Channah's Prayer

B"H

The Talmud Tractate Berachot is one of the most easiest Talmudic Tractates to learn. Not only easy to study but it is also one of the most interesting ones. At least for me.

Among other things, Talmud Berachot 30b teaches us that before we start praying, we should get rid of all kinds of strange thoughts in our mind. Already the former great Zaddikim meditated before prayer. Later on, the Baal Shem Tov reintroduced this method and until today, meditation plays an important role in chassidut.

The Talmud continues by telling us the story about Channah which, by the way, we read in the Haftarah on the first day of Rosh HaShana. It says in the first Book of Shmuel that Channah was the wife of Elkanah as well as the mother of the famous prophet Shmuel. Elkanah had two wives. The first one was Channah and the second one was Pnina. Channah was sad and bitter because only Pnina was blessed with having children, and Channah herself was barren.

One day Channah went to pray to the Mishkan in Shilo in order to ask G - d for being able of having children. Eli, the Cohen HaGadol, was inside the Mishkan and watched her praying. In the first Book of Shmuel, 1:10, it says literally: "And she was bitter of spirit and she prayed to HaShem".
Channah was just like our fore mothers Sarah and Rachel who were also barren but changed their destinies through emotional prayers.

Channah actually said the words of her prayer and didn't only think them. She moved her lips and prayed from the depths of her heart. The Gemara in Berachot 31a says that Channah teaches us the right way of prayer. We should also direct our hearts towards G - d and move our lips. Only thinking Berachot or Tefilot is insufficient.
The Gemara continues that although Channah moved her lips, the actual words could not be heard. The Shulchan Aruch - Orach Chaim 101:2 says that it is Asur raising one's voice during prayer. Only the person praying should be able to hear her or his own words, and none of the people standing next to him should be bothered while they are praying.

Eli, the Cohen HaGadol, thought that Channah must be a drunk woman when she is praying like this. In those days, this kind of prayer was very uncommon. The Gemara explains that from here we learn that drunkards are forbidden to pray. Why ? According to the Etz Chaim drunkards are unable to concentrate on the prayer.
However, in my opinion it is totally inappropriate to speak to G - d when one is drunk.

Eli went up to Channah and asked her about her "drunkenness". Also from here the Gemara in Berachot 31b drew an interesting conclusion. We are obligated to rebuke a person when we see him doing something wrong.

But how did Eli got the idea that Channah might be drunk ? The Vilna Gaon comes up with the most famous commentary on this Passuk.
Eli had asked the Urim ve Turim before he went up to Channah. The Urim ve Turim is a parchment with G - d's Names on it and it is placed into the Choshen which the Cohen HaGadol wore. After inquiring something, letters would show up and only a Cohen HaGadol with a certain kind of Ruach HaKodesh was able to read the letter combination. In this place, Eli made a mistake by reading the letters "Heh, Chaf, Resh, Shin" wrong. Instead of reading it like: "K - Sarah - like Sarah", he read "Shikora - a drunk woman".
Channah explained Eli her situation and when she left, he blessed her that G - d should fulfill all her wishes. Some time later, she bore her famous son Shmuel HaNavi.

The Gemara in Berachot 31b makes it clear that if a person draws the wrong conclusions about us, we should go up to him and tell him the truth. It is not enough that G - d alone knows our true intentions but also other people should know them and not get suspicious (Chidushei HaRa'ah).

Channah's wish was, due to her emotional prayer, fulfilled just like Sarah's and Rachel's (see Talmud Rosh HaShana 11a).

Now, some people might ask what has all this to do with Rosh HaShana ? The answer is simple, as each of us is asking G - d for something on Rosh HaShana. We also want our wishes to be fulfilled. On Rosh HaShana, G - d sits in judgment over the entire world and not only over the Jews. Already in the month before the Chag, the month of Elul where we are now, we should go out and speak to G - d. Repent our sins and promise to make everything better. Or at least try to make it better.

The Baal Shem Tov said that Chodesh Elul is the perfect month for doing Teshuva and that at no other time, G - d is as close to us as in this month. "The King is in the Field" - G - d is near and we can approach Him very easily.

G - d judges a person on Rosh HaShana according to the intention of his prayer or Teshuva. He is judging at the very moment although He knows exactly that despite of all our promises, we will sin again. But He doesn't judge us according to future deeds but only at this very moment, as we learn from the incident with Keturah and Ishmael. When Ishmael was crying for water, G - d heard his voice and saved him although He knew too well that his successors want to destroy the Jewish people. But at that very moment G - d heard his voice and didn't think about the future.