When I was a young boy, the rav of our shul, HaRav Zalman Ury zt”l, did not allow cholent to be served at the kiddush after davening. His reason was simple. The only place to keep the cholent was near the main sanctuary and by the time Musaf came around, people’s stomachs would start to grumble. The aroma of cholent wafting through the air would certainly not be conducive to their davening!
Yes, when we reach Musaf, some people begin to lose patience. There are those who go out and put on their hats in anticipation of the end of the service. If the ba’al tefillah goes a drop too slow, the peanut gallery starts making comments. These arrows all point in one direction: this is a special tefillah, and the yetzer hora wants to make sure we lose out! Let us learn a little about this unique tefillah.
This Shabbos is the 17th of Tammuz, the day we commence the three weeks of mourning, the bein hamitzarim. Usually we fast to commemorate the five tragic events that occurred on that day, as listed in the mishnah in Taanis (26a-b). Because it is Shabbos, we push off the fast until Sunday. However, since Shabbos itself is the day when these events occurred, it would be proper to learn what happened.
The most famous event is the breach in the wall of Yerushalayim, the beginning of the end of the Bais HaMikdash. But there was another tragic event that occurred on this day – the Korban Tamid stopped being offered. Is there a connection between these two events?
Furthermore, we know that there were countless types of korbanos offered in the Bais HaMikdash and, when it was destroyed, they all came to an end. What was so special about the Korban Tamid that it is singled out?
“Temidim” and “Musafim”
All the various communal services and sacrifices of the Mikdash can be divided into two groups: the “temidim” and the “musafim” – the continual offerings and the additions. The Tamid belonged to the group of korbanos offered every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The tefillah of Shacharis corresponds to the morning Tamid, and Mincha to the one of the afternoon. In the morning, we get up and declare through this korban that Hashem is the Master of the Universe and created the world. With the Tamid of the afternoon, we show that what we did throughout the day was only with Hashem’s help. Our avodah must be done in a constant manner. Every day we must daven, learn Torah, and do chesed. Growth only occurs when we do this day in, day out.
But then we have the musafim on special days, when we do additional avodah, such as the Korban Musaf. Each Yom Tov has its own special light. On Pesach we instill in ourselves the lessons of Mitzrayim, on Shavuos we receive the Torah, and on Sukkos we celebrate the constant protection of Hashem. The Korban Musaf was offered because of the holiness of the day and reflected that light. Since we do not have the ability to offer the actual korban, we recite the verses of the Torah in which it is discussed. Chazal tell us that when we do this, Hashem views it as if we offered the actual korban. The more feeling we invoke when reciting these pesukim, the more we show Hashem that we truly feel the loss.
In next week’s sidra, Parshas Pinchas (perek 28), the Torah delineates the various musafim of the Yomim Tovim. The first thing on the list, though, is the Korban Tamid, which seems to be out of place. However, in truth, there is a very deep connection. Without the Tamid, the constant aspect of our Yiddishkeit, there is no place for additions. Without a foundation, one cannot hope to build a structure.
Let us now return to the 17th of Tammuz. Once the Tamid – the pedestal upon which the entire avodah of the Mikdash stood – stopped being offered, the destruction of the Mikdash was imminent. Possibly, these two events, which occurred on the same day, both represent the same tragedy. The Tamid gave us a constant connection to Hashem and created a spiritual wall of protection, and on this day we lost it. On the very same day, the physical walls also ceased to offer their protection, as they were breached by the Romans. Since the entire service in the Bais HaMikdash centered on the Tamid, its cessation was singled out and is commemorated on this day.
Hashem’s Crown
But perhaps there is another reason why the Tamid is mentioned together with the Musaf. Rav Mintzburg in Ben Melech points out that there was something unique about the Musaf of Shabbos: the musafim of the Yomim Tovim were brought in addition to and on top of the daily Tamid. This is why the Torah says regarding the Musaf of each Yom Tov that it was offered “milvad – besides” for the Korban Tamid. However, when discussing the Musaf of Shabbos, the Torah states (pasuk 10) “al,” which means “in addition to” the Korbon Tamid. The Musaf of Shabbos was an addition and expansion of the actual Tamid. That means that although the Korban Tamid normally consisted of just one animal, on Shabbos it also had the two sheep of the Musaf as part of it. Therefore, the Torah mentions the Tamid together with the Musaf of Shabbos.
We can explain this as follows: Just as we are commanded to have more enjoyment on Shabbos and add extra food, so, too on Shabbos we add to the daily korban. Since the Musaf of Shabbos represents the additional enjoyment of Shabbos, in the tefillah of Musaf we specifically mention the obligation to enjoy Shabbos and say, “those who delight in it will inherit eternal honor, those who savor it will merit life.” As we explained in the past, the reason we have a mitzvah to enjoy ourselves on Shabbos is because on this day we have a small taste and preview of the world to come. This light is therefore represented by the Korban Musaf.
Seforim tell us that the kedusha of Musaf is referred to as “kedushas keser – the kedusha of the crown. In fact, in nusach S’fard it even begins with this word. Rav Shimshon Pincus zt”l explains that with this tefillah we crown Hashem as the King of the Universe. When we take an animal and offer it as a korban, we have elevated the lowly aspects of the world and showed that everything, including this mundane world, belongs to Hashem. This is especially true regarding this korban that represents the mitzvah of oneg Shabbos, when we enjoy ourselves on Shabbos for the sake of the mitzvah and turn mundane pleasures into a holy experience. This kedusha is referred to as the crown of Hashem because it reveals that Hashem is truly the King.
Beginning this Shabbos, the 17th of Tammuz, let us use tefillas Musaf properly and crown Hashem as Master of the Universe. In kedusha, let us declare Shema Yisroel with pride that we are the ones who have the ability to show that Hashem is King. Through this we will hopefully merit that after Shabbos there will be no need to fast, as the Bais HaMikdash will have returned.
