It states (27:6-9) אֶל נָא לֶ ךְ ...ּבְּנָה יַע ֲקֹב אֶל אָמְרָה וְרִבְקָה מַטְעַמ ִּים אֹתָם וְאֶעֱשֶׂה טֹבִים עִזִּים גְּד ָיֵי שְׁנֵי ָּׁםמִש לִי וְקַח הַצֹּאן אָהֵב ֶׁרכַּאֲש לְא ָבִיךָ, "Rivkah said to Yaakov, her son... Go now to the flock and fetch me from there two choice young kids of the goats, and I will make them delicacies for your father, as he loves." The Tiferes Shlomo asks why is it important to know that Yaakov went to fetch the two goats?
The Tiferes Shlomo answers that we can say the Torah is teaching us a lesson b'derech remez. Rivkah represents the Shechinah, and Yaakov represents a Yid. The Shechinah says to a Yid, "Go and perform the mitzvos as best as you can, 'and I will make them delicacies for your Father in heaven.'" This is because when a person wants to study Torah or to perform mitzvos, he is often afraid that it won't be accepted. After all, he knows his low level. For example, when a person wants to put on tefillin, he knows there are many profound lessons about tefillin, and he doesn't know any of them. He thinks to himself, "How can my mitzvah be pleasing to Hashem?"
The Shechinah tells the Yid, "Do the best you can, and the Shechinah will turn it into a delicacy for Hashem." This is hinted in the words ּבְּנָה יַע ֲקֹב אֶל אָמְרָה וְרִבְקָה, the Shechinah says to a Yid, לִי קַח, do what you can. Perform the mitzvah as best as you can, אֹתָם וְאֶעֱשֶׂה אָהֵב ֶׁרכַּאֲש לְא ָבִיךָ מַטְעַמ ִּים, and I will make it pleasant and a delicacy for Hashem. When you do the best you can, it will be as if you had all the kavanos when you performed the mitzvos.
This is an important lesson for all those who feel that they can't succeed in avodas Hashem. Let them know that Hashem doesn't seek success and perfection from us. Hashem wants us to do the best we can, והבא אותו מסייעין לטהר and when one wants to be pure, Hashem helps him. With this awareness, everyone can serve Hashem with renewed energy and hope, knowing that all his mitzvos will be accepted in heaven.
It states (25:28) וְרִבְקָה בְּפ ִיו צ ַיִד כִּי עֵשָׂו אֶת יִצְחָק וַיֶּאֱהַב יַע ֲקֹב אֶת אֹהֶבֶת, "Yitzchak loved Eisav for game was in his mouth, but Rivkah loved Yaakov." The famous question is, how did Yitzchak err and think that Eisav was a tzaddik?
Tzaddikim answer this question with a story that happened with the Chozeh of Lublin zt'l. There was once a rasha, a moser, who caused a lot of tzaros for the Jewish community. Chasidim brought a kvittel with this moser's name to the Chozeh of Lublin. They hoped that the Chozeh's tefillos would stop this rasha from his evil ways and from harming the Jewish community. The Chozeh looked at the kvittel and said, "Behold, he shines in all worlds!" The chassidim were shocked when they heard that. The Chozeh had pure eyes. He could see from one side of the world to the other. How could he make this mistake and think that this moser "shines in all worlds"?
However, later it was understood. At the time that they gave the kvittel to the Chozeh, the moser was lighting Chanukah lecht and his soul shone brightly with kedushah. They wrote another kvittel and gave it to the Chozeh. This time, the Chozeh saw his corrupt deeds.
People think that from this story we learn that when one lights Chanukah lecht, his neshamah shines in all worlds. Actually, this occurs with all mitzvos that one performs, and not only with Chanukah lecht. When one is performing any mitzvah, his neshamah shines brightly.
We now understand why Yitzchak thought Eisav was a tzaddik. Whenever he saw Eisav, Eisav was serving him, performing the mitzvah of kibud av. When one performs a mitzvah, his neshamah shines, regardless of who he is the rest of the time.
Yitzchak asked Eisav to bring him food to eat, so he would bless him afterwards, as it states (27:3-4) וְצוּדָה הַשָּׂדֶה וְצֵא ָוְקַשְׁתֶּך ָת ֶּלְיְך כֵל ֶיךָ נָא שָׂא וְאֹכֵלָה לִּי וְה ָבִיאָה אָה ַבְתִּי ֶׁרכַּאֲש מַטְעַמ ִּים לִי וַעֲשֵׂה ,צ ָיִד לִּי נַפְשִׁי ָתְּבָר ֶכְך בַּע ֲבוּר, "So, now, sharpen your implements, your sword and take your bow, and go forth to the field, and hunt game for me. And make for me tasty foods as I like, and bring them to me, and I will eat, so that my soul will bless you..." Eisav failed to capture an animal that day, and Chazal say that he killed a dog, instead, and brought it to Yitzchak. That day, he didn't perform kibud av. Besides, Yaakov Avinu had arrived earlier that day, and brought food to Yitzchak, so Eisav didn't perform kibud av, and the Torah tells us (27:33) גְּדֹלָה חֲרָדָה יִצְחָק וַיֶּחֱרַד מ ְאֹד עַד, Yitzchak was very afraid, and Rashi writes that this means he saw Gehinom opened before him (מִתַּחְת ָּיו פ ְּתוּחָה גֵּיה ִנֹּם רָאָה וּמ ִדְרָשׁוֹ). We can explain that since Eisav didn't perform a mitzvah that time, Yitzchak was able to see Eisav, as he truly is. At this moment, when he wasn’t busy with a mitzvah, Yitzchak saw the gehinom Eisav was forming with his evil ways.
We speak of these ideas to give chizuk to the people who think their mitzvos have no value because of their low level. However, it isn’t so. When they perform mitzvos, their
