(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 1:7)

Gemara: Rav Yirmiya was sitting before Rav Zeira, and they were involved in Torah study. It was getting late to daven, and Rav Yirmiya was anxious to leave. Rabbi Zeira attributed the following pasuk to him: “He who removes his ear from hearing Torah, his tefilla will also be an abomination” (Mishlei 28:9).

Ein Ayah: A person is naturally drawn to holy emotions, and he requires tefilla to quiet, complete, and express them. However, mistakes can be made because, along with holy emotions, he has many and varied other emotions and desires for physical things. Clearly, one’s desires for the physical should be guided by the rules and wisdom of Torah, which find the straight path for man, and without which he will fall into a path of destruction.

One is liable to think that regarding spiritual desires, including love of Hashem and enjoying His glory, he does not need the guidance of Torah but can allow his spirit to soar, yearn, and sing as it sees fit. If so, when the time for tefilla comes, he should abandon Torah and cling to tefilla. Therefore, Shlomo Hamelech taught us that with an abandonment of Torah, even the loftiest emotions can go beyond boundaries. That is why Rav Zeira considered it a mistake to hurry to leave the setting of Torah to go to tefilla. He reinforced the message that even the lofty needs to be guided by the intellect of Torah. Not only could his physical desires turn into an abomination, but even his tefilla could become one.