Pinchas: Prayer - the Korban of Prayer
ד“ה צו את בני ישראל
After the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash, the sages instituted davening to replace the Korbanos that could no longer be brought. More specifically, the daily Shacharis and Mincha prayers were established corresponding to the two daily Tomid sacrifices that were offered each day in the Beis Hamikdash; one in the morning and one in the evening.
The Tomid was specifically a lamb and it was brought as a Korban Olah, meaning that it was entirely burnt up on the Mizbeach. The flesh, sinews, fats and bones were all elevated through the fires of the Mizbeach.
How are our prayers able to replace the Korbanos?
The different parts of the animal represent different aspects of the psyche of the soul. Like the burning of the animal on the Mizbeach, in davening we engage with the different aspects of the soul to elevate ourselves.
The Alter Rebbe quotes the anatomy works of the time that taught that the bones derive from the brain whereas the flesh, being red, derives from the blood which is in the heart. The flesh is joined to the bones by the sinews.
As such, the bones represent intellectual understanding and meditation. The flesh represents the emotions which are seated in the heart. The primary emotions are love and fear. These emotions exist within both the G-dly soul and the Animalistic soul.
For the G-dly soul, the experience of love is a desire for G-dliness. The love of the Animalistic soul is the desire for worldly materialism and indulgence. These passionate worldly desires are represented by the boiling blood in the left side of the heart, the seat of the Animalistic soul.
In davening we seek to subdue and ultimately transform the emotions of the Animalistic soul, so that instead of craving physicality, it too comes to desire G-dliness. This is the directive in the Shema to love Hashem בכל לבבך, which our sages interpret as to love Hashem with both of our inclinations.
We influence the emotions in our heart through the intellect. When we meditate deeply on G-dly concepts, our intellectual understandings flow through to stimulate and direct our emotions to desire that which we understand.
Davening is a meditation on the greatness of Hashem and His oneness; how nothing else exists other than Him and that all of existence is merely created from a ray of His light. Compared to the infinite light, this ray is like a drop of water in comparison to the vast ocean.
The full depth of such a deep intellectual understanding cannot be enclothed within the emotions. Our heart would not be able to contain such a realisation that would bring us to complete Bittul.
So the intellectual understanding goes through a contraction whereby only a ray of its influence comes into the heart. This is represented by the fine strands of the sinews, which attach the bones (the intellect) to the flesh (the emotions).
Yet even this limited influence of our deep understanding of the oneness of Hashem and the Bittul of the worlds, is sufficient to transform the emotions of the Animalistic soul and bring us to a deep thirsting and yearning for G-dliness.
This meditative process is illustrated in the sequence of Shema. The word Shema also means to understand. Shema Yisroel is a directive to meditate on the oneness of Hashem, Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echod.
This meditation leads to the next Posuk Veahtva - “and you shall love Hashem”. This is the fiery love and thirsting for Hashem spawned by the intellect, where we have no desire for worldliness but rather to be united with Hashem. This emotional excitement of our transformed emotions, is like the boiling blood of the Korban that is cast onto the Mizbeach.
The Shema continues with the words והיו הדברים האלה, which refers to the Mitzvah of learning Torah. The subsequent verses discuss the observance of Mitzvos.
The deep thirsting attained through our meditation can only be quenched through Torah and Mitzvos, which are revelations of Hashem’s desire and unite us with His essence. Torah and Mitzvos are the only way that this desire can be quenched.
With this realisation, we will have great pleasure and delight in the study of Torah and observance of the Mitzvos. This is represented by the fats which come from sating one’s desires, giving us pleasure and delight.
The reason that the Korban Tomid was a lamb is because sheep, whose bleating like the cry of a child arouse feelings of mercy and compassion, represent the attribute of Rachamim.
Even when our Animalistic emotions are stuck in worldly desires and we struggle to reveal the light of our G-dly soul, we can still engage in this Avodah. But to do so, we need to arouse Rachamonus on the G-dly soul that is trapped inside of us, descending into the confines of our physical bodies and desires.
This is why in the lead-up to Shema, we invoke Hashem’s great mercy רחמים רבים. We ask Hashem to have compassion upon us because we are unable to truly appreciate and feel the great Rachmonus ourselves. The power of this mercy helps us to reveal our G-dly soul and through its mediation, to transform our Animalistic desires and emotions.
Through meaningful Avodas Hatefillah we bring ourselves as a Korban Tomid, elevating our complete selves to Hashem.
ד“ה צו את בני ישראל
After the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash, the sages instituted davening to replace the Korbanos that could no longer be brought. More specifically, the daily Shacharis and Mincha prayers were established corresponding to the two daily Tomid sacrifices that were offered each day in the Beis Hamikdash; one in the morning and one in the evening.
The Tomid was specifically a lamb and it was brought as a Korban Olah, meaning that it was entirely burnt up on the Mizbeach. The flesh, sinews, fats and bones were all elevated through the fires of the Mizbeach.
How are our prayers able to replace the Korbanos?
The different parts of the animal represent different aspects of the psyche of the soul. Like the burning of the animal on the Mizbeach, in davening we engage with the different aspects of the soul to elevate ourselves.
The Alter Rebbe quotes the anatomy works of the time that taught that the bones derive from the brain whereas the flesh, being red, derives from the blood which is in the heart. The flesh is joined to the bones by the sinews.
As such, the bones represent intellectual understanding and meditation. The flesh represents the emotions which are seated in the heart. The primary emotions are love and fear. These emotions exist within both the G-dly soul and the Animalistic soul.
For the G-dly soul, the experience of love is a desire for G-dliness. The love of the Animalistic soul is the desire for worldly materialism and indulgence. These passionate worldly desires are represented by the boiling blood in the left side of the heart, the seat of the Animalistic soul.
In davening we seek to subdue and ultimately transform the emotions of the Animalistic soul, so that instead of craving physicality, it too comes to desire G-dliness. This is the directive in the Shema to love Hashem בכל לבבך, which our sages interpret as to love Hashem with both of our inclinations.
We influence the emotions in our heart through the intellect. When we meditate deeply on G-dly concepts, our intellectual understandings flow through to stimulate and direct our emotions to desire that which we understand.
Davening is a meditation on the greatness of Hashem and His oneness; how nothing else exists other than Him and that all of existence is merely created from a ray of His light. Compared to the infinite light, this ray is like a drop of water in comparison to the vast ocean.
The full depth of such a deep intellectual understanding cannot be enclothed within the emotions. Our heart would not be able to contain such a realisation that would bring us to complete Bittul.
So the intellectual understanding goes through a contraction whereby only a ray of its influence comes into the heart. This is represented by the fine strands of the sinews, which attach the bones (the intellect) to the flesh (the emotions).
Yet even this limited influence of our deep understanding of the oneness of Hashem and the Bittul of the worlds, is sufficient to transform the emotions of the Animalistic soul and bring us to a deep thirsting and yearning for G-dliness.
This meditative process is illustrated in the sequence of Shema. The word Shema also means to understand. Shema Yisroel is a directive to meditate on the oneness of Hashem, Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echod.
This meditation leads to the next Posuk Veahtva - “and you shall love Hashem”. This is the fiery love and thirsting for Hashem spawned by the intellect, where we have no desire for worldliness but rather to be united with Hashem. This emotional excitement of our transformed emotions, is like the boiling blood of the Korban that is cast onto the Mizbeach.
The Shema continues with the words והיו הדברים האלה, which refers to the Mitzvah of learning Torah. The subsequent verses discuss the observance of Mitzvos.
The deep thirsting attained through our meditation can only be quenched through Torah and Mitzvos, which are revelations of Hashem’s desire and unite us with His essence. Torah and Mitzvos are the only way that this desire can be quenched.
With this realisation, we will have great pleasure and delight in the study of Torah and observance of the Mitzvos. This is represented by the fats which come from sating one’s desires, giving us pleasure and delight.
The reason that the Korban Tomid was a lamb is because sheep, whose bleating like the cry of a child arouse feelings of mercy and compassion, represent the attribute of Rachamim.
Even when our Animalistic emotions are stuck in worldly desires and we struggle to reveal the light of our G-dly soul, we can still engage in this Avodah. But to do so, we need to arouse Rachamonus on the G-dly soul that is trapped inside of us, descending into the confines of our physical bodies and desires.
This is why in the lead-up to Shema, we invoke Hashem’s great mercy רחמים רבים. We ask Hashem to have compassion upon us because we are unable to truly appreciate and feel the great Rachmonus ourselves. The power of this mercy helps us to reveal our G-dly soul and through its mediation, to transform our Animalistic desires and emotions.
Through meaningful Avodas Hatefillah we bring ourselves as a Korban Tomid, elevating our complete selves to Hashem.