Rashi comments on the pasuk וַֽיִּגְדְּלוּ֙ הַנְּעָרִ֔ים וַיְהִ֣י עֵשָׂ֗ו אִ֛ישׁ יֹדֵ֥עַ צַ֖יִד אִ֣ישׁ שָׂדֶ֑ה וְיַעֲקֹב֙ אִ֣ישׁ תָּ֔ם יֹשֵׁ֖ב אֹהָלִֽים that it was not until Yaakov and Eisav became gedolim, after bar mitzvah, that they went their seperate ways, one to the beis medrash, the other to avodah zarah:
כל זמן שהיו קטנים לא היו נכרים במעשיהם. הגדילו,ב זה פרש לבתי מדרשות וזה לעבודה זרה
Yet a few pesukim later we read that Yaakov was cooking red lentil soup, and Rashi there explains that this was a seudas havraah, as Avraham had just died at the age of 175, 5 years before his expected lifetime, so that he should die in peace and not witness his grandson Eisav go off the derech:
שאותו היום מת אברהם, שלא יראה את עשו יוצא לתרבות רעה, ואין זו שיבה טובה שהבטיחו המקום, לפיכך קיצר חמש שנים משנותיו. שיצחק חי ק״פ, וזה מת בן קע״ה, ובישל יעקב עדשים להברות האבל.
Simple math: Yitzchak was born when Avraham was 100, and 60 when Yaakov and Eisav were born. That would make Yitzchak 75 and Yaakov and Eisav 15 when Avraham died. If Eisav already went out to do עבודה זרה when he became a gadol, at bar mitzvah, as the previous Rashi tells us, where is the שיבה טובה that was promised? It was already 2 years too late!
Answers the Maharal in Gur Aryeh:
נראה דלא קשה, דאף על גב שהיה פורש לעבודה זרה - לא עבדה ולא עשה מעשה, אלא פורש אחריה ללמוד דרכה, דלא קאמר ד׳עבד עבודה זרה׳, אלא ׳פירש לעבודה זרה׳, ואין זה עדיין תרבות רעה:
We already saw this same idea a few parshiyos ago. Rashi comments on וַיִּסַּ֥ע ל֖וֹט מִקֶּ֑דֶם (13:11) that הסיע עצמו מקדמונו של עולם, Lot turned away from G-d. I once quoted the Alter m'Kelm who points out that we see that Lot risked his life to fulfill the mitzvah of hachnasas orchim even in Sdom; according to Rashi he baked matzah and celebrated Pesach there. Does this sound like someone who has run away from G-d and religion?! Answers the Alter of Kelm that we see from the pesukim that Lot cared more about pasture for his flocks than in being around Avraham Avinu. You eat the most kosher matzah, do mitzvos, dress the dress and walk the walk, but if your value system is off, that's הסיע עצמו מקדמונו של עולם.
Eisav did not become a practicing pagan at age 13. He still walked the walk and talked the talk of a frum Jew. Avraham could have שיבה טובה because he did not see his grandson engaging in any wrong behavior. However, Eisav's value system was off. His interests were elsewhere, not Torah and mitzvos.
(R' Chaim Shmuelevitz (quoted in the Mir Yeshiva parsha sheet) asks: Chazal tell us that it was only that very day of Avraham's death that Eisav went out to do aveiros, א״ר יוחנן, חמש עבירות עבר אותו רשע ביום ההוא. What then was Yaakov's hava amina to ask his brother to sell the bechorah? R' Chaim answers that Yaakov understood Eisav's character from the way he spoke. הַלְעִיטֵ֤נִי נָא֙ מִן־הָאָדֹ֤ם הָאָדֹם֙ הַזֶּ֔ה Rashi explains אפתח פי ושפוך הרבה לתוכה, shovel the food down my throat. Someone who speaks like that, who is so controlled by his appetite, is someone who will easily walk away from the bechora. According to the Maharal, the question doesn't get off the ground. Eisav was already a פורש from the beis medrash from earlier. He may not have actively engaged in aveiros yet, but his heart and mind were no longer engaged.)
The question is how do you deal with an Eisav? How do you keep him from drifting away?
When Yitzchak decided it was time to give the brachos, he called Eisav in and he told him וְעַתָּה֙ שָׂא־נָ֣א כֵלֶ֔יךָ תֶּלְיְךָ֖ וְקַשְׁתֶּ֑ךָ וְצֵא֙ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה וְצ֥וּדָה לִּ֖י צָֽיִד , to take his bow, his knife, his tools of the trade, and go out to the field to hunt some game and prepare a meal.
Why did Yitzchak need to send Eisav on this mission? Yitzchak had flocks of sheep; surely there was some lamb chops or mutton in the freezer that Eisav could have cooked up a meal with. It would have been a lot easier than hunting fresh game in the wild!
My wife's grandfather, R' Dov Yehuda Shochet, answered that the value a person places on something is in direct proportion to the effort put in to acquire it. Chazal tell us (B"M 38a) רוצה בקב שלו מתשעה קבין של חבירו. Rashi explains: חביבה עליו על ידי שעמל בהן . Yitzchak wanted Eisav to value the brachos; therefore, he forced him to work for them, to put in a huge effort.
I wanted to share with you a different answer given by the Alshich. According to the Alshich, Yitzchak knew that Eisav was a man of the field. Yitzchak knew that Eisav hunted not just animals, but he preyed on people as well, and he had a wild streak in him.
Rather than try to turn Eisav into another Yaakov, into something he was not and could not be, Yitzchak took a different approach:
ע"כ התחכם ויאמר לו עשה זאת איפה. והפך נא כל מעשה רשעתך לטובה כי הכלים אשר תעשה בם לסטאותך בהם תעשה מצותי זאת. וזהו שא נא כליך תליך וקשתך ובמקום אשר תעשה הרעות הוא השדה הידוע לך כד"א ויבא עשו מן השדה כי היה יודע ציד איש שדה שם עשה המצוה הזאת, וזהו וצא השדה ומעשה הרעה הוא הצידה אשר תצוד נפשות עתה צודה לי ציד כלומר מה שהיא ציד ולא מה שאינו ציד. באופן שתהפך כל הכנות רשעתך לטובה
Yitzchak's command of וְצֵא֙ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה וְצ֥וּדָה לִּ֖י צָֽיִד echoes the pesukim from earlier in the parsha. You're an אִ֛ישׁ יֹדֵ֥עַ צַ֖יִד? Great, so go צ֥וּדָה לִּ֖י צָֽיִד and fulfill the mitzvah of kibud av. Instead of וַיָּבֹ֥א עֵשָׂ֛ו מִן־הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה וְה֥וּא עָיֵֽף from doing who knows what wrongdoing, צֵא֙ הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה and accomplish something positive there. Take the same kelim that you use for robbery and who knows what else and use them to make a delicious meal. Use your talents for good.
The pasuk doesn't say צד; it says וְצ֥וּדָה לִּ֖י צָֽיִד. The point is not to command Eisav to hunt -- that's who Eisav is, it's not something he has to be told to do. The point Yitzchak was making is WHAT to hunt. צ֥וּדָה לִּ֖י צָֽיִד, as opposed to preying on people or doing other wrong.
Coming back to my wife's grandfather's point about Yitzchak surely not lacking for food at home, R' Saadya Gaon comments : וצודה לי ציד – לא היה צריך שיביא לו עשו, כי צאנו ובקרו רבים היו, אבל הבאת דבר מיגיעו ועמלו {של בנו} היתה לו לנחת רוח. By deliberately sending Eisav out to hunt instead of taking a ready made meal at home Yitzchak was validating who Eisav was and showing appreciation for his talents and efforts.
That's the secret to dealing with Eisav. Why didn't it work? Why in the end did Eisav remain a rasha? I don't have an answer. But I don't think it means the approach is wrong or doomed to failure. Not everyone can be an אִ֣ישׁ תָּ֔ם יֹשֵׁ֖ב אֹהָלִֽים. It's not one size fits all. Everyone has their talents and abilities that can be channeled for good, valued, and appreciated.
