Tefillah as Yearning for Dveikus

במדרש דיני תפילה ובפסוק מי גוי גדול כו' סמיכת גאולה לתפלה ע"ש

In the Midrash there are the laws of tefillah, and in the pasuk "For what great nation is there" (Devarim 4:7) we find the juxtaposition of geulah to tefillah — see there.

The Sfas Emes opens by pointing to two sources on tefillah — the Midrash's laws of prayer and the pasuk that connects redemption to prayer — as the foundation for his discussion.

דהנה עיקר התפלה היא על התגלות כבודו ית' שיחזיר כבוד מלכותו בעולם כמו שיהי' לעתיד

For behold, the essence of tefillah is for the revelation of His blessed glory — that He restore the glory of His kingship within the world, as it will be in the time to come.

He establishes that the true purpose of tefillah is not personal requests but begging for Hashem's glory and kingship to be revealed in the world, as it will be in the future geulah.

ובאמת כל המצות ומעש"ט הכל נקרא תפלה כי הכל לרמז על זה הרצון שאנו מקוים להרבות כבודו ולהיות לנו דביקות בו ית'

And in truth, all the mitzvos and good deeds are all called tefillah, for everything serves to allude to this very ratzon that we yearn for — to increase His glory and to attain dveikus in Him, blessed is He.

Since every mitzvah and good deed expresses our longing to magnify Hashem's glory and cleave to Him, the entire avodah of a Jew is in essence a form of tefillah.

וז"ש ואני תפלה וכ"כ חז"ל עבודה שבלב זו תפלה

And this is the meaning of "And I am tefillah" (Tehillim 109:4), and so too did Chazal say: "Avodah of the heart — this is tefillah" (Taanis 2a).

He brings proof from Dovid HaMelech, who called himself "tefillah," and from Chazal's teaching that tefillah is the avodah of the heart — an inner striving, not mere words.

ועד"ז אמרו חז"ל יסדר שבחו ש"מ ואח"כ יתפלל

And along these lines Chazal said: one should first arrange the praise of the Omnipresent, and afterward daven.

This is why Chazal instituted that one first recites praise of Hashem before making requests in tefillah.

וכן הקדמת יצ"מ וק"ש קודם התפלה הוא שיסדר אדם מקודם את המעט אשר יש לו מדביקות השי"ת

And likewise, the placing of the remembrance of Yetzias Mitzrayim and Krias Shema before the tefillah is so that a person should first arrange the small measure that he possesses of dveikus with Hashem Yisbarach.

Reciting Yetzias Mitzrayim and Krias Shema before Shemoneh Esrei lets a person first gather and set in order the bit of dveikus he already has with Hashem.

כענין שמוע בישן אח"כ תשמע מחדש וק"ש היא הדביקות שיש לכל איש ישראל חלק בו אח"כ יבקש להרבות הדביקות כנ"ל:

This is in the manner of "If you will hearken to the old, afterward you will hearken to the new" (Berachos 40a) — Krias Shema is the dveikus in which every man of Yisrael has a portion, and afterward he asks to increase the dveikus, as explained above.

Just as reviewing what one already knows opens the way to grasp new understanding, Krias Shema is the baseline dveikus every Jew already possesses, and only from that foundation does he then ask to grow it further.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that the essence of tefillah is not personal need but the yearning for the revelation of Hashem's glory and the restoration of His kingship in the world, as it will be in the time to come. Because every mitzvah and good deed expresses this same ratzon — to increase His glory and to attain dveikus in Him — all of avodas Hashem is in truth a form of tefillah, the avodah of the heart of which Dovid HaMelech said "And I am tefillah." This is why Chazal arranged that we first recite Hashem's praise, and place Yetzias Mitzrayim and Krias Shema before Shemoneh Esrei: a person must first arrange the small measure of dveikus he already possesses. Like reviewing the old as the gateway to grasping the new, Krias Shema is the dveikus that every Jew already shares in, and only from that foundation does he then daven to increase it further.