We will preface our tefillas musaf on the first day of Rosh Hashana with a haftara drawn from the opening chapters of sefer Shmuel. This haftara tells the story of Chana’s painful struggle with infertility and of her tearful prayers at the Mishkan which are ultimately answered with the birth of her son Shmuel. The haftara concludes with shiras Chana, her poetic response of joy and gratitude for this Divine gift.

Why does the Gemara1 prescribe this haftara for Rosh Hashana? The classic explanation2 relates to the narrative portion of the haftara: Rosh Hashana is the day that Chana’s prayers for a child were answered, as was the case3 for Sara as well (whose childbirth is the topic of the day’s kerias ha-Torah).

Perhaps there are timely connections as well between the major themes of Rosh Hashana and the lyrical section of the haftara. Ein tzur kei-lokeinu,4 Chana tells us at the outset of her shira, there is no Rock like Hashem. Simply put, Ha-Kadosh Baruch Hu is the ultimate Source of strength and stability in our lives. The Gemara5 adds an additional level of interpretation: ein tzayyar kei-lokeinu, no sculptor can compare to Him. As the Gemara continues to explain, the Divine artistry that is apparent in the internal scheme and intricacy of human beings is singularly remarkable and inspiring.

The Gemara and several midrashim6 suggest various aspects of the Divine design of humans which may have particularly inspired Chana. One significant aspect7 might be the uniqueness of each person. As the Gemara poetically notes elsewhere,8 the fact that no two people have absolutely identical features reflects a deeper reality that each person is unique within; no two of us share an identical inner landscape.

This singularity and uniqueness of each of us is central as well to Chazal’s earliest thematic sketches of Rosh Hashana. The Mishna9 describes Divine judgement on Rosh Hashana as kol ba’ei olam overin le-fanav ki-vnei maron — every person on Earth passes before Him like a flock of sheep. Although we are all judged simultaneously, He relates to each one’s inner life and specific situation and circumstances. Haftaras Chana can serve to reinforce this central notion. In line with our belief and recognition that Hashem is fully aware of our unique situations and our most private thoughts and decisions, our preparation for Yom ha-Din ought to stress not only the need to upgrade our adherence to His behavioral expectations of us, but as well our drive to revitalize our inner spiritual lives and reawaken our sense of connectedness to Him in our wishes, plans, and priorities.10 

Especially in this singular time, as so many of find ourselves unable to perform the activities of avodas Hashem as we normally might — many of us may read haftaras Chana ourselves without the benefit of the physical presence of a minyan — it is critical to recognize the genuine significance of undiminished inner avoda of the mind, the heart and the will.  As Rav Mayer Twersky has shared in the name of the rebbes of Ger, ein lecha davar ha-omeid lifnei ha-ratzon may well mean "nothing can stop us from wanting,” genuinely and deeply desiring to live in accordance with Hashem's will.

כתבנו בספר החיים למענך.

Endnotes

1. Megilla 31a.

2. Rashi, Megilla 31a, s.v. Maftirin.

3. Ran, Megilla (11b in the Rif pages) based on Rosh Hashana 11a, quoted in Beis Yosef (end of siman 584).

4. Shmuel I 2:2.

5. Berachos 10a. See also Maharsha, Chidushei Agados s.v. ve-Ain Tzayar.

6. See Mechilta end of Beshalach (Shira no. 8); Midrash Tanchuma beginning of Tazria and Derashos Ibn Shuib there.

7. Perhaps based on the idea in the Mechilta.

8. Berachos 58a. See also Maharsha s.v. ve-Ain.

9. Rosh Hashana 16a. See also, the Gemara further end of 18a.

10. For more on the centrality of our “inner landscape”, the chovos ha-levavos, please check “What I Do vs. Why I Do: A Surprising Insight about Intentions and Penimiyus” (https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/963084/) and “Inner Work: The Power of Penimiyus and Heart” (https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/965233/).