Commentary for Genesis 27:9

וקח לי AND TAKE FOR ME — (The words may mean “Take that which belongs to me”) — these are mine and not the proceeds of theft. Isaac had made provision in her marriage contract that she should receive daily two kids of the goats (Genesis Rabbah 65:14).

לך נא אל הצאן, take time out from your usual pursuits [in the tents] and go to the pens where the sheep and goats are kept.

שני גדיי עזים טובים, “two choice kids.” Rivkah specifically commanded Yaakov to bring her two choice kids. The question that is almost forced upon one is: “did Yitzchak consume two whole young kids every day?” According to Bereshit Rabbah 65,14 the marriage contract between Rivkah and Yitzchak made her a daily allowance of two young kids (so that she was not encroaching on her husband’s property when slaughtering these animals and selecting the most tasty parts thereof to prepare for him). Rabbi Chelbo, in the same Midrash, concentrates on the word טובים which appears superfluous seeing that Yaakov had no reason to select mediocre or undernourished kids. He says that the word is an allusion to what was going to prove “good,” i.e. beneficial for Yaakov and his descendants. Seeing that these kids would be the instrument of securing the blessings for Yaakov they would prove to be “good” for him. In addition, they would prove to be good for Yaakov’s children as they would be the principal sin-offerings offered on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16,5) securing forgiveness for the Jewish people, Yaakov’s descendants. “They are good for you,” i.e. Yaakov’s ascendancy over Esau who is described as an איש שעיר, “a demonic individual,” was due to the scapegoats one of which was offered to the azzazel, the spiritual equivalent of Satan-Esau by the Jewish people as something like a bribe. (compare Bereshit Rabbah 14 that the words ונשא השעיר עליו את כל-עונותם, “he (the scapegoat) will carry (figuratively speaking) upon himself all their sins,” refer to the sins committed when no warning had been received by the perpetrators. The sinners were תם, not rebellious. Seeing that Yaakov has been described as איש תם, it was appropriate that such an animal should serve as the instrument of atonement for his descendants.
The delicacies which Rivkah instructed her son Yaakov to enable her to prepare for Yitzchak were not of the type of free-roaming beasts to be found in the field, but they were domesticated animals. This is why she emphasised: “please go to the flocks.” Yaakov, after all, was not a hunter; he was a homebody, a dweller of tents who despised the sword as an instrument to gain one’s livelihood. The Israelites never offered sacrifices from categories of animals which are free-roaming, not domesticated. The prophet Jeremiah characterised the distinction between the Jewish people and the Gentiles when he said (Jeremiah 10,16) “not like these is the portion of Yaakov.” The word חלק means either “portion,” or it can mean “smooth” (with different vowels). The prophet referred to Yaakov as being a smooth-skinned man (according to 27,11). As a result of these considerations, Yaakov’s descendants were never told to offer sacrifices from the free-roaming beasts but only from the domesticated beasts as the Torah said (Leviticus 1,2) אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לה' מן הבהמה, “anyone of you who wishes to offer a sacrifice to G’d, from the domesticated beasts, etc.”

One ... his Paschal offering and one ... as delicious food... You might ask: How does Rashi know it was Pesach? It seems the answer is: Yitzchok was born on Pesach, as Rashi explains in Parshas Vayeira (18:10). And Hashem completes the days of the righteous — they die on the same day they were born. This is as it says about Moshe (Devarim 31:2): “Today I am one hundred and twenty years old,” and Rashi explains: “Today, my days became complete. On this day I was born, and on this day I will die.” Since Yitzchok said (v. 2), “I do not know the day of my death,” i.e., perhaps I will die today, it must have been Pesach. (Maharshal)

טובים, “tasty.”

שני גדיי עזים TWO KIDS OF THE GOATS — Did then two kids of the goats form a meal for Isaac? But the explanation is: it being Passover he offered one as his Paschal sacrifice and of the other he prepared the savoury food. So is it stated in Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 32).

גדיי עזים, on account of their skins whose hair is hard like human hair. This is why he took goats instead of lambs.

כאשר אהב SUCH AS HE LOVETH (Genesis 27:5) — For the taste of a kid is similar to the taste of a deer.

Fetch me two choice kids. The Midrash Rabba (Ber. 65:14) states, “good for you and good for your descendants: Good for you, because you will receive the blessings through them; good for your descendants, because they will pardoned through them on the Day of Atonement, one for God and one for Azazel [cf. Lev. 16:8] One ought to inquire as to the intent of the Midrash in stating this and for what purpose the Midrash points out that this alludes to the two kids that are part of the service on the Day of Atonement. One also ought to inquire as the the root cause of Rebeccah’s concern that the blessings be given to Jacob and she made several interventions with food and hides to ensure this. Also, Jacob received significant heavenly intervention. One ought to understand, first, that one main point is that all blessings pertain only to this world – “the fat of the earth, abundance of new grain and wine. (Gen. 27:28)” We do not generally find that the righteous make such an effort to engage in the materialism of this world. The second point is more difficult in that we see that even though Jacob is now blessed, most of the blessings of material benefits of this world accrue to Esau and the lesser portion accrued to the children of Jacob for only a few years. Therefore, it appears that all of this effort was for nothing, and Jacob suffered tremendously as a result of this because he needed to run away and be afraid of Esau.