Song Through The Korbanos

קבעו חז"ל קריאת פרשת תמידין ומוספין בבין המצרים לעורר לבות בני ישראל להשתוקק על עבודת ביהמ"ק וגם הקריאה בש"ק יהי' חשוב לפניו כאלו הקרבנו

Chazal established that we read the parshah of the daily tamid offerings and the mussaf offerings during the days of Bein HaMetzarim in order to awaken the hearts of Bnei Yisrael to yearn for the avodah of the Beis HaMikdash, and also so that the very reading on Shabbos Kodesh should be considered before Him as though we had actually brought the korbanos.

Chazal instituted reading the korbanos passages during the Three Weeks to kindle in Bnei Yisrael a longing for the Beis HaMikdash, and they assured us that this reading is reckoned by Hashem as if we had brought the offerings themselves.

ובאמת גם בזמן המקדש הי' עיקר התפלה כדאיתא כהנים בעבודתן ולוים כו' שהי' בחי' מעשה ודיבור ומחשבה כמ"ש העשוי' בהר סיני

And in truth, even in the time of the Mikdash, the essence was the tefillah, as we find in the description of the Kohanim at their avodah and the Leviim at their post and so on, for this comprised the dimensions of action, speech, and thought, as it is written, "asuyah" - made at Har Sinai.

Even when the Mikdash stood, the inner heart of the avodah was tefillah, since the service of the Kohanim and Leviim united deed, word, and thought - the three dimensions hinted at in the Torah's description of what was made at Har Sinai.

וע"י הקרבנות שהי' תיקון העשי' הי' מתגלה התחדשות והיו יכולין לוים לשורר ולזמר

And through the korbanos, which were the rectification of the realm of action, a renewal would become revealed, and the Leviim were then able to sing and to play their song.

The korbanos repaired the lowest realm, that of physical action, and once that was set right a fresh flow of holiness was revealed, which empowered the Leviim to lift their voices in song.

וכמו כן עתה בזמני תפלה מתעורר הארת קדושה לתפלה כמ"ש אשר הלך חשכים בזוה"ק בלק

And likewise now, at the times of tefillah, an illumination of kedushah is awakened for the tefillah, as it is written, "who walked in darkness," as explained in the Zohar HaKadosh on parshas Balak.

So too in our time, the fixed hours of tefillah draw down an illumination of kedushah, the very light the Zohar speaks of as shining for one who once walked in darkness.

וע"ז התאוננו אז כמ"ש איך נשיר כו' שיר ה' על אדמת נכר

And it was over this that they lamented back then, as it is written, "How shall we sing the song of Hashem upon foreign soil?" (Tehillim 137:4).

This is precisely what Bnei Yisrael mourned in galus - that without the Mikdash they could not sing the song of Hashem properly on foreign soil.

פי' שידעו שכל בריאתם לספר תהלות ה' כמ"ש עם זו יצרתי לי כו'

The explanation is that they knew that their entire creation was for the purpose of recounting the praises of Hashem, as it is written, "This people I have fashioned for Myself, they shall recount My praise" (Yeshayah 43:21).

They understood that the whole purpose of their existence was to give voice to the praises of Hashem, the people Hashem fashioned specifically to recount His praise.

וזה השיר לא הי' כראוי רק בשעת הקרבנות כנ"ל

And this song was not able to be sung as it ought to be except at the time when the korbanos were being offered, as explained above.

And that song could reach its full and proper form only while the korbanos were actually being offered, as was explained earlier.

דוק כי קצרתי:

Examine this closely, for I have been brief.

The Sfas Emes signs off by inviting the reader to ponder the matter further, since he has stated it only briefly.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains why Chazal arranged for the korbanos passages to be read during Bein HaMetzarim - to stir Bnei Yisrael to yearn for the avodah of the Beis HaMikdash, with the assurance that the reading itself is accepted as if the korbanos had been brought. He teaches that even when the Mikdash stood, the essence of the service was tefillah, for the avodah of the Kohanim and Leviim joined together action, speech, and thought. The korbanos rectified the realm of physical action, and once that was repaired a renewal of kedushah was revealed that enabled the Leviim to sing; so too our fixed times of tefillah draw down an illumination of holiness. This is what Bnei Yisrael lamented in galus when they cried, "How shall we sing the song of Hashem upon foreign soil?" - for they grasped that their entire creation was to recount the praises of Hashem, and that song could be sung properly only while the korbanos were being offered.