Desperate for a son, Hannah offers an intense prayer, misunderstood by a priest as a drunken mumble. With this unusual moment now considered a model for how we might pray today, we invite you to dive into the meaning of this Haftarah. Go deeper into this text with Rani Jaeger, Peninnah Schram, and more.
Judaism Unbound Podcast with Lex Rofeberg and Dan Libenson
This Rosh Hashanah, Lex Rofeberg and Dan Libenson look at the four major biblical readings associated with the holiday. They ask how these texts can apply to twenty-first-century life, and they provide a variety of answers, including many that incorporate historical understandings of the Bible gleaned from biblical source criticism. In this episode, they tackle 1 Samuel 1:1–2:10, which tells the story of the birth of Samuel (or perhaps someone else?!).
Rani Jaeger: Prayer for Hannah and for Each of Us
Dr. Rani Jaeger is a research fellow of the Kogod Research Center and head of the recently formed Tanakh Initiative at the Shalom Hartman Institute. He was one of the founders of the Institute’s Be’eri Program for Pluralistic Jewish-Israeli Identity Education. He is co-founder of Beit Tefilah Israeli, a secular synagogue in the heart of Tel Aviv.
Peninnah Schram: Pearls of Wisdom
Peninnah Schram, storyteller and professor emerita at Yeshiva University, is the author of fourteen books of Jewish folktales and the recipient of the Covenant Award for Outstanding Jewish Educator and the National Storytelling Network’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Nizakher Venikatev: A Reflective Guide for Haftarah on the First Day of Rosh Hashanah
Hannah weeps as she prays to God. Have you ever experienced this level of emotion during prayer? What was the situation in which you were praying? What would it take for you to bring this high level of emotion to your Rosh Hashanah prayer this year? Consider these questions and more as we explore the deeper themes of the Haftarah for the First Day of Rosh Hashanah.
Yardaena Osband: Connection Of Anguish and Despair
Often when we suffer we feel farthest from God, yet Hannah approaches God in the moment of her greatest despair. She takes those moments of pain and sorrow and uses them to connect to the Divine. How can we?
