The Book of Shmuel A opens with the wondrous birth of Shmuel the prophet. Chazal say that Shmuel wrote his own book, and from the point at which Shmuel passed away, Gad the seer and Natan the prophet continued and wrote it. The entire first chapter revolves around the figure of Chana, around her prayer, and around the birth from which prophecy was renewed in Israel.
וַיְהִי אִישׁ אֶחָד מִן־הָרָמָתַיִם צוֹפִים מֵהַר אֶפְרָיִם וּשְׁמוֹ אֶלְקָנָה בֶּן־יְרֹחָם בֶּן־אֱלִיהוּא בֶּן־תֹּחוּ בֶן־צוּף אֶפְרָתִי׃ - There was a certain man from Ramatayim Tzofim, from Mount Efrayim, and his name was Elkana son of Yerocham, son of Elihu, son of Tochu, son of Tzuf, an Efratite.
"From Ramatayim" - Chazal say: from one of two Ramot. There were two places called Rama there, and he was from one of them, and so the place was called "Ramatayim" (the dual form). And what does "Tzofim" mean? Its plain sense: a place from which one can look out and observe. And Chazal expound "Tzofim" as a term of prophecy, that he was from a family of prophets, and so the Targum renders it "from the disciples of the prophets." A prophet is called a tzofeh (watchman), as it is written "I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel."
And indeed this was a family of prophets. From which family? From the family of Korach. Korach had ruach hakodesh, and his sons were prophets: Asir, Elkana, and Aviasaf. Elkana the father of Shmuel was a descendant of Elkana son of Korach.
And here lies a great principle. It is written: a person does not rise to greatness until there is a basket of creeping things behind him (some disreputable ancestry). Seemingly, Korach could not rise to greatness, for he had no basket of creeping things. If so, why did he seek greatness? Korach said: it is not necessary to have a basket of creeping things, and the proof is my great-grandson Shmuel, who will rise to greatness and become the leader of Israel, and he has no basket of creeping things. And if he can, so can I. But this was his mistake: he did not know that he himself was Shmuel's basket of creeping things. Shmuel rose to greatness, and he does have a basket of creeping things, called Korach. But you, Korach, are not worthy of greatness, for you have no basket of creeping things.
And based on this, some have remarked in jest: today is an excellent time, for a leader is appointed over the public only if he has a basket of creeping things, and that is exactly what is not lacking. Those under investigation do not have mere baskets, they have entire semitrailers of creeping things, so they are completely set.
"From Mount Efrayim" - Rashi says in the name of Chazal: he was a Levi, and he lived in Mount Efrayim. For one cannot say that "Efratite" means from the tribe of Efrayim, since we said that he was from the tribe of Moshe, from the sons of Korach. And the Radak explains that this may also be the reason this matter is placed adjacent to the episode of the concubine at Giva that we saw at the end of the Book of Shoftim: there too there was a Levi who lived in Mount Efrayim, and because of him a great evil came upon the people of Israel. And here, in contrast, Scripture reminds you of a Levi from Mount Efrayim through whose merit a great good came upon the people of Israel.
And "Efratite" - some explain it as being from Mount Efrayim, and there is an additional interpretation: Rashi says it means distinguished people, "avginos," a Latin word meaning important people. "Efratite" as a term of importance. So there are three possibilities: either from the tribe of Efrayim, or one who lived in the territory of the tribe of Efrayim, or a distinguished person.
וְלוֹ שְׁתֵּי נָשִׁים שֵׁם אַחַת חַנָּה וְשֵׁם הַשֵּׁנִית פְּנִנָּה וַיְהִי לִפְנִנָּה יְלָדִים וּלְחַנָּה אֵין יְלָדִים׃ - And he had two wives, the name of one was Chana and the name of the second was Penina, and Penina had children, but Chana had no children.
Why does it say "the name of one was Chana" and not "the name of the first"? The Malbim says: had it said "the name of the first was Chana and the name of the second was Penina," we would not have known which one he married first, for it would have appeared that he was simply listing them without emphasis on order. But since it said "the name of one" without the definite article, we learn that at first there was only one - Chana, and afterward he took another who became "the second."
In other words: he first married Chana, and when she did not bear children he married Penina, hoping to build a family through her. There is also a segulah aspect here: that Hashem would look upon her affliction, for she had brought her rival into her home. When a person breaks their natural traits, that is a reason for Heaven to have mercy on them. And why would she break her traits specifically in this way? Because she wanted to give her husband the merit of having children. She herself is not obligated in the mitzvah of being fruitful and multiplying, but her husband is. Therefore she breaks her traits and says: I will be lowly before her, and through this she will merit to be remembered.
The Malbim notes: why did the verse delay "and Chana had no children" and place it after "and Penina had children"? To tell you that her actions did not help. Even after she brought her rival into her home, Penina bears children while Chana still has none.
וְעָלָה הָאִישׁ הַהוּא מֵעִירוֹ מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺת וְלִזְבֹּחַ לַיהוָה צְבָאוֹת בְּשִׁלֹה וְשָׁם שְׁנֵי בְנֵי־עֵלִי חׇפְנִי וּפִנְחָס כֹּהֲנִים לַיהוָה׃ - And that man would go up from his city year by year to prostrate himself and to sacrifice to Hashem of Hosts in Shiloh, and there the two sons of Eli, Chofni and Pinchas, were priests to Hashem.
The Mishkan was in Shiloh, and every year Elkana would go up there. Chazal ask: what is the meaning of "from his city"? Is it not obvious that he went up from his city? Rather, it teaches that every year he would go up by a different route: one year from here and one year from there. And why? So that in every place he reached he would say to them: Arise, and let us go up to the House of Hashem. He would go and arouse and speak and strengthen the matter of ascending to the House of Hashem. And because of this, he merited that from him came a man who upheld the House of Hashem, and a man who renewed prophecy in Israel.
Shmuel was second in rank to the prophecy of Moshe and Aharon, as it says, "Moshe and Aharon among His priests, and Shmuel among those who call His name." His prophecy was greater than that of all the other prophets, and lesser than that of Moshe. And he was the one who merited to break through the breach of prophecy, for before that "there was no widespread vision" - vision was not something common. And once he arrived, prophecy broke forth and grew stronger through his merit and by his hand.
The Midrash says: Rabbi Ila'a in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak says that prayer is equal to the sacrifices, as it says "to prostrate himself and to sacrifice." Prostrating oneself is prayer, and it was compared to the sacrifice. And the Sages say: it is greater than the sacrifices, for the verse placed it before the sacrifice - first the prostration and only afterward the sacrifice.
And why does the verse mention to us that "there the two sons of Eli, Chofni and Pinchas, were priests to Hashem"? The Malbim says: the entire account that "that man would go up from his city year by year" comes to tell of his unique praise. And if everyone was going up, what is there here to characterize him? You are forced to say that the ascent was not accepted and had not spread among all of Israel. And now the verse reveals to you why: "and there the two sons of Eli." The two sons of Eli, in all their deeds and in all the way they conducted themselves, caused a distancing from the Mishkan and a revulsion toward the Mishkan, until people ceased to come. And only he remained in his devotion and went up on pilgrimage year after year, and even so he did not hold back.
וַיְהִי הַיּוֹם וַיִּזְבַּח אֶלְקָנָה וְנָתַן לִפְנִנָּה אִשְׁתּוֹ וּלְכׇל־בָּנֶיהָ וּבְנוֹתֶיהָ מָנוֹת׃ - And it came to pass on the day when Elkana sacrificed, that he gave to Penina his wife and to all her sons and daughters portions.
When the appointed day for his ascent arrived, Elkana offered his sacrifice and gave portions. From which sacrifice does one give portions? From the peace offerings (shelamim), for the shelamim make peace with everyone: a portion for the owners, a portion for the priest, and a portion for the altar.
וּלְחַנָּה יִתֵּן מָנָה אַחַת אַפָּיִם כִּי אֶת־חַנָּה אָהֵב וַיהוָה סָגַר רַחְמָהּ׃ - But to Chana he would give one portion, a double portion, for he loved Chana, and Hashem had closed her womb.
Here we see how a biblical expression can be completely reversed in our everyday speech. Take "the counsel of Achitofel," which today is used to describe foolish advice, yet we will see toward the end of Sefer Shmuel that Achitofel's counsel was "as though one inquired of the word of God." Even his final piece of advice was excellent, only that Avshalom did not accept it and listened instead to Chushai the Arki. From the standpoint of Avshalom's own benefit it was superb advice, only that it was advice for a wicked end, and since his counsel was not accepted he went and took his own life. But "the counsel of Achitofel" is the highest compliment one can pay to an advisor.
So too with "one portion apayim" - it is not what it sounds like to the modern ear. Let us look at several explanations. Rashi brings the Targum Yonatan: "one choice portion," one selected portion. "Apayim" from the word panim (from the word af, face), like "with a pleasant countenance," meaning a special portion worthy of being received with a pleasant countenance. The Radak explains: one honored portion in order to soothe her anger. "Apayim" is an expression of anger, as in "erech apayim" (slow to anger) - a person who prolongs his anger and is not quick to become angry, whose fuse is long. If so, "one portion apayim" means a portion to soothe the anger.
And Chazal say: "apayim" corresponds to Peninah and her children. Peninah and her children received a certain amount, and he gave Chanah a double portion, corresponding to the face of Peninah and the faces of her children, corresponding to two faces.
The Radak brings in the name of his father the opposite explanation: "one portion apayim" - in distress, meaning that he gave it to her, as it were, with a heavy heart. Heaven forbid that he was angry at her; rather, he was pained. He longed to have children from her and to be able to give her many portions, and here he was compelled to give her only one portion, and this pained him.
The Ralbag explains: like when you let a person choose - which do you prefer, this one or that one. He gave her, as it were, two options so that she could choose whichever was best in her eyes. And there is a further explanation in the Ralbag: since she was more beloved to him, she would sit and eat facing him, face to face, "apayim" from the word panim, and this displayed the greatness of his love for her. "And Hashem had closed her womb" - and since the Holy One, blessed be He, had closed her womb, he showed her great affection so that she would not be pained.
וְכִעֲסַתָּה צָרָתָהּ גַּם־כַּעַס בַּעֲבוּר הַרְּעִמָהּ כִּי־סָגַר יְהוָה בְּעַד רַחְמָהּ׃ - And her rival provoked her sorely, to make her fret, because Hashem had closed her womb.
Peninah would provoke her "sorely," provoking her again and again. And why? "To make her fret" - to bring her to be discontent with her situation. Chazal say that she caused her great distress: when her children returned from school she would ask her, "How are your children, when are they coming back from school?" When she bought them a garment she would ask, "Did you sew a coat or a robe for your little son?" In this way she provoked and irritated her.
And why did she do this? Chazal say: Peninah and the Satan intended for the sake of Heaven. The Satan who came to afflict Iyov, and Peninah who provoked Chanah - both intended for the sake of Heaven. And this is what is written, "to make her fret": to bring her to a state where she would pray from the depths of her heart. "Because Hashem had closed her womb" - for she knows that Hashem closed her womb, and everything is from Him, may He be blessed. And if everything is from Him, then if she frets and prays from the depths of her heart, through this she will merit to be remembered.
And it is written that the gates of tears are never locked. All the gates were locked, but the gates of tears were not locked. And they ask: if they are not locked, why are there gates at all? The answer: for crocodile tears. The gates of tears are not locked - but only against genuine tears. If the tear is a crocodile tear, for this one needs gates in order to close. And why is external weeping called "crocodile tears"? When the crocodile is in the water, water collects in its eyes, and when it emerges from the water this water runs down, and one who does not know thinks that it is weeping. These are tears that are not genuine, superficial tears.
וְכֵן יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁנָה בְשָׁנָה מִדֵּי עֲלֹתָהּ בְּבֵית יְהוָה כֵּן תַּכְעִסֶנָּה וַתִּבְכֶּה וְלֹא תֹאכַל׃ - And so he did year by year, whenever she went up to the house of Hashem, so she would provoke her, and she wept and did not eat.
From here we see that what Chazal expounded, that Peninah intended for the sake of Heaven, is not what one might think - that they sought to find merit for her and clear her name entirely. Not at all. The plain meaning is that her intention truly was for the sake of Heaven, and how do we know? For she did not provoke her all year long. When did she provoke her? Specifically at the time when they would go up to the Mishkan, specifically when they were going to pray. "Whenever she went up to the house of Hashem, so she would provoke her." You see that the intention was purely for the sake of Heaven, so that she would become distressed and through that pray from the depths of her heart. "And she wept and did not eat" - and because of this she would weep and not eat.
וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ אֶלְקָנָה אִישָׁהּ חַנָּה לָמֶה תִבְכִּי וְלָמֶה לֹא תֹאכְלִי וְלָמֶה יֵרַע לְבָבֵךְ הֲלוֹא אָנֹכִי טוֹב לָךְ מֵעֲשָׂרָה בָּנִים׃ - And Elkanah her husband said to her: Chanah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart grieved? Am I not better to you than ten sons?
That is: my love for you is better for you than ten sons. And some say he told her: I am better to you than I am to Peninah's ten sons. Our Sages say that Peninah had ten sons, and he told her: I bestow upon you and am closer to you more than I bestow upon and am close to the ten sons that I have from Peninah.
וַתָּקׇם חַנָּה אַחֲרֵי אׇכְלָהֿ בְשִׁלֹה וְאַחֲרֵי שָׁתֹה וְעֵלִי הַכֹּהֵן יֹשֵׁב עַל־הַכִּסֵּא עַל־מְזוּזַת הֵיכַל יְהוָה׃ - And Chanah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk, and Eli the Kohen was sitting upon the seat by the doorpost of the Sanctuary of Hashem.
And if it earlier said "and she would not eat," what is "after they had eaten"? The Radak says: after her husband urged her and told her "I am better to you than ten sons," she ate a little. "And Eli the Kohen was sitting upon the seat" - our Sages expound: "yoshev" (sitting) is written without a vav, teaching that on that very day he was appointed Kohen Gadol. Eli was appointed Kohen Gadol on that day, and later we will see that his very high priesthood is what caused the problems he had with his sons.
וְהִיא מָרַת נָפֶשׁ וַתִּתְפַּלֵּל עַל־יְהוָה וּבָכֹה תִבְכֶּה׃ - And she was bitter of soul, and she prayed to Hashem and wept greatly.
The Malbim asks: why was she moved to pray specifically now? The answer lies in Elkanah's words. To what may this be compared? A person comes to a tzaddik, and the tzaddik tells him: I am sorry, I cannot help you, there is nothing to be done. The person hears this, goes off and begins to pray and cries out from the depths of his heart until he is saved with Hashem's help. He comes to the tzaddik and says to him: Rabbi, thank God, Hashem saved me. The Rabbi tells him: I saw that you would be saved only if you yourself prayed, but I said - you come to me because you rely on me, thinking there is someone else who will do the work for me.
And this is a great point. A person says: I will go to the tzaddik and he will pray for me, a soul-rectification will be performed for the departed, they will come to me in a dream and say thank God we have become tzaddikim in Heaven, we will buy you a cup of salvations, do not worry, everything will work out. What does the person do? He casts the matter off himself, takes the burden off his shoulders - there is someone who will worry about me. But the will from Above is that you yourself pray.
And here, how does her husband comfort her? Had he said to her "Hashem will help, pray from the depths of your heart and you will have sons" - that would be acceptable. But he does not say that. He tells her: take comfort in the fact that you have me. And when does one say to a person "take comfort in the fact that you have me"? When there is nothing to be done. Make peace with the situation, you have me, I am better to you than ten sons, there will be no sons but at least you have me. So he had already given up hope. And if he had already given up hope - and her husband was a prophet - then all the more so, this aroused her even further. And therefore "and she was bitter of soul, and she prayed to Hashem and wept greatly."
And how do we know that Elkanah was a prophet? Any prophet mentioned in Tanach together with his father's name, both of them are prophets. When it is written "Shmuel son of Elkanah" - Elkanah too was a prophet. And when it is written "Elkanah son of Yerocham son of Elihu son of Tochu son of Tzuf" - all of them were prophets. So too Yeshayahu son of Amotz: the Gemara says, Yeshayahu was a prophet and his father Amotz too was a prophet.
And what is prophecy? A Divine flash. And from this you will understand what they said, that once the Temple was destroyed prophecy was given to children and to fools. It does not mean that they have some merits by which they received prophecy, but rather this: how does a prophet merit prophecy? The more a person silences the body, the more the soul shines forth. When the body cries out one cannot hear the voice of Hashem, and when the body is silent one can hear the voice of Hashem. And that is why the tzaddikim always engaged in self-affliction - so that the moment the body takes up no space, the soul begins to fill it.
And the autistic and all those considered mentally incapacitated: for them the body is like a broken vessel, and since the body is a broken vessel, the sparkling forth of the soul is greater. All those channeled communications you see with such people, these are people whose spiritual level is very high. They came as "fools" because they have nothing to fix on the practical level. Had they been lacking the mitzvah of tefillin, they would have been born as a clever person who needs to put on tefillin every day in order to rectify tefillin. Had they been lacking Shabbat, they would have been born clever in order to rectify Shabbat. But they need none of this. What do they need? To pass here through a period of ten, fifteen, twenty years of suffering inside a body: that is all they need. One who is mentally incapacitated is not obligated in anything from a religious standpoint, and there are no transgressions for him at all. Tell him "you desecrated Shabbat": does he even know what Shabbat is? The entire Torah was given to those with intellect, and a person who is not of sound mind has no Torah applying to him.
The Malbim says: here several reasons converged that caused her prayer to be accepted. First, "and she was bitter of soul": "Hashem is close to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth," Hashem is close to the broken hearted. Second, "and she prayed to Hashem": Chazal say that she prayed to Hashem alone. A person who has no children goes to doctors and undergoes treatments, and surely also prays: with Hashem's help, we will pray, graves of tzaddikim, everything counts, but immediately afterward, "What did the doctor say? Did he call? Did he report anything?" He runs in every direction, and such a person is still relying on flesh and blood. "And she prayed to Hashem": only to Hashem, I have no one else. Third, "and she wept greatly": and the gates of tears are never locked. Fourth, the vow.
וַתִּדֹּר נֶדֶר וַתֹּאמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת אִם־רָאֹה תִרְאֶה בׇּעֳנִי אֲמָתֶךָ וּזְכַרְתַּנִי וְלֹא־תִשְׁכַּח אֶת־אֲמָתֶךָ וְנָתַתָּה לַאֲמָתְךָ זֶרַע אֲנָשִׁים וּנְתַתִּיו לַיהוָה כׇּל־יְמֵי חַיָּיו וּמוֹרָה לֹא־יַעֲלֶה עַל־רֹאשׁוֹ׃ - And she vowed a vow and said: Hashem of Hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, and give Your maidservant male offspring, then I will give him to Hashem all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.
Chazal say: Rabbi Elazar said, from the day the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, there was no person who called the Holy One, blessed be He, "Tzevaot," "of Hosts," until Chana came and called Him "of Hosts." She said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, out of all the hosts of hosts that You created in Your world, is it hard in Your eyes to give me one son? To what may the matter be compared? To a king of flesh and blood who made a feast for his servants. A poor man came and stood at the entrance, and said to them: give me one slice, and they paid him no attention. He pushed his way in to the king and said to him: my lord the king, out of the entire feast that you made, is it hard in your eyes to give me one slice?
The Midrash shows you all the types of pleading and all the types of persuasion that Chana employed in her prayer. And so too with Moshe Rabbeinu: what is written, that he prayed 515 prayers, does not mean that he repeated five hundred and fifteen times "Master of the Universe, let me enter the land." Whoever studies the sefer "515 Tefillot" will see that it enumerates there five hundred and fifteen types of arguments that Moshe could have made as a merit to enter the land of Israel. Each prayer is not a parrot-like repetition of what he said before, but a new argument. And so too here: she comes and argues, Master of the Universe, You gave so much to so many people in the world, is it hard in Your eyes to give me one son?
And what is the meaning of the doubled expression "if You will indeed look"? The Gemara continues and expounds: Rabbi Elazar said, Chana said before the Holy One, blessed be He, Master of the Universe, if You look, well and good, and if not, You will see. That is: I will go and seclude myself in front of Elkanah my husband, and since I will have secluded myself, he will make me drink the waters of the sotah, and You will make Your Torah into a falsehood, as it says "and she shall be cleared and shall conceive seed."
And see how wise Chana was. She said: if things will not go straight, I will do what today is called a "combina," a maneuver through cleverness. For a woman who secluded herself and whose husband was jealous over her, he warned her not to seclude yourself with so-and-so and she went and secluded herself with him, is forbidden to him until he brings her to the Beit HaMikdash and makes her drink the bitter waters. And if she was unfaithful, she dies, and if she was not unfaithful, "and she shall be cleared and shall conceive seed," for if she had not been giving birth, she will give birth. She said: I will go and seclude myself, and my husband will make me drink the bitter waters, and then, as it were, You are compelled to give me a son, for You will not make Your Torah into a falsehood, You will not, as it were, make the Torah a lie.
And this is like what is said about the blessing "Blessed are You Hashem, King who pardons and forgives." They tell of a certain son who wanted an apple, and his father did not want to give it to him. The son recited "Borei pri ha'etz," and his father was forced to give it to him, so that it should not be a blessing in vain. They said: this is what we bless, "Blessed are You Hashem, King who pardons and forgives." If Hashem will not pardon and will not forgive, this would be a blessing in vain, and, as it were, we compel the Creator of the world to pardon and forgive us. Here too, as it were, she compels the Creator of the world to remember her with viable offspring.
And what is the meaning of "male offspring"? The Gemara says: Rav said, "a man among men," that he be distinguished. Shmuel said: offspring that will anoint two men, Shaul and David - my son will anoint two kings. Rabbi Yochanan said: offspring that is equal to two men, for Shmuel was equal to Moshe and Aharon. And the Rabbanan say: offspring that is blended in among people. And when Rav Dimi came he said: not tall and not short, not small and not stout, not white and not ruddy, not too clever and not foolish.
Here lies a great lesson. They tell of an educator who always told his son: I want you to be number two in the class. Always two: not three, but also not one. Why? Because at number one people will always throw tomatoes at you, they will always envy you, they will always seek you out and try to trip you up and bring you down. And you also have nowhere to advance to, you are already the best, you have nothing to aspire to. But number two: you always have somewhere to aspire to, and no one will envy you or cast an evil eye upon you.
This is included in what Chana requested: "and give Your maidservant male offspring." I want him not to be some astonishing one. When there is someone who astonishes everyone, you cannot get along with him. There is an expression, "genius to the point of madness," and when something is out of the ordinary it begins to cause worry. I want him to be average, not someone people marvel at, because then who knows what might come of him. Precisely when he is blended in among people, that is the successful one.
Incidentally, they tell that once the Russians and the Americans held a running contest, and the Russian runner lost while the American won. In America they wrote: the American runner came in first place. And in Russia, in "Pravda," they published it like this: in a running contest held between the Russian runner and the American runner, the Russian runner achieved second place, while the American runner reached one place before last. And go argue and say it is not true. "Pravda" means truth.
The Radak says: "male offspring" means she asked for several sons, not to settle for a single son, and we will see later that indeed she was granted several sons. And a midrash aggadah that the Radak brings says: "male offspring" means that their faces should resemble neither an ape nor a eunuch. And what is the connection between an ape and a eunuch? The eunuch is without a beard and without any hair at all, and the ape is the complete opposite. She said: I do not want one who is too hairy, nor too smooth. Another interpretation: "male offspring" means wise men, as you say "wise and understanding men." Another interpretation: prophetic men, as you say "and there remained two men" - Eldad and Meidad. So many expositions on just one word, "men."
The truth is that all of these are included in her words. So too the midrash says about Esther: when the Gemara brings twelve reasons as to what Esther planned when she invited Haman to the feast, they asked Eliyahu HaNavi, and he told them: all of them. Her plan included all the reasons the Gemara listed. For they were prophets, and Esther was among the prophetesses, and a prophet is a person whose heart is as wide as a great hall, and it is impossible to estimate or describe his level.
And what does "and I will give him to Hashem" mean? After all, what was Shmuel? A Levi. And a Levi in any case serves in the House of Hashem. If so, what is special about Chana giving her son to Hashem? The Malbim says: there will be three differences between Shmuel and the rest of the Leviim who are dedicated to Hashem.
First, the rest of the Leviim are not restricted from engaging in their own affairs when they are not in the House of Hashem. The role of the Leviim in the Mikdash was as singers and gatekeepers, and there are shifts and there are set times, and there are times when a Levi returns home and engages in his own affairs. Chana said: my son will not be such a Levi, he will not turn to his own affairs at all, "and I will give him to Hashem all the days of his life." Second, from what age does a Levi enter service? From the age of twenty five, and in the five years before that he trains and does an internship. Chana said: my son will enter service from the age of three, as we will see later. Third, "and no razor shall come upon his head" - I am adding sanctity upon his sanctity. Chazal say: she vowed that he would be a nazir from the womb, that from birth no razor, that is, no blade, would come upon his head.
And why did she say "and remember me and do not forget Your maidservant"? If He remembers, surely He will not forget. The Malbim says: "and remember me" means that He should grant me a son, "and do not forget" means that He should continue to grant me more. That is, the first would only be on account, but the matter should not end with him: grant me a son, and do not forget me afterward either, that more sons should be born to me. And Chazal expound: "and remember me" with males, "and do not forget" from females - that there be both this and that.
The chapter opens with one man, Elkana, a Levi of the sons of Korach dwelling in Har Efrayim, who, at a time when all of Israel had distanced themselves from the Mishkan because of the deeds of the sons of Eli, went up year after year all by himself, each year by a different route, in order to rouse the many to go up to the House of Hashem. From within his household, from Chana's anguish, and from the vexation with which Penina provoked her for the sake of Heaven, grew the prayer from which Shmuel was born: a prayer of bitterness of soul, of "and she prayed to Hashem" alone, of bitter weeping, and of a vow that dedicated the entire son to Hashem. Chana did not ask for an astonishing genius but for "male offspring" - blended in among people, and from this very averageness came forth one who was equal to Moshe and Aharon and who renewed prophecy in Israel.