by Dr. Marty Maketansky
Who has ever personally witnessed a miracle? When I was growing up there are two events that I remember that were and still are called miraculous. Were they really miracles? I leave the answer to you, but nonetheless that’s how they are described. One occurred in 1980 when a team of amateur college hockey players defeated a team of Russian professionals, possibly the best hockey team in the world at the 1980 Winter Olympics. I can still remember Al Michaels asking when game ended in a victory for the American team, “Do you believe in miracles?” To this day the game is known as The Miracle on Ice. In fact, there is a movie by that name.
The second quote, unquote “miracle” to this date is very dear to my heart and I would assume also Rabbi Paul’s. It happened in 1969 when the New York Mets, a team of futility for 7-8 years won the World Series of Baseball over the vastly superior Baltimore Orioles, a team that had three future Hall of Famers on it. The team is very fondly called the Miracle Mets to this day.
Were these miracles? If you define a miracle as when the impossible happens, then I would say that every Met fan that suffered through the futility of those earlier years would probably answer with a resounding, “Yes!” In hind sight, I would say they are resounding upsets, but not miracles. So, I ask you, “How would you define miracle?”
I think we would all agree that there are numerous miracles that are mentioned in Scripture. One source states that there are over 90 miracles in the Old Testament, and that Yeshua himself accounts for 37 miracles in the Brit Chadashah. The parting of the Sea of Reeds, manna from heaven, the walls of Jericho crashing down when the shofars are blown, Elijah calling down fire to consume his water soaked sacrifices in his confrontation with the priests of Ahab and Jezebel, Daniel surviving the lion’s den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego surviving the fiery furnace, the immaculate conception of Yeshua, Yeshua turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, Yeshua raising Lazarus from the dead, the numerous miraculous healings performed by Yeshua, and the list can go on and on. I am sure you can list many more that come to your mind.
Tonight begins the seventh night of Chanukah, holiday that is a celebration of two miracles; albeit one gets higher billing than the other. They are the miracle of the oil and the miraculous victory of Jews over the Syrian- Greek army when Hashem delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, and the wicked into the hands of he righteous.
Has the time of miracles come to an end? Certainly not in Jewish thought. The Sages teach us that there is no real difference between nature and miracles. God’s hand guides everything in the world. Consider that there are 2 kinds of miracles. The first class are those miracles that are very big, out of the ordinary, like those I mentioned before. The second class are those miracles that are woven into the fabric of nature that we see them as, “NATURAL.” Sometimes we are so distracted by our routine that we fail to see God’s hand all around us.
Nachmanides says there are two types of miracles; Nes Nigleh, the obvious or supernatural miracle, and Nes Nistar, the hidden miracle. One commentator writes, “Nature” is nothing more than the breathtaking beauty and symmetry of God’s creation becoming routine. The purpose of a miracle, a break from the routine, is to draw our attention to God’s control over all areas of life – even the natural.
There is a question which is asked concerning the miracle of the oil on Chanukah. If there was already a day’s worth of oil, why is Chanukah celebrated for 8 days when the miracle was that it burned for another 7 days. After all, the oil was expected to burn for one day. Therefore, shouldn’t Chanukah be celebrated for only seven days?
There is an account in the Talmud in which the daughter of the Talmudic sage Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa realized shortly before the Sabbath that she accidentally poured vinegar instead of oil into the Sabbath lamps, and began to panic. Rabbi Chanina responded, “Don’t worry, the One who told the oil to light will tell the vinegar to light as well.” The story continues that these vinegar lights burned the entire Shabbat. Rabbi Chanina truly believed that the same God who gives oil its innate characteristics of flammability, can and will instill the same properties in vinegar. In his eyes, “nature” and miracle are one in the same, both activated through the express will of God. Therefore, everything is a miracle. The only reason oil will burn is because God has determined that it would burn for He created everything. So even the first day of the oil burning is a miracle. The entire difference of what we call “natural” and “supernatural” is that nature is a continual expression of God’s will, where as a miracle is an expression beyond the everyday. It’s just a matter of frequency of expression.
Again, I will ask, “Has the age of supernatural miracles come to an end? How would you answer this question? Listen carefully as I tell you of an experience that several Israeli soldiers witnessed in 1997.
On the third day of Chanukah, 1997, a nineteen-year-old Israeli soldier Menachem L. and his buddy Donny were stationed at a military outpost in the northernmost tip of the Lebanese Security Zone. Menachem was carrying in the pocket of his battle vest a laminated card typed out by his father which read “Hashem is God, there is nothing besides Him.” (Deut. 4:35) He told his son to say this quote whenever his life was in danger.
Menachem and Donny were being shot at by Hezbollah terrorists positioned on a nearby mountain above them. Suddenly Menachem saw an anti-tank missile hurling directly toward him. These missiles are about six feet long and carry about thirteen pounds of warhead, sufficient to easily penetrate a tank – or the concrete outpost where Menachem was standing.
Menchem thought, “for sure I am dead.” He quickly recited the verse, “Hashem is God and there is nothing besides Him,” thinking “Whatever God wants will happen. If He doesn’t want it to happen, it won’t.”
Suddenly a few yards in front of Menachem, the missile changed direction in midair, as if it had struck an invisible force field. On full view of Menachem and eight other soldiers stationed on adjoining hilltops, the missile veered upwards, against gravity, and flew 22 yards straight up, then made an arc over Menchem’s head and landed behind his outpost.
The force of the explosion knocked Donny and Menachem off their feet, but the only injuries they sustained were some shrapnel in the back of their knees. When the battle was over, the platoon had a debriefing. The eight soldiers, including a few top officers who had witnessed the missile’s astonishing trajectory were at a loss to explain what had happened. In their entire military careers, they had never seen a missile behave like this. Their unanimous appraisal was that it was …a miracle.
Does the miraculous happen today? Listen to this account as shared by Stewart Winograd, founder of RII
Mikhail Israelovitch, an elderly Jewish man who had a stoke in his old age that left him paralyzed. On one side of his body. He was bedridden and dependent on his nephew and a caregiver from the congregation in Minsk. The caregiver had accepted Yeshua and began sharing with him and praying for him. One day the caregiver came to the leadership of the congregation saying that Mikhail wanted to be immersed. Stewart and several other men from the congregation went and spoke with him to ensure he was “born again” and understood the purpose of immersion. They then proceeded to carry Mikhail to his bath tub for immersion. After this they began to help him out, but he refused. He explained that after this immersion he believed that he was going to be able to walk again and sure enough he got out of the tub and was completely healed. The next Shabbat he was sitting in the front row at the congregation.
Almost every Shabbat we sing during Modim Anachnu Lach, “We thank you and recount your praise, for our lives that are entrusted to your care, for our souls which are in your charge, and for your miracles which are daily with us, for your continual wonders and favors evening, morning, and noon. Do you believe this – that there are daily miracles? It’s not likely that any of us will experience a supernatural/ obvious miracle on a daily basis. Do you believe that the daily miracles that are with us on a daily basis are the hidden miracles, where the laws of nature are not altered?
Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, a sage of the mid-20th century wrote: “The truth is that there is no essential difference between the natural and the miraculous. Everything that occurs is a miracle. The world has no other cause but the will of Hashem.” Thus, the distinction between the natural and miraculous is only one of human perception. Rabbi Dessler writes, “We call God’s act a ‘miracle’ when He wills an occurrence which is novel and unfamiliar to us and which consequently makes us aware of the hand of God. We call God’s acts ‘nature’ when He wills that certain events should occur in a recognizable pattern with which we become familiar.”
Routine or miraculous? An acorn can give rise to an oak tree. 2 cells unite and develop into a child. In the newborn baby there are 100,00 billion cells in the nervous system alone. A newborn has the beginnings of a vascular system that will develop to about 60,000 miles of blood vessels seen in an adult, which is long enough to circle the earth more than twice. The colors of the Fall. The workings of the human body – our hands, our eyes, indeed all bodily functions. The fragrance of flowers. The sight of an eagle who can see a fish while flying high above the water? A need unknown to anyone is suddenly provided for unexpectedly, but incredibly timely. Rainbows? Who isn’t enthralled when they see a vivid rainbow? Out comes the cell phones for pictures that are then sent or shown to friends and family members.
The distinction between the natural and the miraculous is only one of human perception. Everything that occurs is really a miracle. Have you ever given any thought to a statement like this? Does this seem like I am looking at a world through rose colored glasses with polka dots, butterflies, hearts, and flowers in the sky? Let me say that I don’t. Life is full of challenges, but even at those moments, the daily miracles and wonders do not cease to occur, we do not recognize them.
I used to ask members at Melech, a congregation I attended and led Shabbat services for many years, “Has anyone seen God working in their lives this week?” It is my opinion that almost all the response given were evidence of hidden miracles. These days obvious miracles do occur, BUT for the most part miracles seen these days are what Nachmanides referred to as hidden miracles.
Rabbi Isaac Roussel wrote of this account that he heard from an elderly friend who when she was a young mother raising her children alone. They were poor. One morning she had nothing to feed her children for breakfast. She prayed and trusted. Suddenly there was a knock at her door and a neighbor was holding two boxes of cereal that her (the neighbor’s) children didn’t like and was wondering if my friend could use them. Many would call this a coincidence, but as we know of the many “quote” unquote coincidences that happen in the Book of Esther that prevent the genocide of the Jews, that coincidences are nothing more than Hashem choosing to remain anonymous and maybe God- incidence is a more appropriate term.
I recently was visiting with a friend of mine. We try to meet every 1-2 months. Somehow, we got on to the subject of having money with us or simply paying everything with a card. I said I rarely have any cash on me. He said that he always tries to have some cash on him just in case a need for it comes up. The he shares with me this story of the time when someone he knew needed some money and asked him if he has any on him. He reaches into his pocket and found $50. As the man was leaving, he called him back because he found one more dollar to give him. Later the man called my friend to thank him and was amazed that the bill was exactly $51.00 to the penny. How cool is that? To my friend this was not a coincidence but the hand of God providing for this man’s need, paying the tab in full.
Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism who lived in the 1700’s said “The world is full of wonders and miracles, but we take our little hands and cover our eyes and see nothing.” I believe there are 4 conditions that need to occur to be able to recognize the daily miracles in our lives.
MANY TIMES THESE DAILY MIRACLES ARE PERSONAL
The distinction between the natural and miracle is one of human perception. What may seem miraculous to one may be mundane for another. Consider this true story concerning snow.
One winter a man who lived in NY was invited to California for the first time. Expecting sun and beautiful weather he didn’t pack so well. Little did he know he was going to Big Bear which is a ski resort. He gets there and it is freezing cold. Suddenly it starts snowing and this woman starts dancing and waving her arms in excitement. The man perplexed at her actions wonders what’s the big deal about snow since he deals with it every winter. So, he finally asks, “What’s going on?” She responds, “I’m 27 years old and have lived in California my whole life. I’ve never been to Big Bear. I’ve never in my life seen snow. This is unbelievable! Isn’t it miraculous?”
Do you think that the woman who brought those 2 cereal boxes in the account I just mentioned realized that she was a miracle worker? But the recipient of those boxes sure felt she was. Could it be that she saw that Hashem providing a need that only she was aware of?
CONSIDER THE MIRACLE OF MANNA TO THE JEWS IN THE WILDERNESS. At the beginning of their time in the wilderness, I would expect that the daily provision of manna for 6 days a week was initially seen as quite miraculous. But, as the weeks turned into months and months extended into years and years into decades, was it still seen as miraculous or an expected part of nature? After all, who would complain about something miraculous? How we view the natural is all a matter of perspective.
WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN
We need to slow down. Our lives are so busy, we simply fail to take the time to actually understand the missed blessed event that has just happened. There is a lesson to learn from the dreidel.
Written on the sides of the dreidel are the four Hebrew letters “nun, gimmel, hay, shin,” representing “a great miracle happened there.” As the dreidel is spinning, the letters disappear in a blur and are only visible when the dreidel comes to a stop. Only when the dreidel stops can we see the letters. The dreidel represents how we are – immersed in our very busy hectic worlds, we cannot see the miracles happening all around. It is only when we stop the daily hustle and bustle in our lives that we may see the miracles that are there all the time. And you want to know something? God has blessed each week with an opportunity to slow down. It is called Shabbat. Maybe this would be the ideal time to realize the hidden miracles in your life.
WE NEED NOT ONLY TO SEE, BUT WE NEED TO BEHOLD
To experience the daily miracles in our lives today, we need to experience the reality of Beholding, not just seeing, but looking and reflecting on what you just experienced. A few weeks ago, we read in Parashah Vayetze about Yaakov’s dream as he heads to Padan-Haran, fleeing the wrath of Esav. Four times in the telling of his dream of the ladder extending from earth to heaven we read the word BEHOLD. This event needs not only to be seen by your eyes, it also needs to register in your mind and ultimately stir your heart and soul, your neshama – the divine presence inside you. Is it too far-fetched to believe that each daily miracle is an encounter with a manifestation of the Divine?
WE NEED TO EXPERIENCE DEEP SENSE OF AWE THAT PENETRATES TO OUR SOUL
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel encouraged everyone to live in “radical amazement.” In my mind to experience the daily miracles in our lives, we need to have this sense of “radical amazement” which I feel is Y’ra Hashem – a deep reverential awe (fear) of God.
Supernatural miracles leave all who experience them amazement, this amazing sense of pofound awe. I believe it is no different when we experience the “hidden” miracles in our lives that are part of the mundane and natural or considered coincidence or even worse good luck.
We’ve lost our sense of wonder and fascination to the routine things in our daily lives. If we could only go back to the sense of wonder and excitement that a child experiences when they encounter some things for the first time. My family loves to go on whale watches. You can sense this same child-like excitement and fascination in the adults, even the sense of awe when whales are seen. You can hear the oohs and ahs and then out come the cellphones for pictures. When we were at Yellowstone National Park, we witnessed this same experience when a herd of buffalos were seen. The cars stopped and out came the cellphones. Do you think that cowboys living in the West are as captivated when they see buffalos, creatures that seen routinely. When I was younger, my parents would frequently take us to the Bronx Zoo. Again, the amazement and excitement of the people when they came to the giraffes, the hippos, and elephants was obvious. In Africa, these wild animals are routinely seen and probably don’t elicit this same sense of fascination and awe as it does in someone who rarely sees these animals. It’s all a matter of personal perspective.
In closing, I would like you to consider this thought. One Hebrew word for BEHOLD is “Hinei.” AS I said, we read this word four times in Genesis 28:10-16. When you are so moved to BEHOLD an event and not just SEE it and quickly move on with the rest of your day, like an amazing rainbow, a breath-taking sunrise or sunset, or take time to consider just how miraculous the formation of a baby truly is and are moved to a sense of amazement, where something stirs you inside may this Hebrew word “Hineni” quickly come next into your mind. As this sense of profound awe in the routine and natural has captured you, imagine this; Hineni – “Here am I” and realize that this awesome design has a Designer, who is none other than God. Through this amazement and awe Hashem manifests and enlivens your neshama, your Godly soul that He has breathed into you as it recognizes its Source. “Hineni – Here am I. You may not be seeing me face to face, but you are experiencing Me in your world – How miraculous is that?
The world is full of wonders and miracles, but we take our little hands and cover our eyes and see nothing. I would like to amend this thought. The world is full of wonders and miracles, but we close our hearts and minds to perceive, to perceive with radical amazement, with yirah Hashem – fear or reverential awe of the Almighty. This Chanukah may we be blessed to see the miracle of the LIGHT around us with radical amazement as we Behold the daily miracles, the continual wonders and favors evening, morning and noon in this coming year.
Good Shabbos and blessed final days of Chanukah
Who has ever personally witnessed a miracle? When I was growing up there are two events that I remember that were and still are called miraculous. Were they really miracles? I leave the answer to you, but nonetheless that’s how they are described. One occurred in 1980 when a team of amateur college hockey players defeated a team of Russian professionals, possibly the best hockey team in the world at the 1980 Winter Olympics. I can still remember Al Michaels asking when game ended in a victory for the American team, “Do you believe in miracles?” To this day the game is known as The Miracle on Ice. In fact, there is a movie by that name.
The second quote, unquote “miracle” to this date is very dear to my heart and I would assume also Rabbi Paul’s. It happened in 1969 when the New York Mets, a team of futility for 7-8 years won the World Series of Baseball over the vastly superior Baltimore Orioles, a team that had three future Hall of Famers on it. The team is very fondly called the Miracle Mets to this day.
Were these miracles? If you define a miracle as when the impossible happens, then I would say that every Met fan that suffered through the futility of those earlier years would probably answer with a resounding, “Yes!” In hind sight, I would say they are resounding upsets, but not miracles. So, I ask you, “How would you define miracle?”
I think we would all agree that there are numerous miracles that are mentioned in Scripture. One source states that there are over 90 miracles in the Old Testament, and that Yeshua himself accounts for 37 miracles in the Brit Chadashah. The parting of the Sea of Reeds, manna from heaven, the walls of Jericho crashing down when the shofars are blown, Elijah calling down fire to consume his water soaked sacrifices in his confrontation with the priests of Ahab and Jezebel, Daniel surviving the lion’s den, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego surviving the fiery furnace, the immaculate conception of Yeshua, Yeshua turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana, Yeshua raising Lazarus from the dead, the numerous miraculous healings performed by Yeshua, and the list can go on and on. I am sure you can list many more that come to your mind.
Tonight begins the seventh night of Chanukah, holiday that is a celebration of two miracles; albeit one gets higher billing than the other. They are the miracle of the oil and the miraculous victory of Jews over the Syrian- Greek army when Hashem delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, the many into the hands of the few, the impure into the hands of the pure, and the wicked into the hands of he righteous.
Has the time of miracles come to an end? Certainly not in Jewish thought. The Sages teach us that there is no real difference between nature and miracles. God’s hand guides everything in the world. Consider that there are 2 kinds of miracles. The first class are those miracles that are very big, out of the ordinary, like those I mentioned before. The second class are those miracles that are woven into the fabric of nature that we see them as, “NATURAL.” Sometimes we are so distracted by our routine that we fail to see God’s hand all around us.
Nachmanides says there are two types of miracles; Nes Nigleh, the obvious or supernatural miracle, and Nes Nistar, the hidden miracle. One commentator writes, “Nature” is nothing more than the breathtaking beauty and symmetry of God’s creation becoming routine. The purpose of a miracle, a break from the routine, is to draw our attention to God’s control over all areas of life – even the natural.
There is a question which is asked concerning the miracle of the oil on Chanukah. If there was already a day’s worth of oil, why is Chanukah celebrated for 8 days when the miracle was that it burned for another 7 days. After all, the oil was expected to burn for one day. Therefore, shouldn’t Chanukah be celebrated for only seven days?
There is an account in the Talmud in which the daughter of the Talmudic sage Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa realized shortly before the Sabbath that she accidentally poured vinegar instead of oil into the Sabbath lamps, and began to panic. Rabbi Chanina responded, “Don’t worry, the One who told the oil to light will tell the vinegar to light as well.” The story continues that these vinegar lights burned the entire Shabbat. Rabbi Chanina truly believed that the same God who gives oil its innate characteristics of flammability, can and will instill the same properties in vinegar. In his eyes, “nature” and miracle are one in the same, both activated through the express will of God. Therefore, everything is a miracle. The only reason oil will burn is because God has determined that it would burn for He created everything. So even the first day of the oil burning is a miracle. The entire difference of what we call “natural” and “supernatural” is that nature is a continual expression of God’s will, where as a miracle is an expression beyond the everyday. It’s just a matter of frequency of expression.
Again, I will ask, “Has the age of supernatural miracles come to an end? How would you answer this question? Listen carefully as I tell you of an experience that several Israeli soldiers witnessed in 1997.
On the third day of Chanukah, 1997, a nineteen-year-old Israeli soldier Menachem L. and his buddy Donny were stationed at a military outpost in the northernmost tip of the Lebanese Security Zone. Menachem was carrying in the pocket of his battle vest a laminated card typed out by his father which read “Hashem is God, there is nothing besides Him.” (Deut. 4:35) He told his son to say this quote whenever his life was in danger.
Menachem and Donny were being shot at by Hezbollah terrorists positioned on a nearby mountain above them. Suddenly Menachem saw an anti-tank missile hurling directly toward him. These missiles are about six feet long and carry about thirteen pounds of warhead, sufficient to easily penetrate a tank – or the concrete outpost where Menachem was standing.
Menchem thought, “for sure I am dead.” He quickly recited the verse, “Hashem is God and there is nothing besides Him,” thinking “Whatever God wants will happen. If He doesn’t want it to happen, it won’t.”
Suddenly a few yards in front of Menachem, the missile changed direction in midair, as if it had struck an invisible force field. On full view of Menachem and eight other soldiers stationed on adjoining hilltops, the missile veered upwards, against gravity, and flew 22 yards straight up, then made an arc over Menchem’s head and landed behind his outpost.
The force of the explosion knocked Donny and Menachem off their feet, but the only injuries they sustained were some shrapnel in the back of their knees. When the battle was over, the platoon had a debriefing. The eight soldiers, including a few top officers who had witnessed the missile’s astonishing trajectory were at a loss to explain what had happened. In their entire military careers, they had never seen a missile behave like this. Their unanimous appraisal was that it was …a miracle.
Does the miraculous happen today? Listen to this account as shared by Stewart Winograd, founder of RII
Mikhail Israelovitch, an elderly Jewish man who had a stoke in his old age that left him paralyzed. On one side of his body. He was bedridden and dependent on his nephew and a caregiver from the congregation in Minsk. The caregiver had accepted Yeshua and began sharing with him and praying for him. One day the caregiver came to the leadership of the congregation saying that Mikhail wanted to be immersed. Stewart and several other men from the congregation went and spoke with him to ensure he was “born again” and understood the purpose of immersion. They then proceeded to carry Mikhail to his bath tub for immersion. After this they began to help him out, but he refused. He explained that after this immersion he believed that he was going to be able to walk again and sure enough he got out of the tub and was completely healed. The next Shabbat he was sitting in the front row at the congregation.
Almost every Shabbat we sing during Modim Anachnu Lach, “We thank you and recount your praise, for our lives that are entrusted to your care, for our souls which are in your charge, and for your miracles which are daily with us, for your continual wonders and favors evening, morning, and noon. Do you believe this – that there are daily miracles? It’s not likely that any of us will experience a supernatural/ obvious miracle on a daily basis. Do you believe that the daily miracles that are with us on a daily basis are the hidden miracles, where the laws of nature are not altered?
Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, a sage of the mid-20th century wrote: “The truth is that there is no essential difference between the natural and the miraculous. Everything that occurs is a miracle. The world has no other cause but the will of Hashem.” Thus, the distinction between the natural and miraculous is only one of human perception. Rabbi Dessler writes, “We call God’s act a ‘miracle’ when He wills an occurrence which is novel and unfamiliar to us and which consequently makes us aware of the hand of God. We call God’s acts ‘nature’ when He wills that certain events should occur in a recognizable pattern with which we become familiar.”
Routine or miraculous? An acorn can give rise to an oak tree. 2 cells unite and develop into a child. In the newborn baby there are 100,00 billion cells in the nervous system alone. A newborn has the beginnings of a vascular system that will develop to about 60,000 miles of blood vessels seen in an adult, which is long enough to circle the earth more than twice. The colors of the Fall. The workings of the human body – our hands, our eyes, indeed all bodily functions. The fragrance of flowers. The sight of an eagle who can see a fish while flying high above the water? A need unknown to anyone is suddenly provided for unexpectedly, but incredibly timely. Rainbows? Who isn’t enthralled when they see a vivid rainbow? Out comes the cell phones for pictures that are then sent or shown to friends and family members.
The distinction between the natural and the miraculous is only one of human perception. Everything that occurs is really a miracle. Have you ever given any thought to a statement like this? Does this seem like I am looking at a world through rose colored glasses with polka dots, butterflies, hearts, and flowers in the sky? Let me say that I don’t. Life is full of challenges, but even at those moments, the daily miracles and wonders do not cease to occur, we do not recognize them.
I used to ask members at Melech, a congregation I attended and led Shabbat services for many years, “Has anyone seen God working in their lives this week?” It is my opinion that almost all the response given were evidence of hidden miracles. These days obvious miracles do occur, BUT for the most part miracles seen these days are what Nachmanides referred to as hidden miracles.
Rabbi Isaac Roussel wrote of this account that he heard from an elderly friend who when she was a young mother raising her children alone. They were poor. One morning she had nothing to feed her children for breakfast. She prayed and trusted. Suddenly there was a knock at her door and a neighbor was holding two boxes of cereal that her (the neighbor’s) children didn’t like and was wondering if my friend could use them. Many would call this a coincidence, but as we know of the many “quote” unquote coincidences that happen in the Book of Esther that prevent the genocide of the Jews, that coincidences are nothing more than Hashem choosing to remain anonymous and maybe God- incidence is a more appropriate term.
I recently was visiting with a friend of mine. We try to meet every 1-2 months. Somehow, we got on to the subject of having money with us or simply paying everything with a card. I said I rarely have any cash on me. He said that he always tries to have some cash on him just in case a need for it comes up. The he shares with me this story of the time when someone he knew needed some money and asked him if he has any on him. He reaches into his pocket and found $50. As the man was leaving, he called him back because he found one more dollar to give him. Later the man called my friend to thank him and was amazed that the bill was exactly $51.00 to the penny. How cool is that? To my friend this was not a coincidence but the hand of God providing for this man’s need, paying the tab in full.
Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism who lived in the 1700’s said “The world is full of wonders and miracles, but we take our little hands and cover our eyes and see nothing.” I believe there are 4 conditions that need to occur to be able to recognize the daily miracles in our lives.
MANY TIMES THESE DAILY MIRACLES ARE PERSONAL
The distinction between the natural and miracle is one of human perception. What may seem miraculous to one may be mundane for another. Consider this true story concerning snow.
One winter a man who lived in NY was invited to California for the first time. Expecting sun and beautiful weather he didn’t pack so well. Little did he know he was going to Big Bear which is a ski resort. He gets there and it is freezing cold. Suddenly it starts snowing and this woman starts dancing and waving her arms in excitement. The man perplexed at her actions wonders what’s the big deal about snow since he deals with it every winter. So, he finally asks, “What’s going on?” She responds, “I’m 27 years old and have lived in California my whole life. I’ve never been to Big Bear. I’ve never in my life seen snow. This is unbelievable! Isn’t it miraculous?”
Do you think that the woman who brought those 2 cereal boxes in the account I just mentioned realized that she was a miracle worker? But the recipient of those boxes sure felt she was. Could it be that she saw that Hashem providing a need that only she was aware of?
CONSIDER THE MIRACLE OF MANNA TO THE JEWS IN THE WILDERNESS. At the beginning of their time in the wilderness, I would expect that the daily provision of manna for 6 days a week was initially seen as quite miraculous. But, as the weeks turned into months and months extended into years and years into decades, was it still seen as miraculous or an expected part of nature? After all, who would complain about something miraculous? How we view the natural is all a matter of perspective.
WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN
We need to slow down. Our lives are so busy, we simply fail to take the time to actually understand the missed blessed event that has just happened. There is a lesson to learn from the dreidel.
Written on the sides of the dreidel are the four Hebrew letters “nun, gimmel, hay, shin,” representing “a great miracle happened there.” As the dreidel is spinning, the letters disappear in a blur and are only visible when the dreidel comes to a stop. Only when the dreidel stops can we see the letters. The dreidel represents how we are – immersed in our very busy hectic worlds, we cannot see the miracles happening all around. It is only when we stop the daily hustle and bustle in our lives that we may see the miracles that are there all the time. And you want to know something? God has blessed each week with an opportunity to slow down. It is called Shabbat. Maybe this would be the ideal time to realize the hidden miracles in your life.
WE NEED NOT ONLY TO SEE, BUT WE NEED TO BEHOLD
To experience the daily miracles in our lives today, we need to experience the reality of Beholding, not just seeing, but looking and reflecting on what you just experienced. A few weeks ago, we read in Parashah Vayetze about Yaakov’s dream as he heads to Padan-Haran, fleeing the wrath of Esav. Four times in the telling of his dream of the ladder extending from earth to heaven we read the word BEHOLD. This event needs not only to be seen by your eyes, it also needs to register in your mind and ultimately stir your heart and soul, your neshama – the divine presence inside you. Is it too far-fetched to believe that each daily miracle is an encounter with a manifestation of the Divine?
WE NEED TO EXPERIENCE DEEP SENSE OF AWE THAT PENETRATES TO OUR SOUL
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel encouraged everyone to live in “radical amazement.” In my mind to experience the daily miracles in our lives, we need to have this sense of “radical amazement” which I feel is Y’ra Hashem – a deep reverential awe (fear) of God.
Supernatural miracles leave all who experience them amazement, this amazing sense of profound awe. I believe it is no different when we experience the “hidden” miracles in our lives that are part of the mundane and natural or considered coincidence or even worse good luck.
We’ve lost our sense of wonder and fascination to the routine things in our daily lives. If we could only go back to the sense of wonder and excitement that a child experiences when they encounter some things for the first time. My family loves to go on whale watches. You can sense this same child-like excitement and fascination in the adults, even the sense of awe when whales are seen. You can hear the oohs and ahs and then out come the cellphones for pictures. When we were at Yellowstone National Park, we witnessed this same experience when a herd of buffalos were seen. The cars stopped and out came the cellphones. Do you think that cowboys living in the West are as captivated when they see buffalos, creatures that seen routinely. When I was younger, my parents would frequently take us to the Bronx Zoo. Again, the amazement and excitement of the people when they came to the giraffes, the hippos, and elephants was obvious. In Africa, these wild animals are routinely seen and probably don’t elicit this same sense of fascination and awe as it does in someone who rarely sees these animals. It’s all a matter of personal perspective.
In closing, I would like you to consider this thought. One Hebrew word for BEHOLD is “Hinei.” AS I said, we read this word four times in Genesis 28:10-16. When you are so moved to BEHOLD an event and not just SEE it and quickly move on with the rest of your day, like an amazing rainbow, a breath-taking sunrise or sunset, or take time to consider just how miraculous the formation of a baby truly is and are moved to a sense of amazement, where something stirs you inside may this Hebrew word “Hineni” quickly come next into your mind. As this sense of profound awe in the routine and natural has captured you, imagine this; Hineni – “Here am I” and realize that this awesome design has a Designer, who is none other than God. Through this amazement and awe Hashem manifests and enlivens your neshama, your Godly soul that He has breathed into you as it recognizes its Source. “Hineni – Here am I. You may not be seeing me face to face, but you are experiencing Me in your world – How miraculous is that?
The world is full of wonders and miracles, but we take our little hands and cover our eyes and see nothing. I would like to amend this thought. The world is full of wonders and miracles, but we close our hearts and minds to perceive, to perceive with radical amazement, with yirah Hashem – fear or reverential awe of the Almighty. This Chanukah may we be blessed to see the miracle of the LIGHT around us with radical amazement as we Behold the daily miracles, the continual wonders and favors evening, morning and noon in this coming year.
Good Shabbos and blessed final days of Chanukah