The name Shmuel stirs up many memories. Obviously, the first Shmuel, born to Chana. She raised Shmuel for two years and then she gave him to Hashem where he became a prophet. He was involved in finding Shaul HaMelech and David HaMelech and was a major figure in Jewish history.
Personally, I know many Shmuels. I will tell you about two of them. The first one played drums on three of my albums in my studio band in my early Shlock Rock years. This Shmuel was very creative and unfortunately passed away four years ago. Shmuel made a big impact on me both musically and personally.
My second Shmuel lives in Israel now. He has had a rough personal life. He was a musician from an early age and became a baal teshuvah at the age of 35. He worked on himself spiritually and in my humble opinion was one of the holiest people that I ever met. Unfortunately, the last three years he has suffered health issues and now at the age of 69 is in an assisted living facility in Jerusalem.
Based on this small sample size you might say that the name Shmuel carries power but also is a big burden to bear. Of course, you can probably say that with every name!
