Rabbi Mordechai Kraft - Yaakov, Yitzchak & the Son He Never Knew

in this week's paraa we're confronted with a fascinating story and it's the story of the deception of or what appears to be like deception but perhaps in closer examination it's not a deception at all but it's a revelation where by yov has to reveal to his father y that he has qualities of an as of qualities that isak did not able was not able to see in him didn't know that he had so we know there's a blessing that needs to be given and has a choice only one of the two children either as orov wants to give it to to an as he admires ASA for his abil to master the world to be in the world to make things happen Yakov on the other hand is is a person of of T it's person of Purity if the blessing has to go to one so knows I have to give this too in ASV hopefully yakob will inspire asov to use it correctly but it's going to be a long Exile and and we need control of the physical world Rifka however sees it differently she understands that ASF isn't who is thinks he is perhaps growing up in the house of love and butel she gets it so what does she do she arranges with Yakov we're going to convince your father that you're as that what looks to be an act of deception perhaps might not be deception at all but Revelation so what happens we know that Yakov puts on the clothing of ASV interesting the clothing is blind is it for maybe it's for yov that yob should feel the part she places fur or a goat hair on two parts of of Yakov on his hands and on his neck the hands we understand that maybe y will feel his hands and detect that hairiness which is the characteristic trait of the quality the physical quality of of an ASO but why the neck and not only that what's interesting is she doesn't place it on the earth which is the back part of the neck she placed on the the which is the front part of the neck that's a part of the neck where number one one would not normally feel perhaps one would feel the back but not the front and number two people don't tend to have hair there so very strange places to put that hair and what makes it even a little stranger is that Yakov goes forward towards his father and he has a little conversation with his father and it says he comes to his father and he says he says my father his father says back interesting a dialogue which is the exact dialogue that was used on the mountain by the but in that time AB was the father and was the son and ab had to do something that he didn't want to do now all of a sudden yov is the son Y is the father and yob quotes to him almost forbade him verb him the language of Theo remember when your father was on that mountain and he had to do something he didn't want to do well you're the father now I'm the son and I have to do something I don't want to do let's reflect back on theom a hint he goes towards his father and he says to his father he says the words he says he said Kum please get up please get up eat the game that I brought that word please is interesting because apparently yob says please ASA doesn't use the word please Yakov can't you control that please right now why are you speaking The Voice why are you speaking the language of Yakov he goes closer and ask a question says how' you get back here so fast my son I just sent you out to get the game to hunt the Hun the wild animal why animals we to eat so yakob speaks the language of yakob once again what does he say your God has prepared my way is suspicious ASA never speaks about hasem yob speaks about hasem here's yakob on a mission to secure this blessing what was this blessing this was a blessing in which one would have control of the physical world an essential blessing if as has it R understands it y understands it use for Destruction to destroy the the incep Jewish people but yakob has to get this blessing wouldn't it be wise for yakob not to speak the language of Yakov just hold back the please maybe it's not the time to talk about AEM what does yov do he goes right ahead uses his language the please he speaks about the apparently the voices were identical only difference was Yak is pleased y talks about hasem y was now is not the time and what does this done of course this arous suspicion in the mind of of of and first thing says is Come Close let me feel you my son are you really or not interesting yakob so to speak has been discovered one might expect that he'd Retreat and and what does he do though it says approaches his father and he feels him he touches him ands the voice is just like but his hands he feel just like as's and then the verse says he didn't recognize him cuz he's feeling those hairy hands like as they're hair now at this juncture Y is stuck with a real dilemma he has two sons he has a son who has voice who has TOA who has Purity that's y of the call and he's a son who has hands he can Master the physical world he can make things happen out there he can be the general the businessman he could control things he has two sons he wished perhaps he had a third son he wished perhaps he had a son who had both those qu but he doesn't and he has to decide where to give this blessing and he feels it has to go to the one with the hands and now he has a mystery man in front of him who is he I don't have such a son I don't have that third son you know one might expect at this juncture he would stop and pause maybe even call for Rifka and say you know last recollection didn't we have the hand the son with the hands and the hair then we have the son with the The Voice the turah but there's someone in front of you who has both do we have such a son he doesn't do that the next word says and He blesses him he gives them the BR He blesses him how could he bless them if he has such uncertainty the answer seems to lie in the fact that he wasn't uncertain at all he did wish he had a son who both had the beauty of Tura the idealism of Tura the Purity to go in the world and bring the bonish into the world and he wish that son too could be practical get things done thinking he only has one he wants to give to the asov but now Yakov comes in disguised as asov with fur with hair on his hands and interestingly hair on the the place of the neck where one doesn't normally have hair and he's communicating something to his father where you think I'm just voice I also have hair there what's under the soft part of the neck the voice box in the place where you think I'm just theoretical where you think there's just Purity you think that I can't relate to the world and and get things done now look what I'm doing I'm putting hair there and look what I'm doing I'm disguising myself like an ASA I'm pretending to be an ASA I'm giving you hints along the way remember the remember when your father had to do something he didn't want to do I'm doing something I don't want to have to do but I have to show you that I have these qualities in other words Yakov isn't trying to deceive his father he's trying to reveal to his father I'm that third son I'm the son you wish you have I have those qualities of Yakov I have that beautiful Torah but I also could be very practical I can be pragmatic in the world and when I need to get the job done I can do it it I'm not trying to deceive you I'm not going to hold back from saying please I'm not going to hold back from speaking about hasem cuz I want you to know who I am but I want you to know who I really am I'm really that third son I'm that son who has both qualities and I'm the one you need to give that blessing to and in fact recognizes that he doesn't need to ask any more questions and he gives him the blessing so we see it's not so much a deception as a revelation but I think perhaps what we need to think about when we read the story and maybe in light even of this week when we went to Washington with 300,000 other Jews is we went and we we had to be practical we had to be pragmatic but the pragmatism was done in the Yakov type way it was done in a way where policemen commented they've never received so many thank yous it was a rally of of of akos and togetherness it was aish hasem in every way we go into the world and we have to be pragmatic but we act like a Yakov Even in our pragmatism even when Yakov needs to to do something to show his father what he has he does in a way where he's holding true to truth I'm not trying to deceive you I just need to do what I need to do in the world and that's the beautiful trait that perhaps has been seeded into the Jewish Nation when we need to be in the world and to be pragmatic and we need to get the job done we do it in a way which is so different than the other nations I think to myself about our army in Gaza right now an army that does so much to secure and protect all life an army that sends text messages to the enemy an army that tries to get civilians out of the way when we have to act when we have to be real in the world we have that yak of quality and that's so unique and that's perhaps something which we inherited genetically spirit genetically from this story right here in Yo's Revelation to Y about who he really was wishing everybody a wonderful Shabbat shabbat shalom and praying for peace inel praying for the saf return of our soldiers and the safing turn of all the hostages as well wishing you shabbat shalom