Many people dream about being the personal beneficiary of a supernatural miracle. The motivating factors that nourish that dream are usually to alleviate two possible insecurities. While we believe in Hashem, a little supernatural evidence would help strengthen that belief. And being the recipient of a supernatural miracle would show that Hashem really cares about us and is paying attention to our needs.
What is the role of miracles in concretizing our belief in Hashem?
With this week’s parasha and the splitting of Yam Suf, we reach the crescendo of the supernatural miracles performed by the Almighty as he took us out of Egypt. The default understanding is that it was these miracles that Moshe performed that gave us the conviction that he was a true prophet.
Yet both the Rambam (Hilchos Yedodei HaTorah Ch. 8) and the Ramban (Shemos 19:9, Devarim 4:9 )write that this is incorrect. Supernatural miracles can leave a gnawing doubt in the eyes of the beholder. How did he do that? Was it really a Divinely engineered intervention? The Jewish people’s eternal belief in Moshe as a true prophet was based on their first-hand experience, witnessing at Sinai the communication between Hashem and Moshe.
As appealing as supernatural miracles may appear, our sources do not look favorably upon them in our daily lives. A most powerful example of this is a story in Masechet Shabbos (53b). The Gemara tells of a man whose wife died in childbirth and left a child to be nursed.
The solution to such a problem was to hire a wet nurse, but the father had no money for that. “Whereupon, a miracle was performed for him, and his breasts developed as the breasts of a woman, and he nursed his son.” There is a dispute between Rav Yosef and Abaye. Rav Yosef’s reaction was, “See how great this person is, that such a miracle was done for him.” Abaye strongly disagreed: “On the contrary! How inadequate is this man, for the natural order was changed for him.”
We can understand Rav Yosef’s opinion: what a great man to have Hashem intervene supernaturally to solve his problem. But why did Abaye take the exact opposite position, viewing the miracle as an indication of the man’s inadequacy?
There were many ways Hashem could have brought about a solution to the man’s problem, from getting an unexpected inheritance to finding money as he was walking on the road. But, reasoned Abaye, if that had happened, the person would have attributed the solution to luck or to chance, rather than recognizing the hand of Hashem. Only because it was done supernaturally was this person, with his low level of belief in the Almighty, able to recognize that the solution came from Hashem.
Observing an event that appears supernatural will not convince an atheist scientist to begin believing in a Divine Creator. He will immediately begin searching for a scientific explanation for the phenomenon (and this, by the way, is how science has progressed beyond belief in a “god of the gaps.” ) Our belief in Hashem, our relationship with Hashem, has to be internally generated. It has been based on the conviction of the Sinatic experience (Ramban Devarim 4:9) based on the endurance of the Jewish people throughout history. It has to be based on our witnessing the fulfillment of prophecies written millennia ago as we return to Israel after 2,000 years of dispersed exile. And ultimately, it has to be based on a deep connection with the Creator. With that, we don’t need miracles. Without it, no miracle will help.
