Dedicated to the Memory of Louis Levine z”l, Baruch Aryeh ben
Avraham Halevi on his Eighteenth Yahrzeit, 19th of Sivan

A few weeks ago, I spoke on a panel
about aliya (immigrating to Israel). One of the questions was if someone should make aliya even if
they don’t feel like they love living in Israel.

I suggested that they should spend
more time in Israel and then see from there. If you are not passionate about living
in Israel, it is very difficult to make aliya. If you don’t have friends or
family, you will be on your own at the beginning. Dealing with going into the
army is not easy for anyone. Even if your Hebrew is good, it will be inferior
to that of the native Israelis. Navigating the university system or finding a
job and place to live will also be challenges. On top of that, there is all of
the bureaucracy that must be handled such as setting up healthcare, opening a
bank account, transferring over your driver’s license (if you have one) or
taking driving lessons and dealing with employment and apartment contracts. All
of these issues can be overcome if someone is yearning to make Israel their
home but can become stumbling blocks for someone who isn’t 100% devoted to the
idea of living in Israel.

Aliya is a step that should be
taken once someone is sure that it is the right time for them. One who isn’t
sure can continue to make trips to Israel, study, volunteer and take their time
deciding unless they are living in a place that they must leave due to danger.

In Parshat Behaalotcha (Bamidbar
10:29-32), Moshe invites Chovav (Yitro), his father in law to make aliya with
B’nai Yisrael. Moshe believes that he too will be going to the Land of Israel
and is of course very excited about moving there:

Moshe said to Chovav the son of
Reuel, the Midianite, Moshe’s father in law: “We are journeying to the place
about which God said: ‘I will give it to you,’ come along with us and we will
treat you well, for God spoke of bringing good fortune on Israel.” He (Yitro)
said to him “I will not go, but rather to my land and to my birthplace I will
go.” He (Moshe) said to him “please do not forsake us, for, because you know of
our encampment in the desert, and you will be our eyes. It will be that when
you go with us, it shall be that the very good which God will bestow on us we
will bestow on (share with) you.”

Sforno points out that as an older
person, Yitro was afraid that moving to a new land and climate would make it
difficult for him to adjust to the air and the food which could have a negative
impact on his health.

According to Rashi, who is quoting
the Sifrei, Yitro wants to return home to Midian either for the sake of his
property or for the sake of his family.

Rav Avraham M’Prag explains that
Yitro didn’t want to move back to Midian. Rather, he wanted to go back home
temporarily in order to sell his property and convert his family.

The Gur Aryeh comments that we see
in Shoftim 1:16 that Yitro (or at least his children) ultimately did settle in
the Land of Israel:

 And the children of Keni, Moshe’s father in
law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Yehuda into the
wilderness of Yehuda which lies in the south of Arad and they went and dwelt
among the people.

Those thinking about aliya need to
take a step back as Yitro did. Do you have health issues that can be taken care
of in Israel? Which climate do you want to live in which will not be too
drastically different from what they are used to? Do you want to adapt to
Israeli cuisine or will you want to cook food or buy food like you ate in the
old country (which can often be more expensive)? Can you settle your finances
before you come so that you have money to live on before you find employment?
Will your family members want to join you?

Once these questions are answered,
one can decide if it is the right time or not. If you are not yet ready, you
can make a plan of how long it will take to put everything into place.

Aliya is not an easy process, even
with the help of organizations which can make it go more smoothly. Just as one
shouldn’t jump into getting married, one should take their time with planning
their aliya to make sure that it is as successful as possible.

In Parsha Behaalotcha (Bamidbar 12:1-2)
we read:

And Miriam and Aharon spoke against
Moshe because of the Cushite (Ethiopian) woman whom he had married; for he had
married n Ethiopian woman. They said: “Is it only to Moshe that God has spoken?
Did he not also speak with us?” and God heard.

From these two verses, it is very
hard to understand what they were speaking about.

Who was the Ethiopian woman? Was it
Tziporah? How could it have been Tziporah? She was Midianite, not Ethiopian. If
she wasn’t Ethiopian then why is she called Ethiopian? Why is the fact that he
married an Ethiopian woman repeated twice? If it wasn’t Tziporah, then who was
it? Did Moshe marry this woman before he married Tziporah or after? What does
all of this have to do with which prophets God has spoken to?

The rabbis and commentators grapple with
these questions and try to find answers, some of which may seem to be outlandish
and don’t even fit the context of the story.

Rashi based on the Midrashim, Avot D’Rabi
Natan and Sifri Zuta says that Moshe separated from his wife, Tziporah due to
the fact that he was receiving prophecy from God.

Rashi’s comment fits with the second
verse which talks about prophecy. However, we only see them mention marriage in
the text, not divorce. As well, we are brought back to the fact that Tziporah
was not Ethiopian. To solve that issue Rashi uses Onkelos’ translation of
Cushite as beautiful rather than Ethiopian.

Rashbam, Rashi’s grandson, has a totally
different take. He quotes Divrei HaYamin D’Moshe Rabbeinu, an Aggada, legend,
which teaches
that after Moshe left Egypt, he was a king in Ethiopia for 40 years, married an
Ethiopian queen.

Rabbi Yosef Ibn Kaspi, a medieval
Jewish commentator, does not agree with any of the above opinions. Tziporah is
not the Ethiopian woman and Moshe did not marry an Ethiopian princess. He also
doesn’t believe that Moshe separated from his wife. Rather, their complaint was
that Moshe was now taking on a second wife, in addition to Tzipora.

Why do the commentators have to
guess what they were talking about? Why doesn’t the Torah just tell us?

According to Nechama Leibowitz, the
Torah did not wish to prohibit merely explicit gossip about our fellowmen in
general and the spiritual leaders of our generation in particular. It wished to
prohibit any kind of talk or gossip disparaging our fellowmen.

I was teaching this topic to a group
of older adults and they were extremely bothered by the fact that the
commentaries spent so much energy trying to figure out what Miriam and Aharon
were really talking about. Unlike most of the general public who want every
detail of gossip, my students were not concerned with the private life of Moshe
or anyone else’s private lives. If only we could all be like these women who
are at a level where Lashon HaRa (evil speech) does not speak to them.

Dedicated to the Memory of Louis Levine z”l, Baruch Aryeh ben Avraham Halevi,

on his Seventeenth Yahrzeit, 19^th
of Sivan

In Parshat Tetzave (Shmot 27:20-21), after the building of the Mishkan
(Tabernacle) was complete, B’nai Yisrael were commanded regarding the oil that
would be used for the Ner Tamid (eternal lamp):

Now you shall command B’nai Yisrael that they shall take for you pure,
pressed olive oil for illumination, to kindle the lamp continually. In Ohel
Moed (the Tent of Meeting), outside the partition that is near the
Testimonial-tablets, Aaron and his sons shall arrange it from evening until
morning, before God, an eternal decree for their generations, from B’nai
Yisrael.

Sforno explains that as opposed to the other gifts that were given to
the Mishkan which were one time contributions to help get the Mishkan set up,
the donation of olive oil would be ongoing. It would constantly need to be replaced.

The olive oil that was used in the desert was from the reserves that
B’nai Yisrael brought out of Egypt as there were no olive trees available in
the wilderness.

Upon arriving in the Land of Israel, they would have the luxury to
systematically make new olive oil.

In Parshat Beha’alotcha (Bamidbar 8:1-3), once the Mishkan was dedicated
on the 1^st of Nisan, Aaron was commanded in regards to the Menorah:

God spoke to Moshe, saying, “Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you
kindle the lamps, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps cast
light.” Aaron did so; toward the face of the Menorah he kindled its lamps, as
God had commanded Moshe.

According to Rashbam, since the lighting of the Menorah is a procedure
that is repeated daily it is mentioned here. Even though the Mishkan had been
completed and all of the work had been done, the Menorah was incomplete as the
oil and wicks needed to be renewed regularly and the lighting of the flame was
required as a continuing procedure on a daily basis.

The Menorah was part of an ongoing partnership between B’nai Yisrael who
brought the oil and Aaron and his sons (the Kohanim) who lit it. By working
together they were able to bring light into the world.

Dedicated to the Memory of Louis
Levine z”l, Baruch Aryeh ben Avraham HaLevi, on his Fifteenth Yahrzeit,
19th of Sivan

The manna is
described as a type of bread in the Torah, yet it does not grow from the ground
so “…HaMotzi Lechem Min HaAretz”, “…Who brings forth bread from the ground”
which we usually say before eating bread would not be the right bracha.

The Talmud does not discuss the bracha before eating the manna but
does speak about the bracha achrona, the blessing recited after eating the
manna, Birkat HaMazon (Grace after Meals) in Brachot 48b:

Rav Naḥman said: Moshe instituted for Israel the
first blessing of Birkat HaMazon, “…HaZan et HaKol”, “…Who feeds all”, when the manna descended for them from
heaven.

From this Gemara, it sounds
like B’nai Yisrael recited Birkat HaMazon after they ate the manna but we are
still left with the question: Did they also make a blessing before they ate it
and if so, what was the blessing?

In Shmot 16:4, God
said to Moshe, “I will rain down ‘lechem min hashamayim’, bread for you from
the sky, and the people shall go out and gather each day that day’s
portion—that I may thus test them, to see whether they will follow My
instructions or not.”

Rav Ovadia Yosef
in Yechave Daat quotes a few different sources for if there was a bracha and if
so, what the bracha may have been:

Rabbi Yehuda
HaChasid (Yehuda ben Shmuel of Regensburg) wrote in Sefer HaChasidim that the bracha
for manna is “…HaMotzi Lechem Min HaShamayim”, “…Who brings forth bread from Heaven.”
Eliyahu HaNavi said this bracha as well when he ate Ugot Retzafim, coal baked
cake that was given to him by the angel (Melachim I, 19:6).

Rabbi Tzvi
Elimelech Spira (of Dinov) in his work Bnei Yisaschar, wrote in the name of
Rabbi Menachem Azariah de Fano (Rema MiPano) that in the future, at the Feast
of the Leviatan (Sea Monster) described in Masechet Bava Batra 74b, the Leviatan will be slain and its
flesh served as a feast to the righteous in the World to Come. The beautiful
skin will be used to cover the tent where the banquet will take place. There they will celebrate by eating manna
that was saved in a container by Yoshiyahu (Talmud, Yoma 52b) which is called
bread.

Rema MiPano
is referring to the manna that was saved in Shmot 16:32-34:

Moshe said, “This is what God has commanded: Let one omer of it
(the manna) be kept throughout the ages, in order that they may see the bread
that I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out from the land of
Egypt.”

And Moshe said
to Aharon, “Take a jar, put one omer of manna in it, and place it before God,
to be kept throughout the ages.” As God had commanded Moshe, Aharon placed it before the Ark of
Testimony for a safe keeping.

In Shmot 16:15 we read:

When the B’nai Yisrael saw it (the manna), they said to one
another, “What is it?”—for they did not know what it was. And Moshe said to
them, “That is the bread which God has given you to eat.

Based on the verses above that call the manna bread, Rema MiPano said that the bracha should be “…HaMotzi Lechem Min HaShamayim”, “…Who brings forth bread from Heaven.

The Mekubal,
Rav Yisrael Dov took a different generation and said that they didn’t make a
bracha on the manna at all as it is called “Lechem Abirim.” As it says in
Tehillim 78:23-25:

He commanded
the clouds from above and opened the doors of heaven, and rained down manna
upon them to eat and gave them of the corn of heaven. Man ate “lechem abirim”,
the bread of angels: He sent them provision to the full.

 In Parshat Behaalotcha, when B’nai Yisrael
complain about not having meat, fish or vegetables, they say (Bamidbar 11:6)
“But now, our soul is dried away, there is nothing; we have nothing to
anticipate but the manna.”

According to
the Talmud, Yoma 75b they were saying: Eventually this manna will expand in our
intestines. Is there any such thing as a creature born from a woman who takes
food in but doesn’t need to go to the bathroom?

Rabbi Yishmael taught: Do not read
the word as “Abirim”, strong ones or angels, read it as “Eivarim”, limbs. The
manna is absorbed in the 248 limbs of the body.

The Mekubal, Rav Yisrael Dov’s approach is that if there is no waste in
the food then it would technically not need a bracha at all and maybe the
bracha  “…HaMotzi Lechem Min HaShamayim” presented by
the Rema MiPano is only for the Seudat Livyatan, but was not recited by B’nai
Yisrael. However, Sefer HaChasidim states that B’nai Yisrael did recite the
bracha “…HaMotzi Lechem Min HaShamayim” on the manna as the Rema MiPano had
mentioned.

The following verse (Dvarim 24:9) is
recited by some congregations each day at the end of Shacharit (the morning
service): “Remember what HaShem, your God did to Miriam on the way when you
departed from Egypt.”

In Bamidbar, Chapter 12:1-2, Miriam and
Aharon speak about Moshe and the Cushite woman that he married. They then
continue, “’Is it only to Moshe that God has spoken? Did He not also speak to
us?’ and God heard.”

God tells all three of them to go to
Ohel Moed (Tent of Meeting). He called to Aharon and Miriam to come out and He
said (verses 6-8) “Please listen to My words. If there will be a prophet among
you, I, God, will make Myself known to them in a vision; in a dream I will
speak to him. That is not the case with My servant, Moshe; in My entire house
he is trusted. Mouth to mouth I speak to him, in a vision and not in riddles;
he gazes at the likeness of God; so why are you not afraid to speak about my
servant, about Moshe?

In verse 9 we see that “God’s anger
flared against them and He left.”

From God’s reaction we see that He
was angry at Miriam and Aharon for trying to show that their prophecy was equal
to Moshe’s.

Rav Kook, in Olot Reiyah, his
commentary on the siddur, explains that we mention what happened to Miriam on a
daily basis to remind us that not all of the prophets were the same. Miriam and
Aharon comparing themselves to Moshe was a problem since no other prophet was
on the same level as Moshe and no other prophet can cancel out Moshe’s
prophecies. Even though it says at the end of the Torah (Dvarim 34:10) “And
there has never arisen a prophet within Yisrael like Moshe, whom God knew face
to face” it is important to constantly remember it.

The “top six list” of remembrances
recited each morning are:

The Exodus from Egypt

Receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai

Amalek’s attack

The Golden Calf

Miriam

Shabbat

As we are reminded of this list each
morning, may we remember the mistakes of the past so that they are not
repeated.

Dedicated to the Memory of Louis Levine z”l, Baruch Aryeh ben
Avraham HaLevi, on his Fourteenth Yahrzeit, 19^th of Sivan

In Parshat Behaalotcha (Bamidbar
9:6-7), we read about an unusual circumstance:

There were men who were impure,
having had contact with a corpse, and they were not able to perform the Pesach
offering on that day, and they drew near before Moshe and before Aharon, on that day. Those men
said to him: “We are impure, having had contact
with a corpse; why should we be excluded and not be able to bring the offering
of God in its proper time, among B’nai Yisrael?”

Moshe consulted God about what to do
and God answered that if someone was impure and unable to bring the Korban
Pesach on Pesach (14^th of Nisan), they could perform the mitzvah a
month later (14^th of Iyar).

According to Rabbi Shlomo HaCohen Rabinowitz of Radomsk (1801-1866) the
mitzvah of Korban Pesach is the only mitzvah that can be made up at a later
time. Why this mitzvah specifically? His answer is that the people went out of
their way to make a special effort to observe the mitzvah of Korban Pesach as
they came to Moshe and Aharon and asked “why should we be excluded?” Rabbi
Rabinowitz explains that the same should be true for the redemption of Israel.
If the Jewish community makes the effort with all of their hearts and all of
their souls to inherit their homeland, then the redemption will come. How true
have his words proven to be.

Recently, we have seen a modern day example of Pesach Sheni. Eli Beer,
the founder of United Hatzalah (volunteer EMS group) was in Miami for Purim. He
wasn’t feeling well and after a few days with fever, he went to the hospital
and was diagnosed with COVID-19. He was put into a medically induced coma with
a 5% chance of survival. A month later he woke up and was cured. He was looking
forward to Pesach and was devastated to find out that he already missed it. He
flew back to Israel in time for Pesach Sheni and decided to celebrate in Tel
Aviv with his family with a five hour “model seder.” It meant a lot to him to
be able to make up for the Pesach that he missed due to circumstances beyond
his control.

Even though we don’t have the Korban Pesach as there is no Beit
HaMikdash (Temple) today, Pesach is still one of the most observed Jewish holidays.
This year, many felt that they could not celebrate in the way that they would
have liked to. Hopefully soon things will be getting back to normal and we will
be able to celebrate the holidays in the way that they were intended to be
celebrated.

Dedicated to the Memory of Louis Levine z”l,

Baruch Aryeh ben Avraham Halevi,

on his Twelfth Yahrzeit, 19th of Sivan 

In Parshat Behaalotcha, we find two
verses from Bamidbar 10:35-36 which we have been saying since the 13^th
century, each time the Torah is removed from the ark and replaced, “Vayehi
binsoah ha’aron…”, “When the ark would journey, Moshe said, ‘Arise, God, and
let your foes be scattered, let those who hate you flee from before You…’” When
we look closely in the Chumash, we see that these verses are enclosed in upside
down letter nun’s. Why?

 I

n the Talmud, Masechet Shabbat
115b-116a, the rabbis taught in a Braita, God made signs (inverted nuns) above
and below (sentences 35-36) to teach that this is not the proper place in the
Torah for these two verses. Rebbi says: It is not for this reason that the
signs appear, but rather because this section ranks as a significant book unto
itself.

The Talmud then states that the
Torah actually consists of seven books. How are the seven books of the Torah
calculated?

Rashi explains that the book of
Bamidbar is divided into three separate books:

1.   
Bamidbar 1:1-10:34

2.   
Bamidbar 10:35-36 (Vayehi binsoah ha’aron…)

3.   
Bamidbar 10:37-36:13

If we add these three books to the
other four books of the Torah, we end up with seven.

Why do we need seven books?

According to the Talmud, seven books
are needed in order to separate between the narrative of the first punishment
and the narrative of the second punishment. The first punishment was in 10:33
(“They journeyed from the Mountain of God a three day distance…”) Rav Chama bar
Chanina commented that within three days from receiving the Torah, they already
turned away from God. The second punishment was in Bamidbar 11:11 (“And the
people took to seeking complaints”) this is the section of the “mitonenim.” “Vayehi
binsoah” is placed in between these two unfortunate incidents in order to
separate them.

If verses 35-36 are a book of the
Torah unto themselves, what lesson are they trying to teach?

The message of “Let your foes be
scattered, let those who hate you flee from before you” certainly rings true
today. Unfortunately, the State of Israel has many enemies who are looking to
destroy us from all sides. Each time that Moshe began a journey he would ask
God for protection. We should do the same.

Rashi asks who the haters of Israel
are. According to Sifre “they counsel cunningly against your people.” Today,
you can find them on Israel’s borders, in the New York Times and on social
media. We must speak out against them.

In verse 36 we read, “When the ark
rested, he (Moshe) would say, ‘Reside tranquilly, O, God, among the myriad
thousands of Israel.’” This verse is recited when the Torah is returned to the
ark.

May we reside peacefully and tranquilly
in the State of Israel and may our soldiers be safe. 

In Parshat Behaalotcha,
Bamidbar 12:1, we read: “Miriam and Aharon spoke about Moshe concerning the
Cushite woman that he married, for, he married a Cushite woman.”

Rashi explains that everyone
agreed to her beauty just as everyone agrees to the fact that the Cushites (Sudanese)
have dark skin.

The Talmud, Moed Katan 16b states:
Is Cushite her name? Her name is Tziporah! Rather, the word comes to teach us
that just as a Cushite woman is different in the color of her skin, so Tziporah
was unusual in the aspect of her deeds.

The Talmud brings another
instance where we see the word Cush.
King David used the word Cush
in Tehillim 7:1 “A song of the shigayon by David which he sang to God
concerning the matter of Cush ben Yemini.” The Gemara asks: Is Cush his name? But his name is
Shaul! The Gemara explains: Cush
is not his name but rather a characterization. Just as a Cushite is different
in the color of his skin, so Shaul was unusual in the aspect of his deeds.

Rashi explains that Shaul was
unique in being righteous while his generation was evil.

The Talmud quotes a similar idea
from Amos 9:7 “Behold you are like the children of the Cushites to me, O
children of Israel”.
The Gemara asks: Is Cushites their name? But their name is Israel! Rather,
the word teaches that just as a Cushite is different in the color of their
skin, so are B’nai Yisrael different from all other nations in the aspect of
their deeds.

We see from here that the
Biblical word Cushite is interpreted by the Talmud to refer to someone who is different
and unique.

However, beginning with the
Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, the use of the word Cushite in Modern
Hebrew was no longer considered politically correct and is no longer acceptable
in Israel today.

Dedicated to the Memory of Louis Levine z”l, Baruch Aryeh ben Avraham HaLevi, on his Eleventh Yahrzeit, 19th of Sivan

Did Moshe know that he would not enter Israel?

In Parshat Behaalotcha (Bamidbar 10:29), Moshe tells Yitro, his father in law, “We are journeying to the place about which God said ‘I will give it to you,’ come along with us and we will treat you well, for God spoke of bringing good fortune on Israel.”

Why did Moshe include himself in the group that would be entering the Land if he would not be permitted to enter?

Rashi’s answer is that the decree that Moshe would not enter the Land was only issued after the episode of “Mei Meriva”, “The Waters of Dispute” when Moshe hit the rock instead of speaking to it as God had commanded. When Moshe spoke to Yitro, it was before “Mei Meriva” and therefore he believed that he would enter the Land.

Rashi’s interpretation of Shmot 4:13 says that Moshe already knew that he would not be the one who would lead B’nei Yisrael into the Land. However, he thought that he would still enter the Land as an ordinary Israelite. Rashi’s view conjures up images of a rabbi emeritus that remains with their congregation after retirement.

In Shmot 6:1, “God said to Moshe, ‘Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for by My strong hand he will let them go, and by a strong hand, He will drive them out of His Land.’” Rashi points out that Moshe would see what would be done to Pharaoh (now), but not what will be done later to the kings of the seven nations in the Land of Cnaan.

Why did Moshe still think that he would be entering the Land?

Moshe felt that he would at least set foot in the Land even if he would die before the conquest.

After the splitting of the Red Sea, in “Az Yashir” (The Song of the Sea) Shmot 15:7, Moshe sang “You will bring them and implant them in the mountain of your inheritance.” According to Rashi, by saying “them”, Moshe is excluding himself from those who would be entering the Land.

Why would Moshe exclude himself, if he still thought that he would be entering the Land?

According to Mizrachi, the lyrics of “Az Yashir” were revealed to Moshe by prophetic inspiration and therefore he recited them exactly as they were revealed.

Gur Aryeh states that Moshe thought that the decree had not been finalized, so he could still pray for its reversal. For this reason, he sang the song as God intended hoping to reverse the decree later through prayer.

Even though Moshe received many hints from God that he would not be entering the Land, he continued to grasp on to the hope that he would at least have the opportunity to set foot in the Land, even for a brief moment.

When Miriam was sick with tzaraat (a skin disease), Moshe
prayed for her to be healed. We find Moshe’s prayer in Bamidbar 12:13: “Moshe
cried out to God in prayer saying: E-l na rifa na lah, Please, God, please heal
her.”

Rashi asks the following question: Why didn’t Moshe pray at
length for Miriam to be healed?

Rashi’s answer is: He didn’t pray at length so that B’nai
Yisrael should not say, “His sister is suffering and he stands and prolongs his
prayer.”

Rashi brings a different answer (from Sifri): So that the
Israelites should not say: “For his sister he prays at length but for us he
does not pray at length.”

According to the Maharsha, Moshe’s behavior teaches us that
there are times when it is sufficient to say a brief prayer. Since Miriam’s sin
did not involve all of B’nai Yisrael, it was not necessary for Moshe to say a
long prayer.

On the other hand, after the sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe
prayed a long prayer as the sin involved many people.

In Brachot 34a we read:

It happened that a certain student led the prayer service in
the presence of Rabbi Eliezer and he prolonged the service excessively. Rabbi
Eliezer’s students said to him: What a prolonger that person is. Rabbi Eliezer
answered: Does he prolong his prayers more than Moshe did after the sin of the
Golden Calf ? Moshe’s lengthy prayer is described in Devarim 9:25: “And I threw
myself down before God for forty days and forty nights, I threw myself down
before God because God intended to destroy you.”

Another student led the prayer service in the presence of
Rabbi Eliezer, and he abbreviated the service excessively. Rabbi Eliezer’s
students said to him: What an abbreviator this person is! Rabbi Eliezer
answered: Does he abbreviate his prayers more than Moshe did? Moshe’s prayer in
Bamidbar 12:13 was “Please, God, please heal her.”

We see from here that there are times when a short prayer is
appropriate while there are other times when a longer one would be.

Some synagogues have short services while others have
lengthy ones. The beauty of being in Jerusalem
is that each person has the option to choose a service that meets their needs.