Three Tefillos Ascending Bittul

במדרש תנחומא נשתחוה ונכרעה נברכה והלא כריעה בכלל השתחוי' כו' אלא שראה משה שבהמ"ק עתיד ליחרב וביכורים להתבטל ותיקן ג' תפלות כו'

In the Midrash Tanchuma it is asked: "Let us prostrate ourselves and bend the knee, let us kneel" (Tehillim 95:6) — but is not bending the knee already included in prostration? Rather, Moshe Rabbeinu foresaw that the Beis HaMikdash was destined to be destroyed and the bringing of bikkurim was destined to cease, so he instituted the three daily tefillos.

The Midrash notes a seeming redundancy in the posuk, since kneeling is part of prostration. It answers that Moshe Rabbeinu, foreseeing the loss of the Beis HaMikdash and bikkurim, established the three daily tefillos as a replacement.

כי כשהי' בהמ"ק קיים כשעלה איש ישראל לפני ה' בעזרה נתבטל לגמרי ונדבק אל השורש

For while the Beis HaMikdash stood, when a man of Bnei Yisrael ascended before Hashem in the Courtyard, he became completely nullified and cleaved to his Source.

When the Beis HaMikdash stood, a Yid who came to the Courtyard would lose himself entirely and become attached to his spiritual root.

ועתה צריכין למצוא מעט דביקות ע"י ג' תפלות בכל יום כולי האי ואולי וזה רמז ג' הלשונות נשתחוה ונכרעה נברכה

And now we must seek at least a small measure of dveikus by means of the three tefillos each day — "perhaps, just perhaps" we will attain it — and this is what is alluded to by the three expressions: "let us prostrate ourselves, and bend the knee, let us kneel."

Without the Mikdash, we now reach for at least a faint dveikus through the three daily tefillos, and the posuk's three terms hint at these three prayers.

כי בבוקר השתחואה להיות עכ"פ מודה בטובת הבורא ית' ענין ברכת השחר

For in the morning there is prostration (hishtachavaah) — to be at the very least one who acknowledges the goodness of the Creator, may He be blessed, which is the theme of the morning berachos (Birchos HaShachar).

Shacharis corresponds to prostration, the basic level of acknowledging Hashem's goodness, expressed in the morning berachos.

ובמנחה כריעה היא הרגשה ביותר להכניע ולהכריע עצמו אליו ית"ש עד שבערב נתבטל לגמרי אל השורש

And at Minchah there is bending the knee (keriah), which is a more intense sensation, to subdue and bend oneself toward Him, may His Name be blessed, until at evening one becomes completely nullified to his Source.

Minchah corresponds to bending the knee, a deeper act of submitting oneself to Hashem, building toward the complete bittul of the evening.

וזה ת' ערבית השבת הנפש אליו ית"ש וזה נברכה להיות נרכב ונברך אל השורש

And this is the tefillah of Maariv — the returning of the neshamah to Him, may His Name be blessed — and this is "let us kneel" (nivrechah), to be joined and grafted onto the Source.

Maariv is the neshamah returning fully to Hashem, captured by the word nivrechah, meaning to be grafted onto the Source.

וכן הוא בכלל ימי האדם בימי הנעורים להכניע עצמו עכ"פ להודות ולהכיר חסדו ית'

And so it is too in the general span of a man's days: in the days of his youth, to subdue himself at the very least to give thanks and to recognize His kindness, may He be blessed.

The same three stages map onto a lifetime: in youth a person subdues himself merely to thank and recognize Hashem's kindness.

וכשבא בימים מבין ומכריע עצמו להיות רוב מעשיו בעבודת הבורא

And when he advances in years, he understands and bends himself, so that the majority of his deeds are in the service of the Creator.

In middle age a person bends himself further, so that most of his actions are devoted to serving the Creator.

וכשבאים לימי זקנה נתבטלין לגמרי אליו ית"ש

And when one reaches the days of old age, he becomes completely nullified to Him, may His Name be blessed.

In old age a person reaches total bittul, nullified completely to Hashem.

וזה זקן שקנה חכמה פי' שעושה עיקר מן החכמה ויודע כי הכל הבל רק לעשות רצונו ית"ש בעולם

And this is the meaning of "an elder is one who has acquired wisdom" (Kiddushin 32b) — that he makes wisdom the essence and knows that everything is vanity, with the sole purpose of carrying out His will, may His Name be blessed, in the world.

The Gemara's "elder who acquired wisdom" describes one who makes wisdom central and recognizes all else as empty, existing only to fulfill Hashem's will.

ואלה הג' בחינות הם בחי' נר"נ

And these three categories correspond to the dimensions of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah.

These three stages parallel the three levels of the soul: nefesh, ruach, and neshamah.

כי האדם כלול מתלת עלמין כמ"ש בזוה"ק שלח

For man is composed of three worlds, as is stated in the holy Zohar on Parashas Shelach.

A person contains three worlds, as the Zohar in Parashas Shelach teaches.

והנפש שהיא נטבע בגוף בחי' עולם העשי' שרובו רע צריך עכ"פ להכניע עצמו

And the nefesh, which is sunk into the body — the dimension of the World of Asiyah (Action), most of which is evil — must at the very least subdue itself.

The nefesh is embedded in the physical body, belonging to the lowest world of Action where evil dominates, so its task is at least to subdue itself.

ובחי' הרוח הכרעה לגבור הטוב על הרע

And the dimension of the ruach is the bending of the knee, that the good should prevail over the evil.

The ruach is the level of bending the knee, where the good overpowers the evil within a person.

ובחי' הנשמה להיבטל לגמרי אליו ית"ש

And the dimension of the neshamah is to become completely nullified to Him, may His Name be blessed.

The neshamah is the highest level, whose avodah is to be utterly nullified to Hashem.

לכן צריך כל אדם להיות לו ג' בחי' הנ"ל נשתחוה ונכרעה נברכה:

Therefore every person must possess these three dimensions mentioned above: "let us prostrate ourselves, and bend the knee, let us kneel."

Therefore every Yid must contain all three levels, corresponding to the three expressions of the posuk: prostrating, bending, and kneeling.

Summary: Drawing on the Midrash Tanchuma, the Sfas Emes explains that Moshe Rabbeinu instituted the three daily tefillos to replace the dveikus that Bnei Yisrael once attained in the Beis HaMikdash, where a person became wholly nullified before Hashem. The three expressions of the posuk "let us prostrate ourselves and bend the knee, let us kneel" correspond to Shacharis, Minchah, and Maariv: a progression from acknowledging Hashem's goodness, to actively subduing oneself, to complete bittul and return of the neshamah to its Source. This same threefold ascent unfolds across a lifetime, from the youth who gives thanks, to the mature man whose deeds serve the Creator, to the elder who has acquired wisdom and is wholly nullified to Hashem's will. These three stages also mirror the three levels of the soul, nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, as taught in the Zohar. Thus every person must embody all three dimensions of avodah expressed in the posuk.