Parshas Vayeitzei: Tikun Olam

“Abraham observed every single commandment in the Torah including [future rabbinic decrees such as] eiruv tavshilin.” –Talmud Yoma 28b

“I (Jacob) sojourned with Laban, the evil one, yet I kept the six hundred and thirteen commandments and did not learn from his evil actions.” –Rashi Genesis 32:5

The Talmud and Midrash note that our ancestors observed the Torah and its statutes well before it was given at Sinai. We are also taught that being commanded to perform a mitzvah is a much higher level than a voluntary performance. Only after the national revelation at Sinai did the Torah become binding. Accordingly, being that the Torah is the Jewish heartbeat, why weren't our founding parents actually commanded in the performance of mitzvahs?

Rabbi Chaim Volozhin (1749-1821), one of the primary disciples of the Vilna Gaon, and the father of the Lithuanian Yeshivah Movement, in his work, Nefesh Hachaim, sheds tremendous insight into the pre-Sinai Torah observance. He explains that our ancestors were on such a high spiritual level, they were able to understand the colossal cosmic effect that every mitzvah has. Every act of theirs was measured by its effect on the universe at large. They were not commanded to perform, they merely wished to make the ultimate Tikun Olam, fixing of the world. For them it was all voluntary, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. Rabbi Yehudah Loew,

The Maharal of Prague (1525-1609) as well writes that for our forefathers, a mitzvah meant a good deed. It was absolutely unbinding, but nevertheless, they chose to perform. Obviously they were obligated in the seven Noahide laws, but not more than that.

Each one of our forefathers connected with the Torah in their unique manner. Jacob only received G-d's guarantee for perseverance in the exile after 14 years of non-stop studying in yeshivah. He was only able to tap into the Divine plan following those years of uninterrupted Torah study. His Judaism did not consist of feel-good deeds couched as Tikun Olam. His Judaism was deeply rooted in the Torah, yet it was not yet binding. He performed it as good deeds.

At Sinai everything changed. The Torah was accepted as binding and immutable. A mitzvah no longer means: "a good deed." It means a commandment which was commanded by G-d at Sinai. As Jews who accepted the Torah together at Sinai, we have a collective obligation of Tikun Olam. What is Tikun Olam? The fixing of the world. How do we accomplish that? By virtue of our serving as a beacon of light to all nations through our celebration of Torah and mitzvahs. No longer do we ask ourselves "How does this feel?" Rather we tell ourselves "This is the best. And if done right, it also feels amazing!"

However, in order for the Jewish nation to reach the point of Sinai, certain cosmic fixings were necessary. Jacob understood that the Divine plan called for him to beget the Jewish nation through two sisters. Defying the Torah once it was given would be out of the question. This act was Jacob's reaching into the Divine prior to the Revelation at Sinai. Had the Torah been given to our forefathers, the foundation would have never been laid. Amram would not have been able to marry his aunt Yocheved with whom he fathered Aaron, Moses, and Miriam. And the twelve tribes would never have seen the light of day. This aspect of our history was the Divine plan.

Today, all of the global rectifications necessary are only achievable through the adherence to Torah. Good deeds and good intentions once had their place in our history, but today the greatest way of saving the world is by peering into that old and dusty treasure chest that contains our Torah. All answers are found there. Just have a look inside!