Page 112 - issue
P. 112
TVHEOICEOFJACOB…
“Hakol kol Yaakov, vehayadayim yedei Esav.”
This was my intended title before my editor
convinced me it was too long and also incom-
prehensible to some readers. What does it
mean? Ihn kurtzehn (briefly), the pasuk
“Hakol kol…” comes from our holy Torah. It
was uttered by Isaac our Forefather, who,
nebech, was blind. When Jacob entered to
receive the fatherly bracha (blessing) of the firstborn, he
impersonated Esau by covering his arms with a goatskin.
Isaac tells him that the voice that he hears is that of his
son Jacob, while the hairy hands that he touches are those
of his brother Esau.
Yitzchak’s statement has been interpreted and reinter-
preted. One meaning is that the Jewish nation uses intel-
lect to improve the world, while other nations are the prac-
titioners of violence. Another interpretation is that Yidden
use the power of speech, while they, the nochrim (non-
Jews), use the power of weapons.
Such an interpretation has historical problems, of
course. For example, one of the villain orators in the world
was Hitler, yimach shmo. He convinced the German mass-
es that the Juden (Jews) were the cause of all of Germany’s
problems. The masses clung to his vicious lies, and the
results caused the murder of over six million of our peo-
108 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
“Hakol kol Yaakov, vehayadayim yedei Esav.”
This was my intended title before my editor
convinced me it was too long and also incom-
prehensible to some readers. What does it
mean? Ihn kurtzehn (briefly), the pasuk
“Hakol kol…” comes from our holy Torah. It
was uttered by Isaac our Forefather, who,
nebech, was blind. When Jacob entered to
receive the fatherly bracha (blessing) of the firstborn, he
impersonated Esau by covering his arms with a goatskin.
Isaac tells him that the voice that he hears is that of his
son Jacob, while the hairy hands that he touches are those
of his brother Esau.
Yitzchak’s statement has been interpreted and reinter-
preted. One meaning is that the Jewish nation uses intel-
lect to improve the world, while other nations are the prac-
titioners of violence. Another interpretation is that Yidden
use the power of speech, while they, the nochrim (non-
Jews), use the power of weapons.
Such an interpretation has historical problems, of
course. For example, one of the villain orators in the world
was Hitler, yimach shmo. He convinced the German mass-
es that the Juden (Jews) were the cause of all of Germany’s
problems. The masses clung to his vicious lies, and the
results caused the murder of over six million of our peo-
108 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
