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Regarding the ethics of the avot and specifically of
Ya'akov Avinu and Rivka: It is interesting to note
that the real bracha, (Breishit 28:3-4) i.e. the one
of inheriting the land, what Yitzhak refers to as
"birkat Avraham" is given to Ya'akov by his father
after Yitzhak knows what happened previously.
Meaning, that Yitzhak never intended to give birkat
Avraham to Esav at all. This is the point which
should be stressed in teaching this parsha.
Yitzhak was not as blind as it appears from a casual
reading of the text. He knew very well each of his
sons' qualities. The blessing of the inheritance of
the Land by Ya'akov and his descendants was passed on
to Ya'akov as the rightful heir to the masoret begun
by Avraham Avinu. There was no deception or trickery
involved. This blessing is repeated by Hashem at the
beginning of Parashat "Vayetzei" in Breishit 28:13.
It seems to me that this point is often overlooked
while trying to grapple with the "ethical" issues of
the avot.
L. Schwed</HTML>
