(1) Paths of Action in Prayer, for the Individual and the Community
And R’ Elazar said that prayer is greater than the offerings, as it says “To what purpose is the multitude of your offerings to Me…” (Isaiah 1:11) and it is written “And when you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you...” (Isaiah 1:15) [Berachot 32b]
One overcomes their evil inclinations, in order to walk the good and straight path which G–d seeks from us, in two manners. The first is an internal conquest of the powers of evil within, through an inner preparation along the way of good in the light of G–d. The second is through an outer vanquishing of the external causes which exist in the world and are apt to negate happiness and wholeness. Prayer, which is the inward service of the heart, magnifies the good of the inner powers themselves. The offerings increase the strength of the inner powers over the interfering forces which reside outside the body and soul, the animal forces of the external world. Therefore, prayer is greater than the offerings, as the inward vanquishing of the forces of evil within is superior to the defeat of external barriers, because the true value of a person is measured by the ascendance of the good which is intrinsic to them. The superiority of prayer over the offerings is also shown through this – that even when prayer is not done properly, nevertheless it has some sort of benefit. Therefore, it is said of offerings “To what purpose is the multitude of your offerings?” There is no benefit to overcoming stumbling blocks that lie outside oneself if one does not within themselves desire the good path. This is because external events remain as they were, only that one defeats them through their free will, and the service of G–d will be a help to them, amplifying the force of their soul for good. But if one chooses to turn toward evil, there is no benefit found in actions devoted to overcoming external reality. Regarding prayer it does not say “to what purpose?” because the moment of prayer, when the inner power of good overcomes the power of evil, is a good thing in and of itself - even if it does not impact the paths of life. It is only that, lacking the true benefit of righting the paths of life, such prayer cannot bring the boon of achieving that which is requested. But this does not mean that it is devoid of any benefit at all. Even though it is taught, “One who turns away his ear from hearing Torah, his prayer too is an abomination,” this is because prayer softens the heart and draws one’s desire toward that which appears to be good and right in the eyes of G–d. And by holding back from hearing Torah, one could come to think that good is evil and evil good, and their prayer becomes an abomination because it itself could cause them damage. Nevertheless, the inner clarification gained through prayer is beneficial and important in and of itself, even when one has not yet permanently fixed their actions on the path of good, nonetheless a single moment is laudable.