The Talmud states that long before the Torah was given on Mount Sinai, our forefathers observed all of its commandments. This is derived from a verse in Parshas Toldos: “We find that our father Avraham observed the entire Torah before it was given, as it is written, ‘Because Avraham heeded My voice, and kept My restrictions, My commandments, My statutes and My instructions.’”
But could Avraham have observed all the mitzvos in their physical form? In order to observe the mitzvah of wearing tefillin, for example, the tefillin must contain certain portions of the Torah, some of which speak about the exodus from Egypt. As the Exodus took place more than three centuries after Avraham’s passing, Avraham’s fulfillment of the mitzvah of tefillin could not have been identical to ours. Rather, Chassidus explains that our forefathers observed the spiritual equivalent of the mitzvos, meaning that they affected in the spiritual realm what we affect through our physical observance of the mitzvos.
The Torah’s teachings are not a mere documentation of history; they serve as a guide for every Jew in his or her service of G‑d. Accordingly, our forefathers’ uniquely spiritual observance of the mitzvos must provide a lesson for us as well.
How can we observe the mitzvos spiritually (in addition to observing them practically)? By being the inspiration and encouragement behind another person’s mitzvah observance. When we encourage someone else to keep Shabbos or to increase their Torah study, they alone can actually fulfill their personal obligation to observe that mitzvah. our involvement is only spiritual; their observance is driven by the words we spoke and the motivation that we inspired, but we cannot physically do those mitzvos in their stead.
The spiritual observance of mitzvos by our forefathers thus teaches us that besides for observing mitzvos physically (i.e., performing mitzvos ourselves), we must also engage in mitzvos that we fulfill spiritually (the mitzvos fulfilled by others at our encouragement).
—Toras Menachem 5745, vol. 1, p. 575
