English translation — תולדות ג

A.

In the blessing that Yitzchak blessed Yaakov when he sent him to Padan Aram,

it says in the verse¹

"And He shall give you the blessing of Avraham."

Rashi quotes the words "the blessing of Avraham" and explains: "That He said to him²

And I will make you into a great nation³

And they shall be blessed in your seed⁴,

those blessings shall be etc.'"

(as below p. 4).

Here it is not understood:

a)

This verse itself continues and explains what the blessing of Avraham is — "to give you the land of your sojournings"⁵

— namely

(a)

why does Rashi need to stop and explain at all?

And

furthermore: Rashi actually explains,

that by the blessing of Avraham are meant <b>other</b> blessings

("And I will make you into a great nation, and they will be blessed through your seed"),

not the blessing that is stated here explicitly in the verse⁶?

(b)

b)

Even if for whatever reason he has

Rashi: a necessity that the verse means here after blessings — from where is the proof that these are specifically the two blessings "And I will make you into a great nation and they will be blessed through your seed"&lt;sup&gt;7&lt;/sup&gt;?

In addition to this: the matter and content of "And I will make you into a great nation"&lt;sup&gt;8&lt;/sup&gt;

is found in the blessings of Abraham in expressions of greater emphasis in extraordinary abundance — for example what the Most High said to &lt;b&gt;Abraham&lt;/b&gt;: "And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth etc."&lt;sup&gt;9&lt;/sup&gt;,

"I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens etc."&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;.

as the dust of the earth" or "..

as the stars of the heavens" are only a description in the details of the quantity of the blessing "And I will make

“to a great nation” which is the main and essence of the blessing — and Rashi brings the general and main point of the blessing and not the details —

Because

(a)

It is not at all smooth,

Because from the very fact that the promises “and I will make [your seed] like the dust of the earth” and “I will multiply [your seed] like the stars of the heavens etc.” — the Almighty gave out as separate blessings,

it is proven that in them there is a special addition upon the blessing “and I will make you a great nation”

(as is also understood simply,

that with “great nation” one can mean also such a multitude that is smaller and cannot even be compared to “dust of the earth” or “stars of the heavens”).

And further, and mainly

(b)

Also by Yishmael was said the blessing of “great nation”¹¹

And based on this the necessity of the blessings "like the dust of the earth" and "like the stars of the heavens" — an additional and special blessing&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;, will be sweetened.

because this is only for the children of Abraham Isaac and Jacob].

c)

Even more astonishing: at first glance there is entirely a necessity to say that this verse means &lt;b&gt;specifically not &lt;/b&gt;the two blessings,

because the blessings were also said

(earlier)

to Isaac&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;

: "And I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens etc. and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through your seed" — so why did Isaac need to bless Jacob with the blessing of &lt;b&gt;Abraham&lt;/b&gt;,

when he was blessed with the same blessings?

It is more fitting when

Yitzchak says that he gives Yaakov the blessings that he himself received.

2.

Regarding that which Rashi teaches that "blessing of Avraham" does not mean inheritance of the land,

commentators say

that the reason for this is because inheritance of the land "is a gift and not a blessing."

(Why Rashi does not want to learn that "the blessing of Avraham" means the continuation of the verse "to give you the land of your sojournings"),

because the verse itself concludes "which G-d <b>gave </b>to Avraham",

d.

e.

The Almighty had <b>already given </b>to Avraham.

And consequently it is not appropriate to say "<b>And may He give </b>you the <b>blessing of Avraham</b>",

when also by Avraham this was already

(not a blessing for the future,

but)

an <b>actual giving </b>— in the past].

It requires explanation, however: just as we learn by "And I will make you a great nation"

(which the Almighty promised to Avraham),

that this was Yitzchak's blessing to Yaakov,

meaning thereby that <b>the </b>promise should be fulfilled by Yaakov and his sons — one can indeed learn thus also regarding the inheritance of the land: since in actuality

(according to <b>the plain sense of Scripture</b>)

the land had not yet been given to Avraham,

it is only that "the saying of the Holy One, blessed be He, is <b>as if </b>it is done"¹⁷,

is the

blessing¹⁸

— that the Most High's promise of the gift of the Land of Israel to Abraham should be carried out in practice by Jacob and his sons,

that they should be the ones who will inherit the Land of Israel in practice¹⁹.

(only)

from the continuation of the verse,

Rashi would have quoted not only the words "the blessing of Abraham,"

but also the continuation of the verse*¹⁹

; or at least hinted at them by adding "etc."].

3.

At first glance one could say that with "And I will make you into a great nation and they will be blessed through your seed" which Rashi brings,

are not meant specifically the two blessings,

rather they include <b>all</b> the blessings that the Almighty blessed Abraham

(which stand between the two — "And I will make you into a great nation" is the first blessing from the Almighty to Abraham and "and they will be blessed through your seed" — the last).

It is however understood the difficulty in this a)

Rashi would have needed at least to hint that he means also all the blessings in between; and furthermore and mainly b)

Rashi concludes

(as follows)

"From you will go forth that nation and that blessed seed",

from which it is understood,

that he means specifically the two blessings²⁰.

4.

Further, Rashi continues: "Let those blessings mentioned²¹

be for you,

from you shall come forth that nation and that blessed seed"²².

Is entirely not understandable — what does the verbosity add?

It is the plain meaning of the verse simply that the blessings "And I will make you into a great nation and be blessed through your seed" which Rashi brings as "the blessing of Avraham",

refer to "And may He give to you" — to Yaakov?

(as the commentators&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;

explain Rashi's intention),

that "And He will give you the blessing of Avraham" means that he gives &lt;b&gt;the blessings &lt;/b&gt;over to Yaakov,

not that Yaakov should be blessed with blessings that are similar to the blessing of Avraham,

so that then &lt;b&gt;the &lt;/b&gt;blessings

(the blessing of Avraham)

can be given over to another.

But the continuation and conclusion of the language "from you will come that nation and that blessed seed" is merely a repetition,

which is already understood from "Let those blessings be said for you"]

Also one must understand: since Rashi explains the words "birkat Avraham",

why does he quote from the verse also the word "et"²⁴.

H.

The explanation of all this:

The difficulty that Rashi warns about in the verse is:

When the Torah tells about a blessing that someone received,

it generally states alongside it the reason and rationale for it,

or it is understood by itself.

Thus as we find by the earlier blessing that Yitzchak gave,

that Yitzchak said²⁵

"Behold now I am old etc. make me delicacies etc. so that my soul may bless you before I die"; likewise by the blessings that the Almighty blessed Yitzchak when He said²⁶

"Sojourn in this land",

that this is because "his intention was

(of Yitzchak)

to go down to Egypt etc."²⁷.

Likewise by the blessings after the Akeidah,

where it states²⁸

that this is "because you have hearkened to My voice" and so forth in many places.

In our case, however, it is not indicated in the verse — and it is also not understood by itself — for which reason did Yitzchak now bless Yaakov.²⁹

It is understandable that the blessing "And El Shaddai will bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and you will become an assembly of peoples,"

One can understand: since Yitzchak sent Yaakov to make a shidduch,

he therefore blessed him that "And El Shaddai will bless you &lt;b&gt;and make you fruitful and multiply you &lt;/b&gt;etc."&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

; but what connection does the continuation "and give you the blessing of Avraham, to you and to your seed with you, that you may inherit the land of your sojournings" have with this?

it belongs entirely to the earlier blessing of "and God will give you etc. of the fat of the land etc."&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;

(which was the blessing of Yitzchak to Yaakov "before I die"&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;)].

6.

Therefore Rashi explains that also "the blessing of Avraham" is a blessing that is related to the shidduch,

because by it is meant the blessing "and I will make you into a great nation, and in your seed shall be blessed"

(which are

a continuation and detail of the previous blessing "And-El Shad-dai will bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you etc."),

a continuation and detail of — "And take for yourself a wife from there"

— have many children

("And I will make you into a great nation")³³

and that they should be such children that "and they will be blessed through your seed".

He is, however, precise to add the wording "את ברכת אברהם",

because here it is necessary not merely a blessing in connection with a match

("ויפרך וירבך"),

and

(also)

not merely a blessing that was given to Abraham,

but the unique blessing that pertained to Abraham in particular

(and therefore Rashi also quotes the word "&lt;b&gt;את&lt;/b&gt;")

Jacob had to go into the way

("קום &lt;b&gt;לך &lt;/b&gt;פדנה ארם")

and we already know from earlier that "דרך" is "ממעטת פרי׳ ורבי׳" and "ממעטת את השם"&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;,

therefore Isaac added: "ויתן לך את ברכת &lt;b&gt;אברהם&lt;/b&gt;",

the blessing "ואעשך לגוי גדול" was given to Abraham specifically because of this

("&lt;b&gt;לך לך &lt;/b&gt;מארצך")

which diminishes פו”ר&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;,

as Rashi explains there.

And likewise regarding the blessing "and they shall bless themselves through your seed",

the "way" should not cause a diminution of the name of his children

(Jacob)

himself,

also the blessing that &lt;b&gt;his &lt;/b&gt;name should not be diminished&lt;sup&gt;36&lt;/sup&gt;,

are included in the blessing that Isaac gave him earlier&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;].

7.

But the question is: what is Isaac's intention in blessing Jacob with &lt;b&gt;the &lt;/b&gt;special blessings of "the blessing of Abraham",

the blessings were seemingly not fulfilled regarding Abraham himself?

but since that &lt;b&gt;the &lt;/b&gt;blessing was given to Abraham because &lt;b&gt;his &lt;/b&gt;"way" is "diminishing procreation",

the blessing applies to the procreation of Abraham himself — and this is seemingly not seen]

For by Abraham was born only one son from Sarah — Isaac,

that specifically "in Isaac shall your seed be called"&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;

(but not Ishmael and the sons of Keturah)&lt;sup&gt;39&lt;/sup&gt;.

Now how can one say that in the birth of one son

(Isaac)

was expressed the blessing of procreation which preserved the &lt;b&gt;diminution &lt;/b&gt;of procreation through the way?

And likewise regarding the blessing "And they will be blessed

in your seed" — one does not find, prima facie, that this should be fulfilled regarding the children of Abraham himself; and on the contrary,

(aside from that which specifically in Isaac shall your seed be called,

as mentioned above),

before Isaac was born, regarding Ishmael it was said⁴⁰

"And he will be a wild ass of a man, his hand against all and the hand of all against him" — "everyone <b>hates him and provokes him</b>"].

Therefore Rashi continues "these blessings mentioned for you": the blessings that were said to Abraham,

<b>they</b> themselves will be for Jacob⁴¹

— specifically by him they will be fulfilled <b>in actuality</b>.

And as it indeed was in actuality,

that by Jacob were born the twelve tribes⁴²,

in which itself is already evident the beginning and foundation of a great nation — one sees the effect of the blessing which preserves and negates the diminution of p”r through "way".

8.

And one may further say that with this Rashi answers another question in the plain meaning of Scripture: How is it that Isaac sent Jacob himself "to Padan Aram etc. and take for yourself a wife from there" — and did not conduct himself like his father Abraham,

who sent a messenger and <b>him</b> instructed⁴³

"and take a wife for my son from there"⁴⁴?

Yaakov was only with the intention to make a shidduch there — not in order to flee from Eisav,

because Rivkah

did not reveal to Yitzchak⁴⁵].

One cannot differentiate,

that Isaac's match had to come through a messenger because Isaac was an olah temimah⁴⁶

(because of the Binding)

and therefore could not go out of the Land of Israel

(unlike Jacob who indeed could go out)

— because,

(according to the simple meaning of the verse)

<b>in the plain sense of Scripture</b>,

was not <b>that</b> the reason and cause why Abraham did not want to let Isaac go alone to Aram Naharaim⁴⁷

; and only <b>later</b> was it <b>revealed</b> to Isaac that he is an "olah temimah and the land outside is not worthy for you"⁴⁸.

This question⁴⁹,

why did Isaac indeed send Jacob "to Padan Aram" is answered by what Isaac added "and may He give you the blessing of Abraham — and make you into a great nation and be blessed through your seed":

That which the Most High blessed Avraham "and I will make you into a great nation" was connected with the matter of "Lech Lecha"⁵⁰,

because of

(and as reward)

the going on the way etc.⁵¹

— therefore Yitzchak sent Yaakov "Arise, <b>go </b>to Padan Aram, to the house of Betuel etc. and take for yourself from there a wife",

in the merit of the going he will receive the blessing of "and I will make you into a great nation⁵²

(and in your seed shall be blessed)

9.

But the question arises: one finds that also Yishmael was blessed by the Most High with the same blessing⁵³

: "I have blessed him <b>and I will make him fruitful and I will multiply him exceedingly, twelve </b>princes he will beget and I will make him <b>into a great nation</b>" — now in what consists the special advantage and the blessing to Yaakov?

Even more difficult is what in the prophecy of Hashem Esav as a "nation" is compared to Yaakov — "two <b>nations</b>" "two <b>peoples</b>"⁵⁴?

Therefore Rashi adds "from you shall go forth <b>that</b> nation <b>and that</b> blessed <b>seed</b>".

But not so⁵⁵

the blessing in relation to

Ishmael,

and likewise that which was said about Esau,

have no relation to the blessing with which the Most High blessed Abraham.

Yud.

Based on this, the continuation and conclusion of the verse is also understood: Since Yaakov leaves Eretz Yisrael and builds his house in chutz la'aretz,

And on the contrary, the blessing of "a great nation" is for him connected specifically with his leaving on the way

(to chutz la'aretz),

In contrast, Eisav remains in Eretz Yisrael,

Therefore one might think that Eisav remains the possessor of Eretz Yisrael⁵⁶

Yitzchak adds "to give you the land of your sojournings, which G-d gave to Avraham."

And on the contrary,

Since "those blessings mentioned <b>for you </b>from you will come forth that nation and that blessed seed" it is understood and simple that the land "which G-d gave <b>to Avraham</b>" belongs specifically and only to Yaakov and his seed after him⁵⁷.

Being "that nation and that seed",

was given only to them the land.

Yes.

Another matter in the blessing of Yitzchak "Let those blessings be said for you, from you shall come forth that nation and that blessed seed" — which pertains especially to the blessing "And I will make you into a great nation and they will be blessed through your seed":

The language of the blessing "And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth etc." or "as the stars

of the heavens" "and as the sand which is upon the seashore"

(And likewise the beginning of the blessing that Isaac said to Jacob here "And may He make you fruitful and multiply you")

brings out the immense multitude in quantity of the children that will come forth from him,

but in this their connection and relation to him is not apparent,

that they are called by his name.

But not so the blessing "&lt;b&gt;And I will make you &lt;/b&gt;into a great nation" where it is emphasized,

that all the children and those who come from his loins are attributed to him,

that &lt;b&gt;he&lt;/b&gt; is the "great nation"&lt;sup&gt;58&lt;/sup&gt;.

And likewise regarding the

blessing "And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" that this will be in a manner that they will bless themselves with them as "your&lt;b&gt; seed&lt;/b&gt;" — your children,

the children of &lt;b&gt;Abraham&lt;/b&gt;.

And this was the blessing of Yitzchak "And He will give you the blessing of Avraham — and I will make you into a great nation and they will be blessed in your seed,

they will be &lt;b&gt;those &lt;/b&gt;blessings mentioned for you from you will come that nation and that blessed seed",

that the "And I will make you into a great nation" should be expressed only by Yaakov,

and as we see,

that all of Yisrael are called tribes of &lt;b&gt;Yisrael &lt;/b&gt;

(Bnei Yisrael)

after the name of Yaakov; and likewise the "and they will be blessed in your seed" — as children of Yaakov.

(From the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Toldos 5731)