The root of blessing in Bnei Yisrael through offerings and prayer

בפסוק ראה ריח בני כריח שדה אשר ברכו ה' ויתן לך כו'.

On the verse: "See, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field that Hashem has blessed; may He give you…"

Yitzchak blesses Yaakov, comparing his fragrance to that of a blessed field, and prays that Hashem grant him blessing.

אחז"ל יתן ויחזור ויתן.

Chazal said: "May He give, and give again."

The doubled language "may He give" teaches a blessing that renews itself continually, never running dry.

הוא מה שהקב"ה מחדש בטובו בכל יום מעשה בראשית.

This is what the Holy One, blessed be He, renews in His goodness each day — the work of creation.

The constant "giving again" is the daily renewal of creation, by which Hashem pours fresh blessing into the world without cease.

והנה כשביהמ"ק היה קיים שם צוה ה' את הברכה ונקרא ריח שדה ששם שורש הברכה במקום.

Now, when the Bais Hamikdash stood, there "Hashem commanded the blessing," and it is called "the fragrance of a field," for there is the root of blessing in place.

The Mikdash was the fixed place from which blessing flowed into the world — the "field" whose fragrance is the wellspring of all bounty.

וכמו כן בנפשות ברך אותנו יצחק להיות ריח בני כריח שדה.

And likewise, in souls, Yitzchak blessed us to be "the fragrance of my son like the fragrance of a field."

Yitzchak's blessing implanted within the souls of Bnei Yisrael that same root of blessing — making each Jew a "field" from which berachah springs.

להיות בבנ"י שורש הברכה והוא בחי' הקרבנות ריח ניחוחי תשמרו להקריב לי.

That the root of blessing should be within Bnei Yisrael — and this is the aspect of the korbanos: "My pleasing fragrance you shall be careful to offer to Me."

The "fragrance" of the field corresponds to the rei'ach nicho'ach of the offerings, through which Bnei Yisrael draw down the root of blessing.

וגם אפילו כשאין ביהמ"ק קיים.

And even when the Bais Hamikdash does not stand —

The Sefas Emes now addresses how this blessing continues in the time of galus.

תפלות במקום תמידין איתקין.

the tefillos were instituted in place of the temidim (daily offerings).

In the absence of the Mikdash, our prayers take the place of the daily korbanos and carry the same power to draw blessing.

כדאיתא במדרש שרומז גם על ימי החורבן באמרו שדה ע"ש:

As is taught in the Midrash, that the verse alludes also to the days of the churban by saying "field" — see there.

The word "field" hints not only at the Mikdash but even at the destroyed land lying as an open field, teaching that the root of blessing endures within Bnei Yisrael even in galus, now through tefillah.

Summary: Yitzchak's blessing "may He give and give again" is the daily renewal of creation, an ever-flowing blessing. Its root rested in the Bais Hamikdash, "the fragrance of the field," and was implanted in the souls of Bnei Yisrael through the fragrance of the korbanos. Even after the churban, when the verse hints at the land as a desolate "field," that root of blessing remains within the Jewish people — now drawn down through the tefillos instituted in place of the daily offerings.