רפא נא לה: מפני מה לא האריך משה בתפלה, שלא יהיו ישראל אומרים אחותו שרויה בצרה והוא עומד ומרבה בתפלה. (רש”י יב יג)
Why didn’t Moshe daven a long tefillah? So the Jews shouldn’t say, “His sister is in distress and he’s praying extensively. (Rashi, Bamidbar 12:13)
Davening a long tefillah would be seen as ignoring his sister’s distress. This is difficult to understand. Surely a long, heart-felt tefillah would better show how much he cared about his sister?
Moshe Rabbeinu’s five-word tefillah contained twice the supplication na. Rashi says this teaches us that when we ask a friend for help, we should preface our request with supplications. Yet in Shmoneh Esrei we don’t use the word na.
Shmoneh Esrei is called a “long tefillah”, not because of its length, but because of its approach. It starts and ends with three brachos that are all about Hashem, rather than our needs. Even in the middle brachos, our requests don’t stand on their own. The whole Shmoneh Esrei is about Hashem’s “business” – his plan for the world – and our requests come in this framework. We ask Hashem to help Klal Yisroel for His sake, to bring His plan to fruition. Our simple needs are Hashem’s business.
A short tefillah takes a different approach. The Gemara says a short tefillah doesn’t need the 3 opening or 3 concluding brachos. This is because the focus of a short tefillah is the request in its own right, not the grand scheme of Hashem’s hashgacha in the world. That’s why a short tefillah needs supplications. Unlike a long tefillah which presents our needs as Hashem’s business, a short tefillah implores Hashem to “come down” to us and fulfill our own personal needs. To do that, you need to beg.
Moshe Rabbeinu chose the approach of a short tefillah, because his sister’s distress required Hashem’s immediate response. A long tefillah would present Miriam’s plight in the larger scheme of the world, where changes often take time to unfold.
We’re all familiar with the power of Shmoneh Esrei. Moshe Rabbeinu teaches us the power of a short tefillah as well. When time is of the essence, a “short tefillah” is the approach to use.