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A Problem with Miracles - Parashat Yitro 5778, February 2, 2018

The first half of Sefer Shemot – the parshiyot that we have been reading in recent weeks – is filled with descriptions of Hashem’s miracles. A bush that does not burn. Ten plagues. A split sea separated by land dry enough to withstand an escaping nation. The munn. Water from a rock. Hashem’s revelation at Har Sinai. These miracles proclaimed Hashem’s existence and His providence to those who witnessed them and to all future generations. These miracles helped transform the Jewish People from a nation of slaves to an am segula – Hashem’s chosen people.

Students often express the following sentiment: Belief in Hashem is so difficult because we cannot experience Hashem directly through our five senses and because His providence is masked - all that happens in this world appears to be the machinations of the laws of nature. It would be so much easier to believe in Hashem if He would perform miracles in our days, as in those! Let us consider this question: why does Hashem not perform open miracles in our days?


To answer this question, let us consider a lesson from the Sefer HaChinuch on this week’s parasha, Parashat Yitro. One negative commandment included in the Aseret HaDibrot is the mitzvah to not swear in vain. The author explains that this mitzvah and a related mitzvah, to not make an unfulfilled oath, reinforce a fundamental Torah principle – to keep your word. The Sefer HaChinuch explains that in keeping one’s word, a person emulates Hashem. Just as Hashem’s word is eternally valid and the product of His will exists for all time, so should a person not leave his word unfulfilled – particularly when his word is articulated in the form of an oath employing Hashem’s ineffable name.

Sefer HaChinuch, through this teaching, introduces us to an important concept – Hashem’s word is eternally valid. We say each morning, Baruch She’amar VeHaya Ha’Olam – Blessed is He Who spoke and the world came into being. In creating the world, Hashem created the laws of nature – the way in which the world operates. The laws of nature – gravity, cause and effect, the nature of physicality, matter – are the product of Hashem’s word and are, therefore, constant features of the world.

Perhaps this teaching sheds light on the question presented above – why does Hashem not perform open miracles today as in the days described in Sefer Shemot? While, at times they have been necessary, open miracles do damage to humanity’s perception of Hashem’s ways. Because open miracles are breaches in the laws of nature, they undermine the conception that Hashem’s word is permanent. Although open miracles benefit mankind in their power to pronounce to the masses the truth of Hashem’s existence and His omnipotence, they challenge another critical understanding of how Hashem relates to the world – His word is eternal. This teaching may offer one reason why we do not see open miracles today – it is more important for humanity to understand Hashem through the permanence of His word than through a breach of His word.

There are many ways to emulate Hashem, including being kind, compassionate, just and exhibiting forbearance. The Sefer HaChinuch teaches that an additional way to emulate Hashem is to keep our word. When we keep our word, especially in view of our children, we model for our children the eternal value of truth and we open a door for our children to emulate and build a relationship with Hashem.

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