Rabbi's Message
Rabbi’s Message:
What Exactly is a Miracle?
With the arrival of Chanukah, the subject of miracles came to mind. Unfortunately, sad to say, the beloved and familiar story of the tiny jar of oil which burned for eight days instead of one has no historical basis. Actually, it is founded on a brief Talmudic legend written several hundred years after the events of Chanukah; it symbolizes the greater miracle of the Jewish Maccabean victory over the Greek Syrians in Jerusalem in 165 B.C.E., despite incredible odds. But, nevertheless, the events of Chanukah do suggest the larger theological question -- what exactly is a miracle?
The dictionary defines a miracle as an event that deviates from the ordinary laws of nature—that’s the easy part. However, finding a consensus among Jewish people as to the precise nature of a miracle is an entirely different matter. Regarding biblical miracles, while liberal Jews may explain them in one fashion or another, Jewish traditionalists believe them to be true in a very literal sense. Interestingly, the great medieval Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides, the rationalist par excellence, posited that God built biblical miracles into the fabric of time itself so that they would be part of the natural order of things, not outside of it.
In this connection, I recently came across an unusual and captivating book which offers another ''take'' on miracles, something that we need to think about because it puts it into the realm of our own lives. The book is called Small Miracles of Love and Friendship, by Yitta Halberstam. Mandelbaum. Her theme is that wondrous things happen in people's lives that are seemingly mere coincidences. But, they are really miracles. God's hand is in them, working through people's love, and the book is full of true stories to illustrate this phenomenon.
Probably the greatest story she tells is about her own father years ago in Poland, which I shall summarize. As a small Jewish child in the 1930s, he had a wonderful, loving friendship with a Christian child. One day, they taught each other prayers from their respective faiths. He a Jew, learned and memorized the Lord's Prayer; in return, he taught his Christian friend the Shema.
Ten years later, during the war, 15 years old, he was fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe, disguised as a Christian, on a train with forged documents. A Nazi soldier boarded the train, and was very suspicious of him. The Nazi demanded: ''So, you are a Christian ... well, prove it, recite the Lord's Prayer!'' And so, he recited the only Christian prayer he knew. The soldier let him go. As it turned out, it was the friendship of that young Christian boy 10 years ago that saved his life. A true miracle.
Yes, in all of our lives, at times there are apparent coincidences -- where we receive love -- that affect us deeply. Suddenly, a teacher influences us profoundly, just at the right time. We meet someone whom we need very much, precisely at the opportune moment. In the depths of baffling illness, a certain doctor comes on the scene who can figure out how to turn the sickness back.
Are these just random acts of life? No. I think that Yitta Halberstam Mandelbaum is right. These are miracles. Just as powerful as the miracles of Scripture, those unnatural events which people interpret in various ways. May we thank God for miracles -- in the ancient days, and in our own lives.
