Yisro
The Midrash teaches that the Patriarchs and Matriarchs kept the entire Torah before the Torah was given!
How are we to understand this? Surely there are commandments which they could not possibly keep? For example the Exodus had not happened so how would they know to eat Matza? And even if they did eat Matzah surely its meaningless as at the end of the day it reminds us of the actual Matzah they ate in Egypt and upon Exodus?
Furthermore if they kept the Torah prior to the giving of the Torah then what is the purpose of the revelation at Sinai!?
This question is addressed in most elaborate form by the mystics and contains some of the deepest secrets of our Torah. But I will attempt to give a very brief answer in broad brush strokes.
When we say the Patriarchs/Matriarchs kept the Torah we mean that they perceived and recognised the spiritual root of each Mitzvah and based on this they were able to construct their own vehicle in this physical world in order to achieve their primary aim of drawing close to Hashem in love and awe.
What does the “spiritual root ” of a Mitzva mean? Each Mitzva has an outer shell the way it is performed and observed in this world. But on a deeper spiritual level the Mitvza represents a particular Divine energy.
It is the latter they were able to tune into.
Taking the Mitzva of Matzah we mentioned above. Usually we think linearly about a Mitvzah; for example the Mitzva of Matzah is eaten to commemorate the Exodus- that the Exodus ’caused’ the Mitzva of Matzah. However on a deeper level the cause effect relationship is the reverse! The Exodus happened because of the Mitzva of Matzah!! In other words there is a unique spiritual energy of freedom that reoccurs every 15th of Nissan. Historically this manifest itself most intensely with the actual exodus and birth of the Jewish nation, but the spiritual energy precedes the historical occurrence and it is this that the Patriarchs/Matriarchs were able to tap into.
We can now answer our second question: what was the purpose of the giving of the Torah if our forefathers already intuited the Torah and Mitzvot?! The answer is that prior to the giving of the Torah the Mitvzot had no concrete form. The Patriarchs were able to utilise the material world as a vehicle to achieve a higher state of consciousness – primarily a love and awe of God.
However they could not affect the world itself. The objects they used for serving God were holy only whilst they were being used but not afterward.
In contrast the giving of the Torah introduces a new element into our relationship with Hashem- Holiness in the physical world. The Mitvzot become concretised. They have detailed form and structure. A Sukkah that is more than 40 feet high is not kosher no matter whether the person sitting in it has the highest meditations on Hashem’s presence! This applies to every Mitzvah we can think of.
The Mitzvot we do transform the actual physical object and teh world into a “home for Hashem’s” presence. This means that a Mitzva performed by the simplest Jew – who knows on the simplest level he is observing a command of God- is as impactful as the same Mitzva performed by a great righteous and holy person.
Whilst reaching a higher state of consciousness (a.k.a Kavvana) is also a part of the Mitzva, the main thing is still the action.
Through the giving of the Torah the Jewish people are able to fulfil the ultimate purpose in creation – making a dwelling place in this lowest of all realms.
The Mitvzot of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs were spiritually very high. They were supercharged Jews able to perceive the incredible unity of creation. Nevertheless there service was only a precursor to the service of the Jewish people after Mattan Torah.
Next time you do a Mitzva however small, think how you are literally bringing Godly light into your corner of the world, a light that only you can bring into the world.
This hopefully will fill us with Joy/Simcha at living with Hashem in this very moment.
Shabbat Shalom