The Sin of Eli's Sons

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  1. Shmuel in Contrast to the Sons of Eli

    Chapter 4

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    The structure of the paragraph highlights the difference between Shmuel, who grows into a positive character, contrasted with the deterioration of Eli's sons' Chofni and Pinchas. In addition to this contrast, the paragraph achieves an additional goal: it divides the sins committed by Eli's sons into two parts, which express two different concepts.

  2. The Sins of Biblical Figures

    Part 2

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak

    Two fundamental approaches exist regarding three incidents involving Avraham: one maintains that the plain reading of the text suggests that the acts in question were wrong – perhaps even serious sins – and are recorded with a view to instructing the readers how not to behave. The other view seeks to cast their actions in a positive light and regards them as a model for emulation.

    Those who seek a favorable interpretation of all questionable actions of biblical characters rely, as one of their central sources, on a well-known discussion in Massekhet Shabbat (55b-56b) which lists six figures who seem, according to the plain text, to have committed various transgressions – some of them extremely serious ones. In each case, Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani teaches, in the name of Rabbi Yonatan, that "anyone who says that so-and-so sinned, is simply mistaken."

  3. Shmuel and the House of Eli - Of Fathers, Sons and Sacrifice

    Rabbi Chanoch Waxman

    תאריך פרסום: תשעד | |

    What was the major sin of Bnei Eli, and why do some of their sins receive apparently greater emphasis in the text? What is the significance of their abuse of the Kehuna? We examine the structural challenge of Chapter Two in Sefer Shmuel, and attempt to figure out how the "interruptions" about Shmuel and Chana integrate with  the rest of the perek. Our study brings us to excerpts from the Books of Devarim and Bereisheet, as our chapter in Sefer Shmuel teaches us about larger themes about Divine Service - and prayer - in general, as well as the more specific messages about parents and children in this chapter: Divine Service is not about taking, but rather about the radical act of giving.