The Avos' deeds prepared for receiving Torah

בענין הבארות ומקלות שכתב בזוה"ק שהוא בחי' עובדא.

Regarding the matter of the wells and the rods, which the holy Zohar writes is the aspect of "deed" (uvda).

He takes up Yaakov's wells and the peeled rods he set before the flocks, which the Zohar understands as representing the dimension of action/deed.

דכתיב עושי דברו לשמוע בקול דברו וחז"ל דרשו על שהקדימו נעשה לנשמע פריו קודם לעליו ע"ש.

For it is written, "those who do His word, to listen to the voice of His word," and Chazal expounded this regarding those who placed "na'aseh" (we will do) before "nishma" (we will hear) — their fruit precedes their leaves; see there. (Tehillim 103:20)

The verse praises those who "do" before they "hear"; Chazal connect this to Bnei Yisrael declaring "na'aseh" before "nishma" at Sinai — likened to a tree whose fruit comes before its leaves, deed preceding understanding.

ויתכן לומר כן בדורות ג"כ.

And it may be said so regarding the generations as well.

This pattern of "deed before hearing" can also be applied to the historical sequence of generations.

כי מעשה האבות הי' בחי' עושי דברו וזכו עי"ז למשוך אח"כ התורה מן השמים והיינו הקדמת נעשה לנשמע.

For the deeds of the Avos were the aspect of "those who do His word," and through this they merited afterward to draw down the Torah from heaven — and this is the placing of "na'aseh" before "nishma."

The Avos lived the "doing" of Hashem's will even before the Torah was given; their deeds were the "na'aseh" that earned the drawing-down of the Torah ("nishma") for later generations.

דאיתא מאבות התחילו ב' אלפים תורה שהיו מעשיהם הכנה לקבלת התורה.

For it is brought that from the Avos the "two thousand years of Torah" began, since their deeds were a preparation for the receiving of the Torah.

Chazal's reckoning that the "two thousand years of Torah" started with the Avos shows that their actions were the necessary hachanah (preparation) for Matan Torah.

והגם שלכאורה נראה דור המדבר גדולים יותר שקיבלו התורה אבל הכל הי' ע"י הכנת האבות עושי דברו כנ"ל:

And although it would seem at first glance that the generation of the wilderness was greater, since they received the Torah — nevertheless it was all through the preparation of the Avos, "those who do His word," as above.

Though the dor ha'midbar seems greater for actually receiving the Torah, in truth their achievement rested entirely on the foundation laid by the Avos, whose deeds preceded and made possible the "hearing" at Sinai.

Summary: Yaakov's wells and rods represent the dimension of deed. Just as Bnei Yisrael placed "na'aseh" before "nishma" at Sinai — fruit before leaves — so the Avos lived the "doing" of Hashem's will before the Torah was given. Their deeds were the preparation that drew the Torah down from heaven, so that even the great generation that received the Torah stood upon the foundation the Avos had laid.