קְח֤וּ עִמָּכֶם֙ דְּבָרִ֔ים וְשׁ֖וּבוּ אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה אִמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו כָּל־תִּשָּׂ֤א עָוֺן֙ וְקַח־ט֔וֹב וּֽנְשַׁלְּמָ֥ה פָרִ֖ים שְׂפָתֵֽינוּ׃
너는 말씀을 가지고 여호와께로 돌아와서 아뢰기를 모든 불의를 제하시고 선한 바를 받으소서 우리가 입술로 수송아지를 대신하여 주께 드리리이다
Sha'arei Orah
It is incumbent that you understand that, as explained, prayer is called work-Avodah-עבודה, as our sages, of blessed memory, said,369Talmud Bavli, Taanit 2a “What work-Avodah-עבודה is the service of the heart? This refers to prayer.” In this way, contemplate and realize that the prayers were established in place of the sacrifices-Korbanot-קרבנות.370See Talmud Bavli, Brachot 26b As you already know, the sacrifices-Korbanot-קרבנות are the matter of uniting the Sefirot, bringing order to their levels and repairing their conduits, which is why they are called sacrifice-Korban-קרבן, meaning coming close-Kiruv-קירוב. This being so, our prayers stand in lieu of the sacrifices-Korbanot-קרבנות, only that through sacrifices the levels are brought close through action (Ma’aseh), whereas through prayer, they are brought close through speech (Dibur). The verse that hints at this is,371Hosea 14:3 “Let our lips be in substitution for the [sacrificial] bulls.” About this our sages, of blessed memory, stated,372Talmud Bavli, Brachot 26b “The prayers were instituted in accordance to the sacrificial offerings of Tamid and Musaf.”