Toldot : Of Blindness and Blessings
25: 11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed
Isaac his son; and Isaac dwelt with Beer-lechai-roi. 12 Now these are the
generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's
handmaid, bore to Abraham. 13 And these are the names of the sons of
Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the first-born of
Ishmael, Nebiyot; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam…19 And these are
the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begot Isaac.
CALEV BEN DOR
;ֹ‫יִּ צְ חָ ק בְ נו‬-‫ אֶ ת‬,‫ֹלהים‬
ִּ ֱ‫ וַיְ בָ ֶרְך א‬,‫ ַאחֲ ֵרי מוֹת ַאבְ ָׂרהָׂ ם‬,‫ יא וַ יְ ִהי‬:‫כה‬
-‫ בֶּ ן‬,‫ יב וְ אֵ לֶּה תֹלְ דֹת יִ ְשמָׂ עֵ אל‬.‫בְ אֵ ר לַחַ י ר ִֹּאי‬-‫ עִּ ם‬,‫וַ י ֵֶּשב יִ ְצחָׂ ק‬
‫יג‬. ‫לְ ַאבְ ָׂרהָׂ ם‬--‫ ִשפְ חַ ת שָׂ ָׂרה‬,‫ אֲ שֶּ ר יָׂלְ ָׂדה הָׂ גָׂר הַ ִמ ְצ ִרית‬:‫ַאבְ ָׂרהָׂ ם‬
‫ בְ כֹר יִ ְשמָׂ עֵ אל‬:‫ לְ תוֹלְ דֹתָׂ ם‬,‫ בִ ְשמֹתָׂ ם‬,‫ ְשמוֹת בְ נֵי יִ ְשמָׂ עֵ אל‬,‫וְ אֵ לֶּה‬
-‫ בֶּ ן‬,‫…יט וְ אֵ לֶּה תוֹלְ דֹת יִ ְצחָׂ ק‬. ‫ּומבְ שָׂ ם‬
ִ ‫ַאדבְ אֵ ל‬
ְ ְ‫ וְ ֵק ָׂדר ו‬,‫נְבָׂ יֹת‬
. ‫יִּ צְ חָ ק‬-‫ הוֹלִּ יד אֶ ת‬,‫ ַאבְ ָרהָ ם‬:‫ַאבְ ָׂרהָׂ ם‬
‫בְ אֵ ִרי‬-‫ בַ ת‬,‫הּודית‬
ִ ְ‫י‬-‫ וַ יִ ַקח ִאשָׂ ה אֶּ ת‬,‫ַארבָׂ עִ ים שָׂ נָׂה‬
ְ -‫ בֶּ ן‬,‫לד וַ יְ ִהי עֵ שָׂ ו‬
26:34 And when Esau was 40, he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the
,‫ לְ יִ ְצחָׂ ק‬, ַ‫ מ ַֹרת רּוח‬,ָׂ‫ לה וַ ִת ְהיֶּין‬.‫אֵ יֹלן הַ ִח ִתי‬-‫ בַ ת‬,‫בָׂ ְשמַ ת‬-‫וְ אֶּ ת‬--‫הַ ִח ִתי‬
Hittite, and Basmat the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a
‫ ו ִַּתכְ הֶ ין ָ עֵ ינָיו מֵ ְראֹת; וַ יִ ְק ָׂרא‬,‫זָׂ ֵקן יִ ְצחָׂ ק‬-‫ א וַ יְ ִהי כִ י‬:‫ {ס} כז‬.‫ּולְ ִרבְ ָׂקה‬
bitterness of spirit to Isaac and Rebekah. 27:1 And it came to pass, that when
,‫ ב וַ יֹאמֶּ ר‬.‫ ִה ֵננִי‬,‫ וַ יֹאמֶּ ר אֵ לָׂיו‬,‫ וַ יֹאמֶּ ר אֵ לָׂיו בְ נִי‬,‫עֵ שָׂ ו בְ נ ֹו הַ ָׂגדֹל‬-‫אֶּ ת‬
Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his
‫ ֶּתלְ יְ ָך‬,‫נָׂא ֵכלֶּיָך‬-‫ ג וְ עַ ָׂתה שָׂ א‬.‫ יוֹם מו ִֹתי‬,‫נְתי; ֹלא י ַָׂדעְ ִתי‬
ִ ‫נָׂא זָׂ ַק‬-‫ִהנֵה‬
elder son, and said unto him: 'My son'; and he said unto him: 'Here am I.' 2 And he
‫ים‬
‫מ‬
ִ
ַ‫ע‬
‫ט‬
ְ
ַ‫מ‬
‫י‬
ִ‫ל‬
‫ה‬
ֵ‫ֲש‬
‫ע‬
ַ‫ו‬
‫ד‬
.)
‫ד‬
ִ‫י‬
ָׂ‫צ‬
(
‫צידה‬
,
‫י‬
ִ‫ל‬
‫ה‬
‫צּוד‬
ָׂ
ְ‫ו‬
,
‫ה‬
‫ד‬
ֶּ
ָׂ‫ש‬
ַ‫ה‬
,
‫א‬
ֵ‫וְ ַק ְש ֶּתָך; וְ צ‬
said: 'Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death. 3 Now therefore
‫ בְ טֶּ ֶּרם‬,‫ בַ עֲבּור ְתבָׂ ֶּרכְ ָך נַפְ ִשי‬:‫וְ אֹכֵ לָׂה‬--‫ וְ הָׂ בִ יָאה לִ י‬,‫כַאֲ שֶּ ר ָאהַ בְ ִתי‬
take, I pray thee, your weapons, your quiver and bow, and go out to the field, and
.‫ָאמּות‬
bring me venison; 4 and make me savoury food, like I love, and bring it to me, that
I may eat; that my soul may bless you before I die.'
“and his eyes were dim from seeing. R Eleazar Ben Azariah taught: From seeing
the evil deeds of wicked Esau. For the Holy One Blessed be He said: Shall Isaac go out
into the marketplace and hear people say; This is that scoundrels father?” I shall
therefore dim Isaac’s eyes so that he will stay home.
Another opinion: from that seeing – from the effect of what he saw at his binding.
When out father Abraham bound his son upon the altar, the ministering angels wept
and tears dropped from their eyes into Isaac’s eyes, leaving their mark upon them.
Another option: from that seeing at the time of the binding. Because when Avraham
bound his son Isaac on the altar, he raised his eyes into the heavens and saw the
Shechinah…
Why did his eyes grow dim? To allow Yaacov to take the Brachot
(Rashi + Bereshit Rabbah 65.10)
‫ מראות ברעתו של‬,‫ א"ר אלעזר בן עזריה מראות ברע‬,‫ותכהין עיניו מראות‬
‫ זהו אביו‬:‫ אמר הקב"ה יהיה יצחק יוצא לשוק יהיו הבריות אומרות‬,‫רשע‬
.‫ ויהי כי זקן יצחק ותכהין עיניו‬, )‫ עשו‬,‫של הרשע‬
‫ מראות מכח אותה ראיה שבשעה שעקד אברהם אבינו את בנו‬:‫דבר אחר‬
‫על גבי המזבח בכו מלאכי השרת ונשרו דמעות מעיניהם לתוך עיניו והיו‬
‫ מראות מכח אותה‬:‫דבר אחר‬. ‫רשומות בתוך עיניו וכיון שהזקין כהו עיניו‬
‫הראיה שבשעה שעקד אברהם אבינו את יצחק בנו על גבי המזבח תלה‬
‫ מושלים אותו‬,‫עיניו במרום והביט בשכינה‬
,‫למה כהו עיניו של יצחק כדי שיבא יעקב ויטול את הברכות‬
)‫ בראשית רבה סה‬+ ‫(רשי‬
The Blindness of Father and Son
Blindness is a blurred sense of seeing. In contemporary times, ‘blindness’ describes those things a person doesn’t see because they are difficult
for him to bring to the surface of his consciousness. In an allegorical sense, one could say that blindness is a state of mind accessible to
everyone – some type of blurring of senses that serves as a defence mechanism or a way of resolving difficult emotional situations.
Yitzchak’s blindness always seemed to be a metaphorical blindness of spirit, one which the onset of old age turns into physical blindness. This is
because in a certain way,Yitzchak feels Yaacov's deception and his blindness is more than anything an expression of the recognizable
phenomenon of a father torn between his two children and unable to choose between them.
He chose Esav and gives Yaacov, and ultimately also blesses Esav, and his blurred vision is an embellishment for the dimming of the soul, one
that allows him to swap the accepted ‘Either / Or’ in the status of inheritance with the 'Gam VeGam,' both this one and that one, an approach
that is a practical and emotional solution of many fathers.
In this context, it's important to remember that Yitzchak reaches this disturbing status after the weight of his experience at the Akeidah – the
great ‘blind experience’ of his father Avraham.Yitzchak already paid the full price of having a father who decided to take the ‘either / or’
approach, who cruelly preferred the love of God over the life of his beloved son.
In fact, the greatest blindness was that of Avraham. His blindness was so great, that even though the story completely hides it, it slowly shoots
out towards us from within the pages. Avraham’s blindness is characteristic of the great innovators whose own story is always intertwined
with some kind of big demanding personal sacrifice. My grandparents were pioneers and were part of a huge revolution. They left their home,
parents, family and country – forever; pushed away all their sub conscious yearnings and tears and completely gave themselves over to the
Zionist project. Their blindness was recognizable in many ways (and today seems to be something necessary and desirable that should be
greatly admired).
They closed their eyes to the needs of their children, their parents, the world of their childhood, their language, their cultural roots and their
private needs. Yitzchak, in contrast, reminds me of my generation, the 3rd generation of pioneers. A generation constantly attentive and
sensitive to the array of voices, one not prepared or qualified to build one thing greater than the foundation. A human, paternal, sensitive
decision whose blindness is a tool that serves that basic resolve of ‘gam, vegam, vegam vegam‘
I love and cherish Avraham and Yitzchak and their different blindness's and legacies.
I belong to the generation of Yitzchak, and it's thus possible to deduce what can be expected from my generation and in particular what can
not be expected. Will there ever be a generation that succeeds in merging the two, one that will be both revolutionary innovators yet also
attentive to the array of voices. I think such a combination is still very very necessary.
(Shai Zarchi)