Elkanah: On the road towards re-unifying Am Yisrael

 Recently I got into writing short stories about very very minor side-characters in Tanach. I call it "Tanachic fanfiction". Interestingly, I've found that during plotting and writing, I actually think of some interesting chiddushim that could actually be plausible. One was a recent thought about Elkanah, father of Shmuel.

It is very noticeable that during the time of the Shoftim, Am Yisrael were not united. From the civil war between Yisrael and Binyamin, including Yavesh Gilad having pulled a Switzerland and opting out of the war (which led to their doom), through the Efraim and Menashe civil war in the time of Yiftach, through tribes that did not join Barak and Devorah in their battle against the Canaanites, and these are just some of the most significant examples. There are many more, both explicit and implicit.

A few weeks ago I heard a class by Dr. Chagai Misgav about the religious lives of Yisrael in the time of the Shoftim. He pointed out that leadership at the time was divided between the judges, who were more occasional and often centered around specific tribes/territories, and the tribal elders. For example, we find the elders of Gilad who summon Yiftach to save them from the Amonites (Shoftim 11:5-11). Now, prior to that, there was a unified council of elders, "Ziknei Yisrael" (elders of Yisrael), i.e., a council made up of elders of all of the tribes (see here). This council disappears as tribal relations crumble in Shoftim.

But lo and behold, when Am Yisrael fights the Plishtim in the beginning of Shmuel, they're back! What happened? Furthermore, Am Yisrael - apparently in their entirety - fight together. Double unity. How'd that happen?

This is where I believe efforts by Elkanah come in. Our sages tell us in a midrash (Tanna Devei Eliyahu Rabbah 8) that when Elkanah used to make his way up to Shiloh, he would always go through various towns to convince people to come with him. And it worked! Every year, more and more people joined him in making pilgrimage to Shiloh. Though bamot at the time were not allowed, it was nonetheless hard making pilgrimage all the way to far-off Shiloh. Nonetheless, Elkanah managed to get many people to go there. I believe that therein lies the key to the new unity of Am Yisrael. By pushing people to come to the central worship site, the Mishkan in Shiloh, Elkanah got people from all of over Am Yisrael to meet and ultimately befriend one another. Year after year of patient effort, and finally Am Yisrael began to recognize once again their united identity as tribes of one nation. Eventually, they re-created the council of Ziknei Yisrael and when the Plishtim struck, they struck back, together. For other reasons, this was not enough to save them from the Plishtim (as we similarly find that the kingdoms of Yehudah and Yisrael were on good terms in the days of Achav, but nonetheless they lost the battle to Aram (Melachim 1:22:29-37)), but it was certainly an excellent change from the way they were during the time of Shoftim. This ultimately paved the way to the united kingdom during the time of Shaul, David and Shlomo, which was a golden era for Am Yisrael.