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Orchard of Delights Vayeitzei

verse seems to imply that it took much longer. Isaac’s blindness, raised twelve sons who were to become the forefathers of the twelve
symbolizing the ramifications and effects of that awesome archetypal tribes –the backbone of the entire Jewish nation. He overcame the
event, took eighty-five years to manifest itself! Apparently, the cunning and deceit of Laban, Esau, and Shechem, fighting them on
cumulative effect of the initial event caused the blindness, not the their own turfs and adopting their own duplicitous styles of combat.
immediate injury. He attained the riches of this world, but maintained his sense of
holiness and destiny. He was able to unify and balance the many
Many Holocaust survivors did not speak about their experiences
for forty or fifty years. It took decades for them to integrate their opposing forces symbolized by the ladder and the angels, leaving his
experiences and find the language, strength, and perspective children an enduring legacy.
necessary to speak of what they had been through. As Rabbi Henoch As recounted in the portion of Vayishlach, Jacob wrestled and
Dov Hoffman has suggested, Isaac was the first “survivor.” Tellingly, defeated the angel, thus gaining a new name, Israel, and a new
many children of survivors also struggle with deep emotional issues, identity, one which still denotes Jacob’s descendants and their
a ripple effect passed on from generation to generation; “the actions homeland to this very day. He ascended the ladder of life and his
of the fathers are a sign to the children” (Sotah 34a). descendants still struggle to fulfill the mission revealed to him on
that awesome night in that awesome place. (All the above insights in
Rashi’s final explanation, embodying the sod, the deepest level of
interpretation, sounds intriguingly simple and direct, almost, like the this section into Jacob’s dream were discussed in the second part of
peshat: Isaac went blind, so that he would give the blessing to Jacob The Mystical Meaning of Dreams.)
and not Esau. Here we detect God operating behind the scenes. The
secret of how Divine Providence and Omniscience work without
overriding humanity’s free will is one of life’s greatest paradoxes and
a theme we will return to repeatedly throughout this commentary. £Prophetic NamesProphetic NamesProphetic Names
Rashi’s final explanation makes it clear that Isaac’s blindness did ££
not result from others’ actions; it was part of the Divine plan, a plan
scripted to allow destiny to unfold.
Much of this portion recounts how Jacob came to marry four wives
and subsequently father eleven sons and a daughter (a twelfth
son is born in next week’s portion). Each child is given a name at
birth, curiously always by Leah and Rachel, not by Jacob or, more
£The Enigma of Isaac’s BlessingThe Enigma of Isaac’s Blessing
££The Enigma of Isaac’s Blessing understandably, by his other wives, their handmaidens, Bilhah and
Zilpah. In each case (except for Dinah), the Torah provides a reason
for the name chosen.
As one would expect, the commentators provide many explanations Jewish tradition teaches that when parents name their children
for why Isaac wished to bless Esau – considered an evil person by they are endowed with a touch of prophecy. Looking at their new
Jewish tradition – instead of Jacob. No commentator accepts the children, somehow they gain special insight into their natures and
superficial reading which assumes that Isaac had become senile in ultimate destinies in life. Many parents report a flash of intuition, a
his old age, since this would not fit in with the oral tradition. For moment of clarity, when the most suitable name came to them.
instance, Rashi’s remarks on Isaac’s blindness, discussed in the

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