Cytowanie Komentarza do Samuela I 2:4

Rabban Gamliel used to say: Anyone who has not mentioned these three things on Passover has not fulfilled his obligation. Why does Rabban Gamliel single out these three Mitzvot as needing some type of explanation? In point of fact he was of the opinion that Mitzvot in general need “Kavanah,” “intention,” which means that if we can’t explain why we are doing them then we haven’t really fulfilled them properly (See Berachot 13a.) To act without some sense of purpose was not sufficient to fulfill the obligation. These three Mitzvot, however, are different. While other Mitzvot need “Kavanah,” these three Mitzvot demand both inner intention as well as some form of verbal expression of why we are performing them. That is why Rabban Gamliel says, “Anyone who has not mentioned...”

And Channah prayed and said: She prayed before the Lord and gave Him praise and thanksgiving for the son that He gave her. And she prayed to the Lord that he would live and that he would be for the Lord. And Yonatan translated it [in the Targum] as, "And Channah prayed with a spirit of prophecy and said, 'Shmuel, my son, will be a prophet over Israel in the future, etc.'" And Yonatan also translated this song [to be] about the kings of the nations of the world and about the congregation of Israel. And about the verse, "There is no holy one like the Lord" (I Samuel 2:2), he said, "About Sancheriv, the king of Assyria, she prophesied and said." And about the verse, "Do not abound with speech" (I Samuel 2:3), he said, "About Nevuchadnetzar, the king of Babylonia, she prophesied and said." And about the verse, "The bows of the mighty are broken" (I Samuel 2:4), he said, "About the kingdom of Antiochus, she prophesied and said." And about the verse, "The sated, for bread" (I Samuel 2:5), he said, "About the sons of Haman, she prophesied and said." And about the verse, "The Lord kills, and gives life" (I Samuel 2:6) until, "O Lord, may His adversaries be shattered" (I Samuel 2:10), he spoke about the reward of the righteous in the Garden of Eden and the punishment of the wicked in Geihinnom. And in the verse, "O Lord, may His adversaries be shattered," she spoke [about] the judgement of Gog and Magog and the kingdom of our Messiah. But according to the simple meaning, Channah opened this song, with regards to those tranquil in the world and the proud ones; and about the humble ones of the earth and the lowly ones - that the Holy One, blessed be He, sees everything. So 'He brings down the proud and raises the lowly' - like the thing that was upon her and upon Peninah, her rival.

have been shot Heb. נחתו, have been cast. The expression of נחת applies to the bending of a bow, and since the arrows are shot by bending the bow, he wrote נחתו בי [literally] “were bent in me.” Similarly, (in Exod. 15:9): “I will unsheath my sword (אריק חרבי),” [lit. I emptied my sword.] The Torah should have written: אריק תערי, I will empty my sheath, but because when they draw the sword from its sheath, the sheath is emptied of it, he therefore relates the emptying to the sword. Similarly, (above 18:35): “a copper bow was bent (ונחתה).” The “nun” is not a radical, because, if it were a radical, it would have to be ננחתו, but the “nun” of נחתו, and so ותנחת, is not a radical but is sometimes dropped, like the “nun” of נגף, to smite; נשך, to bite; נדר, to vow; נקם, to avenge. And when it is passive we say: נִגַּף, smitten; נִשַׁךְ, bitten; נִדַּר, vowed; נִקַּם, avenged, like נִנְקַם, נִנְדַּר, נִנְשַׁךְ, נִנְגַּף. The “dagesh” in the word replaces the “nun.” Similarly (in Lev. 26:36), a rattling (נִדַף) leaf,” (in Lam. 3:49), “My eyes stream (נִגְרָה),” like נִנְגְּרָה. So does he say נִחֲתוּ like נִנְחֲתוּ, and so (above 18:35): “and a copper bow was bent (וְנִּחֲתָה),” like וְנִנְחֲתָה. It was customary for the “cheth” to be treated like the letters that do accept a “dagesh” in most places, e.g. (in I Kings 13:18): “He lied (כִּחֶשׁ) to him,” in the form that is punctuated by a “dagesh,” [i.e., the pi’el conjugation,] like דִבֶּר spoke, from the same conjugation as וַיְדַבֶּר, כִּחֶשׁ from the same conjugation as (Gen. 18: 15): “And Sarah lied (וַתְּכַחֵשׁ),” and we do not say כֵּחַשׁ as we say from הַמְבָרֵךְ, בֵּרַךְ and we do not say בִּרֵךְ as we say דִּבֵּר, because the power of the “dagesh”; is not recognizable in the “resh,” but in the “cheth” the power of the “dagesh” is recognizable, and so (in Deut. 32:5): “Have they injured (שִׁחֵת) Him?” like כִּפֵר, atoned, דִּבֵּר, spoke. Here, too, he says, נִחֲתוּ like נִגְּשׁוּ they approached, נִתְּנוּ, they were given, from the roots נחת, נגש, נתן, the “nun” being a defective radical, replaced by a “dagesh” in the passive voice. So is (I Sam. 2: 4): “The bows of the mighty are broken (חתים),” from the root נחת and חתת as you say from נסב, סבב, from נשם, שמם ; (Lev. 26:22), “and your ways shall become desolate (וְנָשַׁמוּ),” (ibid. verse 32), “shall wonder (וְשָׁמְמוּ) over it.” Similarly, בָּלַל, נָבֹל, (Gen. 11:9) “for there the Lord confused בָּלַל” (ibid. verse 7) “and let us confuse (וְנָבְלָה) their language there.” So does he say נחת and חתת in the active voice.