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This week’s Parashah, Parashat Toledot, famously discusses how Yaakov steals Eisav’s Brachah for himself. Rivkah helped Yaakov pretend to be Eisav, which misled Yitzchak into blessing Yaakov with the Brachah meant for Eisav.
However, there is something seemingly off about what Yaakov said. Yaakov went before his father, and when Yitzchak asked who it is, Yaakov responded: “lאָנֹכִי עֵשָׂו בְּכֹרֶךָl”, “I am Eisav, your first-born” (BeReishit, 27:19). How could Yaakov blatantly lie to his father like this?! The Mefarshim deal with this question in a variety of ways.
Firstly, some Mefarshim, like Rashi and Rabbeinu Bechaya, say that he didn’t lie at all. Rashi explains that Yaakov was answering: “It is I, and Eisav is your firstborn”. Rabbeinu Bechaya says that it cannot be that Yaakov was lying. It even says in Michah: “תִּתֵּן אֱמֶת לְיַעֲקֹב”!
(Michah 7:20). Rather, he explains that Yaakov meant “I am in the place of Eisav for the Bechor’s Brachah, because he already sold me the Bechorah”. Therefore, what Yaakov was saying wasn’t problematic, as he was only telling the truth.
Others, however, like the Ibn Ezra, say that Yaakov was lying, and it was a time of need. He explains that in this case, there was a necessity, so Yaakov did what he had to do. Yaakov and Rivkah knew that this Brachah cannot go to Eisav, so they came up with this plan, even though it involved things that are not ideal. Yet, the Pasuk in Michah, “תִּתֵּן אֱמֶת לְיַעֲקֹב” still stands. Yaakov did what was necessary.
The idea that Yaakov did what was necessary, even though it might be Assur in general, is supported by a major aspect of this episode. Whether Yaakov lied about his identity or not, this entire plan is Geneivat Da’at. Yaakov and Rivkah mislead Yitzchak into thinking that Yaakov is Eisav. When Rivkah tells Yaakov what to do, she commands him “וְעַתָּה בְנִי שְׁמַע בְּקֹלִי”, “Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you” (27:8) . The Ohr HaChayim explains that she was saying that even though her plan is Geneivat Da’at, he should still listen, as she’s a Navi. As the Rambam codifies, one should listen to a Navi if he says to temporarily violate a commandment, like Eliyahu on Har HaCarmel.
A fundamental lesson can be learned from this discussion. Sometimes we are not in an ideal situation. Sometimes there don’t seem to be any good options. But, sometimes, something needs to get done. To be clear, we don’t have the ability to just violate prohibitions at our discretion. But we need to always be aware that in an unideal situation, we need to find the best possible option and course of action. May we be Zocheh to learn and successfully implement this important lesson from Rivkah and Yaakov.