Tafsiran Imamat 26:42: Tze'enah Ure'enah, Rashi, Kli Yakar & Ramban

“Then I will remember My covenant with Jacob; I will also remember My covenant with Isaac” [26:42]. The verse places Jacob first, even though he was the youngest of the Patriarchs. The explanation is that the merit of Jacob, the youngest one, was enough to rescue Israel. If You, Holy One, do not have enough with Jacob, then the added merit of Isaac should be enough. If you want to say that it is not enough, then add Abraham. The Torah wrote, “Then I will remember” concerning Jacob, concerning Abraham it did not write, “Then I will remember,” and also concerning Isaac that he allowed himself to be bound upon the altar in order to be slaughtered. This is itself a reminder before the Holy One. Jacob is written here with a vav. We find that Jacob is written five times with a vav. On the other hand, we find that Elijah is written five times without a vav. This teaches us that Elijah gave his vav to Jacob as a pledge to Jacob. He should come to tell us the good news when the Messiah will come to redeem Israel. The vav is written like a finger and this teaches us that it is specifically five times that the vav went to Jacob. That is to say, the hand has five fingers. This showed that he gave him a handshake with his whole hand that he will come and promise that the Messiah would come, since Elijah the prophet must come one day before the Messiah.¹³Bahya, Leviticus, 26:42.

וזכרתי את בריתי יעקוב THEN I WILL REMEMBER MY COVENANT WITH JACOB — In five places in Scripture it (the name יעקב) is written plene (יעקוב) and the name אליהו is written defectively in five places, to intimate that Jacob — as it were — took one letter of his (Elijah’s) name as a pledge that at some future time he should come and proclaim the good tidings of his descendants’ redemption (cf. Midrash ‎חסירות ויתירות).

“And I will remember My covenant with Jacob, etc.” The reason why the forefathers are mentioned in reverse order is because in every generation, Israel uses up the merit of the forefathers. Therefore, He mentions them in reverse order, in a “not only this, but also that” manner. For example, someone who has three purses of money, with 100 gold coins in each, and begins to spend from the first purse at the beginning of the month of Nisan, from the second in the month of Iyar, and from the third in Sivan — it is obvious that there will always be more money in the later purse than in the earlier one, from which he has already spent for many days. Therefore, He says: “Not only the merit of Jacob,” who came later — it is obvious that his merit hasn’t been fully consumed because it is recent — “but also My covenant with Isaac,” who preceded Jacob, and for many days Israel has been using up his merit, as his descendants immediately and promptly began to use up his merit. You might have thought that it had already been consumed, so Scripture teaches us and also My covenant with Isaac. And not only Isaac, but even the covenant with Abraham, which is very old and ancient — you might have thought that it had already been consumed, so Scripture informs us and also My covenant with Abraham, because his merit is preserved for every generation.