Skip to main content

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow - Rabbi Owen's Operational Dinner Remarks - Monday, September 17, 2018

You may have noticed that we have two new huge street-side banners on White Station Road. One of them says, “Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow”. What do we mean by this? How does learning prepare for leading? The distinctiveness and difference of the Jewish People is a theme that appears regularly and intensely throughout the Yom Kippur prayers. On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the section of the Torah dealing with immorality. The Torah says, “Do not act in the ways of the land of Egypt in which you lived; and do not act in the ways of the land of Cana’an to which I, Hashem, am taking you – and do not follow their customs. Follow My laws and guard My customs to walk in these ways – I am Hashem your G-d.” The Torah is teaching that Egypt and Cana’an represent spiritually harmful elements of each culture in which the Jewish People will find themselves over the centuries and instructs us to separate from the temptation to assimilate these ideas. The Jewish People dwell alone. Hashe...

Honor and Glory - Parashat Termuah 5780, February 28, 2020

This week’s  parasha , Termuah, and next week’s parasha , Tetzave, introduce Hashem’s command regarding the plans for the  mishkan  and its vessels – including the clothing worn by the  kohanim . One of the vessels that Hashem commands to be built is the  menorah  – the candelabra. The description of the plans for the menorah are described in Parashat Terumah and the description of its service is described in Parashat Tetzave. In Parashat Tetzave, the Torah says, “and they will take for you pure olive oil pressed to be lit to raise an everlasting candle.” Each evening the  kohanim  were obligated to light the candelabra with enough oil to last the night. In the morning, the  kohanim  were obligated to fix and relight the  menorah , as necessary, thus ensuring that the candelabra would constantly be lit. The Rambam – Maimonides – explains, based on a later verse, that the  mitzvah  to light the candelabra in the mishk...

Building Appropriate Fences - Parashat Ki Seitzei 5778, August 24, 2018

Among the many mitzvot described in this week’s parasha , Parashat Ki Tetze, is the law of the ma’ake – a fence. “When you build a new house, you shall make a guard rail for your roof, so that you shall not cause blood to be spilled in your house, that the one who falls should fall from it.” In this verse, the Torah commands us to build a fence around any exposed high area, such as a flat roof or deck, that is commonly used by human beings. Viewing this law as a positive commandment, the Rambam teaches that one must make a blessing when constructing a ma’ake . The law of the ma’ake is one of many Torah laws that teach us to protect human life. Positive commandments such as ve’nishmartem me’od et nafshotechem (and you shall greatly guard your physical life) and ve’rapo yerape (and you shall surely heal) reveal the Torah’s appreciation of man’s vulnerability and the lengths that we must go to foster human safety. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik extends this concept of bui...