HEBREW WORD STUDY – SEED FOR MANKIND – ZERA’ ‘ANESHIM זרע אנשים Zayin Resh Ayin Aleph Nun Shin Yod Mem

I Samuel 1:11: “And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no rasor come upon his head.”

As I write this the Jews are beginning to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. It is called the Jewish New Year which it is but it really is the head of the year. They like to emphasize the idea of the Hebrew word rosh because it means the head. Just like the head controls the body one’s actions on Rosh Hashanah control the whole year.

Rosh Hashanah is the start of Yamim Nora’im the High Holidays and it is really a day of prayer asking God to grant a year of peace, prosperity and blessing. It is also called Yom Teruah the Day of Shofar Blowing where the shofar is blown at least 30 times except like this year the first day is the Sabbath so it is blown on the second day. In prayer it is often called Yom Hazikaron or Day of Remembrance where you remember your sins throughout the past year and repent in preparation for Yom Kippur which is ten days later, which also explains why it is known as the Day of Judgement or the Yom Hadin.

All of this is something I will cover on our Learning Channel during out Torah Portion Study but what I would like to cover in this study is the idea of the Day of Prayer. The Talmud elaborates on many fundamental laws which pertain to prayer as the Bible speaks about it. What surprises me is that the first prayers recorded in the Bible were by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob yet when the Talmud chooses to discuss the Bible’s teachings on prayer it references the prayer of Hannah and overlooks the prayers of the Patriarchs – Berachot 31a.

Growing up in a Christian church I always heard the story and sermons on Hannah in reference to the High Priest who thought that Hannah moving her lips and not speaking indicated she was drunk (pause for ha ha) and then I hear the message of how we need to be earnest in our prayers. No doubt the message of Hannah’s prayer shows earnestness and pouring your heart out to God. But I found the Talmud also emphasizes the nature of her prayer.

We know how Hannah, whose name means grace or tenderheartedness was one of two wives to Elkanah. The other wife’s was name Peninah which means a jewel or precious gem. The Bible tells us that God has closed Hannah’s womb. It is interesting that the word in Hebrew used for womb is racham, which also is a word for love. God closed the earthly demonstration of His heavenly love, a love which has yet to offend or disappoint. It was God’s Divine plan that she would not have a child. It is believed that in return for being barren God will give the woman an understanding of Divine Love without a child to teach her. We also understand this to be the case with Hannah because she was favored and loved more by her husband as indicated in I Samuel 1:5. This would obviously spark a lot of jealousy from Peninah who by her name was most likely very beautiful. Not only that but she gave children to Elkanah yet, Elkanah loved Hannah more. Likely, Hannah was Elkanah’s first wife. According to Jewish law if a wife does not give a man a child in ten years he is allowed to divorce her and find a woman who could bear him a child. Most likely Elkanah loved Hannah too much to divorce her so he just took a second wife to bear his children and this is the breeding ground (was that a pun?) for much tension between the two wives. Peninah, out of jealousy tormented and mocked Hannah because she could not bear a child.

Yet, what we learn is that she did not desire a child so much shut Peninah up but she wanted a child for other reasons as seems evident when she wept before God, pouring her heart out to God. She made a deal with God that if He gave her a man child she would declare him a nazirite from birth and give him to the high priest to raise in the temple. That was a bit odd, don’t you think? Here is a tender hearted woman who longed to be a mother yet, she was willing to give her child over to the high priest where she would only see her child once a year. Why even have a child at all if you could not raise him and even see him. Therein reveals the nature of this prayer and why it is used as a role model for Jews and read every year on Rosh Hashanah from the Haftorah.

So many prayers for Rosh Hashanah are petitions yet the Jews learn, what we Christians seem to overlook, that there is nothing wrong with asking God for prosperity, health and even material things. However, we are not asking for these things for our own personal enjoyment and pleasure but to use those blessings to bless others and further the Kingdom of God.

Take the selfishness out of the prosperity Gospel and you have my 100% support. Hannah had such tender heart, she did not want a child for her own benefit, but to benefit God, her nation and others. There was so little she could do for God but if she could give God a child that would be a zera’ aneshim which many translations say is a man child that would fulfill her desires. The words zera’ aneshim literally seed for mankind is a colloquial expression for a righteous person. Even before her prayer was answered she told God her heart’s desire for the child. She wasn’t bargaining or trying to win God’s favor with her willingness to give the child to God, she was speaking her heart. She wanted to bring a child into this world to bless the world even if she could not raise the child herself. Sort of like giving God the first fruits.

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