Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel is traditionally read as the haftarah on the first day of Rosh Hashanah.
The reading is usually 1 Samuel 1:1–2:10. It tells how Hannah, who is childless, prays intensely at the sanctuary in Shiloh and vows that, if granted a son, she will dedicate him to God. Her prayer is answered with the birth of Samuel, whom she later brings to serve at the sanctuary.
Hannah’s prayer is especially important in Jewish tradition because it is treated as a model of sincere, personal prayer. The reading also connects with Rosh Hashanah themes of remembrance, divine judgment, and the possibility of transformation. The opening Torah reading for the day, Genesis 21, similarly features a woman—Sarah—whose long-awaited child is born.
The common mix-up is with Jeremiah’s Rachel passage: that is the haftarah traditionally associated with the second day of Rosh Hashanah, while Hannah belongs to the first day.