Maasei Avot, Siman LaBanim
“The deeds of the ancestors are signposts for the children.” There are different ways to see and understand this fundamental phenomenon of Jewish History and Life.

Avraham Avinu and Sara Imeinu went down to Egypt from Eretz Yisrael, because of a famine. So did Yaakov and his family, years later. They had dealings with Par’o there. So did their descendants. They returned to Eretz Yisrael from Egypt with great wealth. So did the people of Israel more than 400 years later.

That’s one level of Maasei Avot. Another way it operates is on a Spiritual Genetics level. Avraham and Sarah were the paradigms of hospitality.

Hospitality is one of the hallmarks of the Jewish People. It can be said that we inherited this and other qualities from the Avot and Imahot. It does not necessarily mean that every Jew is hospitable; it does suggest that we have a strong disposition in the direstion of hospitality. And so too in many other areas of CHESED. Our sources tell us that there are three signs of the Jewish Personality: We are (by NATURE, as possessors of the spiritual genes - so to speak) of our ancestors) BAISHANIM (innately modest), RACHAMANIM (merciful), and GOMLEI CHASADIM (performers of acts of kindness). [Some sources refer to these traits as gifts from G-d at Sinai.]

Rambam considers the absence of these qualities from a person as grounds to suspect that the person is not Jewish. The S’fat Emet says it like this: Our ancestors planted these three qualities in Bnei Yisrael.

In addition to NATURE, there is also the element of NURTURE. These qualities and others might be spiritually inherited from our forebearers, but they must be nurtured and developed within ourselves and our children. People can be mean and cruel, even if kindness is inborn. Parents and a child’s environment can stifle and stunt the development, the personalization and internalization of these qualities within the child. On the other hand, personal example set by parents and teachers can have a very positive effect on the developing person and the developing Jew.

Training in Mitzvot must be a lot more than teaching a child to make brachot, wear tzitzit, keep kosher, and observe Shabbat. CHINUCH applies to the many aspects of personality and character, so that our children grow up as true heirs of Avraham & Co.

And an extension of Maasei Avot is to be careful to avoid some of the deeds of our ancestors, where our Sages have described them as negative. The Torah shows us that our Avot made mistakes. Learning from them is sometimes as important as learning from the positive.