Commentaire sur La Genèse 27:30

יצא יצא [JACOB] WAS YET SCARCE GONE OUT — this means, as one went out the other came in (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 11).

ויהי אך יצא יצא, this detail has been recorded to illustrate the miracles which were performed in order to enable Yaakov to obtain this blessing. If Esau had returned just one minute sooner, Yaakov would not have secured this blessing.

ויהי כאשר כלה, As soon as he had finished, etc. The reason for the apparently superfluous word ויהי which always introduces something of a painful nature, is that the Torah testifies that Isaac completed his blessing prematurely; instead of giving Jacob the entire blessing he was capable of bestowing as he did for Esau afterwards, he did not do so now. Had Isaac truly completed giving Jacob all the blessings he was capable of bestowing, Esau would have gone out empty-handed.

ויהי...מצידו, as if the Torah had written מצודו, “from his hunting expedition.” The Torah chose a noun instead of a verb in its infinitive form. We find a similar construction in Numbers 10,2 ולמסע את המחנות, which means the same as ולהסיע את המחנות, “and to set the camps (army groups) in motion.” We also find such a construction in Ezekiel 17,9 למשאות אותה משרשיה, “and to remove it from its roots.” A third example which comes to mind is Numbers 23,10 ומספר את רבע ישראל, “or number the animals born to the livestock of Israel?” The word מספר is used there as if the Torah (Bileam) had said לספר, “to count.” [I assume that when the Torah quotes a human being, such as here, G’d dictated Bileam’s words to Moses, seeing that neither Moses nor any other Jew had heard a single one of Bileam’s blessings. Ed.]

ויהי אך יצא יצא, “and as soon as Yaakov had left the presence of his father,” The reason why the Torah speaks of 2 exits, i.e. יצא, יצא, indicates that as soon as Yaakov saw Esau approach he quickly hid himself, and when the way was clear he emerged from his hiding place and left the house of his father.

As one went out the other came in. Otherwise, why does it repeat: יָצֹא יָצָא? Perforce, Yaakov left his father’s tent while Eisov left the field and came to the house. But Re’m explains that [Rashi knows this because] אך diminishes the leaving. [I.e., before Yaakov finished leaving, Eisov had come].

ויהי אך יצא יצא יעקב, “and it happened when Yaakov only just left, etc.”, Yaakov had actually seen Esau come in by the opposite door as it was lit up when opening it, whereas Esau, standing in the light, could not see Yaakov who stood in relative darkness across from him at the other door. (B’reshit Rabbah 66,5)

ויהי אך יצא יצא יעקב, Jacob had barely left his father's presence, etc. The extra words: ויהי, אך, יצא are all meant to draw our attention to the fact that Jacob would not have left yet except that he noticed that Esau was arriving (as pointed out at the end of the verse). This caused Jacob to make a hasty exit. The Torah hints at the embarassment Jacob felt at leaving the presence of his father as if he were a thief beating a hasty retreat. Our sages in Midrash Rabbah pursue a different approach.