct the situation. Was Yaakov not aware of the need for this deception as much as Rivkah? Didn’t Yaakov understand that Hashem certainly wanted for him to receive the brachos and not his wicked and undeserving brother Eisav? Can one imagine a greater exigency than a one-time departure from absolute truth in order to ensure the very future of Klal Yisroel?
Indeed, there are times when it is proper to abrogate halacha in order to avert a serious problem. In many cases that itself is the halacha – to violate a halacha, such as in a case of pikuach nefesh. However, there are times when it is less clear, and it can be a difficult question as to what the correct course of action is. It seems that Yaakov would not have acted without his mother's urging. Presumably that means that without the prophetic wisdom of Rivkah, the correct decision would have been to not deceive Yitzchak.

What comes out is that Yaakov was prepared to forgo the brochos that were necessary for Klal Yisroel for all future generations. Indeed, if the future of Klal Yisroel was at stake then the fate of the whole creation was at stake. Nevertheless, if it had not been deemed appropriate, he would have been forced to let it go. As the expression goes 'the ends don’t justify the means'. We can learn from here that this is a true torah perspective and just how far that dictum goes. Yaakov was, no doubt, concerned for the future of his people. However, he understood that his primary duty was the scrupulous adherence to the highest levels of Torah observance.

Reb Yisroel Salanter dedicated much of his life to combatting the Haskalah, the ‘enlightenment’ that threatened so many observant Jews in Europe. A story is told that at a certain point he formulated a plan to build a yeshiva in Paris which he felt would have a significant impact on all of Western European Jewry. However, there was, at that time, a Parisian Rav who would have been disaffected by the new yeshiva and overshadowed by the presence of such a great Torah sage as Reb Yisroel. Despite the far-reaching implications, in order to avoid infringing upon this Rav Reb Yisroel abandoned his plan. He declared that European Jewry was ultimately in the hands of Hashem and that He has many other agents of kiruv if He so wanted. Reb Yisroel’s first responsibility was to follow the proper conduct according to the Torah.

Have a wonderful Shabbos,



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