(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 1:6)

Gemara: Rava saw that Rav Hamnuna was davening for a long time. Rava said: They abandon eternal life and occupy themselves with transient life. Rav Hamnuna reasoned: The time of tefilla is independent from the time of Torah.

Ein Ayah: The Torah gives one knowledge that flows from the springs of truth. This is eternal life, as truth is eternal. Prayer, in contrast, is not a matter of enrichment with new truths to feed the mind, but is an application of old spiritual knowledge to impact the soul. Sometimes the less pure vision excites the emotion because it is a product of material. For that reason it was permitted to use in tefilla descriptions of Hashem that are appropriate for the realm of emotion. Intellect does not require the deepening of the impression, just a widening of the knowledge itself. Only because the body weighs on the intellect is there a need to internalize. Because Torah relates more to eternal truths and tefilla relates more to the body, it is wrong to abandon Torah for the more transient tefilla.

Rav Hamnuna based his thesis – that the time for the two holy activities are independent – on the idea that one should learn where his heart tells him to because one’s internal inclination is a reliable indicator of what will best assist his spirit. The same is true in the choice of balance between Torah and tefilla. The intellect is not proficient at deciding to what extent it should be sustained by pure Torah and intellect and to what extent it needs to be seasoned by emotion. Therefore, a person’s inner inclination should lead him. Some people will be drawn to the treasures of the Torah, which is the mainstay of the individual and the collective. However, when he feels that at a certain time he is emotionally drawn to pour out his soul before Hashem, it is a sign that this is his most urgent need, even more than the loftier Torah. Indeed, the time for Torah and for tefilla are independent, even though the general rules of when tefilla is appropriate are set based on the needs of the community.