Tefillat Channah / Brachot 31a
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BySarah Zollman
שמואל א א׳:י״ג

(יג) וְחַנָּ֗ה הִ֚יא מְדַבֶּ֣רֶת עַל־לִבָּ֔הּ רַ֚ק שְׂפָתֶ֣יהָ נָּע֔וֹת וְקוֹלָ֖הּ לֹ֣א יִשָּׁמֵ֑עַ וַיַּחְשְׁבֶ֥הָ עֵלִ֖י לְשִׁכֹּרָֽה׃

I Samuel 1:13
(13) Now Hannah was praying in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.
ברכות ל״א א:כ״ז

אָמַר רַב הַמְנוּנָא כַּמָּה הִלְכָתָא גַּבְרְוָותָא אִיכָּא לְמִשְׁמַע מֵֵהַנֵּי קְרָאֵי דְּחַנָּה (שמואל א א, יג)

"וְחַנָּה הִיא מְדַבֶּרֶת עַל לִבָּהּ"

מִכַּאן לַמִּתְפַּלֵּל צָרִיךְ שֶׁיְּכַוֵּין לִבּוֹ

"רַק שְׂפָתֶיהָ נָּעוֹת"

מִכַּאן לַמִּתְפַּלֵּל שֶׁיַּחְתּוֹךְ בּשְׂפָתָיו

"קוֹלָהּ לׂא יִשָּׁמֵעַ"

מִכַּאן שֶׁאָסוּר לְהַגְבִּיהַּ קוֹלוֹ בִּתְפִלָּתוֹ

"וַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָ עֵלִי לְשִׁכּוֹרָה"

מִכַּאן שֶׁשִּׁכּוֹר אָסוּר לְהִתְפַּלֵּל

Berakhot 31a:27
Rav Hamnuna said: How many significant halakhot can be derived from these verses of the prayer of Hannah? As it says: “And Hannah spoke in her heart, only her lips moved and her voice could not be heard, so Eli thought her to be drunk” (I Samuel 1:13). The Gemara elaborates: From that which is stated here: “And Hannah spoke in her heart,” the halakha that one who prays must focus his heart on his prayer is derived. And from that which is stated here: “Only her lips moved,” the halakha that one who prays must enunciate the words with his lips, not only contemplate them in his heart, is derived. From that which is written here: “And her voice could not be heard,” the halakha that one is forbidden to raise his voice in his Amida prayer as it must be recited silently. From the continuation of the verse here: “So Eli thought her to be drunk,” the halakha that a drunk person is forbidden to pray. That is why he rebuked her.

  1. There are quotes from Tanakh in lines 3, 5, 7, and 9. Choose four different colors. Highlight those quotations in four different colors.

  1. Find the matching words in the pasuk from Shmuel Aleph, and highlight them in their matching color.

  1. What is the meaning of the word “halakhot?”

  1. What are the four halakhot that can be learned from Channah’s prayer?

  1. In your opinion, which of those halakhot would you have predicted to come from her prayer?

  1. In your opinion, which of those halakhot seem least obvious from her prayer?

  1. If I said Rav Hamnuna was for Keva, what would be evidence of that?

  1. If I said Rav Hamnuna was for Kavanna, what would be evidence of that?