Rosh Hashana: The Drunken Prayer of A Sober Woman

In loving memory of my dear aunt, Esther (bas Batya) Twersky, whose beautiful soul ascended the heavens two years ago on her birthday, Rosh Hashanah.

A man was heading out of the synagogue one day, and as always the rabbi was standing at the door shaking hands as the congregation departed. The rabbi grabbed the man by the hand, pulled him aside and said “You need to join the Army of G-d!” The man said, “I’m already in the Army of G-d, Rabbi.” The Rabbi questioned, “How come I don’t see you except for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?” The man whispered back, “I’m in the secret service.”

In the Haftorah reading of Rosh Hashanah, we recite a most interesting incident recorded in the Prophets[i] about Hannah’s prayer to G-d on Rosh Hashanah[ii]:

“… And to Hannah, there were no children… So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk — now Eli the priest sat upon his seat by the door-post of the temple of G-d; And she [Hannah] was in bitterness of soul — and prayed unto G-d, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said: ‘Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, but will give unto Your handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.’ And it came to pass, as she prayed long before G-d, that Eli watched her mouth. Now Hannah, she spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice could not be heard; therefore, Eli thought she had been drunken. And Eli said to her: ‘How long will you be drunken? Put away your wine from yourself.’ And Hannah answered and said: ‘No, my master, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not your handmaid for a wicked woman: for out of the abundance of my complaint and my vexation have I spoken until now.’ Then Eli answered and said: ‘Go in peace, and the G-d of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.’

This incident begs for much understanding.

Firstly, how did Eli, the high priest of the temple, make such a dramatic error of confusing a woman clearly wrought in deep sorrow and bitterness, for a drunkard?! Instead of recognizing that the woman was praying to G-d from the innermost chambers of her soul and out of great pain and anguish, he accused her of coming to the temple intoxicated! Furthermore, if indeed, he considered her to be a drunkard why did he not immediately have her escorted from the temple, but rather as we read, he watched her until she had concluded praying?

In light of those questions, we must conclude that Eli didn’t actually consider her to be physically intoxicated, rather drunk with prayer. Let me explain:

Since the prayer of Hannah was abundant of complaint and vexation, which is not respectful while standing before G-d in the temple, Eli therefore found it right to criticized her. Hannah’s response to him then was: “I poured out my soul before the Lord.” With this response Hannah was explaining to Eli that when the abundant and excessive prayer is the result of the soul’s outpouring, then it is not considered to be “drunk” with prayer, rather a very elevated state of prayer.

We know that the Torah refrains from speaking negatively about anyone unless there is a lesson to be taught. In this case, the Torah records an error made by Eli, the high priest, in order to relay a powerful message about prayer.

Upon analysis of the prayers recited on Rosh Hashanah, which define the day’s essence, one will notice that the prayers are a combination of two opposite, conflicting and paradoxical notions that seemingly cannot come together without nullifying or contradicting the other.

As is commonly known, Rosh Hashanah is the day when we re-establish G-d as the king of the universe. Akin to the coronation of a physical king, just as the assembled citizens shout out “Long live the king!” so too is the coronation of G-d as well. The Jewish nation gathers on this night to crown G-d as our king, and this is done by reciting the established and traditional prayers of Rosh Hashanah.

Unlike a dictator, the crowning of an authentic king and the acceptance of his sovereignty can only occur when the people nullify themselves completely by showing the readiness to give up of their own self-value and personal agenda, for the king. When the king sees this, he accepts the nomination and is willing to rule over the people.

On the other hand, as portrayed in the prayers, Rosh Hashanah is also a day of Judgment in which it is decided if the various needs of man for the upcoming year will be granted to him or not. This is why an equally large part of the prayers on this day are dedicated to requesting G-d for a healthy, sweet and successful year physically, as well as spiritually.

These two concepts expressed in our prayers are seemingly highly contradictory of each other. How can it be that at the time of G-d’s coronation as king, when we are required to completely nullify ourselves before Him, do we also have the audacity to request for personal matters?!

Picture this if you will:

The day arrives when the king is set to be crowned over all of his empire. Dignitaries from the entire empire gather at the capital to be present at the grand ceremony. A tall stage is erected so that everyone gathered gets a good view. The moment finally comes and just as the crown is about to be placed on the king’s head, a peasant from the village enters the stage area, approaches the king and informs him that the road in front of his house has many potholes and needs to be fixed. Ha!

True indeed, the king is to whom these problems are to be presented, it is his duty to care for his country and the needs of its citizens, but the peasant will be fortunate if he does not depart from the capital city one head shorter. Today is the king’s day; it is the day when he is chosen by the people to rule the kingdom. It is his day of glory and it is all about his coronation and his royal majesty. Although your personal issues concern him greatly and tomorrow they will be dealt with amongst all of the other issues of the people, but to bring this complaint to him on the day of his coronation, is an act of true audacity!

The Zohar[iii] compares one who requests for his private needs on Rosh Hashanah – when G-d is being crowned – to dogs that bark, as if to say “give me, give me”. For like a dog, he has only his own interests in mind and no nullification for the will of the king.

On Rosh Hashanah, when we stand before G-d, completely nullified of our personal agendas, to proclaim Him as the Almighty king and request that He rule over us for another year, how dare we approach Him with our personal requests and needs?!

Yet despite all this, the sages who authored the prayers of Rosh Hashanah included prayers for personal needs in the prayers of Rosh Hashanah, indicating that it is the proper time to put forth such requests to the King.

From the one hand, we are required to nullify our existence before the king while He is being crowned, and on the other hand, we are expected to beseech G-d for all of our needs. Indeed, Nachmanodies states[iv] that one of the most essential points of Rosh Hashanah is to request for ones physical issues and materialistic needs on this world. How can we go about these two opposites simultaneously, for either I forget who I am this Rosh Hashanah and concentrate on the King, or I spill out my heart before Him with all of my problems and request that He judge me favorably for the upcoming year?

In truth, this is what Eli was criticizing Hannah about. On the day that G-d is crowned king and standing before G-d in His house, how dare she approach G-d with her personal issues? Furthermore, even if she was bitter and full of sorrow, she could have just mentioned it briefly in her prayers. Instead, she went on vigorously, for a prolonged period of time, with her vexations and prayers, calling out to G-d for His help!

To this Hannah responded, “I poured out my soul before the Lord.” When Eli heard these words, he blessed her that G-d fulfill her request. What did Hannah say to Eli that triggered such a drastic and extreme shift in his attitude towards her?

The soul, as explained in Kabbalah, is a part of G-d Himself and desires to do only good deeds. However, because of our evil inclinations, we may push aside the G-dly soul and follow in evil’s counsel. Although requesting for ones personal needs on Rosh Hashanah, the day of G-d’s coronation, is seemingly inappropriate, if however, the prayers are in the same fashion as Hannah’s, pouring out of the soul, then it is truly a wanted prayer before G-d. When we pray for our personal needs and the prayers trace back to the G-dly soul, requesting that G-d grant us our needs so that we be able to utilize them so as to enhance our service to G-d throughout the year, then in effect, we are really asking the king to grant us the tools and his blessings for achieving his desire and very own will. However, when our prayers for personal needs stem from the animalistic attributes within us, then with audacity, we are like dogs, just asking for ourselves on the day of the king’s coronation.

This was Hannah’s response to Eli. I, from my soul, have beseeched of G-d that he grant me a child, whom I promise to dedicate to G-d and to His will. Hannah was barren and asked for her own private needs, but only so that she may use it to continue her service to G-d. She made a vow that if G-d grants her a son she would allow Eli to raise him in the temple so that he grows to be a true servant of G-d. When Eli understood her reason for asking for her own needs, that she was pouring out from her soul, he blessed her. Hannah then gave birth, to a true servant of G-d, the great prophet Samuel, whose entire life was dedicated to fulfilling G-d’s will.

It is of great importance, when we pray for our needs this Rosh Hashanah that we bear in mind, it is after all, the day of the king’s coronation. If we wish to ask Him for our own needs, they ought to be needs that fulfill his will, not ultimately our own desires, because in order to crown him as king we must completely nullify our own desires and needs before His. If however, we ask from the soul, that belongs to G-d and was given to us by Him, and if our prayers are in the same style, with the same intentions as Hannah composed her prayers, that G-d grant us our needs so we may fulfill his commandments and wishes with them, then we will surely merit G-d’s fulfillment of our requests and His blessings for a most successful, sweet and happy new year, because that is His will being carried out through us.

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