There is a substitute. The prophet declares (Hosea 14:3), “Uneshalmah
farim sefaseinu. We will supply bullocks with our lips.” In other words, prayer
can take the place of the interrupted divine service. Moreover, the Talmud
(Berachos 26b) correlates the three daily prayers to the three primary
offerings of the Temple service.
How does prayer serve as a surrogate divine service? After all, prayer is
essentially a personal act of reflection, introspection and self-criticism. It
is the silent, inwardly directed “duty of the heart,” whereas the divine
service is an elaborate and demonstrative set of physical acts performed as
homage to God. How do we bridge the chasm between prayer and divine service?
Why is prayer, more than any other commandment, the surrogate for the divine
service?
There is a duality in all the commandments. They are personal acts that
draw us closer to God as individuals. They also serve collectively as an
expression of the servitude of the Jewish nation to God. As expressed in the
Torah, God’s goal is to create a realm on Earth where His presence is manifest
and thereby extend His divinely willed good to all mankind. This second sacred
duty endows the performance or nonperformance of every mitzvah with the
potential of a sanctification or desecration of His Name.
Most of the mitzvos address the idea of personal perfection either
indirectly or by addressing a specific character trait. For instance, a person
who performs a mitzvah commemorating a certain important historical event is
creating and solidifying a personal bond with God, which elevates and perfects
him; it is the resulting relationship more than the act itself that elevates
his existence. Two mitzvos, however, are pure acts of human perfection¾prayer and Torah
study.
Of these two, prayer more directly addresses
personal improvement through human emotion; it is the supreme deliberate
attempt to bring the human personality ever closer to its perfect form. It
follows that for the Jewish people collectively prayer is the most effective
way to express our servitude and heighten the awareness of God’s presence among
men. In this sense, prayer takes the place of the divine service; we perfect
ourselves as members of a nation whose collective duty is to reveal God’s
presence, and this endeavor to achieve self-perfection (shleimus) is in itself
our service of God.
In this light, we gain new insight into the Shema. The Talmud states
(Berachos 63b) that if a person deliberately neglects to say the obligatory
Shema even once, it is as if he has never said it. Why so harsh a judgment?
The Shema is a declaration of faith and acceptance of the obligation to
serve God (kabalas ohl malchus shamayim). It cumulatively transforms a person
and brings him ever closer to God. Each day, as he draws closer, the
possibility of a deliberate omission becomes ever more remote. Therefore, if a
person deliberately neglects the Shema, it proves he has never really said it
properly, that it was never more than lip service.
During the Amidah of the festivals, we say, “You chose us from among all
the people, You loved us and favored us. You lifted us above all the polyglot
nations and sanctified us with Your commandments. You drew us close, our King,
to Your service, and proclaimed Your great and holy Name over us.”
Only on the festivals do we speak about being “lifted above all the
polyglot nations,” making reference both in the Amidah and in the Kiddush to
the superiority of Hebrew over the myriad languages of the world. There is no
such mention in the Sabbath liturgy. What is the connection between the Hebrew
language and the festivals?
Both the Sabbath and the festivals are sanctified, but they differ. The
sanctity of the Sabbath is inherent, and it is our obligation to acknowledge
it. We do not create its sanctity. We are, however, involved in creating the
sanctity of the festivals. We do it indirectly by declaring the new months and
establishing the calendar dates; we bless God “who sanctifies Israel and the
times,” which the Sages interpret as “who sanctifies Israel who in turn
sanctify the times.” We also do it directly by the special festival offerings
in the Temple.
After the destruction of the Temple, we no longer have the ability to
bring the festival offerings, but we do have a substitute. Through our prayers,
it is considered as if we brought the appropriate sacrifices, and in this way,
we continue to participate in the sanctification of the festivals. Therefore,
the Hebrew language, perfectly constructed and nuanced for holiness, plays a
major role in the festival observance and earns special mention in their
liturgical prayers.
Symmetry and elegance pervade God’s creation. We find one example of this
harmony in the three pillars of the world. Nefesh Hachaim, among many works,
identifies the lower three elements of the human soul as nefesh, ruach and neshamah.
They correlate respectively with man’s physical self and actions, his emotional
states and his intellectual activity.
Man’s task is to improve these aspects of the
soul. Fittingly, the Torah obliges us to place tefillin on our arms, near our
hearts and near our brains, the three parts of the body associated with the
three levels of the soul.
As we consider the three pillars identified by our Sages, we may discern
the quintessential ideals of these three levels-kindness, service and prayer, Torah study. As
man struggles and prevails in these areas, he ennobles these aspects of his
soul and thereby strengthens the pillars of creation.