Kaisipang Hudyo sa Deuteronomio 9:25: Olat Reiyah

The Sages taught – It happened once with a student that prayed before the ark in the presence of R. Eliezer, and he prayed too long. His students said to him, ‘how longwinded he is! He said to them ‘Is he more longwinded than Moshe our Teacher, of whom it is written “The forty days and the forty nights…” (Devarim 9:25)?’ It happened again that a student prayed before the ark in R. Eliezer’s presence, and he cut his prayer too short. His students said to him, ‘how brief he is!’ He said to them ‘is he more brief than Moshe our Teacher, of whom it is written “…please G–d, please heal her.” (Bamidbar 12:13)?’ [Berachot 34a]
The value of prayer reveals itself through two things. The first is through the elevation of comprehensions and qualities, be they of the one praying or the one prayed for. For this great lengthiness is required, like the process of changing ingrained motions, which happens gradually. Such was the lengthiness of Moshe our Teacher - forty days, aligned with the days of formation of the fetus⁸⁴See Berachot 60a. It is important to remember that numbers can be more than mathematical measures, they can be a symbolic language as well. Forty days of rain, forty nights on the mountain, forty years in the wilderness. Perhaps forty represents the completion of one stage and the passage to another., like the giving of a new form and heart to the one for whom he prayed. And the second - that once everything needed for elevation has been done within the innerness of the soul, expressed prayer serves to actualize what has already been done within. For this, no duration whatsoever is required, because with one word a multitude of feelings are brought to light.⁸⁵Compare this line to section 1:4 Brevity in prayer serves in the place which requires actualization of that which is already prepared. Therefore, both these paths have a positive aspect, so long as one focuses their heart on heaven, according to what is possible and fit to the need of the hour.