In Its Time

The sefer Vayedaber Moshe explains how we can still bring korabanos even today. “The Midrash explains that the verse regarding the korban tamid: 'תשמרו להקריב לי במועדו'—‘Take care to sacrifice to Me in its time’—is linked to the verse in Mishlei, 'צדיק אוכל לשובע נפשו'—‘A tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul.’ On a simple level this seems difficult. What possible connection is there between the korban tamid and how a tzaddik eats? “The key to understanding this puzzle is a statement of our sages which explains the word במועדו—‘in its time.’ The tamid must be offered on time, even on Shabbos and even when the Jewish people are ritually impure. We see that the word 'במועדו' connotes that the korban tamid must be brought twice daily, at all times and for all time, without exception. One may well wonder how the tamid has been brought twice daily since the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash so many years ago? The answer is that when we eat with sanctity this is likened to a sacrifice. One who eats for the honor of Hashem so that his body is healthy and the energy afforded from what he consumes is used to serve Hashem and learn Torah is in this category. His morning meal is like the morning tamid to Hashem and his dinner is the tamid shel bein ha’arbayim. This is the meaning of the verse in Yechezel: 'זה השלחן אשר לפני ה''—‘This is the table which is before Hashem.’ When one eats with sanctity his table is like the altar since his food is like a sacrifice to Hashem. “This is the connection between this verse regarding the korban tamid and the verse that a tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul. A tzaddik does not eat to satiate his body. He eats for his nefesh. This is the meaning of the surprising statement Hillel would make when going to eat, ‘I am going to bestow chessed upon the hostel that houses my soul.’”

The Avodah of Korbanos

Rabbeinu Yonah, zt”l, explains the way in which the avodah of korbanos relates to us during our lengthy exile. “When they slaughtered the sacrifice, the man who brought it would feel a powerful identification with the offering and would cry tears of pity while praising Hashem and declaring, ‘Master of the world! If not for Your great mercy it would have been me who was slaughtered just like my sacrifice. This would have been fitting since I have transgressed Your commandments. May it be Your will Hashem, my G-d and the G-d of my fathers, that slaughtering this sacrifice should be considered as if I myself had been killed for my sins. For is revealed to You that I would do this to myself to atone for my sins if this was Your will...’
“The penitent would react the same way when the blood was sprinkled, since he would feel as though it were his blood that was sprinkled. And the same was true of all avodos. The kohein was likened to the ministering angels who offer the nefashos of the tzaddikim on the supernal altar.
“Know that when we pray we are like one who brings a sacrifice to Hashem. Our souls are bound to the supernal world of neshamos and the shaliach tzibbur parallels the ministering angels who offer sacrifices to Hashem. Like Chana in her famous prayer, we must pour out our nefesh to Hashem, as the verse states, 'ואשפך את נפשי לפני ה''. She prayed with her entire heart and this was considered by Hashem as if she sacrificed herself to Him.
“This is the meaning of the verse, 'ה' צלך על יד ימינך'—‘Hashem is your shadow upon your right hand.’ Just as a shadow mirrors our actions, so too does Hashem act toward us as we act toward Him. If we cry to Him, He is right there crying alongside us. If we distance ourselves from Him, He distances Himself from us. And when we draw near to Him, He draws close to us.”

Shouldering the Burden

The Panim Yafos, zt”l, once explained proper gratitude. “The verse states in Tehilim, 'מה אשיב לה' כל תגמולהי עלי'—‘What can I repay Hashem? All of His kindnesses are עלי.’ The word עלי can be understood in context of designating a sacrifice where one who says הרי עלי is like one carries a weight on his shoulders.
“This means that he should feel obligated to repay Hashem for all the kindnesses He has bestowed. He bears such a heavy weight since he feels as though he has not begun to repay for even one kindness that he has received. This is also the meaning of Yaakov’s astonishing statement, 'קטנתי מכל החסדים'—‘I am unworthy of all of the kindnesses.’ He says this since he felt as though he had not managed to even repay one kindness to Hashem...”
But the Imrei Emes, zt”l, learns a different lesson from this. “We can explain by understanding the symbolism of tefillin. The head tefillin allude to holy thoughts, that is, accepting the yoke of heaven, while the tefillin on one’s arm represent holy actions. This is the meaning of the Talmudic statement of the meaning of טטפות: טט is two in Katfi. The word כתפי alludes to the shoulders, the כתפיים. Through this we understand the statement of our sages in Zevachim 4 that one who says הרי עלי is like one carries s a weight on his shoulders. Wearing tefillin is just like saying, הרי עלי, since it alludes to accepting the yoke of heaven in thought and deed.
“Hashem took us out of Egypt, even though we did nothing to deserve it and the ultimate redemption will also be due to undeserved kindness. Obviously we are obligated to do whatever we can to accept upon ourselves the yoke of heaven!”