From The Bimah: Jewish Lessons For Life

On the first day of Rosh Hashanah, we encounter the well-meaning words of a loving husband whose consolation of his very sad wife did not work. Hannah could not get pregnant. Her husband Elkanah’s other wife Peninnah got pregnant easily and, the text notes twice, would taunt Hannah for her inability to conceive. https://files.constantcontact.com/d3875897501/3774939d-786f-4595-b167-b4fcafa95e06.pdf?rdr=true This happened year after year: Every time she [Hannah] went up to the House of the Lord, the other [Peninnah] would taunt her [Hannah], so that she wept and would not eat. Her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying and why aren’t you eating? Why are you so sad? Am I not more devoted to you than ten sons? We know that Elkanah’s words did not help to heal Hannah because the story continues that, after their conversation, she went to the temple at Shiloh. “In her wretchedness, she prayed to the Lord, weeping all the while.” Elkanah meant well. He loved Hannah. According to the commentator