Toldot in a nutshell

(https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3178/jewish/Toldot-in-a-Nutshell.htm)

Genesis 25:19–28:9

Isaac & Rebecca

Isaac is 40 years old when he and Rifka (Rebecca) marry.{daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean from Padan Aran, sister of Laban, the Aramean. So he married outside the tribe? Rifka was not from the Hebrew tribe? Or was there a tribe/culture of any nature at this stage. Or where they just a large family? } They [endure]{the stress, young teen girl probably around 14-15} twenty childless years, until their prayers are answered and Rebecca conceives. She experiences a difficult pregnancy as the “children struggle inside her”; G‑d tells her that “there are two nations in your womb,” "{one mightier than the other} and that the younger will prevail over the elder.

Esay & Jacob

Esau emerges first, {hairy and red}; Jacob is born clutching Esau’s heel. Esau grows up to be “a cunning hunter, a man of the field”; Jacob is “a wholesome man,” a dweller in the tents of learning. Isaac favors Esau; Rebecca loves Jacob. {Esau - masculine, of the earth, vibrant; Jacob - innocent, momma's boy, hanging around the tents with the women} Returning exhausted and hungry from the hunt one day, Esau [sells]{Sells? How come this is described as a sale? Why not give? Is there really a "profit" motive here? Then it makes the deception seem even worse. Even more premeditated. And how come Esau gave up his birthright so glibly? If he "despised" it (as it says), why? Was there no money in it?} his birthright (his rights as the firstborn) to Jacob for a pot of red lentil stew.

"All nations shall bless themselves by your seed.

The Wells

In Gerar, in the land of the Philistines, Isaac [presents]{Can we ever call a spade a spade as far as our Fathers are concerned? Isaac lied about Rifka being his sister. Firstly to Avimelech, who was an honourable man. He then prospers from his lie.} Rebecca as his sister, out of fear that he will be killed by someone coveting her beauty. He farms the land{And prospers, evoking the jealousy of his neighbours}, reopens the wells dug by his father Abraham, and digs a series of his own wells: over the first two there is strife with the Philistines, but the waters of the third well are enjoyed in tranquillity.{First well: Esek - because it was contested by its neighbours, the Gerar shepherders. The second, Sitna.}

The Deception

Is it acceptable to deceive the deceiver?
To use deception to correct a previous deception - that of Adam & Eve?

Esau marries two Hittite women {Judith, daughter of Be'eri, and Basemath, daughter of Elon}. Isaac grows old and blind, and expresses his desire to bless Esau before he dies. While Esau goes off to hunt for his father’s favourite food, Rebecca dresses Jacob in Esau’s clothes, covers his arms and neck with goatskins to simulate the feel of his hairier brother, prepares a similar dish, and sends Jacob to his father. Jacob [receives his father’s blessings]{After having lied twice to his father's face. In other words, he steals the blessing. What is the importance of the blessing? Is this the birthright that is referred to earlier? Why is the father's blessing so important? Or is it only important regarding our three Patriarch's? We know the blessing Isaac gave, and Jacob... who else?} for “the dew of the heaven and the fat of the land” and mastery over his brother. When Esau returns and the deception is revealed, all Isaac can do for his weeping son is to predict that he will live by his sword, and that when Jacob falters, the younger brother will forfeit his supremacy over the elder.

Jacob flees

Jacob leaves home for Charan to flee Esau’s wrath and to find [a wife]{man needs a wife to have a family. He also needs a village to raise a family.} in the family of his mother’s brother, Laban. Esau marries a third wife—Machalath, the daughter of Ishmael.

Isaac aware of the Deception

From Anonymous, Nov 14th, 2019 in response...

However, a blessing cannot work without the intent of the blesser, so you can't trick someone into truly giving you a blessing. So what was the point of the trickery here?

Well, once Isaac realized what happened, he suddenly understood the truth and what was right, and said that Jacob should be blessed! Rashi explains: "That you should not say that had Jacob not deceived his father, he would not have received the blessings, therefore, he concurred and blessed him intentionally."

At that point the blessing took hold, because Isaac said it with intent, wanting the recipient to be Jacob. There was no deception in the end, only a deception to open Isaac's eyes to who should really get the blessing.

{
Be'er sheva, where he found the water, he built an altar to the Lord. Called it Shibah - thus Be'er Sheva
Avimelech visits: "The Lord is with you. Peace."

}