Ordered Life Force of Yisrael

במדרש זמני תפלה ע"ש

The Midrash speaks of the appointed times of tefillah; see there.

The Sfas Emes opens by pointing to a Midrash that deals with the fixed times of tefillah, inviting the reader to study it there.

כי לכל יש חיות מהשי"ת וגם אומות העולם בכלל בריאתו ית'

For everything receives its life-force from Hashem Yisbarach, and even the nations of the world are included in His creation, may He be blessed.

Every created thing, including the nations of the world, draws its existence and vitality from Hashem, since He is the Source of all life.

אך ההפרש שבנ"י יש להם שפע חיות בסדר מיוחד

The difference, however, is that Bnei Yisrael receive their flow of life-force in a special, ordered manner.

What sets Bnei Yisrael apart is not that they alone receive life-force, but that theirs arrives in a structured, orderly way.

וזה שנפרט כל המדרגות זקניכם שוטריכם כו'

This is why all the levels are enumerated: "your elders, your officers," and so forth (Devarim 29:9).

The Torah's listing of the various ranks of the people, from elders to officers, reflects this orderly arrangement of how the life-force flows through Bnei Yisrael.

וכן התפלה בסדר זמנים

And so too is the tefillah arranged according to set times.

Just as Bnei Yisrael's life-force comes in an ordered manner, so too their tefillos are fixed to set times of the day.

כי בוודאי גם אוה"ע לפעמים מכניעים עצמם להשי"ת ועי"ז ניתן להם חיות כי הכל לכבודו ברא

For certainly the nations of the world also at times subjugate themselves before Hashem Yisbarach, and through this they are granted life-force, for He created everything for His honor.

Even the nations sometimes humble themselves before Hashem, and through that submission they too receive vitality, since everything was created for His honor.

אבל הוא בעירוב וכענין תפלת הערב אין לה קבע כי גם בתוך החושך יש חיות מוסתר מהש"י

But with them it is in a mixed, intermingled fashion, like the matter of the evening tefillah, which has no fixed obligation, for even within the darkness there is a life-force concealed from Hashem Yisbarach.

Yet the nations' connection is unsettled and mixed, comparable to Maariv, which originally had no fixed obligation, because their life-force is hidden within darkness rather than openly revealed.

אבל בנ"י יש להם סדר מיוחד כנ"ל:

But Bnei Yisrael have a special order, as explained above.

Bnei Yisrael, by contrast, possess a clear and special order in how they receive their life-force and serve Hashem, as the Sfas Emes has explained.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that all of creation, including the nations of the world, draws its very life-force from Hashem, for He created everything for His honor. What distinguishes Bnei Yisrael is that their flow of life-force comes in a special, structured order, reflected both in the Torah's enumeration of their ranks, from elders to officers, and in the fixed times of their tefillos. The nations, too, sometimes subjugate themselves before Hashem and thereby receive vitality, but their connection is mixed and unsettled, like the evening tefillah which had no fixed obligation, because their life-force lies concealed within the darkness. Bnei Yisrael alone possess this clear, ordered avodah, openly and consistently connected to the Ribono shel Olam.