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Meaning in Mitzvot -
Lesson 104

Tetzaveh | Study and Prayer as Avoda

21.09.2014
Text file

 

In last week's parasha we learned how to construct the Mishkan; this week, we learn what to do with it.  Tetzaveh is the first of many parashiot which instruct us in the proper way to bring sacrifices in the Temple - in this case, the sacrifices which initiate the Kohanim into their service.

 

Today there is no Temple.  Instead of bringing sacrifices in the Tabernacle or Temple, we say prayers in synagogue, or even in private.  The prophet Hoshea says "And may our lips compensate for bulls" (Hoshea 13:3), and the our Sages inferred that prayer is comparable to bringing a sacrifice (Bemidbar Rabbah Korach, see also Yoma 86b.)

 

The Midrash Rabba on our parasha shows that this likeness is not just a "consolation prize" conceived after sacrifice became impossible.  It is bound up with the very essence of the sacrifices.  The first words of the introductory verse describing the first sacrifice to be brought in the Mishkan, read "And this is the thing [vezeh hadavar] which you shall do to them, to sanctify them to serve Me as Kohanim" (Shemot 29:1.)  "Davar," which we translated as "thing," also means "word."  The Midrash indicates that this hints at words of Torah or prayer, which God accepts whenever bringing a sacrifice is not mandated or possible.

 

Indeed, the gemara states that the Sages related each prayer service to a corresponding sacrifice.  This correspondence has many halachic ramifications.

 

For instance, the time of the Shacharit (morning) and Mincha (afternoon) prayers correspond to the time of the morning and afternoon Tamid sacrifices (the two sacrifices brought every day on behalf of all of Israel.)  The time of the Musaf (additional) prayer corresponds to that of the Musaf sacrifice (additional sacrifice brought on Festivals.)  So too the sacrifice of Ma'ariv (evening) corresponds to that of burning the remainders of the sacrifices at night (Berakhot 26b.)

 

The individual prayers are likened to a "korban yachid"- "individual's sacrifice," and therefore voluntary prayers are permissible.  But the communal prayers are likened to a "korban tzibur"- "communal sacrifice," and since voluntary communal sacrifices are very rare, voluntary communal prayers are forbidden (SA OC 107 and MB s.k.  98.)

 

Washing hands before prayer is mandatory (SA OC 92:4), and this is likened to the Kohen's sanctification from the laver before serving in the Temple (see MB there).  And the former decree of Ezra requiring a ba'al keri (male impure due to seminal discharge) to immerse before prayer (SA OC 88) reminds us that a ba'al keri can not enter the Temple before immersion.

 

What do Torah and prayer have in common with the Temple sacrifices?

 

The Ramban (Vayikra 1:9) explains that seeing sin offerings slaughtered and burned makes us conscious that we ourselves are really worthy of being killed and consumed for transgressing the will of God.  Ultimately, we are sacrificing ourselves, becoming conscious that we live only to fulfill God's will.

 

The Mishna Berura (120:1) points out that when we pray in the "retzei" benediction that God "accept" (some understand "restore") the "ishei Yisrael," this term can be translated as either the "offerings" of Israel (which are brought on the "esh" or fire) or the "men" of Israel (plural of "ish.")  The Mishna Berura refers to the Midrash which relates that since the earthly Temple was destroyed, the angel Micha'el sacrifices the souls of the righteous on the altar of the heavenly Temple.  This is another way of saying that the righteous are individuals who sacrifice themselves completely to fulfilling God's will while they are alive.

 

Merely saying the words of Torah study or of the prayers is no more Divine service than merely slaughtering and cooking animals.  But true Talmud Torah (Torah study) and genuine Prayer imply total devotion to God - recognizing that all of our acts have to conform to His will, and that everything that occurs to us depends on Him.  When we study and pray in this way, then it is truly as if we had offered a sacrifice in the Temple in the proper spirit.

 

 

 

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