148) “And He smelled the smell of his garments, and said, ‘The smell of my son is as the smell of a field.’” “And He smelled the smell of his garments” means that the clothes were emitting fragrance and that that scent never vanished from them.
It is written, “The smell of his garments,” and it is written, “The smell of my son.” It is not written, “The smell of the clothes,” but, “The smell of my son,” since Jacob entered the Garden of Eden with him, and those clothes were of Adam haRishon, as it is written, “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them,” and took them out of the Garden of Eden.
149) But it is written, “and they sewed fig-leaves.” Thus, what are the garments of skins that the Lord had made for them? And why is it written, “And the Lord God made,” if they sewed by themselves? Also, why is it written, “garments of skins,” if they were fig-leaves? However, garments of skins means dignified clothes. And they were emitting scent from the perfumes in Eden.
150) They were made with the full name, as it is written, “And the Lord God made,” which is the full name. The heaven and earth were not made so because only God is written in regard to them. But it is written, “In the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven,” since when they were made, they were not made with the full name, and when they existed, they existed in the full name. And the verse, “In the day that the Lord God made” refers to existence.
151) It was said that these garments came to that wicked, Esau, who took them from Nimrod. But it is written, “For Adam and for his wife,” meaning He made garments for Adam and garments for Eve. And what was done with Eve’s garments? With what were they buried? Can it be that they left the sublime radiance that the Creator gave them and threw them off themselves?
152) But these garments that Adam and Eve had worn, no other person wore them, since with these garments, they were similar to what is above. They did not clothe in them by themselves, but as it is written, “And clothed them,” meaning the Creator clothed them. Happy are they.
153) It is written, “O Lord my God, You are very great, You are clothed with splendor and majesty.” And it is written, “Splendor and majesty are before Him.” It is also written, “Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching out the heavens like a curtain.” Once He was clothed, He created the world. The Creator covered Himself in light and created the heavens. And the clothes of Adam haRishon were similar to this clothing, as it is written, “And Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob.” “Best garments” means royal attire of silk and gold. It is common practice to adorn them with perfumes and fragrances for the dignified garments.
154) First, “he smelled the smell of his garments,” since he thought that the scent was coming from them. And when he felt, he said, “See, the smell of my son,” since he knew that it was up to him, that the scent was coming for him, and not from the clothes. “As the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed.” How did Isaac know the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed?
155) These are two things, but it is all one. It is written, “Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening,” and he was one with the field which the Lord has blessed. But did he not have a house or some other place in which to pray? Rather, it was that field which Abraham bought, near the Cave of Machpelah, as it is written, “The field which Abraham purchased of the children of Heth.” And when Isaac came to the field, he saw the Shechina over it, and it was emitting high and holy scents. Hence, he prayed there and set that place as a place of prayer.
156) Why did Abraham not pray there, in the field of the Cave of Machpelah, as did Isaac? It is so because in the beginning, he had permanency of a different place, and he saw another thing of scent on Mount Moriah, named after the good myrrh that was there.
157) And it was all with Jacob, since besides his smell, GE [Galgalta Einayim] entered with him, too, and this is why he blessed him. For this reason, he did not ascribe the matter to the clothes but to Jacob himself, since he saw that the scent depended on him, and he was worthy and his merit was rising to be blessed, and entered the Garden of Eden with him. For this reason, when Esau complained, he said, “he shall be blessed,” as well.