Shemuel Alef Chapter 1
It is important to note that the appellation “Shemuel Alef” is actually a misnomer; our tradition counts only one “Sefer Shemuel” in Tanakh. However, due to the length of the book, it was subdivided for convenience into “Alef” and “Bet”.
The Book of Shemuel begins with the story of another “Levite” and his family. Elqanah has two wives, Hanna and Peninah; Hanna is barren while Peninnah has children. Unlike the Levite in the story of the “Concubine in Giveah”, Elqana does not merely talk about visiting the House of God – indeed, he does so on a regular basis with his entire family.
During this period of Jewish history, the Kohanim who provided religious leadership to the nation and officiated the Temple services were exceedingly corrupt (we will learn more about the depth of their corruption in the next chapter.) Nonetheless, Elqanah, seemingly a pious Jew, believed in supporting “the system” and was very committed to making pilgrimages to the sanctuary at Shiloh at the appointed times.
The routine visits to Shiloh were particularly uncomfortable experiences for the family. Peninnah would use them as opportunities to draw attention to the fact that she, unlike her rival co-wife, had children (the Sages ascribe noble motives to Peninnah, suggesting that she wished to inspire Hannah to pray to God for the blessing of fertility.) Like any childless woman sitting at a holiday table surrounded by children who are not her own, Hanna would become deeply depressed and would often completely lose her appetite. Elqanah’s attempts to comfort and console her were unsuccessful.
Finally, on one visit to Shiloh, Hannah decides to visit the sanctuary and pray to God for a miracle. She makes a vow that if she is indeed blessed with a child, she will consecrate him as a Nazirite and leave him at the Mishkan for his entire life so he can be exclusively devoted to the service of Hashem.
Eli, the High Priest whose sons have been managing the religious affairs of Israel in an egregiously immoral manner, is himself a decent man; believing Hannah to be drunk and muttering to herself erratically, he rebukes her. When she explains her plight he instead offers his blessing that her prayer be accepted. She returns to her husband with a hopeful and optimistic attitude.
Hashem answers Hannah’s petition and she has a son named Shemuel. When the time comes for the family to visit Shiloh, Hannah declines to join, preferring to wait until her new baby is weaned and can be left at the sanctuary permanently in fulfillment of her vow. When he finishes nursing, Hanna keeps her promise and presents the young boy to Eli the Kohen by whom he will be trained in the study of Torah and the service of Hashem.
One key difficulty that many encounter in studying this story is the vow of Hanna. If she plans on giving up her child anyway, why bother praying for him in the first place? Most mothers who ask Hashem to grant them fertility do so for the purpose of experiencing motherhood and enjoying its many gratifying milestones. Hanna’s request appears to defy logic.
In order to understand Hanna’s motivation and her greatness we must reflect upon the background of this narrative and its context. Hanna’s breakthrough comes when she realizes that her problem is not a personal one; rather, it is symptomatic of the general spiritual decline of the Jewish people. The Torah tells us that when the Jews are faithful to their covenant with Hashem, no woman among them will be infertile. Thus, Hanna identified her infertility as a manifestation of the withdrawal of the divine presence from Israel. She also realized that this absence of Divine providence was itself a function of the poor spiritual leadership of the nation.
Kohanim and Levites who should have been sources of inspiration and education for the people had transformed the religious institutions into corrupt vehicles of their own enrichment. Pilgrims who came to visit the sanctuary, rather than being treated to healthy doses of wisdom, insight and encouragement, were shaken down for money (or, at that time, the meat of sacrifices).
Hanna realized that the only way for the general curse upon the nation to be lifted would be if a leader amongst the Jews would arise and reform the institutions that had fallen into spiritual disrepair; for a person to emerge who could challenge the status quo, reestablish the principles and values that had been forgotten, and guide the Jewish people back to the Torah and its commandments once again.
This leader would need to stand out from among his brethren (hence being a Nazirite) and be isolated from the general culture of the common folk (hence growing up on the Temple grounds). Hanna hoped that the pain of infertility she experienced, a sign of the distance of her people from Hashem, could be transformed into the change that would alleviate not only her suffering but that of many others.