Source: Talmud Bavli Rosh Hashanah 16b; Shabbat 55a; Yoma 87a; R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Al HaTeshuvah (1974).

The righteous deeds of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob generate spiritual capital benefiting their descendants. Rosh Hashanah 16b: ‘Blow the shofar — the Holy One says: Blow before Me a ram’s horn so that I may remember the binding of Isaac and account it to you as if you had bound yourselves before Me.’ Distinct from vicarious atonement: ancestral faithfulness creates divine favor (zekhut) descendants can invoke. Soloveitchik (Al HaTeshuvah): we are called to generate zekhut ourselves through our own teshuvah, not merely inherit it.