English: How long should one wait between one tefillah and the next? Rav Huna and Rav Chisda: one said, long enough for one’s mind to become settled in a pleading mode, as it is written “va’eschanan”; the other said, long enough for one’s mind to become composed, as it is written “vayechal Moshe.”
On the daf / in context: The sugya discusses the required pause when one must recite two successive Amidahs (e.g., after missing a prayer and making it up, or between Shacharis and Musaf). The two Amoraim derive the length of the pause from the language of Moshe’s prayer (תחנונים / חיל). Yerushalmi equates the measure with the time to walk four amos.
Type of Learning
Diyuk of the verb “va’eschanan” applied to the measure of a pause between successive tefillos.
What Is Learned
Between successive formal prayers one must allow a short interval so that the mind is composed and ready to plead again; the language of Moshe’s “va’eschanan” supplies the model for that composed pleading.