Restoring Action Through Torah

צו את בני ישראל כו'

"Command the Bnei Yisrael, etc." (Bamidbar 28:2).

The pasuk's wording, "Command My children," opens the discussion of the daily korbanos.

עד שאתה מצוני על בני צוה את בני עלי כו'

Until you command Me concerning My children, command My children concerning Me, etc.

The Midrash reads the verse as Hashem and Bnei Yisrael each "commanding" the other — a mutual bond of obligation.

דכתיב עולת תמיד העשוי' בהר סיני

As it is written, "the continual olah-offering that was made at Har Sinai" (Bamidbar 28:6).

The Torah ties the tamid back to Har Sinai, hinting that the daily offering carries the power of Matan Torah.

כי במתן תורה נתקן העולם וניתן לבנ"י הנהגה חדשה עפ"י דרך התורה

For at the giving of the Torah the world was set right, and Bnei Yisrael were given a new mode of conduct according to the way of the Torah.

At Sinai the world was repaired and Bnei Yisrael received an entirely new way of living, guided by Torah.

והנה בנ"י הקדימו נעשה לנשמע והי' תיקון העשוי' בהר סיני

And behold, Bnei Yisrael gave precedence to "we will do" before "we will hear" (Shemos 24:7), and this was the rectification of "that was made at Har Sinai."

By saying na'aseh before nishma, Bnei Yisrael placed action first, and this commitment is the "making" rooted at Sinai.

ובכל יום צריכין לזכור מתן תורה בדיבור ובמעשה ועתה תפלות במקום תמידין איתקין שגם היא מלה דקיימא בעובדא דעקימת שפתיו חשוב מעשה

And every day one must remember the giving of the Torah in speech and in deed; and now the tefillos have been established in place of the daily korbanos, for tefillah too is a matter that takes effect through action, since the movement of one's lips is reckoned a deed.

We must relive Matan Torah daily in word and deed; since tefillah is voiced with the lips, it counts as an action and stands in for the korbanos.

וק"ש הוא בחי' נשמע שמע ישראל

And Krias Shema is the aspect of "we will hear" — "Shema Yisrael" (Devarim 6:4).

Krias Shema, centered on "hear," embodies nishma — the dimension of listening and accepting.

ותפלה בחי' נעשה

And tefillah is the aspect of "we will do."

Tefillah, being an active service performed with the lips, embodies na'aseh — the dimension of doing.

ובזמן המקדש הי' בפועל ממש שע"י הקרבן תמיד נתקרבו ונתדבקו בשורש עליון

And in the time of the Beis HaMikdash this was literal and actual, for through the daily korban they drew near and cleaved to the supernal root.

When the Beis HaMikdash stood, the daily korban physically drew Bnei Yisrael close and bound them to their supernal source.

ובחי' מרע"ה הוא התורה מן השמים התקרבות בנ"י למעלה בכח אתערותא דלעילא

And the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu is the Torah from Heaven, the drawing near of Bnei Yisrael upward through the power of an awakening from Above.

Moshe Rabbeinu represents Torah descending from Heaven, lifting Bnei Yisrael upward by an arousal initiated from Above.

והקרבנות הוא התקרבות באתערותא דלתתא

And the korbanos are the drawing near through an awakening from below.

The korbanos, by contrast, represent closeness generated by Bnei Yisrael's own effort from below.

והגם שאחר חטא העגל נתקלקל נעשה

And although after the sin of the Golden Calf the "deed" was damaged,

The sin of the Eigel damaged the dimension of na'aseh, the "deed."

מ"מ נשאר תמיד כח עשרת הדברות

nevertheless the power of the Aseres HaDibros remained forever.

Yet despite that damage, the underlying power of the Aseres HaDibros was never lost.

וזהו עולת תמיד העשוי' כו' פי' הכח שלא נפגם ע"י החטא

And this is "the continual olah-offering that was made, etc." — meaning the power that was not blemished by the sin.

The "continual olah that was made" refers to this enduring power that the sin could not blemish.

אבל יש זמנים שמתגלים כחות והארות שנאבדו ע"י החטא וזהו מוספין דשבתות ויו"ט דכ' על עולת התמיד

But there are times when powers and illuminations that were lost through the sin become revealed, and this is the Musaf-offerings of Shabbos and Yom Tov, of which it is written "in addition to the continual olah-offering" (Bamidbar 28:10).

At special times, the lights lost through the sin shine again; this is the meaning of the Musaf offerings on Shabbos and Yom Tov added onto the tamid.

שאותן ההארות אין מתגלין לעולם רק בזמנים מיוחדים

For those illuminations are never revealed except at special times.

Such illuminations only appear at designated holy times, not constantly.

ועתה בעוה"ר בוטל התמיד אפילו אותה ההנהגה שהי' קבוע לבנ"י לדורות נשתנית אחר החורבן

And now, for our many sins, the tamid has been nullified; even that mode of conduct which was fixed for Bnei Yisrael for the generations was changed after the Churban.

Since the Churban, the tamid is gone and even the fixed avodah given to Bnei Yisrael for the generations was altered.

רק על ע"י התפלות מתעורר הארה זו בכל יום

Only through the tefillos is this illumination awakened each day.

In the absence of the korbanos, daily tefillah alone now awakens that illumination.

ומקדימין ק"ש לתפלה כמ"ש מו"ז ז"ל כי מה שנתקלקל נעשה פי' הקדמת נעשה לנשמע

And we give precedence to Krias Shema before tefillah, as my grandfather, of blessed memory, said: that which was damaged is the "deed" — meaning the precedence of "we will do" before "we will hear."

Following his grandfather, the Sfas Emes explains that what the Eigel damaged was the na'aseh-before-nishma standing of Bnei Yisrael.

ועתה ע"י השמיעה זוכין לתקן המעשה ע"ש

And now, through the hearing, we merit to rectify the deed — see there.

Now, by first "hearing" (Krias Shema), we earn the ability to repair the "deed" through tefillah.

ואמרו חז"ל תפלות אבות תיקנום וכנגד תמידין כו'

And Chazal said that the Avos established the tefillos, and that they correspond to the daily korbanos, etc. (Berachos 26b).

Chazal teach that the Avos instituted the tefillos and that they parallel the daily korbanos.

והכל ענין אחד כי האבות נתקרבו למעלה בכח מעשיהם והוא באמת הקדמת נעשה קודם קבלת התורה

And it is all one matter, for the Avos drew near upward through the power of their deeds, and that is truly the precedence of "we will do" before the receiving of the Torah.

Both ideas are one: the Avos drew close to Hashem through their deeds, which is itself the placing of na'aseh before the Torah was given.

ועתה זוכין לתקון העשיה בכח התורה

And now we merit the rectification of the doing through the power of the Torah.

Today the power of Torah enables us to mend the dimension of doing that the sin harmed.

וזהו ק"ש ותפלה בכל יום:

And this is Krias Shema and tefillah each and every day.

This is why we say Krias Shema and tefillah — hearing then doing — every single day.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the daily tamid is called "the olah that was made at Har Sinai" because it carries the power of Matan Torah, when Bnei Yisrael placed na'aseh before nishma and the world was set right. Krias Shema corresponds to nishma (hearing) and tefillah to na'aseh (doing), and in the time of the Beis HaMikdash the korbanos literally drew Bnei Yisrael close to their supernal root through an arousal from below. The sin of the Eigel damaged the dimension of na'aseh, yet the inner power of the Aseres HaDibros endured and shines forth at special times such as the Musaf of Shabbos and Yom Tov. Since the Churban nullified the tamid, it is now daily tefillah that awakens this illumination, and by first hearing through Krias Shema we merit to repair the "deed." This is the deeper unity behind Chazal's teaching that the Avos established the tefillos parallel to the korbanos: like the Avos who drew near through their deeds, we daily mend the avodah of doing through the power of the Torah.