Yaakov was a devoted son, and his mother’s welfare was surely a concern for him. Yet, Rivka’s promise, “Let your curse be upon me,” persuaded Yaakov to go ahead with her plan to trick Yitzchak into blessing him, and not Eisav, with the greatest blessings that Yitzchak had to offer. If Yaakov himself was afraid of Yitzchak’s curse, (should Yitzchak catch on to his tricky act,) then his mother’s offer that the curse would transfer to her instead was certainly not very comforting!

In truth, however, the reason that Yaakov went ahead with the plan was not because after Rivka’s offer he had less to lose if he were caught. Rather, Yaakov was persuaded by Rivka’s willingness to take the greatest risks in order for him to receive these blessings, which showed him that these blessings were worth whatever risk they involved. Moreover, Rivka’s precariousness showed Yaakov that not only was receiving the blessings worth taking risks, but also that the risk-taking is what would make him worthy of receiving these blessings.

Rivka understood that there was a reason that life was such that Yitzchak intended to grant these blessings to Eisav, even though Yaakov was rightfully entitled to them. That reason, she taught Yaakov, was because these blessings were of such incredible and incomprehensible nature that they could not be earned through normal and balanced means. To be the “soil” in which these transcendent blessings could “take root”, you must be ready to transcend the security of your perfectly rational and calculated lifestyle – you must be ready for mesirus nefesh, self-sacrifice.

Rivka inspired in Yaakov a readiness to sacrifice everything to receive these blessings, whereby he became the worthy recipient of blessings that surpass anything the mind could possibly grasp.

—Likutei Sichos vol. 1, p. 56

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