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JANUARY 28, 2021 | The Jewish Home OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
Think, Feel, Grow
Have You Ever Experienced a Miracle? By Shmuel Reichman
I
magine you meet someone and immediately notice something peculiar: he walks around incessantly clapping his hands. The next day, you realize that once again he is walking around clapping his hands. As this pattern continues for several weeks, you assume that he must have some kind of biological disorder forcing him to act this way. You begin to get used to the strange behavior, accepting this boy’s nature. One day, as usual, you see him clapping his hands. Suddenly, the inexplicable happens: the boy stops clapping his hands, looks right, then left, waves at you, and then goes back to clapping his hands again. Your first response is absolute shock; a moment later, you begin to realize the fascinating truth: this boy doesn’t have a disorder, and he isn’t being forced to clap his hands. Every moment, he chooses to clap his hands. As soon as you witness a brief moment when he chooses not to clap his hands, you know that the clap-
ping has been in his control all along.
The Miraculous and the Natural We are complicated beings, living in an exceedingly complex world. Many people become overwhelmed by the complexities of life and choose to live within the confines of simplicity rather than attempt to navigate the tumultuous path towards the truth. Yet, those driven by imagination, curiosity, and a higher will choose to embrace the complexities of this world, seeing the true beauty behind the nuance and sophistication of the Torah and our universe. Those striving for the truth constantly question the nature of the world we live in. Through the miracles and makkos of Yetzias Mitzrayim, Hashem revealed Himself to the world. The laws of nature were broken, the impossible became possible, the unfathomable, fathomable. But to fully understand
and appreciate the meaning of a miracle, we must first attempt to understand nature itself. The very idea of nature is enigmatic. After all, what do we mean when we refer to the natural? Naturally, what goes up tends to come back down. Nature also causes rainstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes and appears to be responsible for disease and illness. We tend to give nature credit for most of what happens in this world. However, any thoughtful Jew should be troubled by the concept of nature. If Hashem created this world, how are we supposed to approach nature? Is nature independent from Hashem? To answer these questions, let us take a step back, and analyze the different forms of belief and disbelief in Hashem.
Three Forms of Disbelief in Hashem The Ramban (Ramban Al Ha’To-
rah- Shemos 13:16) famously delineates the three basic types of disbelievers in Hashem: • The first category is comprised of those who do not believe in Hashem at all. They believe instead that the world has always existed, without any Creator whatsoever. After all, when you look around, do you see Hashem? You can’t see, hear, touch, smell, or taste Him, so how can you know that He exists? Such questions have caused many to reject the existence of Hashem altogether. • However, there is a second category of disbelievers: those who are willing to accept Hashem’s existence. They look around and observe a world that is so exceedingly sophisticated and beautiful and conclude that there must have been a Creator who designed it. Just spend a few days studying human biology, and you will marvel at the wonder and brilliance of a single human being. However, this second category of people claims that once
