Bo: Chapter 7

"And he smelled the smell of his garments"

Synopsis

Rabbi Shimon says that when Jacob entered before his father, the scent of the Garden of Eden went in with him, and that the clothes he wore belonged to Adam. He asks what happened to the clothes of Eve, and in what clothing Adam and Eve were buried. He answers himself by saying that, when they left, they threw off the supernal splendor with which God had clothed them. We learn that as soon as God was clothed, as in "Who covers Himself with light as with a garment," He created the world. The question arises of how Isaac knew about "the smell of a field that Hashem has blessed." Rabbi Shimon explains that the field in "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening time" was the field near the cave of the Machpelah, and that Jacob saw the Shechinah on it, and it raised supernal holy scents. The conclusion Rabbi Shimon draws is that Isaac blessed Jacob because Isaac did not attribute the scent to the clothes at all; he attributed it to Jacob himself because he saw that he was worthy and deserving of his blessing. The rabbis then talk about the tenth day of the seventh month, Yom Kippur, and the sacrifice of the lamb. We are reminded that Yisrael does an action below, and God does the action above.