שמואל א, פרק א׳, פסוק ט׳

A tense family meal marks a turning point in Hannah's life. Realizing that her husband has given up hope for divine mercy, she stops relying on his prayers and decides to take personal initiative [מלבי״ם]. She carefully chooses the moment for her plea, waiting until the morning public sacrifices and afternoon offerings conclude. By this time, the crowds have dispersed to their homes, allowing her to isolate herself and pour out her heart to God without interruption [מלבי״ם].

Her prayer takes place immediately after the family finishes their meal, though it is debated whether Hannah herself partook. The primary approach among commentators is that her deep sorrow kept her from eating or drinking altogether; the timing merely marks when the rest of the family finished dining [רש״י, רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. However, another perspective suggests that after her husband tried to comfort her, she ate a small amount of food to sustain herself and drank water, completely avoiding wine [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, אברבנאל].

As Hannah steps forward to pray, she passes Eli the Priest, who is seated on a chair near the doorpost of the sanctuary [רש״י, מצודת ציון]. He is not inside the main hall, but positioned in the courtyard near the entrance gate [רלב״ג, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Sitting in the courtyard is generally forbidden by religious law, but Eli is granted a rare exception due to his status as High Priest [רלב״ג, רד״ק]. Furthermore, on this very day, Eli is appointed to a profound leadership role, taking on the mantle of High Priest or judge over the Israelites. To reflect this new authority, he sits upon a particularly large and distinguished chair [רש״י, רד״ק, אברבנאל].