ON THE PARSHA
          Parshas Toldos

          by Dovid Lipman, Jerusalem


The World Of The Supernatural

     (27:27) "He smelled the scent of his clothes ... he
said, "Behold, my son's scent is like that of a field
which Hashem has blessed." Rashi, quoting the gemara
(Ta'an. 29b), explains that the "field" Yitzchak meant
is the "field of apples". The Maharsha (ibid.) gives two
possible approaches for understanding this. 
     (1) Tosafos (ibid.) say that "apples" here actually
means esrogim, and we find, similarly, that the Targum
(Shir HaShirim 7:9) translates the hebrew for apples to
refer to esrogim. The Maharsha explains that in this 
pshat, Yitzchak was talking about the scent of Yaakov's
clothes themselves. They had been Eisav's, who had stolen
them from Nimrod who had inherited them, through Noach,
directly from Adam HaRishon (Pirkei D'Rabi Eliezer 24).
This pshat also goes with the opinion (Breish. Rabb. 15:7)
that the Tree of Knowledge was an Esrog tree. The Zohar
says that Chavah was overwhelmed by the powerful scent of
the tree, so it was no wonder that Yitzchak could still
smell the scent of esrogim on these clothes.
     (2) However, the Maharsha says, Yitzchak may not have
meant the clothes at all. The Midrash (Breish. Rabb. 65:22)
says that actually, Yaakov's clothes smelled awful, but the
Garden of Eden itself entered with him, and that accounted
for Yitzchak's remark (Eisav entered with Gehinnom, by the
way). Perhaps, according to this pshat, what is actually
meant is the Shechina, Hashem's presence, which is well-known
from the writings of the Arizal (see also Askinu Se'udasa
from the Shabbos Z'miros) to be called "the field of holy
apples". Zohar Chadash also indicates that actual apples are
meant, not esrogim.

A Time To Laugh

     (28:5) "(brother of Rivkah,) mother of Yaakov and Eisav."
Rashi says cryptically, "I don't know what this teaches us."
Perhaps he means the following:  Yaakov, on the way to Lavan's 
house, was contemplating the nature of this uncle he was about 
to meet.  The Gemara (Baba Basra 110a) tells us that one who is 
getting married should examine the woman's brothers for most
sons resemble their mother's brothers.  Yaakov decided to use 
this principle in reverse.  Since Lavan had a sister, her sons
should resemble him.  Who were her sons?  Yaakov and Eisav!
What could Yaakov learn about Lavan from these opposites?  
So Rashi says, indeed, "I don't know what this teaches us."

Worthy Of Note

     (27:12)  "Perhaps he [my father] will feel me."  The Gemara
(Makkos 24a), while listing eleven character traits that Dovid
HaMelech emphasized says the trait of "not deceiving" is 
exemplified by Yaakov quoting this passuk.  This seems strange.
Was Yaakov the only person who ever felt a distaste for 
deception?  And, in fact, Yaakov seems more concerned about 
getting caught than about the deception itself.  So, 
perhaps the explanation is the following:  The Vilna Gaon 
explains that there are two words used in the Torah to mean 
"maybe".  "Pen" is used when the possible outcome is what
the speaker doesn't want to happen.  As it says, (26:9) 
"Maybe I will die because of her."  The word for desired
possibilities is "ulai", as in (24:5) "Perhaps the woman will
not want to go", and that is the word used here. So we see
that Yaakov's distaste for deceit was so strong that he was
HOPING his father would catch him, so he would not have
tricked him.

From the Gemara

     (25:23) "And one nation will be stronger than another."
Pesachim 42b - The wine in Judah used to be so good that it
would only sour if barley grains were put in it, to make it
into beer. Now (that we are in exile), the wine of Edom (the
land of Aisav's descendants) has that quality, and ours does
not. That's why only "Edomite beer" is forbidden on Pesach,
not Judean, which becomes beer without adding barley.
     (25:25) Pesachim 5a - As a reward for three "firsts"
(The first Yom Tov of Pesach, the first of Succos, and
Erev Pesach, also called "the first" in Shmos 12), we will
merit three "firsts": The destruction of Eisav (hinted in
this pasuk), the Beis HaMikdash (Yirmiyah 17) and Moshiach
(Yishaya 41).
     (27:33) "And I ate from everything..." Bava Basra 16b -
Three people were granted a taste of Olam Haba in this world;
Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. This pasuk is used to hint to
Yitzchak's taste.

Rare And Unusual Words

     (27:45) "Eshkal" ("Why shall I lose you both in one day?")
Rashi explains that the word means one who buries his own
children, and the gemara (Sota 13a) points out that Rivkah was
correct, since Aisav was killed and buried on the day Yaakov
was buried. The gemara says "Though they did not die on the
same day, they were buried in the same day. According to Rashi's
translation, this is especially neat, but, inexplicably,
Rashi says they "died" on the same day.