Tefillah Reveals Mikdash Light

במדרש תנחומא בואו נשתחוה ונכרעה כו' שתיקן משה רבינו ע"ה ג' תפלות כשראה שבהמ"ק עתיד לחרוב וביכורים עתידים לפסוק כו' שגדולה תפלה כקרבנות שמשה רבינו התפלל אעברה ונאמר לו עלה וראה כו' ע"ש

In the Midrash Tanchuma on the verse "Come, let us bow down and prostrate ourselves" (Tehillim 95:6), it is taught that Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, instituted the three daily tefillos when he foresaw that the Beis HaMikdash was destined to be destroyed and that the bringing of bikkurim, the first fruits, was destined to cease. For tefillah is as great as the korbanos, the offerings, as we see that Moshe Rabbeinu davened, "Let me cross over" (Devarim 3:25), and he was told, "Go up and see" (Devarim 3:27) — see there.

The Midrash teaches that Moshe foresaw the loss of the Beis HaMikdash and its korbanos, so he established the three daily tefillos to take their place, since tefillah carries the same power as the offerings.

הענין הוא דכ' נשתחוה ונ' נברכה לפני ה'

The matter is as follows: it is written, "let us bow down," and it is written, "let us kneel before Hashem."

The verse pairs bowing down with kneeling "before Hashem," two expressions of submission directed toward Hashem's presence.

וחז"ל דרשו בכ"מ שנא' לפני ה' בעזרה

And Chazal expounded in many places that wherever it says "before Hashem," this refers to the Azarah, the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash.

Chazal teach that the phrase "before Hashem" always points to the Azarah of the Beis HaMikdash, tying the verse's worship to that holy place.

א"כ נראה כי ע"י התפלות זוכין להתגלות הארת בהמ"ק

If so, it appears that through the tefillos one merits the revelation of the illumination of the Beis HaMikdash.

Since tefillah stands in for the place that is "before Hashem," davening itself draws down the special illumination that the Beis HaMikdash provided.

ובאמת מרע"ה פעל זאת ולא על חנם התפלל הרבה תפלות אעברה נא ואראה כו'

And in truth Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, accomplished this, and it was not in vain that he davened so many tefillos, "Let me please cross over and see" (Devarim 3:25).

Moshe's repeated pleas to enter the land were not wasted; they achieved a real spiritual result even though he did not physically enter.

רק שהכין אל הדורות שראה בתפלה א"י כמו שהי' רואה ע"י ביאת בהמ"ק במעשה כך זכה לראות בכח הדיבור ותפלה

Rather, he prepared this for the generations: that which he saw through tefillah in Eretz Yisrael — just as he would have seen it through actually entering the Beis HaMikdash in deed — so too he merited to see through the power of speech and tefillah.

Through tefillah Moshe attained the very vision of Eretz Yisrael and its kedushah that he would have gained by entering in body, accomplishing it through the power of his words.

וכ"ה בכל ג' תפלות דכ' תלפיות ודרשו חז"ל תל שכל פיות פונין כו'

And so it is with all three tefillos, for it is written, "like a tower (talpios)" (Shir HaShirim 4:4), and Chazal expounded: a hill (tel) toward which all mouths (piyos) turn.

The verse describing the tower toward which all mouths turn hints that all tefillos are directed toward this one central point, the Beis HaMikdash.

ובאמת כשבא איש ישראל לבהמ"ק נפתח פיו בתהלת ה' כמ"ש וענית ואמרת עני' הוא אל מה שמתעורר מן השמים בבואו לפני ה'

And in truth, when a man of Bnei Yisrael would come to the Beis HaMikdash, his mouth would open in the praise of Hashem, as it is written, "And you shall respond and say" (Devarim 26:5) — "responding" means responding to that which is awakened from Heaven when he comes before Hashem.

When a Jew came to the Mikdash, the holiness of the place awakened his mouth to praise Hashem; his declaration was a response to an arousal coming from Heaven.

וכמו כן בהתעוררות פיהן של ישראל למטה בתפלה נפתח להם שערי בהמ"ק

And likewise, through the awakening of the mouths of Bnei Yisrael below in tefillah, the gates of the Beis HaMikdash are opened for them.

The relationship works in both directions: when Bnei Yisrael open their mouths in tefillah below, that very awakening opens the gates of the Beis HaMikdash above.

ולכן צריכין לכוון בתפלה נגד בית המקדש כי הכל בא בזכות בהמ"ק

Therefore one must direct his heart in tefillah toward the Beis HaMikdash, for everything comes in the merit of the Beis HaMikdash.

For this reason one should face and focus toward the Beis HaMikdash during tefillah, since all blessing flows through its merit.

וכמו שהי' בהמ"ק באמצע העולם שמשם אורה ושמחה יוצאת לכל מקום כדכ' משוש כל הארץ

And just as the Beis HaMikdash stood at the center of the world, from which light and joy went forth to every place, as it is written, "the joy of all the earth" (Tehillim 48:3),

The Beis HaMikdash was the geographic center of the world, the source from which light and joy radiated outward everywhere.

כן הי' באמצע דורות העולם לתת אור ושמחה לדורות שלפני' ולאחרי' וכמו שזכו הראשונים בהשתוקקות לבם לבהמ"ק למצא הארת בהמ"ק כמו אבות ומשה רבינו ע"ה

so too it stood at the center of the generations of the world, to give light and joy to the generations before it and after it; and just as the earlier ones merited, through the yearning of their hearts for the Beis HaMikdash, to find the illumination of the Beis HaMikdash, like the Avos and Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him,

It was also the center of history, channeling light and joy to all generations; the Avos and Moshe reached its illumination through the longing of their hearts.

כמו כן עתה בדורות שלנו ע"י זכירת בהמ"ק יכולין להתדבק בהארת בהמ"ק

so too now, in our generations, through remembering the Beis HaMikdash we are able to cleave to the illumination of the Beis HaMikdash.

We too, who cannot enter it, can attach ourselves to that same illumination simply by remembering and yearning for the Beis HaMikdash.

ולכן בכל שמחה צריכין להזכיר בהמ"ק

Therefore, in every simcha we must make mention of the Beis HaMikdash.

Because all true joy stems from the Mikdash, every simcha should include a mention of it.

וכמו כן בשמחת נשואין מברכין שוש תשיש לומר שכל השמחה הוא מבהמ"ק שהשמחה במעונו

And likewise at the simcha of a wedding we recite the berachah "sos tasis" — "may you greatly rejoice" — to say that all the simcha comes from the Beis HaMikdash, for the joy dwells in His abode.

The wedding berachah of "sos tasis" teaches that the couple's joy itself flows from the Beis HaMikdash, the place where Hashem's joy resides.

ובזמן המקדש השמחה הי' בשלימות

And in the time of the Mikdash the simcha was in its completeness.

While the Beis HaMikdash stood, this simcha was experienced in its full and complete form.

ועתה זוכין אל השמחה ע"י האבילות של בהמ"ק כמ"ש שישו כו' משוש כל המתאבלים ואמרו חז"ל המתאבל על ירושלים זוכה ורואה בנחמת ירושלים

And now we merit the simcha through the mourning over the Beis HaMikdash, as it is written, "Rejoice... the joy of all who mourn over her" (Yeshayahu 66:10), and Chazal said: whoever mourns over Yerushalayim merits to see her consolation.

Now, paradoxically, we reach that joy specifically through mourning the Mikdash, for Chazal teach that one who mourns Yerushalayim merits to witness her consolation.

והגם דהפי' הוא על לעתיד מ"מ גם זה אמת שע"י התאבלות זוכה להרגיש שמחה מירושלים כמ"ש במ"א פי' הפ' נהפך לאבל מחולנו:

And although the plain meaning refers to the future, nevertheless this too is true — that through the mourning one merits to feel joy from Yerushalayim, as we explained elsewhere the meaning of the verse, "Our dancing has turned into mourning" (Eichah 5:15).

Even though that promise is primarily about the future, the Sfas Emes adds that the mourning itself already lets a person feel joy from Yerushalayim in the present, as he explained on the verse about dancing turning to mourning.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the Midrash Tanchuma that Moshe Rabbeinu instituted the three daily tefillos when he foresaw the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash and the cessation of bikkurim, because tefillah carries the same power as the korbanos. Since the phrase "before Hashem" refers to the Azarah, davening draws down the very illumination of the Beis HaMikdash; this is what Moshe himself achieved through his pleas to enter the land, seeing through the power of speech what he could not enter in body. Just as the Beis HaMikdash stood at the center of the world and of history, radiating light and joy to every place and every generation, so too we, by remembering and yearning for it, can cleave to that same illumination, which is why every simcha — and especially a wedding — must make mention of it. Finally, the Sfas Emes teaches that in our time we reach that joy specifically through mourning the Beis HaMikdash, for Chazal promise that whoever mourns Yerushalayim merits to see and even already feel her consolation.