For Food for Thought in Spanish: Haga clic aquí para leer en español. Please share this with your Jewish Spanish speaking family, friends, and associates.
In this week’s Torah portion of Toldos, Yitzchak gives blessings to Yaakov and Eisav. Yaakov dressed up as Eisav, and Yitzchak first thought he was giving Eisav a blessing. The Torah relates, “Then his father Yitzchak said to him, ‘Come close, if you please, and kiss me, my son.’ So, he drew close and kissed; he smelled the fragrance of his garments and blessed him; he said, ‘See, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field which Hashem had blessed. And may G-D give you of the dew of the heavens and the fatness of the earth, and abundant grain and wine. Nations will serve you, and regimes will prostrate themselves to you; be a lord to your kinsman, and your mother’s sons will prostrate themselves to you; cursed be they who curse you and blessed be they who bless you'” (Breishis 27:26-29).
The Sforno has a very fascinating connection between Yitzchak smelling his son and the first part of the blessing he gave. The Sforno goes on to give a detailed explanation of the first half of the blessing including a very interesting lesson on how to bring blessings into fruition.
The Sforno says that “‘[Yitzchak] smelled the fragrance on his garments’ to expand his soul with the delight of smell. As Chaza”l say, (Brachos 43b) ‘What thing gives pleasure to the soul and the body doesn’t benefit from it? This fragrant aroma.’ [Yitzchak] then blessed him, similarly to what it says in Melachim Beis (3:15), ‘And it came to pass when the musicians played, that the hand of Hashem was upon him.’ [Yitzchak began his blessing] ‘Behold the smell of my son,’ you my son see and focus on the fact that this fragrance is like the fragrance of a field, that beside the physical reality that it (a field) nourishes one with food, for any living being. There is also an added good from its fragrance that benefits and elevates the soul and spiritual life force, and this is one of the ways of its good quality that Hashem blessed it with. ‘And Hashem shall give to you’ and by you focusing in on the attribute if His goodness He will give to you, as G-D would, a blessed field; from the dew of heaven, for He will give you enough dew from Heaven that everyone will be happy with it, and it will not prevent you from traveling in and out. ‘And you will have much grain and wine’ in order to support others, as we find in Devarim 28:12, ‘And you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.'” (Click here for Hebrew text.)
The Sforno says that Yitzchak purposefully had his son bend down and kiss him so that he could smell his sweet-smelling garments and have a thrill of exhilaration and glee, so that he would be in the proper state of Divine inspiration when giving the blessings. Just as a prophet listens to music to get into the proper, joyful state to receive prophecy. Yitzchak began the blessings with an emphasis on this gift of smell. He wanted his son to focus on and appreciate that Hashem would not only bless him with an abundance of sustenance, which can provide for all walks of life, but will give it in a sweet-smelling way that provides satisfaction for the soul. Smell is a spiritual sustenance that uplifts the soul and which has to be appreciated as a G-Dly blessing (as we find by havdala, that we smell spices in order for the second, special soul that we get on Shabbos to leave in a pleasant manner). At this point we see that when Hashem showers blessing on someone the recipient should focus on and appreciate what he is receiving, as the Sforno says about the addition of good smell to the success of sustenance in the field, in order to realize the full extent of the blessing.
However the Sforno goes one step further; he says this blessing will only be given if one focuses on and appreciates it. Having hakaras hatov, gratitude for the attribute of goodness that Hashem is using to bless his field with enough abundance to not only feed himself and his family but to give to others. That is true blessing!
But why is a blessing dependent on the recipient’s recognition of how much good is coming to him? Hashem, who bestows blessings which, even as given by a regular person Chaza”l say, don’t take a blessing of a regular person lightly; all the more so a righteous person’s blessing. And even more so Yitzchak Avinu, who had clear and close Divine Inspiration as the Torah mentions. If so, then shouldn’t blessing come to fruition independent of the focus and gratitude of the recipient? It’s understandable that it might not be as appreciated if the recipient doesn’t think deeply about what he is receiving and focus on the goodness – but why does the Sforno seem to be saying that the blessing would not even come onto the recipient without his deep thinking and analysis of what is being offered and bestowed upon him?
It would seem that the Sforno is teaching us that built into the make-up of creation is that the amount that a blessing comes to fruition is indeed dependent on the level of recognition and appreciation of the blessing being bestowed.