148. He opened the discussion, saying: "And he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, 'See, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field which Hashem has blessed'" (Beresheet 27:27). "And he smelled the smell of his garments" means that the garments emitted a pleasant scent that had never left them. Now we should examine this closely; it is written, "The smell of his garments," and, "The smell of my son." It does not say, 'The smell of the garments, but rather "the smell of my son." HE ANSWERS, But we learned that when Jacob entered the Garden of Eden entered with him, and we learned that those garments belonged to Adam, as it is written, "For the man also and for his wife did Hashem Elohim make coats of skins, and clothed them" (Beresheet 3:21), and He took them out from the Garden of Eden.
149. You may argue that it is written, "And they sewed fig leaves together" (Ibid. 7), and from them were THE SKIN GARMENTS THAT HASHEM MADE FOR THEM. If so, then why is it written, "Did Hashem Elohim make?" IF THEY HAD SEWN THEM THEMSELVES, and, "Coats of skins," when they were but a fig leaf. But as the Aramaic translation OF "COATS OF SKINS," it is 'precious garments.' And they emitted a scent from the spices of Eden.
150. And we learned that they were made with the full Name, as it is written, "Did Hashem Elohim make..." WHICH IS THE FULL NAME that even the heavens and earth were not made with. FOR ONLY ELOHIM IS MENTIONED IN RELATION TO THEM. HE ASKS, Is it not written, "In the day that Hashem Elohim made the earth and the heavens" (Beresheet 2:4)? HE ANSWERS, There is no difficulty here, for when they were first made they were not made with the full Name, but when they became permanent, they were maintained by the full Name. THE VERSE, "IN THE DAY THAT HASHEM ELOHIM MADE," WAS SAID FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAINTENANCE.
151. And concerning what was said, that these garments came to the wicked Esau, who took them from Nimrod, we explained this matter and it is difficult to understand. If so, why it is written, "For the man also and for his wife?" He made clothing for Adam and He made clothing for Eve, but what happened to the clothes of Eve? And if so, in what were they buried? Could you possibly conceive that they left and threw from themselves the supernal splendor that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them.
152. No one else wore the garments with which Adam and Eve clothed themselves, because they were in likeness of above in these garments. If you think that they wore them by themselves, come and behold, it is written, "And clothed them," in that the Holy One, blessed be He, clothed them. Blessed is their portion.
153. It is written, "O Hashem my Elohim You are very great, You are clothed with glory and majesty" (Tehilim 104:1), "Glory and majesty are before Him" (Tehilim 96:6), and, "Who covers Himself with light as with a garment..." (Tehilim 104:2). As soon as He was clothed, He accomplished His deed, THAT IS, HE CREATED THE WORLD. It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, clothed Himself in Light and created the heaven. THE GARMENTS OF ADAM WERE SIMILAR TO THIS CLOTHING. But how do we explain the verse, "The best clothes...which were with her in the house" (Beresheet 27:15)? HERE, the "best clothes" MEANS kingly garments of silk and gold, and it is the custom of the world to store them in spices and scents, because of the preciousness of the garments.
154. Come and behold, first, "he smelled the smell of his garments" (Ibid. 27), BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THE SCENT CAME FROM THEM. But when he felt it, he said, "See, the smell of my son," because he knew that the scent came from him and for his sake, AND NOT FROM THE GARMENTS. "Like the smell of a field which Hashem has blessed." HE ASKS, How did Isaac know about "the smell of a field which Hashem has blessed?"
155. HE ANSWERS, Rather, there are two things, which amount to the same. For it is written, "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening time" (Beresheet 24:63), AND THAT IS THE SAME ONE AS "A FIELD THAT HASHEM HAS BLESSED." Did not he have a house or another place to pray? But that field was the one that Abraham purchased near the cave OF MACHPELAH, as it is written, "The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Chet" (Beresheet 25:10). When Isaac came to the field, he saw the Shechinah over it, and it raised supernal holy scents. Therefore he prayed there, and set it AS A PLACE for prayer.
156. HE ASKS, Why did Abraham not pray there, IN THE FIELD OF THE CAVE OF MACHPELAH LIKE ISAAC? HE ANSWERS, Because he had a set prayer place before. Another reason was the scent that he saw at Mount Moriyah. Why was it called Mount Moriyah? Due to the good myrrh (Heb. mor) that was there.
157. And all was present BY JACOB SINCE IN ADDITION TO HIS OWN SCENT, the Garden of Eden also entered with him. Therefore, he blessed him. He did not attribute it to the garments, but rather to Jacob himself, for he saw that the scent originated in him, that he was worthy, and that he merited to be blessed and that the Garden of Eden entered with him. For this reason, when Esau stormed and protested, he said, "moreover, he shall be blessed" (Beresheet 27:33).