Parashat Toledot tells the famous story of Yaakov's deceptive seizure of his father's blessing intended for Esav. As Esav left at his father's behest to hunt game and prepare meat for him, Rivka dresses Yaakov in Esav's clothing to help him trick his blind father into giving him the blessing. Interestingly, the verse describes the clothing as "bigdei Esav… ha-chamudot" - "the beautiful clothing of Esav" (27:15). Rashi brings two possible interpretations as to what this might mean. First, he cites Targum Onkelos' translation of the term, to mean "clean." Rashi then proceeds to cite a Midrashic explanation, which interprets "chamudot" as meaning "the coveted" (as in "lo tachmod"). The Midrash claims that Esav coveted - and then stole - this clothing from Nimrod, the mighty warrior of whom we read much earlier, in Parashat Noach (see 10:8-9). What are we to make of this notion, that Esav stole the clothing of Nimrod?
We begin our explanation by taking a quick look at a verse earlier in Parashat Toledot, describing Esav as he entered adulthood: "The lads grew, and Esav was a skilled hunter, a man of the field" (25:27). In the following verse, we read that Yitzchak loved Esav "ki tzayid be-fiv," which seems to refer to Esav's skill in hunting. It is noteworthy that only one other Biblical personality before Esav was described as a hunter - Nimrod. The verse in Parashat Noach portrays Nimrod as a "gibor tzayid," literally, "a mighty hunter."
If we view the Torah's description of Esav as intentionally associating him with Nimrod, then we will arrive at a somewhat startling conclusion: Yitzchak favored Esav specifically because he resembled Nimrod. Such a notion merely compounds the famous question as to why Yitzchak favored Esav over his righteous younger brother. Chazal accuse Nimrod of several crimes, including megalomania to the point of self-deification, instigating the infamous incident of Migdal Bavel (the Tower of Babel), and casting Avraham into the furnace for espousing monotheism. Why would Yitzchak love Esav "ki tzayid be-fiv" - because he was a hunter like Nimrod?
In truth, the association drawn between Esav and Nimrod actually helps explain why Yitzchak favored his eldest son. The Midrashim describe at length the conflict between Nimrod and Avraham. Nimrod and his empire represented the antithesis of Avraham's teachings, of monotheism, ethics, kindness, and humility. Esav stole Nimrod's clothing. One passage in the Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 65:12) describes the clothing mentioned in this verse as "bigdei malkhut" - royal garb. Esav coveted, and apparently seized, or at least opposed, Nimrod's authority and rule. Yitzchak thus saw in Esav the potential resistance to Nimrod that the world had been waiting for. The polytheistic and heartless rule of Nimrod could now, once and for all, be replaced by a grandson of Avraham Avinu, it will now give way to a kingdom founded on the principles he preached. If Avraham could not overthrow Nimrod's empire, then perhaps Esav, a skilled hunter and warrior of Nimrod's caliber, could. Therefore, Yitzchak wished to bestow upon Esav the blessings of prosperity and dominion. A close look at the blessings given to Yaakov under the guise of Esav reveals that it contains only these two themes - economic success and power. Yitzchak wanted Esav to rule the world in Nimrod's place, to establish a new empire that would overthrow Nimrod.
Rivka, of course, disagreed. Leaving aside the age-old question of why Yitzchak did not know what she knew, she understood that Esav did not represent the values of his father and grandfather; his campaign against Nimrod was prompted not by a desire to establish a kingdom of Godliness, but rather out of a sheer lust for power. She therefore ensured that the blessing of power would be given to Yaakov; it would be he and his offspring who would oppose the polytheistic and corrupt empire of the time, and one day establish the nation that would represent God and the values of kindness, compassion and generosity.