Not the Real Thing

By Rabbi Joshua (fearfully known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

The Torah tells us that Ya'akov, in preparing for his confrontation with Eisav, was afraid. What did he fear? The midrash says that he feared Eisav's merit for honoring his father, something that Ya'akov himself had not been able to do for the last twenty-two years, when he was away from home. Rav Mordechai Gifter, in his Pirkei Torah, points out that this fear is a bit difficult to understand. After all, Ya'akov was simply not in the position to be able to serve his father when he was absent from home, so why should he suffer as a result? Rav Gifter answers that Ya'akov knew that honoring his father would elevate his soul, and he was lacking that elevation, and that is why he was afraid.

This explanation of Ya'akov's fear is better understood when keeping in mind the Ramban's comment that the observance of the mitzvos on the part of the patriarchs was in the category of someone who does mitvos without being commanded to do so. The main value of performing mitzvos in this way can be seen as being dependent on the level pf spiritual elevation achieved thereby The main element in mitzvah fulfillment after the Torah was given is obedience to God's word, and this element was lacking in mitzvah performance done before the revelation at Mt. Sinai.

The Talmud, in fact, teaches that someone who is commanded to do a mitzvah and performs it, is on a higher level than someone who performs it without being commanded. Tosafos explain that this is because the person who is commanded has a greater inner struggle, overcoming the inclination to disobey. The Maharal, however, offers a different explanation. He says that the fact that the person is commanded to do the mitzvah means that it is part of his spiritual definition, of the level he is supposed to strive to reach, and, consequently, observing the mitzvah accomplishes more for him than it does for someone who is not commanded. Perhaps we can add that this lack of command in the era before the Torah was given can help explain how Eisav was able to excel in honoring his father and still remain morally corrupt in other areas. Lacking the element of obedience to God's word, his admirable behavior did not elevate him above his faults (see also Netvort to parashas Toldos).