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Shareוַיְהִי֙ כִּֽי־זָקֵ֣ן יִצְחָ֔ק וַתִּכְהֶ֥יןָ עֵינָ֖יו מֵרְאֹ֑ת וַיִּקְרָ֞א אֶת־עֵשָׂ֣ו ׀ בְּנ֣וֹ הַגָּדֹ֗ל וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֵלָיו֙ בְּנִ֔י וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו הִנֵּֽנִי׃
When Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” He answered, “Here I am.” (NJPS)
and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see (OJPS)
and his eyes were too dim for seeing (Richard Elliott Friedman)
when his eyes had grown so dim that he could not see (new Koren)
that is eyes become too bleary to see (Robert Alter)
his eyes dimmed from seeing (Artscroll)
his eyesight faded and he could not see (Metsudah)
What do the translations struggle with?
What explanations can you come up with for why Isaac's eyes dimmed? Be creative!
(1) ותכהינה עיניו, due to old age, as we find in Samuel I 3,20 when the eyesight of the High Priest Eli failed due to old age.
How can you describe Rashbam's approach in one word?
What lesson(s) can you teach based on this comment?
(ב) וַתִּכְהֶיןָ עֵינָיו. מַה כְּתִיב לְמַעְלָה, וַתִּהְיֶיןָ מֹרַת רוּחַ לְיִצְחָק, וְאַחַר כָּךְ וַתִּכְהֶיןָ עֵינָיו. מִפְּנֵי הַכַּעַס שֶׁהָיָה מַכְעִיסוֹ,
(2) And his eyes were dim (Gen. 27:1). And when Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith the daughter of Be’eri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. And they were a bitterness of spirit unto Isaac and to Rebecca (Gen. 26:34–35), and this is followed by the verse And his eyes were dim. Hence, they must have become dim because of his unhappiness.
What is the textual basis for this comment?
What lesson(s) could you teach based on this comment?
(ג) לְפִי שֶׁהַשְּׁכִינָה הָיְתָה שְׁרוּיָה בְּבֵיתוֹ שֶׁל יִצְחָק. עָמַד עֵשָׂו וְנָטַל מִבְּנוֹת כְּנַעַן וְהָיוּ נָשָׁיו מְעַשְּׁנוֹת וּמְקַטְּרוֹת לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה שֶׁלָּהֶם וְנִסְתַּלְּקָה הֵימֶנּוּ שְׁכִינָה מִיִּצְחָק, וְהָיָה רוֹאֶה יִצְחָק וּמֵצֵר. אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא הֲרֵינִי מַכְהֶה אֶת עֵינָיו שֶׁלֹּא יִרְאֶה וְיוֹסִיף צַעַר לְפִיכָךְ וַתִּכְהֶיןָ עֵינָיו.
(3) Though the Shekhinah hovered over Isaac’s home, Esau had married Canaanite women who sacrificed and burned incense before idols. The Shekhinah, thereupon, departed from Isaac’s home. When Isaac beheld what was transpiring within his home, he was sorely distressed. And so the Holy Blessed One said: I will dim his sight so that he may no longer see what is transpiring and become even more disturbed. Therefore, And his eyes were dim.
According to this midrash, what causes Isaac's eyes to dim?
What do you think of this?
ותכהין עיניו מראות. משום שאהב עשו כי ציד בפיו וכתיב כי השחד יעור.
ותכהינן עיניו מראות, “his eyes had become weak from seeing (too much).” One opinion cites Exodus 23,8 where the Torah tells us that accepting a bribe corrupts, i.e. blinds the eyes of even normally honest judges. Yitzchok accepting venison hunted by his son Esau, caused him to overlook the numerous shortcomings of his son Esau without rebuking him.
How is this explanation similar to the previous two midrashim?
How is it different?
What lesson(s) could you teach based on this?
(ה) וַתִּכְהֶיןָ עֵינָיו. לָמָּה כָהוּ עֵינָיו? לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה צָפוּי לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁיִּצְחָק יְבָרֵךְ לְעֵשָׂו. אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, יִכְהוּ עֵינָיו וְיָבֹא יַעֲקֹב וְיִטֹּל אֶת הַבְּרָכוֹת וְלֹא יְהֵא יוֹדֵעַ יִצְחָק לְמִי הוּא מְבָרֵךְ.
(5) And his eyes were dim. Why did his vision become impaired? The Holy Blesed One foresaw that Isaac would desire to bless Esau, and decreed, therefore, that his sight should become weak so that when Jacob approached him for the blessing, Isaac would not realize that he was conferring the blessing upon Jacob.
How would you describe this approach in one word?
מִיָּד וַיִּשְׁלַח אַבְרָהָם אֶת יָדוֹ, הוּא שׁוֹלֵחַ יָד לִטֹּל אֶת הַסַּכִּין וְעֵינָיו מוֹרִידוֹת דְמָעוֹת וְנוֹפְלוֹת דְּמָעוֹת לְעֵינָיו שֶׁל יִצְחָק מֵרַחֲמָנוּתוֹ שֶׁל אַבָּא.
Immediately, “Abraham extended his hand.” As he extended his hand to take the knife, his eyes were emitting tears and the tears were falling into Isaac’s eyes, because of the father’s mercy [for his son].
How does this explain Isaac's eyes dimming?
דָּבָר אַחֵר, מֵרְאֹת, מִכֹּחַ אוֹתָהּ רְאִיָּה, שֶׁבְּשָׁעָה שֶׁעָקַד אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ אֶת בְּנוֹ עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ בָּכוּ מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת... וְנָשְׁרוּ דְּמָעוֹת מֵעֵינֵיהֶם לְתוֹךְ עֵינָיו, וְהָיוּ רְשׁוּמוֹת בְּתוֹךְ עֵינָיו, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁהִזְקִין כָּהוּ עֵינָיו, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: וַיְהִי כִּי זָקֵן יִצְחָק, וגו' דָּבָר אַחֵר, מֵרְאֹת, מִכֹּחַ אוֹתָהּ הָרְאִיָּה, שֶׁבְּשָׁעָה שֶׁעָקַד אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ אֶת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, תָּלָה עֵינָיו בַּמָּרוֹם וְהִבִּיט בַּשְּׁכִינָה... וְכֵיוָן שֶׁהִזְקִין כָּהוּ עֵינָיו, וַיְהִי כִּי זָקֵן יִצְחָק וגו'.
Another matter. “from seeing [mereot]” – as a result of that sight [re’iya]; when Abraham our patriarch bound his son atop the altar, the ministering angels wept. That is what is written: “Behold, their angels cry out outside…” (Isaiah 33:7). Tears fell from their eyes into his eyes, and they had an effect inside his eyes. When he grew old, his eyes dimmed. That is what is written: “It was when Isaac was old…”
Another matter. “from seeing [mereot]” – as a result of that sight [re’iya]; when Abraham our patriarch bound his son atop the altar, he [Isaac] directed his eyes heavenward and looked at the Divine Presence. When he grew old, his eyes dimmed – “it was when Isaac was old…”
Which translation aligns with these midrashim?
Do you prefer the previous midrash, where it's Abraham's tears that fall in Isaac's eyes, or the first one here, where it's angels' tears?
What lesson(s) could you teach based on these midrashim?
Isaac was said to have been blinded not only by the flames of the sacrifice of which he was almost a part, but by the Shekhinah (the divine presence) that appeared to him on that occasion. Some types of darkness and blindness are indicative of an excess of light.
Explain what it means to be blined by "the flames of the sacrifice."
Can you give examples of what Gottlieb means in the last sentence here?
ותכהין HIS EYES WERE DIM through the smoke raised by these women in offering incense to idols (Midrash Tanchuma, Toldot 8). Another explanation is: When Isaac was bound upon the altar and his father was about to slay him, at that very moment the heavens opened, the ministering angels saw it and wept, and their tears flowed and fell upon Isaac’s eyes which thus became dim (Genesis Rabbah 65:5). Another explanation is: They became dim just in order that Jacob might receive the blessings (Genesis Rabbah 65:8).
Why do you think Rashi brings three explanations?
Why these three?
It was a blindness that left Isaac in darkness deeper than that which plagued Egypt. Isaac, who as a youth was blind to his half-brother's designs, who as he grew was blind to his father's dangerous devotion to God, who as he married was blind to the corruptions of his brother-in-law, who as he fathered was blind to the petty flatteries of his sons, who as he aged was blind to his wife's preference of one son and her schemes to advance him over the other - truly Isaac could not see. It was a total blindness, as only angel tears can bring.
How would you describe this comment?
What is its message?
Isaac's blindness had to have been willful. Isaac, who had seen all too clearly the results of his father's "vision," chose, when his turn came, to "close his eyes" to Esau's intermarriage, despite the pain it caused him. He refused to cut off the child who loved him.
How does this comment view Isaac's blindness--positively or negatively?
What lesson(s) could you teach based on this comment?
These midrashim suggest that sometimes we lose the ability to see our close relatives clearly because if we were to do so—if we were to see them for who they truly are—we would no longer be able to maintain the relationship. Spouses who become blind to each other’s faults can remain in love for decades, and parents who can turn a blind eye to their children’s misdemeanors can continue to welcome those children home. Isaac needed to become blind so that he could bestow any sort of blessing upon Esau; his blindness enabled him to maintain the family tie in spite of fierce disagreements and antithetical worldviews. So long as Isaac did not witness Esau sleeping with betrothed maidens, he could continue to allow Esau to sleep under his roof.
How does this comment expand on the previous comment?
The angel had saved him. Or was it his father?... the images are all jumbled up in these midrashim. But if we read them together then one thing we get that we didn't have before, is Abraham's compassion. There was trauma, yes. But in the midst of that trauma, there was also an awareness that there was something good and loving in Abraham that never left him. Isaac will never forget those tears. They are a reminder that no one can be fully overtaken by violence. A fundamental human compassion always remains.
So now, he is told that his own son Esau has become a violent man, a bad man. They say he should push him out of the family, bless his younger son instead. Be careful of Esau, they say. He's a killer.
But no. Not his son whom he loves. His son who loves him, who dotes on him, and brings him the food he likes. He's a good boy. Ok, so he can be a little rough sometimes. And some of the things we've heard about him are... unnerving. But he'll be alright. You have to believe he'll be alright. Things always turn okay, in the end.
Isaac's eyes welled up with tears. And he called out to his son.