Trust G-d

"He called Esau his eldest son..." This means that he was included within [the aspect of] strict judgment. "And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death." [To explain how Jacob, a simple man dwelling in tents, could plan in the matter of the birthright and blessing, and how all was done in accordance with the Divine will:] Rabbi Elazar opened with the verse, "Happy is the man, whose strength is in You and thinks how to straighten out his ways...". (Psalms 84:6) Happy is the man who is strengthened by G-d and puts his trust in Him.

This trust could be like the trust that Chanania, Mishael, and Azaria put in Him when they said, "Behold, our G-d whom we serve is able to deliver us; He can deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and out of your hand, king..." (Daniel 3:17) Come and see! If He would not save them and be with them, it would come to pass that the G-d's name would not be sanctified before everyone's eyes, as they said. But when they realized they did not speak properly, they spoke again, saying "But if He does not, be it known to you, king..."; (Ibid. 3:18) whether He will save us or not, let it be known to you that we will not worship an image.

It was made known to them by Ezekiel, whom they heard and believed, G-d would not be with them so that they would be rewarded. Then they spoke again, saying, "be it known to you, King..."

A man should not assume and think, G-d will save us, or that He will do such and such for me. However, it behooves man to place his trust in G-d to help him, as long as he strives to keep the commandments of Torah and to walk the path of truth. When a man wishes to be purified, he is surely helped, and he should trust G-d to help him in this. And he should put his trust in Him, and not in another. Therefore, it is written, "whose strength is in you." "In whose heart are your highways" (Psalms 84:6) means that it befits him to prepare his heart properly, so that no strange thoughts will come into it, but to be like a smooth highway that is properly maintained and leads to whatever place one needs.

Another explanation for, "Happy is the man, whose strength is in You." "Strength" as in "G-d gives strength to His people", (Psalms 29:11) means that it is incumbent on a man to be occupied in studying Torah for sake of G-d. For whoever is occupied in the Torah, but does not care for His name, it would have been better to never have been born. What is meant by the verse, "in whose heart are Your highways (in Hebrew, 'mesilot')"? It is as in the verse, "extol (in Hebrew, 'solu') Him who rides upon the clouds; Y-ah is His name"? (Psalms 68:5) When he studies the Torah, his intention should be to extol G-d, and glorify and make His Name honored and important throughout the world.

Come and see! Jacob, all that he did was for the sake of G-d, and for that reason G-d was with him always, and the Shechinah never left him. When Isaac called for Esau his son, Jacob was not there. The Shechinah told to Rebecca, who informed Jacob [for G-d desired to bless Jacob].

Rabbi Yosi said, come and see! If, Heaven forbid, Esau would have been blessed at that time, Jacob would never have ruled over the world [for all of the kelipot and destroyers created by Adam would have ruled over the world. Jacob was a reincarnation of Adam, and Rebecca of Eve, and Esau was of the snake. Now they came to rectify the earlier sin. And if Heaven forbid Esau--the snake--was blessed, then a great power would be able to suckle from the Shechinah.]. But it was decreed by G-d that everything happen as it should [by Jacob receiving the blessings]. Come and see! It is written, "but Rebecca loved Jacob ", (Gen. 25:28) as has been explained. [Rebecca was Eve, and she came to fix the earlier sin of Adam.] Therefore, she sent for Jacob [to bring forth sparks of Adam trapped in the kelipot] and said to him "Behold, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother". (Gen. 27:6)

"Now therefore, my son, obey my voice...": (Gen. 27:8) It was then the eve of Passover, and the Evil Inclination [who was Sam-kel, the minister of Esau, and the secret of leavening; thus one must slaughter the Passover offering to save one from the subjugation of the snake] had to be exterminated from the world, and the moon, the secret of [the Shechinah, who is]faith, had to govern. Therefore, Rebecca cooked two dishes [one as the Passover offering to burn out Sam-kel from the world, and the second as the festival offering to celebrate with the Shechinah and to cling to her so that the flow from Her Blessing go to Jacob].

Rabbi Yehuda said that [this blessing for Jacob happened on Yom Kippur] and this alludes to the descendants of Jacob who in the future would offer two goats on Yom Kippur, one to G-d and one to Azazel. For this reason, Rebecca offered "two kid-goats" [not lambs] one for the supernal level [the lot for G-d] and one [the lot for Azazel] to subjugate the level of Esau, so he would not rule over Jacob. Thus, there were two kid-goats [that Rebecca ordered Jacob to get]. Isaac tasted and ate from both. [He represented the attribute of gevura of holiness which the external forces draw from. Thus one goat went to the side of negativity so that the external forces received their portion.]

It is written, "and he brought him wine, and he drank", (Gen. 27: 25) hinting that he served him wine from afar. According to Rabbi Elazar, this means that he brought him wine in which there is complete joy, to gladden Isaac, for he needed cheering, as the side of the Levites needs cheering. Therefore, "he brought him wine, and he drank."

BeRahamim LeHayyim: "Play it again, Sam[-kel]"

It seems like deja vous over and over again. That the deeds of the parents are signposts for the children.

Perhaps there are no new battles to be fought, only old ones that rear their heads and confront us with personal new challenges. We know that we cannot eliminate negativity from the world. Only with Mashiach will death be swallowed up forever.

What we are taught above is that we need to recognize our negativity. Not necessarily to nourish it, or to give it--Heaven forbid--free reign. But rather to look it straight in the face and say "You are the enemy, and I know it. With that, please do not rule over this moment." Better to feed your enemy with that recognition--which will sweeten the severity--than to attempt to clash head on. All the pushups in the world will only convince him/her to work harder.

And joy is the way out. And the way to receive blessings. And to give them. Ivdu et Hashem beSimhah!

[Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries]