Musar for Nedarim 61:3

Jacob was the descendant of Isaac and Rebeccah. In the case of Abraham's son Isaac, G–d had promised Abraham only כי ביצחק יקרא לך זרע, that part of Isaac would be his worthy seed, not all of Isaac. The Torah reports that Rebeccah loved Jacob (25,28). We have said that then the world was filled with Jacob's "beauty," which was of the kind once possessed by Adam, מטתו שלמה, Jacob's bed was perfect, i.e. all his children were loyal to his teachings which enabled him to become known as ישראל. Since only ישראל is called אדם, the connection between Jacob and Adam is clear.

We need to appreciate that the name יעקב is in fact ישראל. The name יעקב alludes to an exalted position on earth, i.e. in this world; it reflects observance of Torah in this world, not expecting to be rewarded in this world, but being content היום, לעשותו, מחל לקבל שכרם, as we have explained earlier. The name ישראל is the direct outcome of יעקב having been what he was here on earth. Our sages have taught us that שכר מצוה מצוה, that the reward of performing a commandment is the מצוה itself (Avot 4,2). This means that the spiritual element of the מצוה one performs on earth becomes the glue with which one attaches oneself to G–d in the Hereafter. When David refers to the great reward in store as a result of observing the commandments, i.e. בשמרם עקב רב (Psalms 19,12), he points to the seemingly insignificant commandments people are in the habit of ignoring. The word Eikev means סוף, end. The word סוף also means תכלית, the ultimate purpose of life as defined by Solomon in Kohelet 12,13 in the words: סוף דבר את האלוקים ירא ואת מצותיו שמור כי זה כל האדם. "To sum up: Fear the Lord, observe His commandments, for this is what man is all about." This סוף which Solomon speaks about in Kohelet is the latter part of Jacob's name עקב, heel, itself the tail-end of a person. This יעקב was alluded to earlier in the Torah when G–d said to Isaacs, “I shall multiply your seed like the stars of the heaven" (26,4). G–d goes on to say that inheritance of the land of Israel will be due to Abraham having listened to G–d's voice and having observed His commandments, עקב אשר שמע אברהם בקולי. The word עקב refers to that part of יעקב's name.

All these matters are alluded to in the word הזה in Genesis 28,17. Bereshit Rabbah 63,8, commenting on Genesis 25,22, where Rebeccah complained about the fetuses within her quarreling, by saying: אם כן למה זה אנכי, quotes Rabbi Nechemiah as saying that Rebeccah had sufficient merit to become the mother of twelve tribes, in accordance with the numerical value of the letters in the word זה; seven corresponding to the letter ז, and five to correspond to the letter ה. Did Rabbi Nechemyah think that we could not count to twelve and had to have this calculation broken down for us? I believe the Midrash wanted to stress why the number twelve here is composed of a combination of 7+5, and not of, say, 8+4 or 9+3. Why did the Midrash have to see in that number a reference to the twelve tribes? The Torah does not mention anything about that number of children! Maybe the number twelve refers to something else?

Having concluded with the development of Esau's descendants, the Torah turns to Jacob's settling in ארץ ישראל. The Torah next tells us that the true descendant of Jacob was Joseph. Since the word Toldot also means the further development, even through re-incarnation, we are told that it was Joseph who set in motion these developments, i.e. the refinement of the Jewish people in the "iron crucible," the bondage experience in Egypt. Having concluded the process of refinement, Israel was ready to receive the "crown" of Torah. Even Jacob personally had to reside in Egypt for a while in order to rid himself of the sin of not having performed the commandment of honoring father and mother during the twenty years he was at Laban's and the two years (on the journey to Laban and back). Although G–d had told Abraham that his descendants would be part of Isaac's seed (Genesis 21,12 expounded on in the Talmud Nedarim 31), and the Torah meant this to exclude Esau as the carrier of the Abrahamitic tradition, the fact remains that during the years of Jacob's absence from his father's home, the people in the land of Canaan perceived Esau as the true heir, for it was he who ministered to the needs of his father and mother in spectacular fashion. As a result, Jacob had to suffer pain at the hands of his most precious seed, his son Joseph. He observed mourning for Joseph for twenty-two years during which Joseph was in Egypt, the land described as the pubes of the Earth. During those years Joseph atoned for the fact that only part of Isaac's seed developed in the manner hoped for.