{"id":56931,"date":"2019-06-05T17:38:45","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T14:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=56931"},"modified":"2022-12-27T22:29:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T20:29:31","slug":"samuel-from-boy-to-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/samuel-from-boy-to-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Samuel \u2013 From Boy To Man"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[402,839,627],"acf":{"old_id":"56931","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33877,"related_cahpter":"235","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our Chapter begins: \u201cThe boy (na\u2019ar) Samuel served the Lord before Eli\u201d (3:1). When Hannah fulfilled her vow to give her son \u201cto the Lord for all the days of his life\u201d (1:11), Samuel was still \u201cjust a boy\u201d (ve-ha-na\u2019ar na\u2019ar &#8211; 1:24). According to the Jewish historian, Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 5, 10:4), God first called to Samuel while he was asleep (see 3:3-15), when he was still only twelve years old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rabbinic sages (Midrash Shmuel 8:6) ponder whether the phrase \u201cSamuel served the Lord before Eli\u201d, might suggest that Samuel would actually \u201cstand before the Shekhinah (the Divine Presence of God)\u201d. The question is resolved by explaining that whenever Samuel would stand before (i.e. serve) Eli, it was as if he were standing before the Shekhinah. The Talmud Yerushalmi (Eruvin 5:1, 22b) relates this biblical interpretation to the general rabbinic educational principle that \u201cServing one\u2019s teacher is equivalent to serving the Shekhinah\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot 31b) preserves a discussion among the rabbis of the manly aspect of Samuel grown from boy to man, by first reminding us that Hannah prayed for a \u201cman-child\u201d (zera\u2019 \u2018anashim, literally \u201cseed of men\u201d, 1:11). Rav said: This means \u201ca man among men\u201d (gavra\u2019 be-guvrin). Shmuel said: This indicates \u201cSeed that will anoint two men as kings &#8212; Saul and David\u201d. Rabbi Yohanan said: \u201cSeed that will be equal to two men &#8212; Moses and Aaron, as it says, \u2018Moses and Aaron were among His priests. Samuel was among those who called on His name. They called on the Lord and He answered them\u2019\u201d (Psalms 99:6). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The still youthful Samuel is said to have wisely rendered a halakhic decision \u2013 that one need not be a priest to perform ritual sacrifice. Samuel\u2019s teacher, Eli, approved of Samuel\u2019s ruling, but criticized him for having offered a halakhic ruling in his presence, i.e. in the presence of his teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the explicit biblical statement that \u201cno prophet has risen in Israel like Moses\u201d (Deuteronomy 34:10), Midrash Exodus Rabbah 16:3 suggests that Samuel was not only equal to Moses, but in some ways even superior to him as a prophet and judge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The comparison of Samuel to Moses leads to a basic principle of good government (Tanhuma Shoftim 3): Those in authority should be above suspicion of financial mismanagement, so that no one should have reason to speak against them. Like Moses (see Numbers 16:15) and like Samuel (see I Samuel 12:3), there should be no stain on a leader\u2019s character.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gerbrand van den Eeckhout<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Hannah presenting her son Samuel to the priest Eli ca.1665 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":56937,"id":56937,"title":"isam3-samuel before eli","filename":"isam3-samuel-before-eli.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam3-samuel-before-eli.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/samuel-from-boy-to-man\/isam3-samuel-before-eli\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam3-samuel-before-eli","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":56931,"date":"2019-06-05 14:38:32","modified":"2019-06-05 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