This week is Parashat Vayikra, and we're going to speak about Chana. Chana was the mother of Shmuel, the Navi (prophet). So first of all, what does Chana mean? Chana means female charm. Now, how does a lady get female charm? She's tzanua, being tzniut. Being modest brings tremendous charm. So that's number one.
The Gemara records something about Chana right before she had her baby. And we learn from Chana to get specific with Hashem. Chana said, “I want a baby not too short, not too tall, not too dumb, not too smart, not too this, not too that.” So she got very specific. And we know Chana didn't have children. After 19 years, you would think she would settle for any type of baby—a fat baby, an ugly baby, whatever the baby looked like. She would be willing to accept. But no, Chana did not settle for any type of baby. She asked Hashem for the most exquisite baby, not a baby with perfect skin color, but a baby who was equal in holiness to Moshe and Aharon put together. And so we see, Chana did not settle for anything. She wanted something very, very specific. And all that waiting time did not make her say, “Okay, I'm going to settle for whatever I get.” Now, the Gemara takes every word that she said and makes another explanation of each word. So we can assume that Chana was a tremendous tzaddikah. She was very righteous. Now, why was she so righteous? Why was she so righteous? It's because she was professional in three mitzvot (commandments): taking a piece off the challah (portion of dough set aside), that's number one. Number two is the laws of Niddah, when you have to stay away from your husband and whatever, I don't know, whatever the laws are. And number three is lighting the candles, lighting the candles on Friday evening. And those three mitzvot were her life. And that's why her name was an acronym for each one of these mitzvot. Her name starts with a Chet (eighth Hebrew letter), which is for challah. And then we have a Nun (fourteenth Hebrew letter), for Niddah. And then we have a Heh (fifth Hebrew letter), for Hadlakat Nerot, lighting the candle.
So Chana kept on praying. She never gave up. Hashem gave her the baby exactly as she wanted, the baby that was so perfect. He was so holy. There was nobody who ever compared to Shmuel HaNavi. So we pray year after year, asking for the same thing, and we don't get it, and we feel bad. Maybe God's not listening. That's natural. That's for sure natural. It's that Hashem knows now is the wrong time, and it's going to mess you up. It's going to mess you up big time if you get what you were requesting for. We have to know that God has a purpose for your pain, a reason for your struggle, and a reward for your faithfulness. Trust Him and don't give up. Now we see from Chana what the rabbis say. The rabbi said that in the name of a person you can find his qualities, his main life qualities. And in Chana we find these three mitzvot: challah, Niddah, Hadlakat Nerot. Those mitzvot were her life, so they were her definition.