The Woman of Endor Raises Samuel and Why Rabbi Wept

"And he said to her, What form is he of?" (1 Samuel 28:14). Now, did he not recognize him? Rather, three things were said concerning the dignity of the one who is raised up: the one who raises him up sees him but does not hear his voice; [the one who needs him hears his voice but does not see him; and the one who does not need him neither hears nor sees]. So too the woman who raised up Samuel saw him but did not hear his voice; and Saul, who needed him, heard his voice but did not see him; Abner and Amasa, who did not need him, neither saw him nor heard his voice. "And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle" (ib.) — on account of "and his mother made him a little coat" (1 Samuel 2:19). "And Saul perceived that it was Samuel etc." "And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me etc." (1 Samuel 28:14, 15). [Rabbi] [the text: the Rabbis] used to parse Scripture; when he reached these [six] [the text: five] verses he would weep: "For, lo, he that formeth the mountains etc." (Amos 4:13); "Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth" (Zephaniah 2:3); "He putteth his mouth in the dust etc." (Lamentations 3:29); "Hate the evil, and love the good etc." (Amos 5:15); "For God shall bring every work into judgment etc." (Ecclesiastes 12:14); and this one, "And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me etc." He said to him: You should not have angered your Creator; but since you have made me into an object of idolatrous worship, do you not know that just as punishment is exacted from the worshipper, so is punishment exacted from the one who is worshipped? And not only that, but I supposed that perhaps it was the Day of Judgment, and I was afraid. And behold, these things are a matter of inference from minor to major: if Samuel, the master of the prophets — of whom it is written, "and all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD" (1 Samuel 3:20) — was afraid of the Judgment, we all the more so.