Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 27:28/רמב"ן על בראשית כ״ז:כ״ח

אמִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם אֵין הַבְּרָכָה שֶׁיִּתֵּן לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם, כִּי הַטַּל יֵרֵד בְּכָל מָקוֹם, וְאִלּוּ אָמַר שֶׁיִּתֵּן רִבּוּי טַל אוֹ שֶׁיֵּרֵד בְּעִתּוֹ, כְּעִנְיָן "וְנָתַתִּי גִשְׁמֵיכֶם בְּעִתָּם" (ויקרא כו ד), הָיְתָה בְּרָכָה, אֲבָל פֵּרוּשׁוֹ כִּי הִזְכִּיר בּוֹ בִּרְכַּת ה' כְּרֵיחַ שָׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרֲכוֹ ה', וְהַטַּעַם אֲשֶׁר בֵּרְכוֹ ה' לִבְנִי, כִּי הַשֵּׁם בֵּרַךְ אוֹתוֹ בַּשָּׂדֶה, לוֹמַר שֶׁיַּצְלִיחֶנּוּ שָׁם בְּצֵידוֹ וְלֹא יָמוּת וְלֹא תְּבוֹאֵהוּ בּוֹ רָעָה. וְאָמַר וְיִתֶּן לְךָ הָאֱלֹהִים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ, וְהַבְּרָכָה תּוֹסֶפֶת וְרִבּוּי, אוֹ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה "וְרֹב דָּגָן וְתִירֹשׁ" בְּתוֹסֶפֶת הַוָּא"ו, וְשִׁעוּרוֹ וְיִתֶּן לְךָ הָאֱלֹהִים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ רֹב דָּגָן וְתִירוֹשׁ. וְהַנָּכוֹן בְּעֵינַי כִּי מַתַּת הָאֱלֹהִים תָּמִיד הוּא וְאֵין לוֹ הֶפְסֵק לְעוֹלָם, וְלָכֵן אָמַר וְיִתֶּן לְךָ הָאֱלֹהִים כָּל יָמֶיךָ עַל אַדְמָתֶךָ מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְיִתֵּן לְךָ מִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ, כְּלוֹמַר הַשְּׁמֵנָה בְּכָל הָאֲרָצוֹת, כְּעִנְיָן שֶׁכָּתוּב (יחזקאל כ ו) "צְבִי הִיא לְכָל הָאֲרָצוֹת". וְרַבִּי אַבְרָהָם אָמַר (אבן עזרא על בראשית כ"ז:כ"ח) כִּי מֵ"ם מִטַּל מוֹשֵׁךְ עַצְמוֹ וְאַחֵר עִמּוֹ, וּמִמִּשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ, וּלְעֵשָׂו לֹא נִתְּנוּ בְּמַתַּת אֱלֹהִים וְלֹא בְּרִבּוּי, אֲבָל אָמַר גַּם לְךָ אָצַלְתִּי אַחֲרָיו, וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ וּמִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם יִהְיֶה מוֹשָׁבֶיךָ, בְּעוֹד אֲשֶׁר תֵּשֵׁב שָׁם, יִרְמֹז כִּי יִכְלֶה וְיֹאבַד אַךְ בְּעוֹדוֹ יִהְיֶה חֶלְקוֹ טוֹב:

1OF THE DEW OF HEAVEN. The blessing is not that G-d give him of the dew of heaven for the dew descends in all places. Now had he said that G-d give him an abundance of dew, or that it come in its season, even as it says, Then I will give your rains in their season,²¹⁵ that would have constituted a blessing. Instead, its meaning is as follows: Since above he mentioned G-d’s blessing, As the odor of a field which the Eternal hath blessed,²¹⁶ meaning “which G-d had blessed for my son”²¹⁷, as referring back to the word b’ni (my son), thus making it “the field which G-d had blessed for my son.” Isaac thus continues his blessing by saying, “Just as He has blessed the field for you, my son, may He also give you another blessing, namely, of the dew of the heavens.” — that is, since G-d blessed him in the field by giving him success there in his hunt and by guarding him from death or any mishap — he now says, So G-d give thee, [as an additional blessing], of the dew of heaven, and of the fat places of the earth. It is thus a blessing of addition and abundance. It may be that the expression, And plenty (‘verov’) of corn and wine, is written in the Torah with an extra vav, [which should not affect the meaning], with the sense of the verse being: “So G-d give thee of the dew of heaven and of the places of the earth, i.e., plenty of corn and wine.”In my opinion the correct interpretation is that G-d’s gift is steady and there is never any interruption in it. Therefore he says, “So G-d give thee for the extent of your days upon your land of the dew of heaven, and give thee of the fat places of the earth,” meaning the fattest of all lands, even as it is written, The beauty of all lands.²¹⁸Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra says that the prefix mem in the word mital, (of the dew) applies to itself and yet to another word, [namely, mishmanei (the fat places of the earth), which is then to be understood as] umimishmanei ha’aretz and from the fat places of the earth.²¹⁹To Esau, on the other hand, he gave a blessing which mentions neither through a gift of G-d nor with abundance. Rather he said, “For you too I have reserved a blessing after him: of the fat places of the earth and of the dew of heaven shall your dwelling be.”²²⁰ That is “as long as you will dwell there,” thereby alluding that he will ultimately be destroyed and lost, for only as long as he will live will his lot be good.