The Korban Ha'tamid
was the sacrifice that was offered each day in the Bet Ha'mikdash – one sheep
was brought every morning, and a second sheep was brought every afternoon. This sacrifice was required each day, without
exception, on weekdays, Shabbat, and all holidays, including Yom Kippur.
The unique importance
of this sacrifice can be seen in the story told by the Gemara in Masechet Menahot
(64b) of the civil war that was waged during the Second Commonwealth, and one
side besieged Jerusalem. The besieging
army would send sheep over the wall into the city each day for the offering of
the Tamid, until they were advised that as long the Tamid sacrifice was
offered, they would not succeed in taking the city. The next day, they sent a pig instead of a
sheep. The Gemara relates that as the
pig was being lifted over the wall, the entire Land of Israel shook. Once the Tamid sacrifice was discontinued,
disaster befell the nation.
Due to the special
importance of the Tamid, the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909)
writes in his work Rav Pe'alim that if a person arrives late in the synagogue,
and does not have enough time to recite the entire Korbanot section (the
section about the sacrifices), he should at least recite the verses of the
Tamid (as well as the section of the Ketoret).
We introduce the
recitation of the Tamid with a special "Yehi Rason" prayer asking Hashem to
forgive our sins and rebuild the Bet Ha'mikdash so we can again offer the daily
Tamid sacrifice. This prayer appears in
the Seder Ha'yom (by Rabbi Moshe Ben Machir, 16th century). Although we generally omit on Shabbat prayers
that include requests for forgiveness, we recite this prayer before the Tamid
even on Shabbat. After reciting the
Tamid section, we recite the section of the Ketoret followed by the paragraph of
"Abayeh Hava Mesader" – Abayeh's outline of the entire daily procedure in the
Bet Ha'mikdash. We then recite a
concluding prayer – "Ribon Ha'olamim" – acknowledging that we are unable to
offer sacrifices in the Bet Ha'mikdash because of our sins, and asking that our
recitation of the Korbanot section should be accepted as though we actually
offered the sacrifices.
The Yafeh La'leb (Rav Rahamim
Nissim Yitzchak Palachi, Turkey, 1814-1907) notes a passage in the Midrash
stating that we will not require the offering of Korbanot in the future. He thus raises the question of why we ask
Hashem for the opportunity to again offer sacrifices, if the sacrifices will
not be brought in the times of the final redemption. In truth, this question was discussed already
by his father, the Leb Haim (Rav Haim Palachi, 1787-1868), who concludes that
all the Torah's Misvot – including the sacrifices – will remain binding for all
time. The Midrash's comment about the
sacrifices in the future needs to be understood, but it is clear that
sacrifices will be brought in the times of the third Bet Ha'mikdash.
