Berakhot 31b — the Talmud in English

5.

“And Eli said to her, ‘How long will you remain drunk?’” —

Rabbi Elazar said: From here [we learn] regarding one who sees in his fellow ![](pamud.bmp "

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something improper,

that

he must admonish him.

And even if it is not a prohibition from the Torah, for he admonished her regarding the prohibition against praying while drunk, which is only rabbinic.

6.

“And Hannah answered and said, ‘No, my lord.’” —

Ulla said—and some say Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Hanina:

Thus

she said to him,

Hannah to Eli:

“You are not the master in this matter, and the Divine Spirit does not rest upon you,

because

you suspect me in this matter

that I am drunk, and behold, you are mistaken in this.”

Some say: This is what she said to him,

in the language of astonishment: “Is it that

you are not the master,

and

is there not the Divine Presence and the Divine Spirit with you, such that you judged me unfavorably and did not judge me favorably?”

with you, so that you judged me unfavorably and did not judge me favorably?

And is it so that

“you did not know that I am a woman of difficult spirit, and I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink”?!

Rabbi Elazar said: From here [we learn] concerning one who is suspected of something that is not in him, that he must inform

the one who suspected him that the suspicion is unfounded.

7.

“Do not place your maidservant before a worthless woman.” —

Rabbi Elazar said: From here

we learn

concerning a drunk person who prays,

that he is considered

as though he worships

idolatry.

For

it is written here

that she was made like

“before a worthless woman,”

because he suspected that she had prayed while drunk.

And it is written there

concerning idolaters [Deuteronomy 13:14],

“Worthless men have gone out from among you.”

And they expounded by a gzera shava:

Just as there

the matter concerns

idolatry, so here

one who prays while drunk is like one who worships

idolatry.

8.

“And Eli answered and said, ‘Go in peace.’” —

Rabbi Elazar said: From here [we learn] that one who suspects his fellow of something that is not in him must appease him. And not only that, but he must bless him,

as it is stated

at the end of Eli’s words:

“And the God of Israel shall grant your request.”

The Gemara explains Hannah’s prayer:

“And she vowed a vow and said, ‘Lord of Hosts,

if You will indeed see the affliction of Your maidservant, and remember me and not forget Your maidservant, and give Your maidservant male offspring, and I shall give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and a razor shall not come upon his head.’”

Rabbi Elazar said: From the day that the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, no person had called the Holy One, blessed be He, “Lord of Hosts,” [

meaning, that He creates “hosts”]

until Hannah came and called Him “

Hosts.”

And thus

Hannah said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, of all the hosts of hosts that You created in Your world, is it difficult in Your eyes to give me one son?!

To what may this be compared? To a mortal king who made a feast for his servants. A poor man came and stood at the entrance. He said to them: Give me one piece! But they paid no attention to him. He forced

himself

and entered before the king. He said to him: My lord the king, of all the feasts that you have made,

is it difficult in your eyes to give me one piece?!

“If You will indeed see

the affliction of Your maidservant” —

Rabbi Elazar said: Hannah said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, if You “see” my affliction —

that is best; but if not, “You will see”

my affliction —

I will go and seclude myself

with another man

before Elkanah my husband,

and he will become jealous concerning me; and then I will go and seclude myself before witnesses,

and once I seclude myself, they will give me the sotah waters, and

through this I will be remembered with children.

For

you do not make Your Torah a falsehood [

a lie],

for

it has already

been stated

in Sotah that they gave her the bitter waters [Numbers 5:28]: “And if the woman has not become impure, but is pure,

then she shall be cleared and shall conceive offspring.”

The Gemara asks:

This works according to the one who says

that he expounded from “and shall conceive offspring” that

if she was barren, she would be remembered [with children]; this is well —

it is possible to explain Hannah’s intention in this way.

But according to the one who says

that she is not remembered from her barrenness through this, but rather the waters benefit her in that

“if she used to give birth with difficulty, she gives birth

from now on

with ease;

and if she used to give birth to

female children, she gives birth

from now on

to male children;

and if she used to give birth to

black children, she gives birth

from now on

to white children;

and if she used to give birth to

short children, she gives birth

from now on

to tall children,”

according to his view —

what is there to say

in explaining Hannah’s words?

And we find that the amoraim disputed the exposition of the verse in Sotah:

For it was taught: “Then she shall be cleared and shall conceive offspring” —

this teaches that if she was barren, she would be remembered [with children]; these are the words of Rabbi Ishmael.

Rabbi Akiva said to him: If so, let all barren women go and seclude themselves before their husbands

with another man,

and this woman who did not act improperly

will

be remembered [with children],

which is not reasonable.

Rather, it teaches that if she used to give birth with difficulty —

she gives birth with ease; if [the children were] short —

she gives birth to tall ones; if [they were] black —

she gives birth

to white ones;

and if she used to give birth to one child,

she gives birth

from now on

to two.

And if so, according to Rabbi Akiva,

what is [the meaning of] “If You will indeed see,”

and why did Scripture repeat its wording?

The Gemara answers:

The Torah spoke in the language of human beings,

for it is the way of human beings to repeat their words.

In Hannah’s prayer, “maidservant” is stated three times: “If You will indeed see

the affliction of Your maidservant”

and

“do not forget Your maidservant,” “and give Your maidservant.”

Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Hanina said: Why

were these three instances of “maidservant” [“maidservant” and “maidservant”—the expression is an expression of “death”]

stated?

? [The word “maidservant” is understood here as an expression related to “death.”]

Hannah said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You created three examinations of death in a woman!

For in three matters a woman is examined at a time of danger, and if one of them is found in her, her sentence is decreed to death.

And

some

say of them

these three matters:

three things to which death clings,

for because she is not careful in these matters, death clings to her.

And these are they:

observance of the laws of

menstruation, and

the separation of

challa, and the lighting of the candle

of Shabbat. —

“Have I transgressed any one of them?”

These are the three “maidservants” mentioned in her words.

“And give Your maidservant male offspring”—what is [the meaning of] “male offspring”?

Rav said:

She asked for a son who would be

a man among men!

That is, that he should be important enough to be counted among men.

And Samuel said:

She asked for

offspring that

would

anoint two men

to kingship.

And who are they

the two who were anointed through her offspring? —

Saul and David,

for Samuel, her son, anointed them as kings.

And Rabbi Yohanan said:

She asked for

offspring that

would be

the equivalent of two men! And who are they

the two to whom Samuel was equivalent? —

Moses and Aaron.

They are.

As it is stated [

Psalms 99:6],

“Moses and Aaron among His priests, and Samuel among those who call upon His Name,”

which implies that Samuel was equivalent to both of them.

And the Rabbis say: What is [the meaning of] “male offspring”? —

offspring that is inconspicuous among men.

When Rav Dimi came, he said

to explain the words of the Rabbis:

What is [the meaning of] “inconspicuous among men”? —

Neither overly tall

nor

short,

nor

small

[thin]

nor mute

[thick],

nor very white

[white] nor

very red

[red],

nor overly wise

nor

foolish,

but average in all these qualities. For if he is exceptional, he will be strange in people’s eyes, and because they will speak about him, the evil eye will prevail over him. Hannah said to Eli:

“I am the woman who is standing with you here.” —

Rav Yehoshua ben Levi said: From here [we learn] that it is forbidden to sit

within

four cubits

of

one who is standing in

prayer!

Therefore she said, “standing with you,” for he too was required to stand

because of her prayer.

“To this lad I prayed” -

Rav Elazar said: Samuel was one who issued a halakhic ruling in the presence of

his

teacher. For it is stated: “And they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the lad to Eli,”

but

was it because “they slaughtered the bull” that they brought the lad to Eli?

Rather, Eli said to them: Call

a

koen

who

will come and slaughter

the bull!

Samuel saw them seeking a koen to slaughter it and said to them: Why do you need to seek a koen to slaughter it?

For

slaughtering is valid when performed by a non-koen!

They brought

Samuel

before Eli, and he said to him

Eli:

From where do you have this

that “slaughtering is valid when performed by a non-koen”?

He said to him

Samuel: But

is it written

in the Torah

“and the koen shall slaughter”?

But

“and the koanim shall offer” is written,

that is, only the services

from receiving onward,

which are considered

“the mitzva of the koanim”,

and are not valid when performed by a non-koen; but concerning slaughtering it says only “and he shall slaughter” without specification, and it refers to the owners;

from here that slaughtering is valid when performed by a non-koen.

He said to him

Eli:

What you have said is well said,

and indeed the halakha is according to your words,

however, you are one who issues a halakhic ruling in the presence of your teacher,

and anyone who issues a halakhic ruling in the presence of his teacher

is liable to death.

Hannah came and cried out before

Eli that he should not punish her son. She said to him:

“I am the woman who was standing”

“with you here.”

He said to her

Eli:

Leave me,

and let me

punish him

Samuel, so that he will die,

and I shall request mercy and the Holy One, blessed is He, will give you

another son who will be

greater

[larger]

than he.

She said to him

Hannah:

“To this lad I prayed!”

And I do not desire another son in his place.

“And Hannah was speaking upon her heart” -

Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra:

Hannah spoke before the Holy One, blessed is He,

concerning the matters of

her heart.

She said before Him: Master of the Universe, of everything that You created in a woman, You did not create a single thing for nothing. You created eyes

—in order

to see

with them;

and ears

—in order

to hear

with them;

a nose

—in order

to smell

with it;

a mouth—

to speak

with it;

hands—

to perform work with them; legs—

to walk with them; breasts—

in order

to nurse with them.

If so,

these breasts that You placed upon my heart—

why

did You give them to me? Is it not

in order

for

nursing with them? Give me

a son, and I shall nurse

him

with them!

And

another statement:

Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra: Anyone who sits in a fast

of a dream

on Shabbat,

they tear up for him the decree of judgment of seventy years,

even if punishment had been decreed upon him from his youth, they forgive him by virtue of the fast, because everyone is enjoying themselves and he is fasting.

And nevertheless,

since he did not give Shabbat pleasure through eating, as other people’s pleasure,

they return and exact from him the judgment of Shabbat pleasure

that he nullified!

What is his remedy

so that he will not be punished for nullifying Shabbat pleasure?

Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said:

His remedy is

to sit

after Shabbat

a fast

of another kind

for

the atonement of the

fast

that he fasted on Shabbat.

And Rabbi Elazar said: Hannah hurled [A0228]][the expression “throwing,” like “the shooting of a bow”]

the expression means “throwing,” as in “the shooting of a bow”]

words toward Heaven, as it is stated, “And she prayed upon the Lord,”

and she argued against Heaven with the words stated above,

teaching that she hurled words toward Heaven.

And Rabbi Elazar said: Elijah

the prophet

hurled words

toward Heaven, as it is stated

in Elijah’s prayer [I Kings 18:37],

“And You turned their heart backward,”

for You caused them to sin through the evil inclination that You created within them.

Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzchak said: From where is it shown that the Holy One, blessed is He, returned

through the prophecy of other prophets

and acknowledged Elijah’s argument

as valid?