1. Shimshon, from the tribe of Dan, was the 13th judge of Israel. His life story appears in the book of Judges.
2. His mother was barren for many years, and was informed about Shimshon’s birth together with her husband Manoah, by an angel of G-d.
3. Shimshon’s mother’s name is not mentioned in Scripture, but the Gemara in Baba Batra 91says that her name was “Hazelelponi”.
4. The angel forbade Shimshon’s mother to drink wine during her pregnancy. Shimshon too was a Nazirite from the womb; he was forbidden to drink wine and cut his hair.
5. As long as his Naziriteship was maintained, Shimshon was granted supernatural might which he used to fight the Philistines, who controlled the south of Israel during his reign.
6. Shimshon’s strength destroyed the Philistines, and as much as they tried to capture him, they always failed.
7. The only one who was able to get his secret out of him was Delilah. She bothered him for a long time until he finally told her that the secret to his great might is the fact that he hasn’t cut the hair of his head since he was born – and that’s how he was captured. Delilah cut the tresses of his head and the Philistines poked his eyes out and made him work as a miller in prison.
8. The Philistines celebrated his downfall and brought him to Mikdash Dagon. Shimshon asked the boy who led him to place him between the pillars of the structure and asked G-d to return his strength to him only this one time. He held on to the pillars with all his might and exclaimed: “Let my soul die with the Philistines!” and the structure collapsed on top of all those who were celebrating.
9. The Tanach attests to the fact that the number of Philistines that Shimshon killed at the time of his death exceeded all those he killed during his lifetime.
10. According to tradition, the gravesites of Shimshon and his father Manoah are located in the Tzora forest near Beit Shemesh.
