[Avodah] what mitzvos did Avos follow?

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Fri, Sep 01, 2017 at 05:17:58PM -0400, Sholom Simon via Avodah wrote:
: >The following are universally accepted
: >1]  AAvinu [howsoever we explain his Jewish status] followed all 
: >Halacha and even Minhag
: 
: Is this the case?

In a footnote to one of his father-in-law's maamarim, RMMS (the LR),
writes that this is meant that they did so "beruchnius, velo begashmius":
Some mitzvos they "only" fulfilled the point of the mitzvah without
physically doing the mitzvah. E.g. tefillin, with its mention of yetzi'as
Mitzrayim. Others, they did perform the mitzvah physically, but still
they only did so to accomplish the ruchnius -- it was only incidentally
physical, and only sometimes in the same form.

See http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=31608&st=&pgnum=137

For example (not given there), the Zohar links Yaaqov's spotted sticks
and changing the coats of sheep to the mitzvah of tefillin. But the
sticks didn't become qadosh, because uplifting and redeeming the gashmi
wasn't part of the plan.

There is more in Liqutei Sichos on Lekh Lekha
www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/68627/jewish/Likkutei-Sichot-Lech-Lecha.htm

Given RMMS's relationship to shitas Rashi, and our stereotype that
chassidus tends to take maximalist positions, I thought this position
would be somewhat interesting.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             We are what we repeatedly do.
micha at aishdas.org        Thus excellence is not an event,
http://www.aishdas.org   but a habit.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                   - Aristotle