Tefillah Reawakens the Root
במדרש תנחומא בפסוק בואו נשתחוה ונכרעה נברכה כו' ראה מרע"ה שבהמ"ק עתיד ליחרב וביכורים עתידין לפסוק תיקן ג' תפלות שתפלה חביבה לפני הקב"ה שמרע"ה אחר שגזר עליו שלא יכנוס התפלל כו'
In the Midrash Tanchuma, on the pasuk "Come, let us bow down and bend the knee, let us kneel" (Tehillim 95:6): Moshe Rabbeinu foresaw that the Beis HaMikdash was destined to be destroyed and that the bringing of the bikkurim (first fruits) would cease, so he instituted the three tefillos, for tefillah is beloved before the Holy One, Blessed is He, as Moshe Rabbeinu, after it was decreed upon him that he would not enter the Land, davened.
The Midrash teaches that Moshe Rabbeinu, foreseeing the Churban and the cessation of bikkurim, established the three daily tefillos as a substitute, since tefillah is precious to Hashem. Moshe's own davening when barred from Eretz Yisrael models this preciousness.
כי בזמן המקדש הי' לבנ"י התדבקות אל השורש והיו ממשיכין ממנו תמיד התחדשות החיות
For in the time of the Beis HaMikdash, Bnei Yisrael had a bond of attachment to the Root, and through it they would continually draw down a renewal of life-force.
When the Beis HaMikdash stood, Bnei Yisrael were directly bonded to their spiritual Source. From that bond they constantly drew fresh vitality into the world.
ומצות הביכורים הי' מביא ברכה לכל הפירות כדכ' ושמחת בכל הטוב
And the mitzvah of bikkurim brought a blessing upon all the fruits, as it is written, "And you shall rejoice in all the good" (Devarim 26:11).
The mitzvah of bringing the first fruits drew blessing into all of one's produce. The Torah marks this with the phrase "you shall rejoice in all the good."
שע"י המצוה היו מקבלין בנ"י הטוב הנשפע להם מהשי"ת בשמחה
For through this mitzvah, Bnei Yisrael would receive the good that flows to them from Hashem with simchah.
Through the bikkurim, Bnei Yisrael received Hashem's flow of good with genuine joy. The mitzvah was the channel for that joyful reception.
כי כל הדבוק אל השורש מביא שמחה
For everything that is attached to the Root brings simchah.
The Sfas Emes states the underlying principle: anything connected to its Root produces simchah. Joy is the natural result of attachment to the Source.
דכ' לישרי לב שמחה דאלקים עשה האדם ישר וכשמקבלין כל הדברים בלי השתנות מביא שמחה
As it is written, "For the upright of heart, simchah" (Tehillim 97:11) — for Elokim made man upright, and when one receives all things without any distortion, this brings simchah.
Since Elokim made man straight and upright, when a person receives everything in its pure, undistorted form, that produces simchah. The joy comes from receiving without the warping that comes from disconnection.
וחז"ל דרשו בכל הטוב שביכורים צריכין שירה ע"ש
And Chazal expounded on "in all the good" that bikkurim require song (shirah), as is brought there.
Chazal derived from "all the good" that the bringing of bikkurim is accompanied by song. Shirah is thus tied to this mitzvah.
שזה כל השירה התדבקות הדברים בשורשן בלי השתנות
For this is the very essence of all shirah: the attachment of all things to their Root without any distortion.
Song expresses the essence of attachment: binding all created things back to their Root with nothing twisted or out of place. That harmony is what shirah voices.
וע"י שמעלין הכל עד שורש הראשית כאשר מצינו שקורא כל סדר יצ"מ עד התחלת יעקב אע"ה ארמי אובד אבי כו'
And through the fact that one elevates everything up to the Root of the very beginning, as we find that one recites the entire account of yetzias Mitzrayim going back to the origin in Yaakov Avinu — "An Arami sought to destroy my father" (Devarim 26:5).
The avodah of bikkurim elevates everything back to its very origin, which is why the declaration traces the nation's history all the way back to Yaakov Avinu. "An Arami sought to destroy my father" reaches to that root.
כנראה שהיו מעוררין ע"י הביכורים ראשית כחן של בנ"י בני בכורי ישראל
It appears that through the bikkurim they would arouse the primal power (reishis) of Bnei Yisrael, "My firstborn son is Yisrael" (Shemos 4:22).
Through bikkurim, Bnei Yisrael awakened their own status as the "first," the reishis. This corresponds to their being called Hashem's firstborn son.
ע"י שהביאו הראשית אליו ית' נתעורר בשמים זכותן של בנ"י שנק' ראשית תבואתו
Through bringing the first fruits to Him, may He be blessed, the merit of Bnei Yisrael was aroused on high, they who are called "the first of His produce" (Yirmiyahu 2:3).
By bringing the first of the produce to Hashem, the nation's merit was stirred in Heaven. Bnei Yisrael themselves are "the first of His produce," so offering the first awakens their own root.
ועתה שאין לנו בהמ"ק מ"מ ע"י תורה ותפלה יכולין ג"כ לעורר השורש
And now that we have no Beis HaMikdash, nevertheless, through Torah and tefillah we are likewise able to arouse the Root.
Even without a Beis HaMikdash today, Torah and tefillah can accomplish the same arousal of the Root. These avenues replace the offerings.
כאשר מצינו במרע"ה שע"י התפלה זכה שהראהו הקב"ה בהמ"ק
As we find with Moshe Rabbeinu, that through tefillah he merited that the Holy One, Blessed is He, showed him the Beis HaMikdash.
Moshe Rabbeinu's tefillah earned him a vision of the Beis HaMikdash. This shows the power of tefillah to reach the spiritual Root.
והיינו שהראהו כל מה שהיו מעוררין בנ"י בעבודת המקדש ראה הוא בכח התפלה והתשוקה שהי' לו
And this means that He showed him all that Bnei Yisrael would arouse through the avodah of the Beis HaMikdash — Moshe saw it through the power of the tefillah and the yearning that he had.
What Hashem showed Moshe was everything that Bnei Yisrael would later arouse through the Temple service. Moshe attained this vision purely through the strength of his tefillah and longing.
וכמו שהראה לבנ"י אז כח מצות הביכורים והוידוי היום הזה ה' מצוך כו' שהראה להם בחוש הראות כנ"ל
And just as He showed Bnei Yisrael then the power of the mitzvah of bikkurim and the viduy (declaration) — "This day Hashem your God commands you" (Devarim 26:16) — that He showed it to them with the sense of sight, as above.
Just as Hashem showed Bnei Yisrael the living power of the bikkurim and the viduy in their own day, He showed it tangibly, as a matter of direct sight. The phrase "This day" signals that immediacy.
וכמו כן גם עתה שנחרב המקדש ע"י התפלה יכולין לעורר השורש
So too even now, that the Beis HaMikdash has been destroyed, through tefillah we are able to arouse the Root.
The conclusion: even after the Churban, tefillah remains able to arouse the Root. The loss of the Mikdash did not sever this avenue.
נכרעה נברכה ע"י הכנעה וביטול להשורש מתדבקין וממשיכין ברכה
"Let us bend the knee, let us kneel" — through submission (hachna'ah) and bittul to the Root we become attached and draw down blessing.
The words "let us bend the knee, let us kneel" point to submission and self-nullification before the Root. Through that bittul one attaches and draws blessing down.
נברכה מלשון מבריך ומרכיב וממילא נמשך ברכה ג"כ
"Let us kneel" (nivrechah) is from the same root as "one who bends down and grafts" (mavrich u'markiv), and from this a blessing (berachah) is automatically drawn down as well.
The Sfas Emes links nivrechah to the agricultural term for bending and grafting a vine. Just as grafting joins a branch to draw new growth, this bowing draws down berachah.
ובכח שכתב לפני ה' עושנו
And through the power of that which is written, "before Hashem our Maker" (Tehillim 95:6).
The pasuk continues "before Hashem our Maker," pointing to the power of being Hashem's handiwork. This power is what enables the attachment.
להתדבק בכח הנשמה שהיא חלק אלקי ממעל שנק' מעשי ידיו של הקב"ה כדכ' ונשמות אני עשיתי
To become attached through the power of the neshamah, which is a portion of Elokai from Above, which is called the handiwork of the Holy One, Blessed is He, as it is written, "and the souls that I have made" (Yeshayahu 57:16).
The means of attachment is the neshamah, which is literally a portion of the Divine from Above and is called Hashem's handiwork. The pasuk "the souls that I have made" establishes that the neshamah is His own making.
וזה הג' תפלות לעורר דביקות נר"נ בשמים כנ"ל:
And these are the three tefillos — to arouse the attachment of the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah on high, as above.
The three daily tefillos serve to arouse the attachment of all three levels of the soul — nefesh, ruach, and neshamah — on high. This ties the whole piece back to the opening Midrash about the three tefillos.
Summary: The Sfas Emes opens with the Midrash that Moshe Rabbeinu, foreseeing the Churban and the end of bikkurim, instituted the three daily tefillos, since tefillah is beloved before the Holy One, Blessed is He. He explains that in the time of the Beis HaMikdash, the mitzvah of bikkurim bonded Bnei Yisrael to their Root, drawing down renewed vitality and producing simchah, for all that is attached to its Root brings joy and song — the binding of all things to their Source without distortion. By bringing the first of the produce, Bnei Yisrael awakened their own status as the reishis, Hashem's firstborn, and stirred their merit on high. Even now, without a Beis HaMikdash, Torah and tefillah can arouse that same Root, just as Moshe Rabbeinu's tefillah and yearning earned him a vision of the Mikdash. Through the hachna'ah and bittul of bowing — nivrechah, like grafting a vine — and through the neshamah that is a portion of the Divine, the three tefillos draw down blessing and reawaken the soul's attachment to its Source.