עֲלֵ֣ה ׀ רֹ֣אשׁ הַפִּסְגָּ֗ה וְשָׂ֥א עֵינֶ֛יךָ יָ֧מָּה וְצָפֹ֛נָה וְתֵימָ֥נָה וּמִזְרָ֖חָה וּרְאֵ֣ה בְעֵינֶ֑יךָ כִּי־לֹ֥א תַעֲבֹ֖ר אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֥ן הַזֶּֽה׃
Sobe ao topo do Pisga, e levanta teus olhos para o ocidente, norte, sul e oriente, e vê com teus próprios olhos, pois não atravessarás este Yarden.
Olat Reiyah
R’ Elazar said – prayer is greater than good deeds, because no one was greater in good deeds than Moshe our Teacher and nevertheless he was only answered through prayer, as it says “It is enough for you, speak no more to me of this matter…” (Devarim 3:26) [Berachot 32b]
There are two aspects to the precious nature of the righteous soul: good deeds, which are the offspring of the righteous (See Rashi Bereshit 6:9. Also Yishayahu 3:10, with Kiddushin 40a) brought about through the soul’s activities, and the precious, lofty and treasured nature of the refined soul itself, crowned by the acquisition of good traits and true conceptions. And when such a soul orients itself in prayer toward a specific thing, the blessed G–d decreed (See Tehillim 148:6) that prayer succeed according to the extent of her value and merit. And R’ Elazar’s words teach that the treasured fineness of the great soul rises above the preciousness of its circumstantial good - the good actions which are as chance occurrences in comparison to the pure and clarified soul itself. But that which the weight of good actions could not effect, comes about through the value and merit of the preciousness of the holy soul in its own right. The proof is from Moshe our teacher, whom none surpassed in good deeds. All his good deeds were insufficient to nullify the decree against him, but prayer would have worked. G–d had to declare “speak no more to me,” (Dev. 3:26) implying that additional speech would have been more effective than actions. And this is why in the next line we find “Go up to the top of Pisgah…” (Dev. 3:27) Just as, if through additional prayer Moshe had attained all his request it would have surpassed the bounds set by the weight of his good actions, so too that portion of his request which was fulfilled was through the power of prayer - which comes from the essential treasured nature of the soul and its inner composition, elevated beyond its circumstantial expressions. This is because the revelation of the preciousness of the soul through her inner treasured nature, and not only through her circumstantial expressions, comes through refined prayer, which is called pouring out of the soul: “…and I have poured out my soul before G–d.” (Shmuel I 1:15)
There are two aspects to the precious nature of the righteous soul: good deeds, which are the offspring of the righteous (See Rashi Bereshit 6:9. Also Yishayahu 3:10, with Kiddushin 40a) brought about through the soul’s activities, and the precious, lofty and treasured nature of the refined soul itself, crowned by the acquisition of good traits and true conceptions. And when such a soul orients itself in prayer toward a specific thing, the blessed G–d decreed (See Tehillim 148:6) that prayer succeed according to the extent of her value and merit. And R’ Elazar’s words teach that the treasured fineness of the great soul rises above the preciousness of its circumstantial good - the good actions which are as chance occurrences in comparison to the pure and clarified soul itself. But that which the weight of good actions could not effect, comes about through the value and merit of the preciousness of the holy soul in its own right. The proof is from Moshe our teacher, whom none surpassed in good deeds. All his good deeds were insufficient to nullify the decree against him, but prayer would have worked. G–d had to declare “speak no more to me,” (Dev. 3:26) implying that additional speech would have been more effective than actions. And this is why in the next line we find “Go up to the top of Pisgah…” (Dev. 3:27) Just as, if through additional prayer Moshe had attained all his request it would have surpassed the bounds set by the weight of his good actions, so too that portion of his request which was fulfilled was through the power of prayer - which comes from the essential treasured nature of the soul and its inner composition, elevated beyond its circumstantial expressions. This is because the revelation of the preciousness of the soul through her inner treasured nature, and not only through her circumstantial expressions, comes through refined prayer, which is called pouring out of the soul: “…and I have poured out my soul before G–d.” (Shmuel I 1:15)