This week’s parsha is parshas Toldos. In this essay, we will focus on the wonders of HKB”H’s orchestration of human events. We learn that Yaakov Avinu received the Berachos from his father, Yitzchak, by wearing Eisav’s coveted garments that were in safekeeping with their mother, Rivkah, as it states (Bereishis 27, 15): "ותקח רבקה את בגדי עשו בנה הגדול החמודות אשר אתה בבית ותלבש את יעקב בנה הקטן"—then Rivkah took the precious garments of Eisav, her older son, which were with her in her house, and clothed Yaakov, her younger son.
Later on in the narrative, we learn that not only did these garments prevent Yitzchak from revealing Yaakov’s true identity—i.e., that he was not Eisav—but they induced Yitzchak Avinu to bestow the Berachos on him willingly and wholeheartedly, because they possessed the fragrance of Gan Eden. Here are the pertinent pesukim (ibid. 21): "ויאמר יצחק אל יעקב גשה נא ואמושך מויבני האתה זה בני עשו אם לא, ויגש יעקב אל יצחק אביו שהו ויאמר הקול קול יעקב והידים ידי עשו"—Yitzchak said to Yaakov, “Come close, if you please, so I can touch you, my son; are you, indeed, my son Eisav or not?” So, Yaakov drew close to Yitzchak his father, and he touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Eisav.” Then, after Yitzchak is brought food and wine, it says (ibid. 27): "וירח את ריח בגדיו ויברכהו ויאמר, ראה ריח בני כריח שדה אשר ברכו ה', ויתן לך האלקים מטל השמים ומשמני הארץ ורוב דגן ותירוש"—he smelled the fragrance of his garments and blessed him; he said, “See, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of the field which Hashem has blessed. And may Elokim give you of the dew of the heavens and of the fatness of the earth, and abundant grain and wine.” Rashi comments: This teaches us that the fragrance of Gan Eden entered with him (Yaakov).
In light of these events, we will endeavor to clarify:
- What was so special about Eisav HaRasha’s garments that are described by the Torah as "בגדי עשו החמודות"?
- Why did HKB”H arrange for Yaakov Avinu to receive the Berachos specifically while being clothed in these garments?
- Why did these special garments acquire the fragrance of Gan Eden specifically when Yaakov Avinu put them on?
Eisav’s Coveted Garments Were the Garments HKB”H Made for Adam HaRishon
To answer these questions, we will embark on a sacred journey strolling through the enchanting gardens planted by Chazal with their wisdom and “ruach hakodesh” in various Midrashim and in the Zohar hakadosh. We will reveal the source of these unique garments, who made them, and how they came to be in Eisav’s possession. Although Eisav usually wore them when he went out to hunt, on this momentous day, HKB”H caused him to forget them and leave them in the safekeeping of Rivkah, his mother. This enabled her to dress Yaakov in them, so that he could receive the Berachos from Yitzchak Avinu by a ruse.
We will begin our journey with Rashi’s comment (Bereishis 27, 15) that Eisav coveted these garments, because he had taken them from Nimrod (see B.R. 65, 16). Rashi does not explain why Eisav coveted them, or how he acquired them from Nimrod. The answer to these questions can be found in the Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer (Chapter 24):
The garment that HKB”H made for Adam and his wife was with them (Noach) in the ark; and when they exited the ark, Cham, the son of Noach, brought them out with him, and bequeathed them to Nimrod. When he wore them, all beasts, animals, and birds came and prostrated themselves before him, believing that it was due to the force of his might. Therefore, they made him king over themselves, as it is said (ibid. 10, 9): “Therefore it is said, ‘Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before Hashem.’”
Further on, it explains how these garments got from Nimrod to Eisav:
Rabbi Meir said: Eisav, his (Yaakov’s) brother, saw Nimrod’s garment and coveted it in his heart. So, he slew him and took it from him. And how do we know that they were desirable in his eyes? Because it says, “Rivkah took the precious garments of Eisav, her older son.” And whoever wore them also became mighty, as it says (ibid. 25, 27): “And Eisav became a man skilled at trapping.” So, when Yaakov departed from his father, Yitzchak, he said, “Eisav HaRasha is not worthy to wear this garment.” What did he do? He dug into the ground and buried it.
We find another related, incredible chiddush in the Zohar hakadosh. Eisav’s garments were the very same garments that HKB”H clothed Adam HaRishon with after the cheit. This explains why Yitzchak Avinu sensed the fragrance of Gan Eden when Yaakov entered wearing them. As we know, Yaakov Avinu was a semblance of the grandeur and beauty of Adam HaRishon (B.B. 58a). Therefore, when Yaakov wore these garments, they emitted the original fragrance of Gan Eden that they had when Adam HaRishon wore them. Here is a loose translation of the passage (Toldos 142b):
“Rivkah took Eisav’s garments, etc.” These were the garments that Eisav acquired from Nimrod. These were also the prestigious garments that came from Adam HaRishon and came into Nimrod’s possession. Nimrod would hunt prey in them, as it is written (ibid. 10, 9): “He was a mighty hunter before Hashem, etc.” Eisav went out to the field and fought with Nimrod, killed him, and took these garments from him. This is the implication of the passuk (ibid. 25, 29): “And Eisav came in from the field, and he was exhausted . . .”
Eisav would take those garments to Rivkah; he would go out to hunt in them. That day, he did not take them; he went out to the field and was delayed there. When Eisav wore them, they did not give off any fragrances (scents). But when Yaakov put them on, the lost article returned to its original state, and they emitted fragrances, since the beauty of Yaakov was a semblance of the beauty of Adam. Hence, they returned at that time to their original state and emitted fragrances.
HKB”H Fashioned the “Garments of Skin” from the Skin of the Primeval Serpent
In this manner, we can explain the reason that HKB”H, the Grand Orchestrator, arranged for Yaakov Avinu to receive the Berachos specifically when he was clothed in the clothes that HKB”H had provided for Adam HaRishon after the cheit. We will begin by introducing a fascinating bit of information found in the Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer (Chapter 20) concerning the “garments of skin” that HKB”H made for Adam and Chava: Rabbi Ilai says: From the skin the nachash sloughed off, HKB”H took it and made for them garments of skin and clothed them.
This is truly astounding! Why would HKB”H choose to clothe Adam and Chava specifically in garments fashioned from the skin of the “nachash hakadmoni”—the primeval serpent? What purpose did this serve? Furthermore, why does the Targum depict these garments as “garments of glory”? It is equally difficult to understand why HKB”H arranged for Yaakov Avinu to receive the Berachos from Yitzchak Avinu specifically in these garments belonging to Eisav. After all, HKB”H made them from the skin of the “nachash hakadmoni,” who had tricked Adam and Chava into eating from the Eitz HaDa’as.
In addition to all of these questions, we must also address the depiction in the Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer above of the profound effect these garments had on the animals and birds: They would come and prostrate themselves before him . . . Therefore, they made him king over themselves. What is the connection between them being stripped off the nachash to clothe Adam HaRishon and their amazing power over all of the animals?
