Drawing Shefa Through Deeds

בפסוק את קרבני לחמי

On the verse "My offering, My bread" (Bamidbar 28:2).

The piece opens with the Torah's phrase describing the korbanos as Hashem's "bread," the springboard for the whole discussion.

ובמד' לא שאני צריך לקרבנות י"ג מדות של רחמים כתיב בי יש רחמן מוסר מזונותיו לאכזרי

And in the Midrash: it is not that I have any need for the offerings, for the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are written concerning Me, and "there is a merciful one who hands over his food to a cruel one" (a teaching that requires explanation).

The Midrash stresses that Hashem has no need of the offerings, since He is wholly merciful and even provides for the cruel; so the korbanos cannot be about feeding Him.

וצריך ביאור

And this requires explanation.

The Sfas Emes notes that the Midrash's point demands a deeper explanation.

ויובן עפ"י מ"ש כבר בשם <b>מו"ז ז"ל</b> פי' הפסוק קרבני לחמי כו' ריח ניחוחי תשמרו שצריכין בנ"י לראות שהשפע שבא משמים יהי' ע"י מעשיהם הטובים וזהו ריח ניחוחי תשמרו ע"ש

It can be understood according to what was already said in the name of my grandfather, of blessed memory, on the verse "My offering, My bread... My pleasing aroma you shall guard" (Bamidbar 28:2) — that Bnei Yisrael must see to it that the shefa that comes down from Heaven should arrive by means of their good deeds, and this is the meaning of "My pleasing aroma you shall guard" (see there).

Quoting his grandfather, he explains that the verse teaches Bnei Yisrael to ensure that the shefa coming from Heaven is drawn down specifically through their good deeds.

וזה הוא הדרך המיוחד לבנ"י שקודם קבלת התורה נהג השי"ת העולם רק בחסדו ובהר סיני נעשה שיהיה המשכה ע"י מעשינו

And this is the path unique to Bnei Yisrael, for before the giving of the Torah, Hashem conducted the world solely with His kindness, and at Har Sinai it came to be that the drawing down of shefa would be by means of our deeds.

This is the special path of Bnei Yisrael: before Matan Torah the world ran purely on Hashem's kindness, but at Har Sinai shefa began to flow through our actions.

אכן לא שהוצרך להיות כן כי השי"ת נוהג בחסדו כל דור שי"ג מד"ר כתיב בו

However, this is not because it had to be so, for Hashem conducts every generation with His kindness, since the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy are written concerning Him.

Yet this arrangement was not forced upon Hashem, for He could still run every generation on pure mercy, as His Thirteen Attributes attest.

רק שרצה הוא ית' לזכות את בנ"י ולהיות השפע בא ע"י מעשינו

Rather, He, may He be blessed, desired to grant merit to Bnei Yisrael and that the shefa should come by means of our deeds.

He chose this way only to grant Bnei Yisrael the merit of being the channel through which shefa flows.

וזה הי' הקרבנות לקרב הכל אל השורש ולהמשיך השפע בכל יום ויום

And this was the purpose of the offerings: to draw everything close to its root and to draw down the shefa each and every day.

The korbanos serve exactly this function: returning all things to their root and drawing fresh shefa down every single day.

ואיתא תמידין כסדרן ומוספין כהלכתם

And it is stated: the daily offerings according to their order, and the additional offerings according to their law (Mishnah).

The Mishnah's phrasing distinguishes the daily tamid "in order" from the mussaf offerings "according to their law," a distinction the Sfas Emes will unpack.

כי הנה בכל יום מחדש הקב"ה מ"ב והוא סדר מיוחד

For behold, each day the Holy One, Blessed is He, renews the work of Creation, and this is a particular order.

Each day Hashem renews Creation along a fixed, regular pattern.

ובימי המעשה ההנהגה ע"י מלאך

And on the weekdays the conduct of the world is by means of an angel.

On ordinary weekdays this renewal is administered through an angel.

ובשבתות ויו"ט כ' על עולת התמיד

But on Shabbosos and Yom Tov it is written "upon the daily burnt-offering" (Bamidbar 28:10) —

On Shabbos and Yom Tov the Torah adds the mussaf "upon the daily burnt-offering," hinting at something beyond the weekday order.

שמתחדש בהם דרך המיוחד רק לבנ"י והוא שינוי הסדר

that there is renewed within them the path unique only to Bnei Yisrael, and that is a change of the order.

These days renew the path belonging uniquely to Bnei Yisrael, which is itself a change from the ordinary fixed order.

וזהו כהלכתם כי מלאך נק' עומד ואיש ישראל מהלך

And this is "according to their law," for an angel is called "one who stands" while a man of Yisrael is "one who walks."

This is what "according to their law" hints at: an angel is a "stander," fixed in place, while a Jew is a "walker," able to move and grow.

וזהו ההפרש כי מלאך לעולם עומד בסדר אחד והוא גבוה מנשמת אדם אכן יש לנשמת אדם מעלה אחרת ע"י שהיא מהלך ויורד בעולם השפל

And this is the difference: for an angel forever stands in a single fixed state, and it is loftier than the neshamah of man; nevertheless, the neshamah of man has another distinction, in that it walks and descends into the lowly world.

An angel always remains in one fixed state and is loftier than man's neshamah, yet the neshamah has its own superiority precisely because it walks and descends into this lowly world.

כמו כן יש זמנים שמתעלה עוד יותר מן המלאך

So too there are times in which it rises even higher than the angel.

Because of that capacity to move, there are times when the neshamah ascends even higher than the angel.

כי יש עולמות שאינם יכולים להתגלות תמיד רק לעתות מיוחדים

For there are worlds that cannot be revealed always, but only at special times.

Certain spiritual worlds are not constantly accessible and can only be revealed at special appointed times.

כמ"ש ואני תפלתי כו' עת רצון

As it is written, "And I, my tefillah... a time of favor" (Tehillim 69:14).

The verse "a time of favor" expresses that tefillah and ascent belong to such special moments.

אבל המלאך שנק' עומד ואינו משתנה לכן א"י לעלות רק כפי עמידתו והצדיק עולה ויורד כנ"ל

But the angel, which is called "one who stands" and does not change, therefore cannot rise higher than its fixed standing, whereas the tzaddik rises and descends, as above.

The angel, being a fixed "stander," can only rise as high as its set place, but the tzaddik rises and descends and thereby reaches higher.

וזהו עולת התמיד ונק' מוספין כהלכתם:

And this is "the daily burnt-offering," and they are called "the additional offerings according to their law."

This is why the mussaf is brought "upon the daily burnt-offering" and is termed the additional offering "according to their law" — the special ascent layered upon the constant daily order.

Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why the Torah calls the korbanos Hashem's "bread" when the Midrash itself stresses that Hashem, who is wholly merciful, needs nothing. Citing his grandfather, he explains that the offerings exist so that the shefa from Heaven should be drawn down through the good deeds of Bnei Yisrael — a path Hashem chose at Har Sinai not out of need but in order to grant them merit. He then distinguishes the daily tamid, which runs in a fixed order administered through an angel, from the mussaf of Shabbos and Yom Tov, which renews the path unique to Bnei Yisrael. An angel is a "stander," lofty but locked in one fixed state, whereas the neshamah of a Jew is a "walker" that descends into this world and can therefore ascend at special times even higher than the angels. Thus the mussaf, brought "upon the daily burnt-offering," represents this added ascent of Bnei Yisrael layered upon the constant daily service.