Reality is stranger than fiction. In a fictitious world the stronger side always wins. History proves this is not necessarily the case. The American Colonies stood no chance against the mighty British Empire and the American Revolution was doomed for failure. But through ingenious sabotage, misinformation and other shady tactics employed by the “honest” George Washington, our country survived and we reap the benefits today.
In this week’s parsha we learn of the most important trajectory of the Jewish nation. Yitzchok and Rivkah gave birth to two twin boys who had nothing in common. Eisav was a corrupt and wild man guilty of murder, rape and theft, while Yaakov was the polite, soft scholar we’d rather keep company. Fearing his days were numbered, Yitzchok, who was already blind, wished to bequeath the tremendous blessings of destiny to his progeny and chose Eisav as the candidate. He reasoned the tremendous blessings would somehow anchor Eisav’s unlimited energy and channel it to conquer civilization with the truth of monotheism. Rivkah understood this was a colossal error and disguised Yaakov as Eisav to receive the blessings instead. She covered his smooth skinned arms with the sheep skin so he would feel like the hairy Eisav. Upon entering the room and calling for his father to partake from the delicacies he prepared, Yitzchok realized that his tone of voice and language was quite different from Eisav.
“Come closer, my son,” he requested. “Let me feel you, to be certain you are Eisav. Feeling the hairy sheep skin on his arm he commented, “The voice belongs to Yaakov, but the hands belong to Eisav.” The ruse worked and Yaakov received the coveted blessings for his eternal progeny. Yitzchok’s comment about the voice and hands were not said in confusion. They contain the secret to Jewish continuity. When the “hands of Eisav” - the violent and murderous attacks of our enemies - seek to destroy us, the “voice of Yaakov” - our Torah study and prayer - neutralizes them. The Talmud relates that in ancient times Jewish school children studied Torah from scrolls and the very small ones used “pointers” to follow along inside. When war threatened to destroy Israel the children declared, “We will fight our enemies with our pointers!” They knew the tiny pointers were no physical match for the spears of their enemies, but they were confident that the Torah they learned was the greatest strategy to outwit and outsmart their enemies every time. The convoluted and twisted story of Yitzchok’s blessings teaches us the power of Jewish education and how crucial it is to Jewish survival.