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It comes from Kabbalah. An early source for it is Midrash Hane'elam (a section of the Zohar), which states that "each of the forefathers knew Hashem through his own mirror [i.e., in a way that reflect …

Another Kabbalistic idea is that Eisav and Yaakov represent, respectively, the spiritual worlds of Tohu ("chaos") and Tikkun ("correction"). A presentation of this idea is here. A couple of key paragr …

I would think that it's simply this: Hashem told Avraham to offer Yitzchak "on one of the mountains which I will tell you." So the Divine cloud on the mountain was necessary for that purpose, otherwi …

The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 41:6) states that in fact Avraham chose his words carefully. If he really meant that he would go left, he would have said ואשמאלה (without the yud); but ואשמאילה really m …

Yitzchak's name was bestowed by Hashem (Gen. 17:19). (Yerushalmi, Berachos 1:6) Actually, Rashi (first explanation to Gen. 25:26) says that Yaakov was also named by Hashem. Yefeh Mar'eh simply say …

The Gemara (Kiddushin 18a, top) calls Eisav ישראל מומר - an apostate Jew.

Yalkut Shimoni (Shemos, sec. 162) gives the birthdates of the shevatim and the ages to which they lived, and Sefer Hayashar (beginning of Shemos) gives similar figures for their ages and adds how many …

Ramban (to Gen. 12:2) says that the Torah didn't want to go into everything that happened between Avraham and the idolators of his native country, because it doesn't want to have to explain their the …

Daas Sofrim explains that v. 3 is not Hashem's blessing, but rather an explanatory statement: "Remain in this land," He tells Yitzchak, "because it is the land that I will be giving to you and your ch …

R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi explains (in Torah Ohr, Toldos 20c) that Eisav had great spiritual potential embedded in him (ציד בפיו, lit. "something captured in his mouth") - as indeed eventually was rea …

The answer here, from R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi, also addresses this issue. In brief, Yitzchak planned to bless Eisav because he thought that this would be the right way to redeem the spiritual "spar …

The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l states (Likkutei Sichos, vol. 15, p. 269), based on his analysis of the relevant verses, that the one camp contained Yaakov's livestock and the people responsible for taking …

Birkas Avraham (by R. Avraham Mordechai Albert) suggests that it was in keeping with the idea that "someone who suspects his fellow of a matter that that fellow is not guilty of... he must bless him." …

Midrash Hagadol (to Gen. 48:1) cites an opinion that Osnas, Yosef's wife, urged him to do so: "I have heard that anyone who receives a blessing from a tzaddik is as if he received it from the Divine P …

The name אברם numerically equals 243. Originally Avram was master of 243 of his 248 body parts: all except his two eyes, two ears, and male organ. [These are usually exposed to improper stimuli, even …