(condensed from Ein Ayah, Berachot 5:39)

Gemara: Chana protested to Hashem, as the pasuk says: “She prayed on Hashem” (Shmuel I, 1: 10).

Ein Ayah: While k’vod shamayim (honoring Hashem) is the foundation of all shleimut (completeness), it is not that Hashem needs honor from His creations. Rather, by recognizing Divine honor, man comes to shleimut, both in thought and in action.

Sometimes great people are so overcome by their desire for shleimut and know that the point of k’vod shamayim is to bring one to shleimut, so that they find themselves unable to hold in their stormy spirit. They may view Divine Providence as holding them back from shleimut, while they know intellectually that everything that emanates from Hashem is just. However, within their hearts that feel great disappointment, the striving for shleimut cannot be put to rest until they give expression to their bad feelings about their inability to reach their spiritual goals. They may legitimately allow themselves to express their frustration about Hashem even though it is against what they logically know to be true. This engenders a strengthening of a positive spirit that, paradoxically, brings on true k’vod shamayim, as they exhibit the proper intensity of desire for shleimut. This is how Chana allowed herself to pray “on” Hashem.