Question #1: Channah the Posek
How great a posek was Channah?
Question #2: Mistaken Impression
If someone mistakenly thinks that you did something wrong, should you correct their misimpression?
Question #3: Shemuel Halevi
How do we know that Shemuel was a Levi?
Question #4: Way to Pray?
How many ways are there to pray?
Introduction:
The Gemara (Megillah 31a) teaches that the haftarah read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah is the story and prayer of Channah, the mother of Shemuel Hanavi. The reason for this practice is that on Rosh Hashanah, Sarah, Rachel and Channah were all “remembered” — their prayers to bear a child were answered (Rosh Hashanah 10b). To the best of my knowledge, according to all customs of Klal Yisrael, we read this haftarah on Rosh Hashanah, although there are varying approaches as to exactly where the haftarah starts and ends.
The haftarah teaches us that Elkanah had two wives, Peninah, who had many children, and Channah, who was childless. Elkanah had first married Channah and, after ten barren years, he married Peninah, who bore him ten children (Yalkut Shimoni).
Targum Yonasan (Shemuel I 1:1) explains that Elkanah was one of the disciples of the prophets, those who were striving to reach a level of prophecy. Apparently, he later succeeded, since Rashi, in his commentary to the Gemara (Megillah 14a), states that Elkanah was a prophet. The verse that Rashi quotes occurs later in the Book of Shemuel, implying that, eventually, Elkanah reached his goal. From Elkanah we can learn that persistent and consistent striving to a spiritual goal is the most likely way to achieve it.
Returning to our story: On the regalim, Elkanah would bring his family, including his brothers, sisters and extended family, to Shiloh, which at the time was the location of the Mishkan. They would make a very large display of their travels in order to encourage others to join them and thereby also fulfill the mitzvah of aliyah laregel and other related mitzvos (see Chagigah). Every year, the crowd joining them on their way to Shiloh grew, until dozens of families would accompany them. Each year they followed a different route from the mountains of Efrayim to Shiloh in order to pass through new areas and attract new people to join them. In this manner, Elkanah influenced huge numbers of Jews to observe mitzvos. The midrashim teach us that as a reward for spreading Yiddishkeit and bringing Jews closer to Hashem, he was granted a very uniquely gifted son, Shemuel, who traveled throughout the country and created an impact on the entire nation to keep the Torah properly (Tanna Debei Eliyahu, Eliyahu Rabbah, end of Chapter 8; Yalkut Shimoni, Shemuel #74).
Our haftarah teaches that, one year, after the family had celebrated Yom Tov together, Channah went to the Mishkan to pray. Eili, the kohen gadol, was there, sitting near the gates, in his place of honor. Channah was very anguished about her childlessness and prayed to Hashem while weeping. She made a vow to Hashem, the G-d of Hosts, ה’ צבאו-ת, meaning that Hashem is Lord over the entire Universe and all it contains, each part of which performs what Hashem commands it to do. The Gemara explains that Channah was the first one in history to address Hashem this way. This attribute of Hashem demonstrated that Channah was not davening for herself, for her own gift of a child. She was davening to be allowed to have her own tiny little role to play in the grand scheme of Hashem’s magnificent Universe. Hashem created her to be a woman, and she desired to be able to play her role as a mother to contribute her part in honoring Hashem. She begged not to be forgotten, but to be granted a son whom she vowed to give to Hashem, to serve Him all his days.
Channah prayed for a long time, speaking “to her heart” – inaudibly, her lips moving, but her voice not heard. Eili thought that she was drunk, and spoke to her, rebuking her for her drunkenness. To this, Channah answered: “No, my lord, I am a woman in a difficult emotional place. I have not drunk any wine or intoxicating beverage. I am pouring out my soul to Hashem.” The posuk continues with Eili telling her to go in peace and that Hashem would grant her request (Shemuel I 1:9-17).
Channah the posek(es)
At this point, we can address our opening question:“How great a posek was Channah?”
The Gemara (Berachos 31a-b) devotes an extensive discussion to the above-quoted passage and derives many halachos from the verses of Channah.
“Behold, she is speaking ‘on her heart.’” from here we derive that whoever prays must be certain to have proper focus. All prayer should be accompanied by kavanas haleiv.”
In various places, the Gemara, the rishonim and the halachic authorities devote much discussion concerning the requirement of having proper kavanah and what to do to achieve it. Among the halachos taught is that one should not start davening immediately after having engaged in an intense Torah discussion. This is because the individual praying will be distracted by thinking about the questions and observations and will not focus on the kavanah necessary for tefillah. Rabbonim are often faced with this when well-meaning congregants come to ask them questions before davening, not realizing that they are creating a predicament for the rav. Halachically, he may be required to tell the congregant to have the patience not to ask his question until after davening, but some individuals are offended when their rav does not immediately attend to their question or need.
Returning to our passage of Gemara regarding the halachos that we derive from Channah’s behavior, the Gemara then notes that, while praying, only her lips were moving. The Gemara notes that we derive from Channah’s actions that a person must be careful to actually enunciate his prayers and not just think or read them.
“Yet, her voice was not heard.” The Gemara notes that Channah thereby teaches us that prayer should be said quietly. In a different part of Mesechta Berachos, the Gemara notes that praying aloud demonstrates that someone’s faith in Hakadosh Baruch Hu is weak (Berachos 24b), because he implies that prayer is heard only if one raises his voice!
A different passage of Gemara (Sotah 32b) teaches an additional reason to pray quietly: “For what reason did Chazal establish that prayer should be quiet? In order not to embarrass those who have sinned,” who, during their prayers, will be confessing to Hashem for their misdeeds. This lesson can be inferred from the halacha that the chatas offering, which is brought as atonement for sinning, is slaughtered in the northern part of the Beis Hamikdash or Mishkan Courtyard, the same place as the korban olah,a much more frequent offering that is brought to bring oneself closer to G-d. In both instances, the owner of the korban rests his weight on the head of the animal, semicha, immediately before it is slaughtered, because of the rule of teichef lismicha shechitah. Since most korbanos slaughtered in the northern area are korbanos olah, people in the northern part of the Courtyard will assume that the occasional person bringing a chatas is there to offer an olah, thus saving the chotei from great embarrassment.
Channah has taught us the halacha that we should pray quietly. How quietly? Some understand this to mean so quietly that you do not hear what you are saying, although the words must be enunciated and not just thought (Yesh Omrim quoted by Tur, Orach Chayim 101 and many others). Most contend that it is better if the person praying can hear his own words of prayer (Rashba, Berachos 31a; Tur, Orach Chayim, 101; Mishnah Berurah). All agree that you should pray quietly enough that someone else should not hear what you are praying, even when that person is standing right next to you (Mishnah Berurah).
The halacha is that, on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when everyone is praying from a machzor, it is permitted to daven a bit louder, if this assists someone to have greater kavanah. Still, we must be careful not to daven so loudly that it disturbs anyone else.
Four amos
The Gemara derives another halacha from Channah’s words when she returned with Shemuel after weaning him. She said to Eili: Ani ha’isha hanitzeves imcha bazeh, “I am the woman who was standing with you here.” The implication is that Eili was also standing, and from this we learn the halacha that one is not allowed to sit down within four amos (about seven feet) of someone who is davening. Tosafos quotes the Teshuvas Ha’ge’onim that this applies only if the person who wishes to sit is not involved in reciting birkas keri’as shema or some similar holy activity. In the latter cases, it is permitted to sit, and this ruling is codified in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 102:1). Also, the halacha permits someone weak to sit down within four amos of someone praying, particularly if there is nowhere else where he can sit down. In addition, the halacha permits someone who was already sitting to remain so, even if someone else begins davening within his four amos.
Giving tochacha
The Gemara discusses further the conversation that transpired between Eili and Channah. Since Channah’s lips were moving, but she did not appear to be saying anything, Eili assumed that she was intoxicated and mumbling incoherently. Eili tells her: “For how long will you be drunk? Remove your wine from you!”
The Gemara derives from his inquiry that, upon seeing someone doing something improper, I am responsible to bring it to his attention, even if the action does not necessarily violate a Torah prohibition (Tosafos, Berachos 31b, s.v. Davar).
Admonishing a drunk
At this point, we can ask a question on our own behavior. When we pass someone intoxicated on the street, do we point out to him his unbecoming manners, demeanor and lifestyle? Why don’t we follow the instructions of the Gemara, based on what Eili did?
There are several correct answers to this question. One possibility is that it is obvious that walking around in the Mishkan while intoxicated is inappropriate, and therefore anyone doing so should be rebuked. Another possibility is that Eili perceived that Channah would accept his admonition, and only when someone will listen to our tochacha should we admonish them (see Beitzah 30a). This is taught by Mishlei (9:8): Do not admonish a scoffer lest he hate you; admonish a wise man and he will love you.
Channah explained to Eili that she was praying and had not been drinking. From this act of hers we derive the halacha that if someone erroneously suspects us of doing something wrong, we should correct the misimpression. We see that this is true, even if it is a gadol hador who misunderstood our action. Rashi (Shemuel I 1:9) explains that, in addition to being kohein gadol, Eili had just been appointed the shofeit, or chieftain, over the Jewish people(see Ralbag ad loc.). [We should note that, upon Eili’s death after the destruction of Mishkan Shiloh, Shemuel assumed this position and became the last of the zekeinim or shoftim who ruled over the Jewish people, and the first of the spiritual era referred to, in the opening words of Pirkei Avos, as the period of the Nevi’im.]
The Gemara notes that Eili subsequently blessed Channah; this act teaches that, if you wrongly suspected someone of a misdeed, you are required to pacify him and also to bless him.
Mistaken impression
At this point, we can address the second of our opening questions: “If someone mistakenly thinks that you did something wrong, should you correct their misimpression?”
The answer is that you should explain his error to him in an appropriate way, even if the person who erred is one of the gedolei hador.
Shemuel Halevi
At this point, let us discuss the third of our opening questions: How do we know that Shemuel was a Levi? The Book of Shemuel makes no reference to Elkanah or Shemuel being Levi’im; it describes Elkanah as a resident of the Heights of Efrayim. I would have thought that he was from the tribe of Efrayim, except that Divrei Hayamim (I 6:19-23) seems to identify him as a Levi descended from Korach (see also Rashi and Ralbag, Shemuel I 1:1). Apparently, one of the 48 cities of the Levi’im was located on the mountains of Efrayim, and that was where Elkanah and his family lived (Rabbeinu Yeshaya).
An early midrash teaches the following story: “Every day, a heavenly voice (Bas Kol) would spread loudly across the world, saying, ‘A tzadik will arise whose name is Shemuel.’ Every woman who gave birth to a boy named her son ‘Shemuel.’ However, as the boy developed, they would say ‘this is not Shemuel.’ When Channah’s son was born and they saw how he acted, they all said, ‘This seems to be Shemuel’” (quoted by Rashi 1:23 and Yalkut Shimoni).
I know of no other period of time or any other individual in which many people heard a heavenly voice instructing that a great person bearing a certain name will soon be born. Presumably, this unique event reflects the exceptional roles that Shemuel played in Jewish history. The Gemara refers to him as “The Teacher of the Prophets” (Yerushalmi, Chagigah 2:1). Shemuel oversees the transfer of the mesorah from the shoftim, also called the zekeinim,to the prophets, the nevi’im. He also oversees the political change of Klal Yisrael to becoming a malchus, and its development from being twelve disparate tribes to becoming one nation. Perhaps we can now understand why Shemuel is compared to Moshe and Aharon – as the posuk says in Tehillim (99:6) – Moshe, and Aharon with his kehunah, and Shemuel with his announcing Hashem’s Name, call to Hashem and He answers them. In many ways, Shemuel’s role in Klal Yisrael was as significant as that of Moshe and Aharon.
Serving Hashem
As I mentioned above, the Gemara notes that Channah was the first to pray to Hashem as “the G-d of Hosts, ה’ צבאו-ת.” As Rav Hirsch explains, this Name refers to Hashem as the Guide, Leader and Master of a Universe filled with mammoth diversity. Hashem created this diversity and made it into an army of soldiers under His direct command, each with its specific place, equipment and function. His plan assumes significance when all its tasks are carried out faithfully. Referring to Hashem as the “G-d of Hosts,” means accepting my mission to my assigned duty as a constituent of this vast army.
Channah requests a son, not for herself, but to dedicate to Hashem. She recognizes that we must entreat to attain nearness to Hashem by requesting assignment to our unique role in His army. Channah wants only to be able to be a handmaid to Hashem. When eventually she is granted her wish, she gives her all for this purpose. She even refrains from traveling to the Mishkan, so that the traveling should not interfere with her ability to nurse Shemuel properly. She understands that this is her specific assignment, even as a prophetess.
Rav Hirsch explains how all of this is Channah’s focus in serving Hashem. She does not request a special relationship with Hashem. She prays to have a small role in His vast Creation. She requests a role that is limited, to be one tiny cog in His immeasurable, cosmic army. And for that reason, when she weans Shemuel, she “donates” him to the Mikdash (Collected Writings of Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, Volume II, page 60).
Channah was also a prophetess, as mentioned in the Gemara (Megillah 14a). It appears that Shemuel was one of the very few individuals in world history whose parents were both prophets, and probably the last one after the generation of Yaakov Avinu.
Conclusion
Hebrew has over a dozen different verbs to describe prayer, each with a different nuance. By comparison, Yiddish, for example, has only two, daven and betten. Therefore, a tefillah described as a ze’akah is different from one described as techinah, which is again different from a prayer described as itur or sicha.
When Yitzchak and Rivkah pray to have a child, the Torah says va’yetar; itur is a verb that means a prayer that works like a pitchfork, pitching, changing a Divine decree, turning it upside down. Yet, a bitter-souled Channah’s crying and praying to Hashem for a child is called a tefillah, va’tispallel, the most common, generic word for prayer, which has the connotation of judging myself, standing in front of Hashem and comparing His greatness relative to my tiny size, acknowledging all the ways that I am dependent on Him and all the chesed that Hashem has done for me. But why does the Torah use a special, relatively unusual verb to describe the prayers of Yitzchak and Rivkah, whereas it uses a generic word for prayer when describing Channah’s pleas?
I suspect that the reason for the difference is halachic. Had the navi used the word itur, we would have thought that the detailed laws taught by Channah’s prayer apply only to va’yetar-type prayers. The Navi wants us to apply these laws to all varieties of prayer, since Channah is an outstanding role model from whom to learn how to pray to Hashem. To apply all these halachos to all prayer requires that Channah’s entreaties be described as the quintessential, but regular prayer.
