In this week's Parsha, possibly one of the most climactic stories in Bereshit occurs: Yaakov and Rivka conspire to trick Yitzchak into giving Yaakov the blessing of Avraham--the inheritance of the Jewish people. A major question arises: Why didn't Rivka simply tell Yitzchak that Yaakov bought the birthright and inform him of Esau's evilness? One would think it is much simpler than dressing Yaakov up in goat fur to deceive an aging, blind Yitzchak. The Ramban answers this question with four possible answers, which will be delineated and summarized, but only the fourth will be analysed. The first three possibilities are all from Rivka's point of view.
1. When Rivka went to consult a Navi (an idea discussed by Chazal) about the difficulty of her pregnancy, she did not inform Yitzchak that she a)sought the advise of a Navi and b)what the Navi told her (she was carrying two nations, which were fighting inside her womb). So, for her to tell Yitchak now seems disrespectful, since she did not seek his opinion in the past.
2. Also following the idea brought down by Chazal that Rivka sought the aid of a Navi, Rivka understood that Yitzchak was a more powerful Navi than the one she spoke to. If Yitzchak did not know the prophecy given to Rivka, there must be reason that Hashem did not inform Yitzchak. Therefore, Rivka felt that if Hashem intentionally hid that Esau and Yaakov would become two nations destined to fight from Yitzchak, there was a specific reason. In her mind, she was definitely not in a place to tell him.
3. If Rivka does tell Yitzchak that Esau sold his birthright to Yaakov, perhaps Yitzchak would not bless either child. Obviously, if Rivka told him of Esau's actions, Yitzchak would not bless Esau, but would he necessarily bless Yaakov then? Perhaps, he would leave the decision of inheritance to Hashem. However, by pretending Yaakov is Esau, Yitchak gives the blessing with "a full heart"--intentionally blessing a child with the covenant given to Avraham.
4. Only Hashem knows the exact reason, and we can not ever truly understand why things happen.
Although the first three answers present an interesting way of understanding Yitzchak and Rivka's relationship towards each other and their sons, the fourth answer is most interesting. The fourth answer undermines the previous ones by saying that they do not really make sense. But, perhaps more importantly, the fourth one seems to accomplish two things: 1) state a fact--which is that only God fully knows everything 2)questions the idea of attempting to understand the reasons behind everything. However, if the Ramban truly believed that we should not even try to grasp the wisdom behind all the actions in the Torah, then he would not have written one of the most widely used commentaries. Rather, it must be that he concludes this explanation with a statement about faith to show something about the limitations of mankind: The stories experienced by our forefathers (although, it probably applies to all experiences) are multifaceted and nuanced, and only God knows the true reason as to why Yaakov and Esau were determined to become two contradicting forces in this world, why Rivka covered up such an important detail, and why Yaakov had to trick his father for the continuity of Avraham's covenant. The Ramban does not intend for us the therefore give up interpreting Tanach; rather, he wants people to acknowledge the possibility that our interpretations are incomplete.
Applying the Ramban's idea to modern life, we can see that simply following blindly without analyzing and struggling with the Torah is something that must be avoided. At the same time, convincing ourselves that we comprehend every detail and therefore know the answers to all questions can also be problematic. The simple fact is that the limits of our ability is uncertain, and self doubt is of some value as well.
1. When Rivka went to consult a Navi (an idea discussed by Chazal) about the difficulty of her pregnancy, she did not inform Yitzchak that she a)sought the advise of a Navi and b)what the Navi told her (she was carrying two nations, which were fighting inside her womb). So, for her to tell Yitchak now seems disrespectful, since she did not seek his opinion in the past.
2. Also following the idea brought down by Chazal that Rivka sought the aid of a Navi, Rivka understood that Yitzchak was a more powerful Navi than the one she spoke to. If Yitzchak did not know the prophecy given to Rivka, there must be reason that Hashem did not inform Yitzchak. Therefore, Rivka felt that if Hashem intentionally hid that Esau and Yaakov would become two nations destined to fight from Yitzchak, there was a specific reason. In her mind, she was definitely not in a place to tell him.
3. If Rivka does tell Yitzchak that Esau sold his birthright to Yaakov, perhaps Yitzchak would not bless either child. Obviously, if Rivka told him of Esau's actions, Yitzchak would not bless Esau, but would he necessarily bless Yaakov then? Perhaps, he would leave the decision of inheritance to Hashem. However, by pretending Yaakov is Esau, Yitchak gives the blessing with "a full heart"--intentionally blessing a child with the covenant given to Avraham.
4. Only Hashem knows the exact reason, and we can not ever truly understand why things happen.
Although the first three answers present an interesting way of understanding Yitzchak and Rivka's relationship towards each other and their sons, the fourth answer is most interesting. The fourth answer undermines the previous ones by saying that they do not really make sense. But, perhaps more importantly, the fourth one seems to accomplish two things: 1) state a fact--which is that only God fully knows everything 2)questions the idea of attempting to understand the reasons behind everything. However, if the Ramban truly believed that we should not even try to grasp the wisdom behind all the actions in the Torah, then he would not have written one of the most widely used commentaries. Rather, it must be that he concludes this explanation with a statement about faith to show something about the limitations of mankind: The stories experienced by our forefathers (although, it probably applies to all experiences) are multifaceted and nuanced, and only God knows the true reason as to why Yaakov and Esau were determined to become two contradicting forces in this world, why Rivka covered up such an important detail, and why Yaakov had to trick his father for the continuity of Avraham's covenant. The Ramban does not intend for us the therefore give up interpreting Tanach; rather, he wants people to acknowledge the possibility that our interpretations are incomplete.
Applying the Ramban's idea to modern life, we can see that simply following blindly without analyzing and struggling with the Torah is something that must be avoided. At the same time, convincing ourselves that we comprehend every detail and therefore know the answers to all questions can also be problematic. The simple fact is that the limits of our ability is uncertain, and self doubt is of some value as well.
