Commentaire sur La Genèse 27:12

ימשני HE WILL FEEL ME — The word is of the same root as the verb in (Deuteronomy 28:29) “One groping (ממשש) at noon-day”.

PERHAPS MY FATHER WILL FEEL ME. The reason that Isaac will feel him is not for the purpose of recognition. Instead, Jacob said, “Perhaps he will bring me near him to kiss me or to put his hand on my face in the manner of a father demonstrating affection for his son, and in feeling me he will discover that I am smooth.”
Now I wonder why Jacob was not afraid of vocal recognition for all people are recognizable by their voice as our Rabbis have said, “How is a blind man permitted to live with his wife? And how are people permitted to live with their wives at nighttime? Only by vocal recognition.”²⁰⁶Chullin 96a. Now if ordinary people have such power of recognition, what of Isaac, who was wise and expert in distinguishing between his sons?²⁰⁷As Scripture testifies (25:28), his love was centered on one. He should truly have the power of recognition by voice. Perhaps the brothers had similar voices, and therefore the Sages said that the verse, The voice is the voice of Jacob,²⁰⁸Further, Verse 22. refers not to Jacob’s voice but to his words, i.e., that he speaks gentle language and mentions the Name of Heaven.²⁰⁹Bereshith Rabbah 65:16. Due to the fact that the voices of the brothers were alike, it was necessary for the Sages to interpret the verse, The voice is the voice of Jacob, as referring to the kind of language Jacob used. It may be that he altered his voice in order to speak as his brother did, for there are people who know how to do this.

ימושני אבי, the word is derived from the expression ממשמש בצהרים in Deuteronomy 28,29 describing people unable to find their way around at high noon, in spite of the sunshine, and having to feel their way about, using their hands in order not to stumble and fall. It is also similar in meaning to the word יסובבהו ערבי נחל in Job 40,22 where it describes the foliage of the reeds forming a protective cover..

ולא ברכה, if perhaps he had intended to bestow a blessing upon me also, if I deceive him, then instead of such a blessing I will receive a curse.

אולי...כמתעתע, seeing that he can hardly see I would deceive him saying that I am Esau, and if he will feel me and find that my skin is smooth, he will become angry and demand to know how I dared to deceive him and instead of blessing me he will curse me.

אולי ימושני אבי, “perhaps my father will subject me to a “touch-test.” Yaakov did not worry that his father would need such a test to recognise him, but he was concerned that in the process of offering and serving him the meal, Yitzchok would unintentionally touch him, even wanting to kiss him, something which could alert him to the fact that he was not Esau. Actually, it is remarkable that Yaakov did not worry that his voce would betray him for who he was in reality. We know that in the event, Yitzchok became immediately aware that the voice speaking to him sounded like that of Yaakov (Genesis 27,22). It is possible that the brothers, being twins, had very similar sounding voices, and that is why Yaakov was not worried about being recognised by his voice. When the Torah wrote: “the voice sounds like the voice of Yaakov,” this is not a reference to the tone of voice, etc., but to the manner of Yaakov’s speech, which was so totally different from the mode of speech used by his brother. It is also possible that he had tried to fake his voice to sound like that of his brother. The art of impersonating other people’s voices is a well known phenomenon.

כמתעתע, wie ein Betrüger, wie einer, der jemanden irre führen will! Dieses "כ" erklärt alles. Jakob war kein Betrüger, wollte nicht täuschen, allein er wird, meint er, gar nicht Zeit haben, Jizchak aufzuklären, dass er nur der Mutter nicht ungehorsam sein wollte, Jizchak wird ihm sofort als Betrüger fluchen. Damit hatte er ihr aber auch indirekt auf die ehrerbietigste Weise gesagt, wie verwerflich ihm das Ganze, wie es ihm als fluchwürdige Täuschung erscheine.

והבאתי עלי קללה, “I will bring a curse upon myself as I am bound to lie by saying ‘I am Esau;’ if I do not lie, he will not believe me.” Furthermore, all he has to do is to touch me and he will know that I am not Esau. He will curse me for having deceived him.”

ימושני, the root of the word is משש, the letter shin has a dagesh.

כמתעתע, the root of the word is תעה, even though both the first and second root letters appear twice in the word. We have a parallel expression מעשה תעתועים in Jeremiah 10,15, as well as in Chronicles II 36,16 ומתעתועים בנביאיו, a reference to false prophets and religious dignitaries who deceive their followers.

והבאתי, I will be the cause of bringing a curse upon myself.