Hannah was barren for years. Her husband loved her and her rival taunted her and the priest Eli misread her prayer as drunkenness. The whole story is about a woman whose deepest longing was invisible to everyone around her except God. "The Lord had closed her womb" (1 Samuel 1:5) — and the rabbis did not soften this. They took it straight: God was the one who had done this.
Isaiah's strange verse becomes the key: "Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth? Or shall I, who cause to give birth, close the womb?" (Isaiah 66:9). God is the one who opens and closes. Not fate. Not biology. Not the cruelty of circumstance. The same divine hand that opened Sarah's womb closed Hannah's — and would open it again in its own time. The rabbis found this terrifying and comforting in equal measure. Terrifying because suffering is not accidental. Comforting because suffering that has an author also has an end.
Hannah's prayer at Shiloh is one of the most quoted prayers in the rabbinic tradition — not because of its eloquence but because of its method. She did not just ask. She bargained. She vowed. She named the son she was asking for and what she would do with him. The rabbis said she threw God's own words back at Him: You said You give birth to Israel. You said You remember the barren. So remember me. The boldness of her prayer is matched only by the precision of its answer: Samuel, the greatest prophet since Moses, born from the womb God had closed.
Chapter 28: Torah [1] And the Lord visited Sarah (Genesis 21:1). This means "Behold, God will not cast away the perfect, neither will He uphold the evil doers" (Job 8:20). "Behold, God will not cast away the perfect," refers to Abraham who suffered for many years until Sarah bore a child, yet God did not abandon him. "Neither will He uphold the evil doers," refers to Abimelech's household who were restrained and prevented from harming Abraham, as it says "For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah" (Genesis 20:18). Rabbi Abbahu said: The Holy One, blessed be He, restrained everything that belonged to Abimelech, his wife, his slaves, his maidservants, his cattle and his flocks. How did He restrain them? He sealed their mouths from speaking, so that they would not speak about her; He blinded their eyes so that they would not gaze upon her; He deafened their ears so that they would not hear her prayer; He restrained their sexual desires so that they would not be intimate with her. From where do we know that it says "For the Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah." And Scripture says: "And because of her only, he [Abraham] was blessed" (Genesis 24:1). When Abraham prayed for them, the Holy One, blessed be He, immediately healed them, as it says "And Abraham prayed unto God; and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bore children" (Genesis 20:17). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, "You pray for others to have children, but your wife Sarah is not bearing children." Immediately, God remembered Sarah and she became pregnant. Therefore, the verse says, "Behold, God will not cast off the innocent" (Job 8:20). [2] Another interpretation: "And the Lord remembered Sarah" (Genesis 21:1). This means that just as it says "And He will not forsake you, nor destroy you" (Deuteronomy 13:18) and "He will give you compassion and have compassion on you" (Deuteronomy 13:18), Moses said to the people of Israel, "May you have a sign in your hand: Whenever you have compassion for your fellow human being, the Holy One, blessed be He, also has compassion on you. If you do not have compassion for your fellow human being, the Holy One, blessed be He, will not have compassion on you." Likewise, every time Job used to say that his friends were against him and his friends used to say that he was wrong, justice was intensified. As it says, "And now they mock me, those who are younger than I, whose fathers I disdained to put with my sheep dogs" (Job 30:1), and "And even the little boys scorn me; when I arise, they speak against me" (Job 19:18). However, as soon as he prayed for his friends, the Lord answered him, as it says, "And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends" (Job 42:10). When did this happen? When he prayed for his friends. Similarly, whenever Abimelech had a conflict with Abraham, he suffered. As it says, "For the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife" (Genesis 20:18). But as soon as Abraham prayed for him, both of them were accepted, as it says, "And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his maid servants, and they bore children" (Genesis 20:17). And what is written after that? "And the Lord remembered Sarah." [3] Another interpretation: And Hashem remembered Sarah as He had said, "And Hashem remembered Sarah as He had said, and Hashem visited Sarah as He had said, and Hashem did unto Sarah as He had spoken." (Genesis 21:1) "Hashem Tzva'ot, look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine." (Psalms 80:15) Hashem remembered Sarah as He had said, as it is written, "And He brought him outside." (Genesis 15:5) Avraham was brought up to the heavens, for outside means only heaven, as it is written, "Until He made the earth and the outside." (Proverbs 8:26) Once He brought him up to heaven, He said to him, "Look at what is below," as it is written, "Look now toward heaven." (Genesis 15:5) If he was above the stars, it is only possible to look from above to below, as the Jewish people say to God, "Look down from heaven and see." Similarly, Avraham was brought up above the stars, and He said to him, "Look now toward heaven." Avraham said to Him, "Master of the Universe, You pray for me, and say to me, 'Look now toward heaven.' I look, and so it seems as though I am looking below. Therefore, what You said to Sarah was fulfilled: 'I will certainly return to you.'" (Genesis 18:10) As it is written, "God Tzva'ot, look down from heaven and see, and tend this vine." And the vine is none other than Sarah, as it is written, "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine." (Psalms 128:3) God said to him, "I will visit and fulfill what I have said." And Hashem remembered Sarah. "And the nations shall know that I am Hashem Who builds the ruins, Who plants the desolate land; I am Hashem Who has spoken and done it." (Ezekiel 36:36) This is the same Sarah who said, "After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure?" (Genesis 18:12) "I have built the ruins," the same Sarah of whom it is written, "Sarah ceased to be after the manner of women." (Genesis 18:11) "I have planted the desolate land," for at the appointed time (this year) "I will return to you," and Sarah shall live. And Hashem remembered Sarah. [4] Another interpretation: "And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as He had spoken. And the children of Israel prevailed not against him that day, and so on (1 Samuel 15:29). The Lord said, "I am not a man that I should lie," yet Elisha was made of flesh and blood because the Shunammite woman fed him, as it is said, "And she prevailed upon him to eat bread" (2 Kings 4:8). The Lord said to her at this appointed time, "I will certainly return to you at this time next year, and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son" (Genesis 18:10). And it came to pass. As it is said, "And the woman conceived and bore a son at this appointed time" (Genesis 21:2). How much more so did I say to Abraham about this appointed time, "I will surely return to you" (Genesis 18:10), and now Sarah your wife has borne you a son." (Genesis 21:2) Therefore, Balaam said, "God is not a man that He should lie," but what is written? "And Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age" (Genesis 21:2). David said, "For He spoke and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast" (Psalms 33:9).
