Chana was very different than many of the other awe-inspiring personalities that appear throughout Tanach.
In fact, she doesn't seem to be known by an official title like so many others, such as Sara Imeinu or Esther Hamalka or Devorah Haneviah; even though Chana was definitely a prophetess, she's not colloquially known as "Chana Haneviah."
She's sometimes called "Chana, mother of Shmuel Hanavi" when there's a need to clarify which Chana is being discussed, but in my experience, she's usually referred to as simply "Chana."
(In fact, I think people even tend to forget that aside from epitomizing tefillah, she was actually a top-ranking prophetess. Like, "Who were the 7 main prophetesses again? Sara, Devorah, Miriam, and...oh, Chana was one, right?")
Just for knowing, the 7 are: Sara Imeinu, Devorah Haneviah, Miriam Haneviah, Queen Esther, Chulda Haneviah, Avigail (wife of David Hamelech) and...Chana, mother of Shmuel Hanavi!
So as far as I know, Chana had a nice frum upbringing in a nice frum environment. She enjoyed a strong marriage to the noble and influential Elkanah from the Tribe of Levi, who loved her very much.
But because it seemed that Chana couldn't have children, Elkanah then married Penina, who went on to have 10 children.
Authentic Torah thought views children as accomplishments, not burdens.
Elkanah brought the Jewish people closer to Hashem, while Chana remained a quiet and seemingly passive helpmate to her husband's activities.
Chana and Penina likely would've gotten along fine had not Penina mistakenly assumed that Chana's infertility resulted from a lack of heartfelt desire and prayer on Chana's part.
So with good intentions, Penina started making pointed comments to arouse Chana to a place of desperation for children (and desperation for a halt to Penina's hurtful treatment) and thus effect heartfelt prayers on Chana's part.
Astoundingly, there doesn't seem to be any record of Chana responding to Penina's barbs.
Instead, Chana continues to pray quietly to Hashem.
In fact, Chana doesn't even mention her distress or confide in her husband.
Being an attentive husband, he notices on his own and tries to comfort her, but again, she doesn't pour out her heart to her husband.
Instead, she turns to Hashem.
Note:
It's worth emphasizing Chana's determination to NOT report Penina's hurtful behavior to Elkanah.
Certainly, a tactful report of Penina's treatment could be considered lashon hara l'to'elet – the beneficial purpose being that Elkanah would both judge Penina favorably for her good intentions yet at the same time, influence her to change her behavior.
In a display of mind-boggling strength of character, Chana neither responds to Penina's barbs nor does she speak lashon hara about Penina – not even l'to'elet.
Finally, after facing a misunderstanding from a local Kohen as she prayed at the Beit Hamikdash, Chana finally gets pregnant and gives birth to Shmuel Hanavi.
She remained a stay-at-home nursing mother for the next couple of years, even refusing to go on another pilgrimage during that time.
(A major reason derived from Shmuel's sensitivity to I guess what we'd call motion sickness. Traveling weakened him, and she did not want to subject her child to that.)
Later Chana praises Hashem at length, prophesies a bit, births even more children, and then...we don't hear much about her again.
In fact, throughout most of Chana's story, she's a stay-at-home wife who davens a lot, then becomes a stay-at-home mom who davens a lot, and achieves prophecy at times.
It's hard to know what else she did, though we can assume she engaged in chessed in her community, made meals for those sick or recovering from birth, gave to the poor, etc.
However, that's not what she is KNOWN for. We never hear about it.
It was the quiet unseen inner work that won her a starring role in Tanach and enabled her to produce one of the greatest men in history.
In fact, she doesn't seem to be known by an official title like so many others, such as Sara Imeinu or Esther Hamalka or Devorah Haneviah; even though Chana was definitely a prophetess, she's not colloquially known as "Chana Haneviah."
She's sometimes called "Chana, mother of Shmuel Hanavi" when there's a need to clarify which Chana is being discussed, but in my experience, she's usually referred to as simply "Chana."
(In fact, I think people even tend to forget that aside from epitomizing tefillah, she was actually a top-ranking prophetess. Like, "Who were the 7 main prophetesses again? Sara, Devorah, Miriam, and...oh, Chana was one, right?")
Just for knowing, the 7 are: Sara Imeinu, Devorah Haneviah, Miriam Haneviah, Queen Esther, Chulda Haneviah, Avigail (wife of David Hamelech) and...Chana, mother of Shmuel Hanavi!
So as far as I know, Chana had a nice frum upbringing in a nice frum environment. She enjoyed a strong marriage to the noble and influential Elkanah from the Tribe of Levi, who loved her very much.
But because it seemed that Chana couldn't have children, Elkanah then married Penina, who went on to have 10 children.
Authentic Torah thought views children as accomplishments, not burdens.
Elkanah brought the Jewish people closer to Hashem, while Chana remained a quiet and seemingly passive helpmate to her husband's activities.
Chana and Penina likely would've gotten along fine had not Penina mistakenly assumed that Chana's infertility resulted from a lack of heartfelt desire and prayer on Chana's part.
So with good intentions, Penina started making pointed comments to arouse Chana to a place of desperation for children (and desperation for a halt to Penina's hurtful treatment) and thus effect heartfelt prayers on Chana's part.
Astoundingly, there doesn't seem to be any record of Chana responding to Penina's barbs.
Instead, Chana continues to pray quietly to Hashem.
In fact, Chana doesn't even mention her distress or confide in her husband.
Being an attentive husband, he notices on his own and tries to comfort her, but again, she doesn't pour out her heart to her husband.
Instead, she turns to Hashem.
Note:
It's worth emphasizing Chana's determination to NOT report Penina's hurtful behavior to Elkanah.
Certainly, a tactful report of Penina's treatment could be considered lashon hara l'to'elet – the beneficial purpose being that Elkanah would both judge Penina favorably for her good intentions yet at the same time, influence her to change her behavior.
In a display of mind-boggling strength of character, Chana neither responds to Penina's barbs nor does she speak lashon hara about Penina – not even l'to'elet.
Finally, after facing a misunderstanding from a local Kohen as she prayed at the Beit Hamikdash, Chana finally gets pregnant and gives birth to Shmuel Hanavi.
She remained a stay-at-home nursing mother for the next couple of years, even refusing to go on another pilgrimage during that time.
(A major reason derived from Shmuel's sensitivity to I guess what we'd call motion sickness. Traveling weakened him, and she did not want to subject her child to that.)
Later Chana praises Hashem at length, prophesies a bit, births even more children, and then...we don't hear much about her again.
In fact, throughout most of Chana's story, she's a stay-at-home wife who davens a lot, then becomes a stay-at-home mom who davens a lot, and achieves prophecy at times.
It's hard to know what else she did, though we can assume she engaged in chessed in her community, made meals for those sick or recovering from birth, gave to the poor, etc.
However, that's not what she is KNOWN for. We never hear about it.
It was the quiet unseen inner work that won her a starring role in Tanach and enabled her to produce one of the greatest men in history.
The Measure of a Person Taken by God vs Society
Today's secularists would call her a passive breeder tied to the stove, with no identity of her own, blah, blah, blah.
They would criticize Chana for not being more assertive, blame her for giving off "doormat" vibes that allowed Penina to "bully" her, and so forth.
They'd label her as a "masochist" or a "co-dependent" who needs expert guidance by a licensed therapist.
On the other hand, even in the frum community of that time, Chana doesn't seem to be known for running organizations, or working full-time so her husband can learn while keeping up a beautiful home, a beautiful appearance, and beautifully appareled children, or giving shiurim, etc.
Chana doesn't even go down in history for her very real status as prophetess or for anything else we consider important (whether it's talking to angels or running a soup kitchen or heading a prestigious girls seminary).
Rather, she is known for her sincere prayer. She set the standard for Shemoneh Esrei.
Did others speak about her as "Oh, Chana. She is always SO together! And she accomplishes SO much!"?
Or did they say, "Oh, Chana. She's such a tzadekes. She's so holy, I'd like to get a bracha from her"?
(Or did they know anything about her at all? After all, she was very quiet and didn't get out much. Was she well-known in her own time?)
Interestingly, as quiet and unremarkable as Chana appears at a superficial glance, her impact on Klal Yisrael resounds until today.
In fact, we extract some of our most fundamental laws of prayer directly from Chana's method of prayer.
And until today, we learn that Chana's very name (and therefore her essence) represents the 3 fundamental laws for Jewish women:
And she produced one of our greatest prophets: Shmuel Hanavi.
They would criticize Chana for not being more assertive, blame her for giving off "doormat" vibes that allowed Penina to "bully" her, and so forth.
They'd label her as a "masochist" or a "co-dependent" who needs expert guidance by a licensed therapist.
On the other hand, even in the frum community of that time, Chana doesn't seem to be known for running organizations, or working full-time so her husband can learn while keeping up a beautiful home, a beautiful appearance, and beautifully appareled children, or giving shiurim, etc.
Chana doesn't even go down in history for her very real status as prophetess or for anything else we consider important (whether it's talking to angels or running a soup kitchen or heading a prestigious girls seminary).
Rather, she is known for her sincere prayer. She set the standard for Shemoneh Esrei.
Did others speak about her as "Oh, Chana. She is always SO together! And she accomplishes SO much!"?
Or did they say, "Oh, Chana. She's such a tzadekes. She's so holy, I'd like to get a bracha from her"?
(Or did they know anything about her at all? After all, she was very quiet and didn't get out much. Was she well-known in her own time?)
Interestingly, as quiet and unremarkable as Chana appears at a superficial glance, her impact on Klal Yisrael resounds until today.
In fact, we extract some of our most fundamental laws of prayer directly from Chana's method of prayer.
And until today, we learn that Chana's very name (and therefore her essence) represents the 3 fundamental laws for Jewish women:
- Challah
- Niddah
- Hadlikat neirot for Shabbat and Yom Tov
And she produced one of our greatest prophets: Shmuel Hanavi.
A Resounding Quiet
In other words, Chana is mostly either silent or she's talking to Hashem.
If I'm not mistaken, the one time she speaks of her pain to anyone else is only after she's confronted AND misunderstood – by Eli Hakohen.
And even then, she's very thoughtful and considerate in her response to his misinterpretation of her holy behavior.
(Remember, when Elkanah asks her why she's sad and if he's not better to her than 10 sons, Chana doesn't reply. She doesn't even decide to finally reveal Penina's mistreatment. It's only when Eli Hakohen mistakes her for a brazen lush does she speak up – and even then, she corrects his misconception with humility and sensitivity.)
Chana's humility ended up as the source of her incredible power.
If I'm not mistaken, the one time she speaks of her pain to anyone else is only after she's confronted AND misunderstood – by Eli Hakohen.
And even then, she's very thoughtful and considerate in her response to his misinterpretation of her holy behavior.
(Remember, when Elkanah asks her why she's sad and if he's not better to her than 10 sons, Chana doesn't reply. She doesn't even decide to finally reveal Penina's mistreatment. It's only when Eli Hakohen mistakes her for a brazen lush does she speak up – and even then, she corrects his misconception with humility and sensitivity.)
Chana's humility ended up as the source of her incredible power.
The Power Invested in Every Kind of Soul
Again, it's important to emphasize that this post is not denigrating more extroverted, visibly accomplished, energetic people.
We need ALL kinds!
Why?
Because Hashem wants all different kinds.
We need the Devorah Haneviahs who sit outside under the palm tree, available for mediation and peace-making, who then later ride out to war in the role of spiritual leader.
We need the Yaels who are piously cunning against the enemies of Am Yisrael and handy with a tent peg.
We need the Sara Imeinus who engage in non-stop hospitality, outreach, teaching, and who generally display a more assertive and fearless persona in the face of fellow prophets, angels, and kings.
Hashem imbued the above people with those abilities because He WANTS them utilized in that manner.
But as mentioned in a previous post, the above have become the main types presented for emulation simply for practical reasons: Their stories are more "tellable" and their actions & accomplishments more noticeable.
But our tradition proves to us that we also need the Chanas and the Leah Imeinus.
A person behaving with true goodness and genuine humility regardless of their situation and environment is effecting a HUGE impact for good and sweetening din.
But who will ever know about it?
No one – except the Only One who matters: Hashem.
The sincere spiritual efforts wrangled with unseen in near silence can spark impacts of such magnitude, their reverberations are reaped for eternity.
We need ALL kinds!
Why?
Because Hashem wants all different kinds.
We need the Devorah Haneviahs who sit outside under the palm tree, available for mediation and peace-making, who then later ride out to war in the role of spiritual leader.
We need the Yaels who are piously cunning against the enemies of Am Yisrael and handy with a tent peg.
We need the Sara Imeinus who engage in non-stop hospitality, outreach, teaching, and who generally display a more assertive and fearless persona in the face of fellow prophets, angels, and kings.
Hashem imbued the above people with those abilities because He WANTS them utilized in that manner.
But as mentioned in a previous post, the above have become the main types presented for emulation simply for practical reasons: Their stories are more "tellable" and their actions & accomplishments more noticeable.
But our tradition proves to us that we also need the Chanas and the Leah Imeinus.
A person behaving with true goodness and genuine humility regardless of their situation and environment is effecting a HUGE impact for good and sweetening din.
But who will ever know about it?
No one – except the Only One who matters: Hashem.
The sincere spiritual efforts wrangled with unseen in near silence can spark impacts of such magnitude, their reverberations are reaped for eternity.
Related posts:
Avigail's Righteous Conduct within a Bad Marriage: A Message for Today
The Prophetess Hulda: Her Message of Hope, Part I
The First Chapter of Shmuel I (which introduces Chana) with Rashi in English
Why a Leah Imeinu Can't (and Shouldn't) be a Sara Imeinu
Avigail's Righteous Conduct within a Bad Marriage: A Message for Today
The Prophetess Hulda: Her Message of Hope, Part I
The First Chapter of Shmuel I (which introduces Chana) with Rashi in English
Why a Leah Imeinu Can't (and Shouldn't) be a Sara Imeinu
Quiet, yet beautiful
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