A central feature of the story of Jacob’s acquisition of his father’s blessings, is the fact the Isaac eyesight had gone. The explanation for this blindness seemingly given in the Torah, old age, did not satisfy the Rabbis, who searched for a deeper explanation. They came up with three reasons. Isaac was blinded by the smoke rising from the idolatrous sacrifices of Esau’s wives, his eyes had been weakened by the tears of angels as he lay of the altar at the time of the Akedah, or in order that Jacob should be able to acquire the blessings. There is a dissonance in this trilogy, with the third explanation somewhat out of tune with the others. We can see the first two explanations, as Aviva Zornberg points out, as psychological reactions to traumatic events in Isaac’s life. He rejects the lifestyle of his daughters-in-law and uses his blindness to shut out the degeneracy that surrounds him. He uses the same blindness to suppress the full memory of his attempted murder at the hands of his father. In both cases his lack of sight serves to shield him from the harsh reality that threatens his sanity. Yet it is hard to see how the third explanation of the Rabbis fits in with this theme. Unless, perhaps, we invert the meaning of the midrash and understand it on a even deeper level. By postulating that Isaac went blind in order that Jacob should acquire the blessings, the Rabbis are perhaps commentating on the lack of foresight in Isaac’s relationship with his sons. Does Isaac lose his sight in order that Jacob, not Esau, should be blessed, because Isaac’s blindness to the true nature of his sons makes subterfuge the only recourse available? Is Isaac’s physical blindness a consequence of his moral blindness to the character of his eldest son? If so, we can indeed see a linkage between the three explanations. In every case Isaac’s blindness is a symptom of his desire to escape the unpleasant reality around him. Whether suppressing the memory of the Akedah, retreating from his daughter-in-law’s behaviour or ignoring the character of his son, Isaac seeks to escape behind the walls of a self imposed ghetto, leaving the harsh reality of the world outside. Rebecca’s actions, however, teach us that this is not the only, or even, preferred option. This indeed was not the way of Abraham or Jacob, who preferred to fight to change reality, rather than merely escape it. While Isaac’s way also has its adherents, the Parshah teaches us the dangers of mere escapism rather than positive action.

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 Sidra Statistics

Parshat Toldot

·         has 106 verses ;

·         is the 6th in Genesis, 6th in the Torah

·         9th longest in Genesis, 31st longest in the Torah

·         has no mitzvot.