פירוש על בראשית 27:33

ויחרד [AND ISAAC] TREMBLED — Explain it as the Targum renders it ותוה, which means he was perplexed. The Midrashic explanation (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 11) is that he saw Gehinnom opening beneath him (Esau).

AND ISAAC TREMBLED VERY EXCEEDINGLY, AND SAID, WHO THEN IS HE THAT HATH TAKEN VENISON AND BROUGHT IT TO ME, AND I HAVE EATEN OF ALL BEFORE THOU COMEST AND HAVE BLESSED HIM? YEA, AND HE SHALL BE BLESSED. It is not natural for a person who just trembled violently and complained, “Who was it that subtly made me bless him?” to conclude his complaint by immediately saying, Yea, and he shall be blessed! Rather, it would have been proper that he curse him! Moreover, Esau would then complain to his father, saying, “But why do you bless him now, my father?” And how would Esau believe his father that it was originally done through subtlety²²⁹Verse 35 here. when he saw that he was now blessing him willingly!
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that it is in the present tense.²³⁰The word yihyeh, generally understood as a future tense — and he shall be blessed — is here to be understood as a present tense, as explained below in the text. Isaac is saying, “Who then is he that hath hunted venison, who could have beguiled me so that I should bless him and that he should remain blessed under all circumstances for I knew that he is a blessed one?” Or it may be that the expression, Yea, and he shall be blessed, means “against my will, since it is impossible for me to transfer the blessing from him.” From the moment he blessed him, Isaac knew by Ruach Hakodesh²³¹See above, Note 90. that his blessings indeed rested upon Jacob. This then is the reason for his violent trembling for he knew that his beloved son Esau had lost his blessing forever. This also is the explanation for his saying, Thy brother came with subtlety,²²⁹Verse 35 here. meaning that after he said, Who then is he etc. he realized that Jacob had been the one who came before him to receive the blessing for it would have been impossible for the blessing to rest on any but his offspring, [and, as mentioned above, Isaac knew by Ruach Hakodesh that the blessing had taken effect. Hence he was sure that it was Jacob who had come before him.]

ויחרד יצחק, he was upset at having found hair on the smooth part of Yaakov’s neck.

?מי איפוא הוא, if it is indeed true that you are Esau, who was the one who served me venison? When the word איפוא appears with the letter א at the end, the word is an alternative for the two words אם כן, “if so.” When the same word (phonetically speaking) is spelled with the letter ה at the end, as for instance, in Genesis 37,16 איפה הם רועים?, the word means the same as איה, “where?”

ויחרד יצחק. Isaac trembled. Isaac experienced contradictory feelings; he trembled because he had been tricked. At the same time he was aware that he had blessed Jacob by saying that anyone cursing him should himself be cursed. When he understood that the person upon whom he had bestowed the blessing was his son Jacob he blessed him because he realised that the fragrance that emanated from Jacob's clothing indicated his moral superiority over Esau. This prompted Isaac to confirm his blessing. He may also have been afraid to bring a curse upon himself if he were to revoke the blessing.

ויחרד; he displayed his emotional upset in front of Esau in order that Esau should not think he had deliberately fooled Esau by blessing Yaakov. He said:

גם ברוך יהיה,”he shall also retain his blessing.” Since when is the reaction to someone who complains that he has been tricked out of a blessing, that one tells him that the party who received the blessing in his place is to keep it? Surely, the normal reaction would be to curse the swindler who came by the blessing by devious means! Moreover, seeing that Yitzchok repeated the blessing he had given to Yaakov a second time, this clearly indicates that Yaakov did not obtain the blessing by deceitful means in the first place! Why else would he now bless Yaakov willingly and knowingly? This is why Nachmanides explains the entire verse commencing with the words: מי איפוא הצד ציד ויבא לי ואכל מכל as referring to Esau, i.e. “who is the person who has fed me a line which I swallowed hook line and sinker all these years so that I was befuddled enough to bestow the blessing on him?” Alternately, what Yitzchok meant was that once he had uttered the blessing it was too late for him to recall it and to invalidate it, even if it had been obtained under a false premises. Yitzchok had realized as soon as he had finished blessing Yaakov, that he had indeed blessed the son who deserved the blessing. It was this belated inspiration supplied by the Holy Spirit, which made him tremble in the sudden realization that he had lost his beloved son permanently..

As Onkelos translates it ותוה, meaning surprise. But its Midrashic... According to the Midrash, ויחרד means fear of the opening of Gehinom. It does not mean what it sounds like, i.e., surprise. Yet even according to the simple meaning, the word ויחרד denotes “fear” and not “surprise.” Rather, Rashi is explaining that [according to the simple meaning,] the fear came from the surprise of, “Who, then, is he?” as the verse sounds like it is saying. Whereas according to the Midrash, the fear was of Gehinom.

ויחרד יצחק חרדה גדולה עד מאד “Yitzchok was overcome by an exceedingly strong trembling;” Yitzchok actually experienced two separate fits of trembling; the first time had been when he lay bound on the altar of Moriah, expecting to have his throat slit. The second time occurred here. (B’reshit Rabbah 67,2). He asked himself what sin he had been guilty of, so that he had blessed the younger son before he had blessed the older son. He had caused Esau to groan, complaining (if I had no blessing left for him). Our author quotes a line in our version of Rashi, that did not appear in some later editions, such as the ones relied on by Luzzato.

ויחרד יצחק, “Yitzchok became frightened;” according to Rashi, he had a vision of gehinom opening up beneath him. He had this vision as soon as he wanted to curse Yaakov for having deceived him. Some commentators understand the expression as Yitzchok now realising that if he could not even have known the difference between his two sons he could no longer be surprised why he had been struck with blindness as a punishment. Nonetheless, there was one thing he was not frightened of. Seeing that nothing is concealed from G-d, how could He have allowed the birthright to be transferred from the older son to the younger son?

מי אפוא WHO THEN IS HE — The word אפוא is an independent particle having no etymological connection with any other Hebrew word and is used with many different shades of meaning Another explanation of אפוא is that it is the same as איה פה where here, — so that מי אפוא means “Who is he and where is he here that hath hunted venison”?)

מי איפוא, this is a turn of phrase, as is the word איזו in the Talmud Baba Metzia70 אימא לי איזו, “tell me my dear friend.”

גם ברוך יהיה, the appropriate translation of the whole verse would be: “if this is so that you are indeed Esau, who is the one who brought me the venison and still achieved that he will remain blessed?!” Yitzchok had felt instinctively at the time he had bestowed the blessing that it would become fulfilled for the person whom he was blessing at the time. This confirms something told us by Rabbi Chanina in Berachot 34 that whenever he prayed for the recovery of a sick person he could feel while praying for him if his prayer would be effective.

He saw Gehinom open beneath him. It means beneath Eisov, [not beneath Yitzchok]. Yaakov entered accompanied by the Garden of Eden, and Eisov was accompanied by Gehinom. (Gur Aryeh)

מי איפוא, the words mean: “who is he, and where is he now?”

מי איפוא, “who and where?” Yitzchok questioned himself who was now destined to wind up in Gehinom, either he himself, or Yaakov for using deceit, or Esau for having used deceit for all these years? The words following are the ones provided from the Holy Spirit, stating clearly that he who had “hunted venison”, (metaphor for deceit, as animals must be lured to their death by deceit). Hearing this, Yitzchok continued

גם ברוך יהיה “he shall also remain blessed.” Yitzchok reasoned that seeing that he had intended to bless his firstborn son, [and Yaakov had bought the birthright already a long time ago,] he had actually blessed the son to whom this blessing belonged legally. Another exegesis: seeing that I already said to Yaakov that anyone who would curse him shall himself become cursed, if I cursed him now I would bring a curse upon myself. If you, [the reader] were to ask me, if so at least Yitzchok should not have given Yaakov an additional blessing? The answer is that I also said that anyone who would bless him should be blessed. Therefore it is in my own interest to bestow another blessing upon him. Another interpretation for the words: “he shall also retain the blessing;” Yitzchok asked G-d to confirm the blessing that he had bestowed upon Yaakov.

ואכל מכל AND I HAVE EATEN OF ALL — all tastes that I desired to find in it I indeed found therein (Genesis Rabbah 67:2).

גם בראך יהיה. “Because he carried out my request so promptly.” Also, Yitzchok was aware that Yaakov had done what he did at the advice and request of Rivkah. Clearly, he reasoned, Rivkah had realised that Yaakov was entitled to this blessing.

An independent word, used with many situations... I.e., it is not [always] a compound word from איה and פה. Rather, it [often] is a word on its own and has various meanings depending on its context.

ואכל מכול, of all the tasty dishes which he served me.

גם ברוך יהיה YEA, AND HE SHALL BE BLESSED — In order that you may not say “If Jacob had not deceived his father he would never have received the blessing”, he, therefore, confirmed it, blessing him now of his own free will (Genesis Rabbah 67:2).

Any taste that I wished to taste... Otherwise, why does it say מכל?

בטרם תבא, “before you could come. If I had not eaten of all the type of food he had prepared for me, and you would have arrived while I was in the middle of eating, I would have stopped eating from his food and have helped myself to yours and have blessed you. However, since I have eaten my fill before you came I cannot do this now since I have blessed him already.”

So you may not say: had Yaakov not tricked his father... Question: [If so, why] was “He has deceived me” (v. 36) written after “He shall be blessed”? It seems the answer is: Eisov surely wailed immediately, “What has this brother done to me? He has deceived me twice!” Upon hearing this, his father said, “He shall be blessed.” When Eisov heard his father respond, “He shall be blessed,” to the claim of, “He has deceived me twice,” paying him no heed, Eisov exclaimed (ibid): “Is he not rightly called Yaakov?” I.e., I see that you like his deceit and trickery, and that is why you named him יעקב [“He will deceive”], in the future tense, rather than עקב [“he held the heel”] — because he would deceive me twice! (Maharshal)

גם ברוך יהיה, since I have already blessed him I confirm my blessing for I knew that he was my son (not an outsider).

Therefore he affirmed it and knowingly blessed him. Otherwise, why does it say, “He shall be blessed”? He had already blessed him!