When Jacob put on the hairy garments of Esau, he was not dressing himself up as another.
He was really showing his father his own dual nature.
Jacob was not a copy of Isaac, nor was he a throwback to Abraham.
He was a synthesis, an integration of both Abraham and Isaac.
As such, Jacob was also the one who made it possible for something new to take place.
He was the keeper of tradition who was also an innovator.
Jacob was the hidden one.
What was visible of him was only an image, a rather pale figure of what could become meaningful.
It was only later, when he revealed himself as the one capable of acting and taking responsibility for the action of others, when he strove with men and angels–only then was he worthy of the blessing.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From Biblical Images by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz