Chana’s Tefillah for Shmuel: A Mother’s Tears, Chinuch, and a Child Entrusted by Hashem

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Learning how Shmuel was born, the tefillas of Chana, Tzidkas of Elkana. We're now holding by the payment, the promise of Chana. She promised that she would bring the child, v'she'iltiv laShem kol hayamim, and here she's going to bring the child to the Beis Hamikdash. This is in Perek Aleph, pasuk chav-daled. Vataaleihu imah. She's coming now to be oleh regel, kasher g'malatu, after she already finished weaning him. And she, of course, she brings korbanos. When she goes to the Mishkan, b'farim shlosha v'eifah achas kemach v'nevel yayin, vatevi'eihu Beis Hashem Shiloh, the way she promised, she kept her promise. She brings him now to the Mishkan. V'hanar na'ar. The child, he's young, he's a na'ar. The emphasis on this we'll soon see. The story opens with this point, v'hanar na'ar, an episode in the life of Shmuel, an interesting episode. Vayishchatu es hapar. They go to shecht the par, the ox that Chana brought. Vayaviu es hanaar el Eli, and they bring the child to Eli. What is the child being brought to Eli? So Rashi says, kipshuto. Eli should see. Eli was the one who gave the bracha that gave forth Shmuel. So Chana is showing Eli, look, this is the child of your bracha, the child of your nevuah. You look at Rashi. Rashi says, lirois sheniskayema nevuaso. So it's not more than then he brings Shmuel. Eli should see. Look, Baruch Hashem, the tefillos were niskabel, your nevuah came to fruition. Here it is. But we're soon going to see from Chazal that that's not exactly what this story is all about. There's more what happened here, which the pasuk doesn't tell us. Vayaviu es hanaar el Eli. The pasuk continues, Vatoimer bi adoni. She begins to beg, bi adoni. Chein nafshcha adoni, ani ha'isha hanitzaves imcha bazeh l'hispalel laShem. She's begging. The pasuk continues, el hanaar hazeh hispalalti, I davened for this child, vayiten Hashem li es she'eilasi. What is the begging? Okay, this is the child. Here is the nevuah was niskayem. There seems to be more in this story than the pasuk seems to allude to. So Rashi already tells us that there is more to the story. V'raboseinu darshu, ma shedarshu. Chazal already darshen that this is not a very simple, he came to show Shmuel off to Eli. It's more than that. Shehoyah halachah—he was a morah halachah. Notice Rashi doesn't even say bifnei rabbo. Shehoyah halachah—he paskened. Shmuel paskened something. What did he pasken? She'ein tzarich kohen l'shchitas katchim k'de'isa b'brachos. That's all. So weiter, even Rashi doesn't give us much about what happened here. Why the mystery? I don't know. Maybe the pesukim didn't want to bring out clearly the story of Shmuel, ichveis aleinisht. It seems to be that there's a cover-up, sign מצד the pesukim and even Rashi, who gives us that there's more and there's a whole story, that he was a morah halachah. We're soon going to learn he was a morah halachah bifnei rabbo, in front of Eli, and he was chayav misah, and Eli wanted to take him and kill him, and therefore the pesukim continue that Channah is begging for her child, he should be spared. And again, the pesukim, nothing.

You see nothing in the pasuk. And even Rashi just says the chachamim already darshened what they darshened. Look at the Gemara Brachos, secrecy. But let's taka learn what happened and why he was taka speared. If he was a moreh halacha bifnei rabbo, so how was he speared? And what was Chana's taina, Chana's plea? How did Chana's plea change the mind of Eli? Let's begin with the Gemara. The Gemara is in Brachos, daf lamed aleph amud beis. The Gemara says, El hanaar הזה התפללתי. אמר רבי אלעזר, שמואל הלך מורה הלכה לפני רבו. Shmuel was a moreh halacha in front of his rebbi. What was the story? Eli said, Come, let's go get a kohen, and they started looking for a kohen. And Eli said, Whatever bachur that ever went to Brisk knows, שחיטה כשרה בזר. I'm sorry, Shmuel says what every bachur knows, everybody knows, שחיטה כשרה בזר. So Eli, what? He's a moreh halacha bifnei rabbo, and we must kill him, like the halacha of moreh halacha bifnei rabbo, he's chayav misah. And here Chana jumps into action and starts to plea the pesukim that we just read. בידיני חנף שחדוני, אני אישה ניצבת עמך, אל הנער הזה התפללתי, וגם אנכי השאלתיהו לה' כל הימים, וכו' וכו' וכו'. And therefore what? Tell me, could every mother come to Besdin and start crying and begging? Doesn't really mean much. Halacha is halacha, and the chiyuv is the chiyuv. So if Shmuel was a moireh halacha bifnei rabbo, how did Chana appeal it with all these pesukim, with all the words that she said to Eli? So let's first of all begin to understand what did Shmuel actually do wrong. So the Gemara says he was a moireh halacha bifnei rabbo. Fragt Tosfos, rabbo? Since when was he a moireh halacha? He was his rebbe? Where did Eli become his rebbe? Was he enrolled in the yeshiva of Eli? He was בכלל not enrolled in the yeshiva of Eli, never learned by him, he never heard a shiur by him. How is Shmuel, a talmid of Eli, that he becomes a moireh halacha bifnei rabbo? Answers Tosfos, אף על פי שלא למד עדיין בפניו, מכל מקום גדול הדור היה. He was the gadol hador. Can't argue with the gadol hador. If you're paskening in front of the gadol hador, you're a moireh halacha bifnei rabbo. And then Tosfos adds, ובא ללמוד לפניו. He was also coming to learn by him. So he was already beginning to get enrolled in Eli's shiur, so to speak. So that was already enough. For him to be called a meir halacha bifnei rabboi, to pasken in front of Eli. The Marik says, you see from this Tosafos that you need two criteria. There were two things that Tosafos said in order to make Shmuel a meir halacha bifnei rabboi. The first thing was that Eli was the gadol hador, and he doesn't stop there. He adds, u'ba lilmod lefanav. So you need both. Azoi zogt der Marik. From Tosafos you see clearly that it had to be both, both things, that Eli happened to have been the gadol, as well as he was going to come to learn by him. Reb Akiva Eiger is metzayen a terumas hadeshen. Look at the Reb Tosafos, there's a little star. You look at Reb Akiva Eiger, that's the Gilyon HaShas. Reb Akiva Eiger says, I, Terumas Hadeshen. The Terumas Hadeshen says, I argue as long as you have one of the criteria. If he was gadol hador, even if he didn't come to learn by him, or if he came to learn by him, even if he wasn't the gadol hador, it's enough to make the chiyuv of not being a meir halacha in front of this person, and that if you did—

He would be chayiv misa for being moreh halacha bifnei rabbo. In halacha, we pasken like this Trumas HaDeshen. The Ramo brings it down in Hilchos Pesach, l'gabei heseibah lifnei rabbo, that one of the two criteria is enough to be called his rebbe. Yeah, habaisai, good? Could you do a seudah in front of a gadol hador? Nay, loi, the Trumas HaDeshen, not. Did you learn by him? You don't have to learn by him. How about if you come to learn by somebody and he's not the gadol hador? Which, by the way, in your eyes he should be the gadol hador, but that's a different conversation for a different day. I see everyone's smiling. What's the... Rashmeichel to this? Okay, it's a loaded thing I just said. Lo zain azoi. One of the two is enough to make it that you can't do a seudah, says the Ramo, tof ayin beis. The Mishnah Berurah also paskens like this Trumas HaDeshen, that a person is not supposed to be mispallel mitzad rabbo. Shulchan Aruch siman tzaddik says the Mishnah Berurah, se'if katan ayin gimmel, excuse me, ayin gimmel, what is called rabbo? Rabbo means even if he's just a gadol hador, you never learned by him, so you can't be mispallel b'tzibbur. Everybody's sitting and thinking, is he going to go through a halacha shiur? We didn't come for a halacha shiur. Well, maybe you did. I don't know what the... I'm going down this road for a reason. You'll soon see. So we have over here that he was a chiyuv mechayev misa because what? He was a moreh halacha bifnei rabbo. And a rebbe means a gadol hador, and according to Tosafos, besides being the gadol hador, he also was coming to learn by him. I saw a peldige chiddah, they say. Hafla, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful chiddah. Who was the rebbi of the Rambam? No? Who was the rebbi of the Rambam? The Ri Migash. The Ri Migash was the rebbi of the Rambam. Reb Yosef Halevi was Ri Migash. Reb Yosef Halevi, he was the rebbi of the Rambam. How do I know this? Because he calls him that. In Hilchos She'eilah uPikadon, perek hei, halacha vav, the Rambam calls the Ri Migash, Mori v'Rabi, his rebbi. Now, I don't want to go into what that Rambam is about. It's She'eilah uPikadon. We're going to start learning Hamafkid. We're stuck. We're going to be here all afternoon. But the point is, he calls him his rebbi. Frekt the Chiddah, in Shema Gedolim, erech Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon, the Ri Migash was niftar, the Rambam was nine years old. It doesn't shtim. Unless maybe the Rambam was—he was a bright boy, put him right into beis medrash maybe. From first grade he went right into beis medrash, maybe. But that's the kasha that the Chiddah asks. How could he call him his rebbi if he never learned by him? Says the Chiddah two terutzim. Each one is a diamond for itself. The first terutz of the Chiddah: the Rambam's father took the Rambam at the age of seven to get a bracha from the Ri Migash. Because the Ri Megash was actually the rebbe of the father of the Rambam. So, like, you know, we have today, look at all the pictures. You take the kid to the rebbe, to your rebbe, to your rav, to your rosh yeshiva, ... That's what happened. And the bracha is he should become a gadol hador. Says the Chida, the Rambam attributed all his gadlus to the bracha of the Ri Megash, and therefore he called him his rebbe. Wow, what a Chida. ... The gadlus, the greatness of the Rambam, says the Chida, was the bracha that he got from the Ri Megash, and mimeila he refers to him as rebbe, his rebbe, Rabbi u'mori. The second teretz the Chida gives: the rebbe of your rebbe is your rebbe. It's a play on words, by the way, okay? The rebbe of your rebbe is your rebbe. And therefore, since he was the rebbe of the father of the Rambam, who was the rebbe of the Rambam, mimeila became his rebbe. So you're saying, Father, good, okay, good, I got it, understood. What do I have from over here? A meiridige zach.

How did Shmuel become Shmuel? Zogt the Chida, the bracha of Eli. Meili called Eli his rebbe. Everybody's making with the face because it's so delicious. I came across it for the first time this year. So since he was the rebbe—I'm sorry, since he gave him a bracha, and because of that he became the Shmuel, so therefore he calls him his rebbe. And if he has to call him his rebbe, so he has a din of a morah halacha bifnei rabbo. I saw the sefer Orach Chaim by Reb Zundel Kroizer, it was just niftar, he was from Mechasheloi, Mekir Yerushalayim. He learns this pshat in the pasuk, beautiful, that the reason why he was a morah halacha bifnei rabbo, i.e., he never learned by him, the Torah says it was his bracha. Why am I telling you all this? I had a chiddush that came from this. A gadol, a yarei Shamayim, it comes from a bracha? Interesting. I had a mesorah all the years from the Chofetz Chaim. My zeide used to say it over, and then I found that Likutei HaBoisim. Likutei HaBoisim says the same thing: Gute kinder nisht mit brachos. It doesn't work that way. When people would come to get a bracha, had the kinderlach zayn gute, they should be good, yireiim, shleimim, teiredike Yidden, he would say, Mit a bracha? Nah, that doesn't... Sweat and tears, and soon we'll see tefillas Chana. We're going to get to this in a few moments. Wait a second. The Rambam attributes all his gadlus to the bracha of the Rimagash, a birchas tzaddik? Interesting. Let me ask you a different shaila. He was a naar. How old is this naar? How old was he? So the Maharsha asks this for a kasha: how could he be chayav misa? Eli wants to kill him; he's two years old, tzachak. A two-year-old child can't be chayav misa. And even if you're going to say Shmuel was very advanced, that he was tzachak, he was two years old. And he says that the shita mekubetzes already asks this for a shaila: he was only two years old. Didtzlach, says this teretz. He says Shmuel—Shmuel was not a yingele. Shmuel was already... you see, he was paskening. He was learning Brisker Rav and Kodshim. You see clearly, shechita bizar, shechita bizar—you give a kol, a yingele. So, didtzlach, therefore he was chayav misa even though he was only two years of age. The Marsham says that's pshat in the pasuk. What's the pasuk? She came and she said, He can't be chayav misa. And I asked you, what do you mean, but if he's chayav misa, what's this whole speech that she stood there and she davened for him, Ani ishah... imcha... I davened with you. So what, therefore what? Therefore he's not chayav misa, therefore the beis din has to let him off. What was her tefillah? Marhiv dikamarsham, beautiful. And he should be lo chacham v'lo tipesh, remember? He should be an average boy, as they state in the Gemara. He davened he should be normal. So she's tying him back, he's not chayav misa. You don't want to be mechayev him misa because he's a what? A bar chocham. And he's just a bar chocham. He's not as smart as you're making him out to be. And how do I know? Like, I want to add to the lashon of the pasuk, Vayiten Hashem li es she'eilasi. The pasuk says clearly, Hashem gave me what I asked for. The Marsha doesn't bring this part of the diyuk of the lashon of the pasuk, the emphasis, Vayiten Hashem li es she'eilasi. The Chaim Pluger talks about this diyuk, we'll get to it in a few moments. It's an extra wording in the pasuk, Ela nar hazeh yispalalti. Why does it have to emphasize, repeat, Vayiten Hashem li es she'eilasi? Loit the Marsha, loit, it's beautiful. She's trying to say he's not mechuyav misa, because Hashem gave me what I asked for, what? Lo chacham. Well, it shouldn't be this bright wonder child.

Average. Normal. I like to use the word, the davsai normal. You know, I love you too. I have to tell you where. I saw a shmooze by Rav Moshe Aaron Stern, and he says, you see from over here, me'oreh dekezach, the ikar nekudah is az a kindzel zayn normal. Just be normal. Normal makes greatness. Okay, now you're pushing it. You're only getting one vort out of your heart. Okay, the kitzur, alef, regen, everybody asks on the tzlach. Well, you want to make sure that's not on the tape, huh? Okay. L'maaseh, everybody asks on the Tzlach, if he's 13, he's 13. Since when do we mechayev a person based on his knowledge and how chacham he is? That's acharonim should read already on the story. Okay. L'maaseh, what was Chana's bakasha then? He was a chayav nisa. He was a meira halacha bifnei rabbi. So Chana's officially saying he's a child, he's not a chacham, he's not. So what's the whole drasha about his tefillah, that she's davening, and what is that all about? What's the negeiah? Either he's chayav or he's not chayav. So if you look at the acharonim again, it's a lot of Torah. I try to get it to you in a capsule, as they say. Eileh shebi moichel. As I read in the acharonim, that eileh shebi moichel. So they bring from the Gilyon HaShas that it depends how he did it, if he was mezalzel, if he's not a mezalzel. So if a mezalzel, then it can't be moichel, and ממילא that's the back and forth. Eli doesn't want to be moichel because he thinks he was a mezalzel, and Chana's טענה is he's not a mezalzel, he's not being a hotzef, it's not a me'urah halacha, okay, it came out of his mouth. This is already Acharonishe Torah, back and forth, the shakla v'tarya. What was the havamina, what was the maskana? What did Eli think? What did Chana think? What did Chana answer? What did Eli answer back? Okay, yeah, amar halacha, did he's chayav misa? Could I be moichel? Can I be moichel? Okay. Let me tell you over a Maharsha. The Maharsha says, the Gemara says that Eli promised her, I'll give you a different child. I'll switch it. Paskens the Gemara. And that's what Chana says, El hanaar hazeh. I asked for this one. This palalty, that's why I davened. Says the Maharsha, deze chaviv li, shenolad li al yedei tefilasi. This I got through davening. I don't want the child that you'll give me through your davening. El hanaar hazeh hispalalti. The tefila brought this. This is what I want. This is the child. This is the fruits of my tefila. The labor of tefila brought this child. It's chaviv to me. Interesting. What does it mean? Mashgiach Satzal used to talk a lot about this. Reb Shmuel, Rav Nosson, a lot of talk about this. Tefillah, koach of tefillah, it becomes yours. The Ribono Shel Olam gives through tefillah. There's a kinyan. We'll get back to this in a few moments. But I want to tell you of an interesting Malbim. The Malbim says, Hitzma'asi nisin. You think it's normal that Shmuel was born? Don't touch ma'aseh nisim. Let it be. Do meis tamsi gevon, na Shmuel. Al hanar hazeh hispalalti, imcha, sheilti me'Hashem. He's a wonder child in miracle. This is all miracle. Miracle. Let's not touch. Ribono Shel Olam. This is the Malbim. I saw other mefarshim learn that she was timing, if the Ribono Shel Olam gives, the Ribono Shel Olam doesn't take back. Ani ish vayiten li. You see, the question is, how do we learn the pesukim? What should we put the emphasis on? So many put the emphasis on Al hanar hazeh hispalalti. It's this child, and that's who I davened for.

My father's put the emphasis on what? Vayitein Hashem li es she'elasi, that the Eibishter granted me, and what the Eibishter grants is mine, and He doesn't take it back. You're all looking at me. Okay, the English word is an Indian giver, okay? Okay, I said it. The Ribono Shel Olam is not an Indian giver. Lehavdil, okay, lehavdil elef havdalos. I saw a peletike Bnei Yissaschar. I wrote it down because it's unbelievable. He learns this mahalach, that if the Eibishter gives, it's given. If you notice, the wording in the pasuk is not according to the dikduk of the lashon: Ani ha'isha hanitzaves imcha bazeh. If you wrote imcha like that on a class paper, you should be marked not once but twice wrong, and you should go back to dikduk for first grade, how to spell. Does anybody know how to spell imcha? I'm not putting you on the spot. What is it? Ayin, mem, a chaf sofit. Every child knows that. How did it turn into a hei? Somebody in the garden. Everybody's looking, yeah, yeah, yeah. Ani ha'isha hanitzaves imcha bazeh. Where did the imcha with a hei? What does it mean? Says the Bnei Yissaschar, she said imcha with a hei, without a chaf, l'hoiros roshei teivos. It's a roshei teivos. What is the roshei teivos? The hei is halacha. The mem is eidei, ayin is eidei, mem is mesirah, and the chaf is karsi. When you sign the paper, it's a done deal. It's eidei, mesirah, karsi. On Rosh Hashanah she was nifkad. Later. Kesivah v'chasimah, it was written and signed, and therefore it's mine and I can keep it. Vayiten li, Hashem gave it to me. And if Hashem gave it to me, He gave it to me on Rosh Hashanah as a signed halachah. Hey, halachah is eidei, mesirah, karsi, which means kasuv v'chasum, it's a done deal. Interesting? This is all beautiful, but I want to tell you what I really want to tell you about this inyan. Unfortunately, I don't have too much time to do it, so maybe there'll be a nes, and we learn from the Malbim that we don't touch what needs to be. No? Okay. I found two places, two Acharonim that learn pshat in Chanas, teretz. Chana is trying to defend Shmuel. What was her defense? I found from Reb Chaim Vital, he has a sefer called Limud Atzilus. It's one of Reb Chaim Vital's sefarim. I also found the same pshat in the Megaleh Amukos, Parshas Beha'aloscha. What Chana was saying is, It's my responsibility. You can't blame Shmuel. Blame me. It's my child. My responsibility. My child, my responsibility. So you can't kill him. He's a little boy. He's two. We mentioned already, he's two years old. Chinuch, what is chinuch? You ever see by a bar mitzvah, what do you come and say? Baruch shepetrani me'onsho shel zeh. So the Acharonim say that Chana is answering Eli, Eli, you can't kill him. It's not his responsibility, but it's mine. Now you might answer and say, Where do you see it in the pesukim? It's a very nice halachic, so to speak, teretz to the kasha. Is ich mechuyav? And the answer is no, because it's the mother. Leah said this, that whenever something gets broken, they blame the mother. Now she has a child, she can blame the child, right? Not for pikuach, you blame the mother. That's what the Tzitz Eliezer can say, right? So let's talk. Where do you find over here in the words of Chana?

That she was explaining why that Shmuel was not mechuyav, but it was rather her responsibility. Rabosai, let's learn the pesukim inside now. The first thing that she talks to Eli, the first defense is, El hanar hazeh hispalalti, continuing, Vayiten Hashem li es she'eilasi, and like we spoke, it's extra, it's redundant. There's no reason for it to repeat itself. V'gam, v'gam, and also, Anochi she'iltiv laHashem kol hayamim, I gave him back, back to the Eibishter, borrowed to the Eibishter. Three things she was saying: Hanar hazeh hispalalti, Vayiten Hashem li es she'eilasi, and v'gam anochi she'iltihu laHashem. And I believe that all three things have a meaning and an explanation on how to defend Shmuel by saying it was her responsibility, and therefore Shmuel should not be taken l'misah. I have another question, rabosai. El hanar hazeh, el hanar hazeh, rabosai, let's go again with the words. If you want to write on something, I davened on or for, do you say el or do you say al? Al, on this child I davened. What is el hanar hazeh? What does it mean? The Rishonim ask this for a kasha, the Ibn Ezra says we find el and al interchangeable. For example, Parshas Metzora. Al kli cheres, al mayim chayim. What's el? Al. Al kli cheres. Aleph and lamed is interchangeable. Other Rishonim say, Vidabartem. Does it say al hasela or el hasela? We all know he wasn't supposed to talk, what, to the stone. It's one shita. I can't get into meiriva right now. He was supposed to talk on the stone, and it says what? El. One of the three basic yesodos of chinuch. I'd like to quote to you three Mishnah Beruras, and I want to begin with tefillah, the importance of tefillah in the chinuch of a child, the responsibility of the parents to daven for their children. Keep in mind, rabosai, what are we trying to answer? How Chana is taking the blame off Shmuel, is trying to shift the blame, what, on herself. Mishnah Berurah in three places. The first place is in siman kuf chaf-beis, se'if katan ches. The Mishnah Berurah brings from the Chayei Adam, Kasav haChayei Adam, nachon v'raui l'chol adam l'hispalel b'chol yom. A person should daven every day; it's the right thing that he should daven al tzrachav u'parnasaso. You have to daven today, bishvil to get parnassah. Brusso, v'shelo yamushu haTorah mipiv v'zaro v'zera zaro, that the children should remain bnei Torah, v'sheyihu kol yotzei chalatzav ovdei Hashem be'emes, v'shelo yimtze chas v'shalom psul b'zaroi. The tefillah is, los haben kinder vos zenen rein, kinder vos zenen kosher, kinder vos zenen bnei Torah. V'chol mah sheyodea b'libo shetzarich loi, says the Mishnah Berurah, he should speak it out like we spoke last week, even in lashon Ashkenaz and Yiddish. Fine. There's another Mishnah Berurah, in the beginning of siman reish mem zayin: V'tamid tihyeh tefilas ha'av ha'eim shkurah b'fihem. Constantly, the parents must daven, constantly, l'hispalel al bneihem sheyihyu lomdei Torah v'tzadikim u'baalei middos tovos, v'yechaven me'od b'Birchas Av HaRachaman b'Birchas HaTorah, sha'os omrim Bnei Anachnu v'etcetera. B'mechaven alot, says the Mishnah Berurah. V'chein k'she'omer...

Al litzion l'malei nigel, l'rigvloinoi l'beholol. You should have in mind the children, the children, the children. And then, of course, Mishnah Berurah speaks about the mother who davens by hadlakas neiros, Mishnah Berurah in siman reish samech gimmel. He speaks how important it is for a mother to daven that her children should be bonim, tzaddikim, me'irim baTorah, the tefillos of the parents. Ela naar hazeh hispalalti. She's talking about tefillah. Ela naar hazeh hispalalti. I davened. This was my achrayus. This was my responsibility of chinuch. I davened. Vayitein li. Hashem gave me. Children are a pikadon, rabosai. Hashem gives us our children. Vayitein li. Rav Shach, in the Shimushah shel Torah, brings something very interesting, brings a story. He says that when he was still in Europe, Reb Yisrael Zalman was already in Eretz Yisrael, and Reb Yisrael Zalman asked Rav Shach to travel to Lita, to Radin, to come to the Chofetz Chaim, and to ask him a few questions. Within those questions, one of them was to get a bracha for someone, a family in Eretz Yisrael who didn't have children. So he sent in Rav Shach. To get a bracha for this couple. At that tekufah, the chadarim was starting to turn towards askalah. The government was starting to force the chadarim. The Chofetz Chaim said, I don't know if I want to give this bracha. Possibly, b'dor zeh, to ask for children is not the right thing, because there's no guarantee what's going to be with the children. And the Chofetz Chaim said the following. Rav Shach used to say it over: Yeladim, harei heim pikadon. The children is a pikadon. The Ribono Shel Olam gives us, tells us to watch a diamond. It's given to us to watch. Pikadon shemafkid HaRibbono Shel Olam b'yedeihem ha'umnai shelahorim. It's given to the professional watch of the parents. Va'aleihem muteles hachovah l'hashivah, and we have to return it b'taharah uvishleimusah. So if the Ribono Shel Olam gives us the children, so then the Ribono Shel Olam gave it to us. But for us to ask, says the Chofetz Chaim, in this tekufah where we can't guarantee the protection, the shmirah, maybe we shouldn't ask for it. Unbelievable re'ayah from the Chofetz Chaim. Rav Shach said that he felt very pained. These families are not going to have children. Chofetz Chaim called them back and said, You know, nachala maises, don't worry. They'll have children, they'll have children. Chofetz Chaim said, as he ... the family had twins. That's Rav Shach used to end off the story: family had twins, they'll have children, they'll have children. One word from the Chofetz Chaim. But al kol panim, Rav Shach spoke about the inyan of pikadon. This is a pikadon, and who is responsible? The parents. How does Chana say a third thing? Besides, Vayiten Hashem li es she'elasi, v'gam anochi hish'iltihu laHashem kol hayamim, I'm not doing what I should do for chinuch. I'm protecting him, but I'm giving him away completely without hashpa, without any outside influence. So what she was telling Eli, It's my mistake, but I'm working on correcting the proper chinuch for this child, and therefore, Eli, you should be mochel. Your taina that he lacks chinuch, your taina that Shmuel, look what happened, look what he did, comes along Chana and says, I promise you that I will do the right.

Al hanar hazeh hispalalti. I daven. I'm going to daven. I'll continue davening. The Zohar says, Al hanar hazeh hispalalti, constantly. Vayitein Hashem li. I know that Hashem gave it to me. If you keep in mind that it's a matanah from the Ribono Shel Olam, and you protect it, it's a gift. Children are a gift. And the last thing is, V'gam anochi she'iltiv laShem. I will protect him. I'll give him to the Eibishter. I'd like to end with one thing, rabosai, to answer the word El. Should have said Al. So Al means El, or maybe it means something else, rabosai. Zeide told me that there were gedolim in Lita because of the lullabies that the mothers used to sing the children to sleep with. The chashivus haTorah that people had came from the mother's song that they used to put them to sleep with. I saw something beautiful. It's brought down from Reb Tzvi Hirsch from Ziditchov, the Ziditchover Rebbe. Someone came to ask him, Children, a bracha for good children, like we spoke. The Ziditchover answered, I can't give you a bracha for good children because that's not where good children come from. But I want to tell you what my mother used to do. Again, the mother. She would wake up every night by chatzos, and she would say Tikkun Chatzos, and she would say Tehillim till the morning with tears. Then she would take the tears and put them in a cup and wash my face in the morning with it. That's how we wash negel vasser every morning, the tears of my mother. That's how you have good children. El hanar hazeh hispalalti. I davened to Him that he should hear it. My tefillos, I didn't daven on him only, but I davened to Him. He heard, and He listens, and He's going to hear how much the mamme davened and davened, that he should be a tzaddik, he should be, m'Hashem she'iltiv. Eli hears this, and Eli says, Okay, I'm going to grant him that he should live on. You've just experienced another Torah class, brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.