Parshat Pinchas contains a listing of all the regular sacrifices brought by the Jews, Bnei Yisroel throughout the year. The section begins with the command to bring the korban tomid, the two daily olah offerings, one in the morning and one in the evening. It is described as “My offering, My food for My fires …” In the middle of giving the details of the offering, the Torah stipulates that the tomid is the “continual elevation offering that was done at Mount Sinai.” Since we do not presently have the Beit Hamikdosh and cannot bring these offerings, what lessons can we garner from the unusual references given here? Certainly we are not providing food for Hashem, and what connection is there between the offering at Mount Sinai, the daily offerings in the Temple, and our lives today?
The Oznaim LaTorah commentator clarifies that 'My food' indicates the result of these sacrifices, that in the merit of these daily sacrifices Hashem will indeed give of His bread to Bnei Yisroel and to the world, and we are indeed bringing “His” bread back to Him.
Rav Reiss in Meirosh Tzurim offers a different, rather unique interpretation that mirrors the true purpose of sacrifices in general and our prayer today. Citing the Netziv MiVolozhin, he defines lachmi, My bread, as derived from halchomo, soldering. In other words, through the sacrifices as through repentance for sin, we create a spiritual bond with G-d just as soldering creates a physical bond between two objects.
The Torah is here discussing the tomid sacrifice, brought daily, morning and evening. It is precisely this regularity that Rav Reiss continues to focus on. For if we are to retain a constant, ongoing, reciprocal relationship with Hashem, we cannot allow it to become random. It must be woven into the very fabric of our lives, scheduled religiously and consistently to achieve the closeness we desire. This is the relationship we lost with the breach of the wall of Jerusalem on the Seventeenth of Tamuz that culminated in the destruction of the Temples on the Ninth of Av.
But while we must make the tomid, and the current equivalent prayers of shacharit and mincha regular and consistent, Rabbi Frand warns us that we are not to do them by rote. In this case, as with every mitzvah, routine must not turn into rote. Keep the passion of the first tomid at Mount Sinai alive each day as you bring the offering.
Men begin their daily morning service by wrapping themselves in the talit and binding the Tefillin around their arms. While binding the tefillin straps around their arms, they recite the beautiful verses from the prophet Hoshea that express the relationship Hashem has with us and us that binds us to Him: “I will betroth you to Me forever … I will betroth you to Me with fidelity, and you shall know Hashem.”
Rav Reiss continues with his exploration of our relationship with the Divine using these verses. Surely one does not stay betrothed forever, but rather betrothal is a precursor to marriage and the remainder of one’s life. However, the freshness and excitement of the betrothal stage is often lost as the relationship progresses. The meaning behind these verses, says Rav Reiss, is that Hashem will never lose the passion of that initial love for Bnei Yisroel as we should never lose our passion in reciprocating that relationship.
But we must expend some effort in maintaining this relationship. Rav Lugassi points out, in Berumo shel Olam that the difference in the amount of time it takes to mumble a bracha by rote or pronounce it thoughtfully, focusing on the meaning and the gratitude expressed by the blessing, is generally no more than three seconds! It is worth the time to stop and consider our communication with Hashem through the Bracha and through our prayer, to create this halchomo, this soldering to bind our relationship.
So while Mount Sinai represents the passion of our betrothal to Hashem, it also represents the humility with which we approach the continuing relationship. The Be’er Moshe explains that at Sinai, when we uttered naasehvenishma, we will do and we will listen, we totally submitted ourselves to Hashem’s sovereignty. At that moment Hashem healed us from the spiritual and psychological disease of haughtiness just as he healed us from all physical afflictions. It is this same sense of humility that was to envelop us as we brought the daily offering, and as we bring our souls to communicate with Hashem through our daily prayers.
Two questions still remain: Why did Hashem command two daily offerings rather than one, and why are they to be offered morning and evening instead of together? Rabbi Roberts in Through the Prism of Torah cites the Tanna DeVei Eliyahu Rabbah in explaining that the source for the korban tomid was akeidas Yitzchak ,the binding of Isaac. When both Abraham and Isaac were willing to give all they had for Hashem, Hashem rewarded their offspring with the two daily sacrifices, one for each of them, to atone for their sins. Then, expounding on an idea from the Reisher Rav, Rabbi Roberts discusses the two major stages of life, youth and seniority. When Avraham and Yitzchak went together to do Hashem’s bidding at Mount Moriah, Avraham represented the senior citizen while Yitzchak represented youth.
What are the major differences between these stages of life? During one’s youth one has the energy, idealism and ambition to accomplish great things. But one often lacks the maturity and wisdom to build positively on this base, and often causes more harm than good. The senior citizen, on the other hand, has life experience and wisdom, but often no longer has the physical energy, drive or ambition to carry through on important ideas. However, continues Rabbi Roberts, a Jew is expected to serve Hashem at both stages of life, and use the assets of each stage to further his spiritual growth. As youth and old age worked together to fulfill G-d’s command of the binding of Isaac, so are we to bring the daily offering at the two representative stages of the day, morning and evening. And so are we to offer our prayers also consistently morning and evening.
Parshat Pinchas is always a Torah reading during the three weeks of mourning known as bein hamitzorim beginning with the Seventeenth of Tamuz and ending with the Ninth of Av. The end of the daily offerings in the First Temple was among the five tragedies that befell Bnei Yisroel on the seventeenth of Tamuz. It is linked to Moshe breaking the first Tablets, the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem in the time of the Second Temple, The burning of a Sefer Torah by the evil Roman Apostomus, and finally introducing an idol into the Beis Hamikdosh prior to its destruction. These events, although separated by millennia, are related thematically.
Rav Reiss in Paamei Moed explains the difference between Balaam and Moshe, and by extension to Bnei Yisroel. Hashem occasionally visited Balaam through prophecy. Balaam had the opportunity to grow spiritually, but he was so immersed in his own ego and the depravity around him that even when in the presence of G-d he remained evil. When he offered sacrifices, they were not offerings of humility and gratitude, but rather bribes so that G-d would allow him to curse Israel effectively. In contrast, Hashem was in constant communication with Moshe, yet Moshe remained the humblest of men. Similarly the tomid offering was symbolic of Bnei Yisroel’s constant, close relationship and communication with Hashem, yet it was offered in gratitude and humility, in contrast to Balaam’s offerings. When we could no longer bring this offering, we lost that close, palpable connection to G-d.
Similarly, the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem was a physical manifestation of what had already taken place spiritually, for the walls of our devotion, of our circumspection in keeping the Torah had already broken down. What remained was an image without essence. When we entertained impure thoughts and ideas, they breached the walls of heaven, introducing impurity, and our enemies could introduce the idols into our holiest places.
It is our responsibility to keep our spiritual walls strong and not allow summer relaxation to cause lapses in our spiritual life. The Seventeenth of Tamuz reminds us that this is a time for introspection and for reinforcing our spiritual walls. This is the third leg the tomid represents, constant devotion to the ideals Hashem expects of us.
But if the Seventeenth of Tamuz commemorates tragedy, it is also a symbol of hope. Rabbi Wolfson, in EmunatEetiyich points out that Aaron’s statement at Sinai was, “Chag LaHashem Machar,” “Tomorrow is a holiday to Hashem” That “tomorrow” is the harbinger of hope for the future, when the olah offering will again be brought in our Holy Temple.
The sequence began when Boaz married Ruth on the Seventeenth of Tamuz and she conceived Oved, grandfather of David, ancestor of the Messiah. Parshat Pinchas contains the word tomid seventeen times, an allusion to the Seventeenth of Tamuz which will someday, machar, become a day of rejoicing culminating in the transformation of the Ninth of Av to our most joyous holiday with the rebuilt Beit Hamikdosh. May it come to pass speedily in our time.
(Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein, liluy nishmat Yocheved Basha bas Moshe Aharon)