Most of us a reasonably familiar with the phrase, “to turn a blind eye” toward a particular situation. We deliberately ignore something, some situation occurring close to us and yet we know full well what is happening and what the result will be especially if we prefer that specific outcome. Case in point: Isaac’s blessing given to his younger son Jacob instead of his first-born Esau.

It is my considered opinion that at the end of his life and suffering from a form of blindness, Isaac deliberately accepted Jacob’s ruse in order to receive his father’s blessing.

Many commentators fault Jacob for “cheating” his brother out of his birthright however I feel that Isaac knew full well what was going on and further felt that his son Jacob stood a far better chance of success in growing and strengthening the future of the Jewish people and thus Isaac gave this most important blessing to Jacob instead of his older son Esau. In our lives, we make value judgments all the time. In the case of our children, we know full well who is the wiser, the stronger, the troublemaker, and we often make our family decisions based upon these notions. Unlike our children, we have the ability and the experience as adults to generally predict the outcome of a situation and although the child or children may not be able to grasp the wisdom of the parental reasoning at the moment, most often, in later years, their feelings of anger or frustration will be replaced by calmer reasoning and understanding.

The biblical lessons here cannot be overlooked. As parents, as leaders, we have the responsibilities of nurturing and caring and we also have the responsibilities of the future to try to see that the family continues and grows in the best way possible. A small sacrifice now could possibly produce good dividends in the future.

Rabbi