Parashat Vayetzei
November 21, 2025
Rachel Kirschbaum, High School Hebrew Teacher
Measure For Measure: Deceit As Its Own Reward
Isaac and Rebekah had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. According to our Rabbis, Esau, the elder, was a gifted hunter and outdoorsman, while Jacob was a reserved scholar. Isaac preferred that Esau carry on the family’s legacy, perhaps because of Esau’s qualities as a rugged individualist. Rebekah harbored hopes that her favorite, Jacob, would be the chosen one. Our Rabbis assert that Rebekah had a prophetic revelation that Jacob was destined for the predominant role.
In his old age, as Isaac approached his final days, he wished to bless and recognize his successor as his father Abraham had done before him. Isaac calls Esau to his tent to receive the special blessing. Rebekah, however, had different plans and wished to insert Yaakov into this role. Rebekah took Esau’s coat and used animal skin to disguise Jacob as Esau. She overcomes Jacob’s initial hesitation and convinces him to carry out the deception. The deception was successful; Isaac mistakes Jacob for Esau and grants him the blessing meant for the preeminent role in the family, the blessing intended for Esau.
Although the narrative does not comment on the propriety of this deceit, and Jacob continues in the role and becomes the main protagonist in the biblical story, while Esau’s story is largely omitted, another segment of the parashah casts a shadow on the morality of this deception. When Jacob flees Esau, he escapes to the house of Laban, a member of Rebekah’s family. There, he sees the beautiful Rachel, falls in love with her, and expresses to Laban, her father, his wish to marry her. Laban accedes, but on the night of the wedding, he substitutes Leah, the eldest, for Rachel.
The midrash imagines a dialogue between Jacob and Leah after the deceit is revealed. Yaakov accuses Leah, “You are a liar, a con artist, as is your whole family! “ But Leah responds forcefully, “As are you, didn’t you mislead your own father in disguising yourself as Esau and stealing his blessings?!” The midrash continues that this was a bone of contention for Jacob, and he resented Leah for these harsh words. The midrash undoubtedly drew upon the similarities (sometimes inverse) between the deceptions, the mother initiating the substitution of the younger brother for the older in one narrative and the father substituting the older sister for the younger in the second story.
So while the narrative seems to endorse the goals of Rebekah and Jacob’s deception, it also weighs on Jacob. This is an illustration of the classic mechanism “מדה כנגד מדה” (measure for measure), where immoral acts boomerang on their perpetrators. Jacob participates in Rebekah’s plot for justifiable goals, but nonetheless, it leaves a mark. Whenever we are faced with choices, we should remember that even if the goals seem lofty and justifiable, deceit has a way to exact its revenge. Oftentimes, the cost to the perpetrator is greater than that of the victim.