Parents’ behavior has a profound effect on their children
The next personality that the Midrash explores is the mother of Shimshon, whom Chazal refer to as Tz’lelponis (Bava Basra 91a). She’s called this because “tzel — shadow” captures her pivotal spiritual experience: She saw the “shadow of Hashem” through the malach who appeared to her twice, informing her that she’ll have a child and that she must raise him as a nazir. How does this verse in Eishes Chayil relate to the extraordinary woman, Tz’lelponis, and what can we learn from her?
As noted by Rav Binyamin Eisenberger in Mesilos B’nevi’im, both of Shimshon’s parents were known to be righteous people, so it’s curious that the malach appeared to the woman and not to her husband, Mano’ach. Chazal indicate that they disagreed about the source of their childlessness; each of them believed that the flaw lay in the other. The malach comes to tell Tz’lelponis that it is she who is barren and that they would merit to receive significant blessing only when peace would reign between them.
This dynamic is captured in the second half of the pasuk. We can interpret the word “vachagor” as “she strengthened herself,” “la’kena’ani,” related to the word “hachna’ah,” to defer to her husband. She understood the lesson of the malach and internalizes the message — blame is destructive; it’s only with humility and unity that one engenders an atmosphere of shalom in a home and becomes a conduit for much blessing and goodness.
Rav Gamliel Rabinowitz in Tiv Haftaros emphasizes that parents’ behavior has a profound effect on their children. It’s for this reason that the malach commands Tz’lelponis to adhere to the laws of nazir. Carrying her child in these circumstances created the spiritual energy necessary to infuse her son, Shimshon, with the level of kedushah that he needed.
Create a free account to keep reading.
