This past Sunday, we fasted on the 17th of Tammuz, which our rabbis, in Mishnah Ta’anit 4:6, say commemorates five events:  Moshe breaking the Two Tablets upon seeing the Golden Calf;  suspension of the daily offerings in the Temple; the Romans breaching the walls of Jerusalem; Apostomos burning a Torah scroll; and the setting up of an idol in the First Temple.

Of all the reasons brought by the Mishnah, the second one is most pertinent this week to Parshat Pinchas. Our parsha has in it the Divine command to bring daily offerings, as well as additional offerings for Shabbat and holidays. We learn that there are two daily offerings — one in the morning, and one in the afternoon — to which our tradition has connected the morning and afternoon prayers we say every day.

Nevertheless, it is worth asking: Why is the cessation of daily offerings worth fasting over? Would it not be part of our fast on Tisha B’Av, when we mourn the destruction of the Temple? We don’t mourn when the incense could no longer be offered or the Menorah could no longer be lit. What is so different about the daily offerings?

The answer lies in the obvious: The daily offering is daily. It is the centerpiece of the daily Temple service, and it is never missed. Not on Yom Kippur, when the High Priest must conduct his own service. Not on Erev Pesach, when Jews from around the world come to offer their own sacrifices. The daily offering is never delayed and is a constant around which the Temple revolves.

Not only is it constant, but it is public. The menorah is lit in the Temple, where only Kohanim can go, as is the incense offering. The daily offering is brought in the Temple courtyard, where everyone can see the daily routine. It is a communal offering witnessed by the community.

So when the daily offering was suspended, it signified the end of the constant. No longer were Jews able to witness and count on their daily connection to God. Separate from the entire tragedy of the destruction of the Temple was the loss of a constant and routine form of service in our lives.

This is why communal prayer is so important in Judaism. True, prayer can be done individually and, in addition to the required prayers, prayers can be offered at any time. But when we come together to pray, routinely, we create a structure that maintains our connection to God. We stand united in the rote, in the constant, which strengthens our Divine connection throughout our lives.

Rabbi Eliezer Finkelstein serves Bais Abraham Congregation and is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, which coordinates the d’var Torah for the Jewish Light.