Parshas Toldos - the surprising madregah of Yitzchak

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah

וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת יִצְחָק בֶּן אַבְרָהָם אַבְרָהָם הוֹלִיד אֶת יִצְחָק

And these are the generations of Yitzchak the son of Avraham, Avraham bore Yitzchak.

• The gemara normally says that - ויו מוסיף על ענין ראשון - a vav adds on to that which was previously stated. Since Yitzchak did not have any children prior to Yaakov and Esav, why does the passuk say וְאֵלֶּה, with a vav?

The Medrash Rabbah says at the beginning of this week’s sedrah

ואלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם - (משלי כ"ג) גיל יגיל אבי צדיק ויולד חכם ישמח בו. גילה אחר גילה, בזמן שהצדיק נולד.

The passuk says in Mishlei (23:24) - גִּיל יָגִיל אֲבִי צַדִּיק וְיוֹלֵד חָכָם יִשְׂמַח בּוֹ - The father of a tzaddik has great joy; a man who has a wise son rejoices. When the tzaddik is born there is rejoicing after rejoicing.

• What does the medrash add by saying that there is rejoicing after rejoicing when a tzaddik is born?

When Yitzchak gave a berachah to Yaakov he said

וְיִתֶּן לְךָ הָאֱלֹקִים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ וְרֹב דָּגָן וְתִירֹשׁ

May Hashem give to you of the dew of the heavens, and of the fatness of the earth, and an abundance of corn and wine.

Since the word וְיִתֶּן is the beginning of the beracha, it is again difficult to understand why a vav is added which implies ויו מוסיף על ענין ראשון. Subsequently Rashi explains

"ויתן לך" - יתן ויחזור ויתן

Hashem should give to you and then give to you again.

However, when Yitzchak gave Esav a berachah, he said

וַיַּעַן יִצְחָק אָבִיו וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו הִנֵּה מִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ יִהְיֶה מוֹשָׁבֶךָ וּמִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם מֵעָל

And Yitzchak his father answered him and he said to him, “Behold from the fat places of the earth will be your dwelling, and of the dew of the heavens from above.”

The word הִנֵּה has an opposite implication to יתן ויחזור ויתן. הִנֵּה means, “Behold, this is how it will be.” This is as opposed to יתן ויחזור ויתן which means, Hashem will continually give.

• Why did Yitzchak say to Yaakov that Hashem would continually give to him, but to Esav he granted a complete beracha without the need for anything to be provided further?

The Michtav Me’Eliyahu explains as follows:

The Malbim says in Tehillim (89:17) that the word gilah refers to fleeting happiness.

ויש הבדל בין שמחה וגיל, ששמחה היא השמחה התמידית, וגיל הוא על דבר מתחדש כמו מציאה בשורה טובה ודומיה

“There is a difference between שמחה and גיל, the word שמחה refers to constant happiness, whereas the word גיל refers to something new that happened, such as finding something or hearing some good news.”

If so, why does the Medrash Rabbah say גילה אחר גילה בזמן שהצדיק נולד? Since גילה is the fleeting happiness you experience on hearing good news, how can there be another גילה after the first גילה, seeing as no further good news has arrived?

The Michtav Me’Eliyahu explains that the reason that Yitzchak was called Yitzchak is because the word צחוק refers to the joy that someone experiences when something unexpectedly good happens, that is, something that is so good that it could not have been foreseen given the prior situation, and it is this surprise that brings laughter. Similarly, Yitzchak was able to climb madregos in such a way that the new madregah he reached was surprising because it could not be understood to be a continuation of the previous madregah that he had been on.

Since the madregah that Yitzchak reached could not be understood to be an extrapolation of the madregah he had been on when he was born, therefore there was גילה אחר גילה when he was born, because it was constantly surprising who he had become.

Also, the world תּוֹלְדֹת refers to the continuation of the father’s aspirations in his children. Therefore the passuk says וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת יִצְחָק בֶּן אַבְרָהָם אַבְרָהָם הוֹלִיד אֶת יִצְחָק, with a vav, since Yitzchak constantly and discontinuously increased in his representation of and continuation of Avraham’s avodas Hashem. In other words, it was Yitzchak himself who added to the continuation of Avraham that was embodied in Yitzchak.

This beracha, to become unexpectedly better, was the beracha that Yitzchak gave to Yaakov, which is why he said to him ויתן לך - יתן ויחזור ויתן, Hashem should constantly increase the way in which He gives you beracha, as befits the greater tzaddik that you will have become.