Page:A Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Genesis (Morgenstern, 1919, jewishinterpreta00morg).pdf/251

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233

Father's Blessing

absent upon a mission of mercy and love,

is

and base advantage of a mother's love, and misfortune and sorrow, to come bringing curse, and allow a that he himself escape unharmed. only upon her, provided to take

Lower than Yet

selfish

man

this a

can hardly sink.

merely shows

this

how

great and true his final re-

pentance must have been, that from such depths of iniquity he could

rise

such heights of manhood.

to

the greatness and eternity of God's love, that

It

shows, too,

He

can pardon

one who had sinned as Jacob had, and ever desires the return of even the vilest sinner, rather than to punish him for his sin.

It

bids us realize that in God's sight no one can ever

be so bad, as to be beyond hope of betterment

may

basest

still

even the



repent and return to God, and become an

instrument for good.

It

bids us realize, too, that

we

are

all

and most wicked, and that it is our duty ever to be ready to forgive, like God, and ever to help our brothers live noble, righteous, and useful lives. In ancient times the belief existed, and in a way still exists today, that a solemn word of blessing, spoken at sacred moments, particularly just before death, by someone close and beloved, was more than a mere wish. It was thought brothers, even of the lowest

that

at

such times a person stood in intimate communion

Therefore words of blessing possessed a myswhich made them certain of fulfillment.

with God. terious

power,

Accordingly to

bestow

upon

his

it

his

was customary for blessing upon his

firstborn

son.

In

fact,

a

man,

just before death,

children,

and particularly

the blessing of the

father was often regarded as the actual right of the born.

So

it

was

dying first-

in this case.

Just as Jacob desired the birthright, so also he coveted Isaac's

dying

blessing.

The

birthright

through selfishness and hard bargaining.

came

his

had

The

obtained

blessing be-

falsehood and theft. True, Rebekah and even suggested the plan, by which he

through

helped Jacob,

he \n