על העלה הוא העלה תורת את לאמר בניו ואת אהרן את צו” תוקד המזבח ואש הבקר עד הלילה כל המזבח על מוקדה (ב ו) “בו
The three pesukim at the beginning of the parashah mention the burning fire on the mizbe’ach. Harav Yitzchak Abarbanel explains that Rabi Yehoshua ben Levi learned from this that Chazal instituted three tefillos a day, corresponding to the Korban Tamid (Brachos 26b), as these three pesukim allude to the three tefillos: This passuk “Al mokdah shel hamizbe’ach kol halaylah ad haboker,” alludes to the tefillah of Arvis, which is said at night. A few pesukim later (6:5): “Veha’eish al hamizbe’ach tukad bo lo tichbeh ubi’er aleha haKohein eitzim baboker baboker,” alludes to the tefillah of Shacharis, said in the morning, and the passuk after that “Eish tamid tukad al hamizbe’ach lo sichbeh,” and next to it, it says “vezos Toras haminchah”, alluding to the tefillah of Minchah.
Thus the Torah alludes to the concept written by the Kuzari (3:5) that just like the foods are sustenance for the body, tefillah is sustenance for the soul. The same way a meal provides a person with strength until the meal after it, likewise, the love of Hashem that is compared to fire [as it says (Shir Hashirim 8:6): “Ki azaha kamaves ahavah... for love is as strong as death...its coals are coals of fire of a great flame!] that is renewed in the heart of a person during tefillah, needs to burn in his heart until the next tefillah. Arvis needs to ignite the fire of love in the person’s heart “all night until the morning” – until Shacharis, and so forth, from Shacharis to Minchah and from Minchah to Arvis, and then from the beginning. Thus, there will be an aish tamid burning on the mizbe’ach of a person’s heart, and it will never be extinguished.
Peirush HaTorah LeRabi Yitzchak Abarbanel
