Does God still perform miracles?
I'd really love to see something that ranks with the splitting of the Red Sea, the 10 plagues or the sun standing still at the command of someone like Joshua.
Where are all of God's miracles today? He hasn't gone on vacation, so what's going on?
There is a holiday on the Jewish calendar whose main point is to resolve this very problem. And that's why the rabbis of the Talmud maintained that even though every other festival will eventually fall by the wayside in the messianic era, one holiday will be observed forever. Its message is so powerful that we can never dare to forget it.
It's not Passover or Yom Kippur. Surprisingly, the sole festival granted immortality in Jewish tradition is the seemingly minor day of Purim. And that certainly begs for an explanation.
"I Can't Go On"
A personal story will shed some light on the matter. Thirty years ago in the middle of giving a lecture to my class at Yeshiva University I was suddenly called out due to "a life-and-death emergency.” One of my students was threatening to commit suicide in his dormitory room and desperately needed some counseling.
I rushed over and found the young man wailing and moaning. “This is the worst day of my life!” he screamed, “I don't want to go on living anymore.” Slowly the story poured out of him. His girlfriend had just broken up with him and he was inconsolable. “You don't understand, Rabbi. I'll never ever find anyone like her. I'll never meet someone as perfect as she is. I can't go on, I just want to die.”
I stayed with my student all day, as well as the following night. I tried to reassure him that his life was not over. By morning I finally got him to promise me not to give up on his future. He agreed that suicide is a sin and that he'd struggle to go on, even though it pained him to lose what he was certain was his only possibility for happiness.
There are times in life when we mistake blessings for tragedies.
A little over 20 years later I was teaching in my very same classroom when there was a knock on the door. A young man asked permission to enter and then, with a smile, asked, “Rabbi, do you remember me?”
It took but a moment for me to realize who it was. “Of course I recognize you,” I told him, “and you still owe me a night’s sleep.”
The young man returned to tell me the end of the story. “You know that day when I wanted to commit suicide and I told you it was the worst day of my life? In retrospect I now realize that day was really the luckiest day of my life. The girl I thought I couldn't live without -- she's been involved in drugs and a series of scandals that even hit the newspapers. My life would have been a horror had we stayed together. I came back to thank you Rabbi, because today I am married to a woman who is truly the best in the world and we have four amazing children who give me joy every single day. I guess what you taught us is true. There are times in life when we mistake blessings for tragedies.”
But that's not the end of the story.
Just one year after this moving experience I was invited to serve as scholar in residence at a synagogue in Los Angeles. For my Sabbath sermon I chose a theme based on a verse in Exodus in response to Moses’ request to see God. God told Moses, “You cannot see My face, for man cannot see My face and live... you will see My back, but My face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:20). Of course God has no body. It was not His physical appearance that was being discussed. Moses wanted to “see” -- to comprehend -- God’s ways and His interaction with His creations. What he was told is that with our finite intelligence we can't understand events as they unfold; it is only retroactively that “You will see My back” and grasp God’s infinite wisdom. I quoted Kierkegaard who expressed the same idea when he said, “The greatest tragedy of life is that it must be lived forward and can only be understood backwards.” And then, as I was speaking, the story of the suicidal student suddenly popped into my head and I told it as an illustration.
The following Sunday night, one of the congregants told me that my speech had unwittingly saved a life. It seems that in the audience on the previous day for the Sabbath service was a young man just 24 hours before his wedding. He was scheduled to fly out to New York late Saturday night to join his bride for the wedding ceremony they had been happily anticipating for the last six months. No sooner was the Sabbath over when he received the phone call that shattered his dreams. His fiancee at the last moment decided she couldn't go through with it. She called to regretfully inform him that it was all over.
The almost-to-be-groom later described to his friends what happened next. For a moment he felt suicidal. He wanted to rage, to vent his anger, to scream. But one thought kept repeating itself in his mind. Why was it that on that very morning he heard a sermon describing an almost similar event? He had not intended to go to that particular synagogue. It was a last-minute decision that brought him to a place where, almost as a Divine message, he could hear words that in the aftermath of his own tragedy might offer him some solace.
Little did he know that my inserting that particular illustration was also totally unplanned. A higher source put into my mind and my mouth -- a gift from God to allow someone to survive incredible pain just a few hours later.
And this story, too, has a happy ending. This past July my wife and I were strapping ourselves into our El Al seats on the way to Israel. Passengers were still filing by on the aisles when one of them began to stare at me and suddenly shouted, “Aren’t you Rabbi Blech?” When I responded that indeed I was, he identified himself. Five years before, he told me, he was sitting in a synagogue in Los Angeles on the day before he was supposed to get married. He proceeded to share the part of the story I already knew.
With tears in his eyes he asked me to come with him so he could introduce his wife and three children. “I'm just like that student in the story you told us that unforgettable Shabbat. Today I'm the happiest man in the world. I can honestly say that the curse of that Saturday night has turned out to be my greatest blessing.”
Turnabout
There is a Hebrew word in the book of Esther central to the story of Purim that captures this idea best: V’nahafoch -- it was turned around. Everything that seemed like a misfortune at first was in retrospect recognized as a Divine miracle. Because there are miracles, unlike those in the Bible, that come camouflaged as seeming coincidences, as natural events, as incidents that “just happened,” but that in reality are the products of heavenly intervention in the affairs of mankind.
Everything that seemed like a misfortune was in retrospect recognized as a Divine miracle.
The very name Purim comes from the word meaning "lottery." Some call that a game of pure luck, the winner determined by random inexplicable forces that have no rational basis. Faith however allows us to understand that in a world governed by an All-seeing God there cannot be room for blind chance. A lottery is far more than luck; it is allowing the Director of the universe to decide the outcome while hiding in the background.
Purim is the holiday that harps on what people call coincidence. It reminds us, as the proverb has it, that “coincidence is God's way of choosing to remain anonymous.”
Purim has many miracles in its story. Not the kind of miracles that override the rules of nature. Rather the miracles that happen so much more frequently in our own lives. The miracles that we so often discount because God chooses not to shout but rather to whisper. It is His still small voice that we have to attune ourselves to hear as He turns tragedies into blessings. And that is why the festival of Purim, with its message of miracles camouflaged as coincidence, will outlast every other holiday on the Jewish calendar.
(34) Bonnie, March 11, 2020 8:41 AM
I love the way God helps us, if we only have eyes to see it. We have wonderful miracles around us daily. His interruptions that change life’s circumstances from defeat to victory. My own choices never bring me the victory I have experienced with God. Thank you for sharing.
(33) Anonymous, February 3, 2019 6:28 PM
Suicide affects the one’s left behind in ways you cannot fathom. Friends and family members feel ashamed and embarrassed.
(32) ruth housman, March 24, 2016 1:11 AM
it is a language based Story
Purim: I'm Pure Esther for star about amazing connectivity all the world's a stage we are 'part' of something vaster, as in there is aster or star in this My life is totally visibly synchronous.
(31) b rogers, June 23, 2013 12:10 AM
,life is not a day event
plans and the future all rolled together in one day dashed would drive anybody nuts if we throw everything in basket and don,t plan for a rainy day were being realistic youth is lack of an ubrella it takes to to experience dissapointment and realiaze each evolves into weeks months and years to be able to look back and what a dope i was
(30) Jacob Frank, June 19, 2013 9:06 AM
God is not interested in anonymity
Proverbs aside, if God wanted to be anonymous, we'd all be atheists.
(29) Anonymous, April 4, 2011 1:40 AM
the more she prays the more complicated it gets in negativity
when the marriage crashes and there's a child custody split and one side is hostle, and the child is the most victomized, and in the middle, how does Grammy keep her sanity while seeing whats going on?
(28) Reg, July 19, 2010 4:39 PM
Co Incidence is NOT a Kosher Word ! LOL
Co Incidence is NOT a Kosher Word ! LOL
(27) , July 19, 2010 1:09 AM
What a story!!!!
Thank you for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(26) Anonymous, March 6, 2010 11:15 PM
Coincidence - a fundamental misinterpretation
(25) Kip Gonzales, February 27, 2010 11:56 AM
It sure is a wonderful feeling!
I love stories like this! There´s no greater joy than to know you have done or said something to change or influence a person so much that their life makes a complete, positive turn around! This need not be considered boasting. We boast in what HaShem does, when we let Him!
(24) boB Hensler, February 26, 2010 10:15 PM
He has no earthly body
I have many times wondered about this series of verses, and why God would show only "his back" to Moses. Thanks, Rabbi, for opening this verse to me. Much food for thought.
(23) Sheila Anderson, February 26, 2010 5:50 AM
Fractals of God's Beauty
I am in total agreement with you that God is not absent. He is a divine artist working on his masterpiece, which can not be rushed and the true picture only evident when the artwork is done. The story shared about the young man wanting to commit suicide really hit home with me. Even the part with the new marriage and four children. Had I continued with my life on the road I was on, I would be on welfare, possibly drugs, or dead. I now am a few credits shy of my comprehensive exams in partial fulfillment for my PhD. I am so pleased with my lire, but at times continue to find my hope and aspirations dashed, a constant struggle of values and what is truly important. I continue to believe in the devine Goodness and know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this is his work. What he sees is beyond my realm of thinking. He is the survival instinct ethereal. He protects me and keeps me on a path that guarantees me the best chance of success at life, one little mosel at a time. I know I must be thankful and appreciative for all the blessings he has bestowed upon me. Living for the future and learning from the past can sometimes limit the ability to dream, but I refuse. I know that God is watching over me and I will never, ever consider giving up this life again. I truly do trust in the Lord.
(22) Jerry, February 25, 2010 11:54 PM
Taking life for granted?
Rabbi, where is it written that a miracle can only be judged by its magnitude? Look at a child, a flower, a sunrise, a sunset. Rejoice when the surgeon advises that you or your loved one will be OK. These are the miracles that are too often overlooked. Shalom. Jerry
(21) , February 25, 2010 11:29 PM
Fine article.
Thank you. Very inspiring. A good sense of judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad sense of judgement, in a way. It “just happened,” it just happend to be. “The greatest tragedy of life is that it must be lived forward and can only be understood backwards.” , unless you are upside down ... and Maybe god has a holiday, anf God knows he deserves it...And if so, it is the perfect time for each of us humans to exercise our god inside ..Anyway, the monk said: worse than waiting for something to come, is to wait for something gone. How over Why every time. Happy, humorous and lively, and a fruitfull purim to you all .....
(20) frumstepper, February 25, 2010 9:19 PM
Great Post!
All too often we forget that we are being led, and think instead that we are in charge. This post gives so many examples of how we are just passengers along for the ride! Thanks for the reminder!
(19) Ben, February 25, 2010 8:09 PM
You know, sometimes you never hear the story...
I am glad R' Blech got to hear the end of the story because it provides closure and everything. A lot of times in life things do not go the way we want them to. And you know what, you may be waiting for some sort of inspiring reason - only won the lotto because I missed the bus to work! - but it doesn't happen that way most of the time. usually we do not get to see what happens and that is where faith comes in. We say, G-d , I don't know how things are supposed to go. I'll do the best job I can and I pray that you will show me the right way to live and help me every step of the way, especially those days (weeks?) when it seems like nothing is going right. That is life, but hopefully we never forget this: Billions of people have made it through and lived good lives (at least millions have:) so I can too because G-d will help me.
(18) WIlson Wong, February 25, 2010 5:34 PM
God is really good...
God is so good that He even helped us get over our bad choices, actions and other unprintable stuff and lead us unto the path of righteousness! Although I am not a Jew nor am I a follower of Judaism, I thank God for all the good things and also the bad as the bad will turn to good by God. Thank you Rabbi Benjamin! You have make me realised how God is so real in my life because my wife is the evidence of God's love for me.
(17) David, February 25, 2010 5:27 PM
Esther and Joseph
Esther gets dragged out of her house and taken away just like Joseph gets thrown in the pit and taken away. Both end up saving the Jewish people. Tragedy into blessing is a major theme.
(16) Marc Messing`, February 25, 2010 5:18 PM
Memories
Reading your words reminded me so well why I loved your classes in JSS so much! Yasher koach for your wonderful way with words of Torah and stories with a strong message!
(15) Anonymous, February 25, 2010 4:34 PM
Tears came to my eyes
Thank you for this article. Tears came to my eyes while reading it. A few years ago I was in the middle of a contentious divorce. I had not originally wanted the divorce and had prayed very hard to G-d to help save my marriage. However, my ex-husband was already involved with someone else and had no interest in continuing with the marriage. I was heartbroken and felt shamed. I felt like my world had fallen apart. Now, a few years later, I have reconnected with a wonderful, loving man who I knew 30 years ago. We are committed to the relationship and I realize that I am so much better off than if I was still with a man who had lied to me and cheated. My only regret is for what my teenage daughter suffered from the divorce. At the very least, I hope I was a model that a woman can be strong and get through what she has to. Perhaps that will help my daughter one day in any of life's trials that she will encounter in the future.
(14) Joan Levin Spence, February 24, 2010 10:19 PM
Round the mountain
I have found that those most terrible times in my life are the result of not listening to a lesson that God was trying to teach me in a more subtle way. Its so easy to look at our troubles and blame someone or something. It takes more character (and sometimes more than I have some times) to thank God for the lesson and to be still enough to hear the lesson. If I find that the same "problem" is haunting me, then its pretty clear I'm not listening.
(13) Anonymous, February 24, 2010 10:34 AM
The timing of that story and when my friend sent it to me in just unbelivable. I needed to hear that and it helped me and gave me hope.
(12) Wendy, February 23, 2010 7:44 PM
An excellent reminder
HaShem is with us all the time - we just don't know it. I was in love with the same man for 10 years (waiting for his divorce to be final) and when it was, he married someone he met after only 3 months and left me after 10 years. Why - because HaShem told me he wasn't for me - I realized this immediately, but it didn't stop the hurt. This articles tells me to keep pushing on and I will. Thank you.
(11) Anonymous, February 23, 2010 7:11 PM
Suicide.
Suicide was considered a sin in my native Scotland, one that was equal to murder. Most suicides were consigned to a seperate section of the cemetery than others. Robert Burns, famous for his epitafs as well as his poetry was asked by a suicide's family to compose a suitable one for that person's headstone. Not being over sympathetic he wrote the following 'Poor silly body damned himself.'
(10) MIriam, February 23, 2010 2:54 PM
Fabulous article
Very inspiring. Thank you.
(9) SusanE, February 22, 2010 8:19 PM
Sometimes These Things Will Pass - Sometimes Not.
I kept the words Gam Zu Le 'Tova -- this too is for the good -- where I saw them every morning. I thought them for my friends troubles, for my own problems, my communities woes, and for my countries constant wars over the past 70 years. Sometimes a failed marriage turns into a better life for both people, or a lost job turns a man into a sucessful businessman. A sick child pulls an entire family together. A natural disaster can be rebuilt better than before. The fall of an Empire probably has a good outcome too, if we can wait to see the whole story. It can and does happen many times. --------------------- But can you understand how sometimes when people say that "things will get better' that it doesn't happen? One year of bad times turns into many bad years. Some people have one crisis after another in their lives till they can't see past the last one. I think they feel hopeless and helpless. If they drink or use drugs it becomes magnified and some end it all under the influence. They do see that 'History Repeats Itself' and they feel that there is no future for them. ---------------- The almost-to-be groom was in that particular shul that morning for a reason. That story popped into your head for a reason too. My mom told me when I had a feeling about calling someone or a feeling to not go somewhere I planned to go, or when something was nagging in the back of my mind, that I should act on it without delay. We all need to listen to that 'little voice'. On the day you were giving that lecture, that 'little voice' that prompted you to retell the suicide story is what started that chain of events. One young mans' agony helped another young man over his disappointment from a cancelled marriage a year later.
(8) Bernie Siegel, MD, February 22, 2010 12:54 AM
the future
as jung said, the future is unconsciously prepared long in advance and, therefore, can be guessed by clairvoyants i know from my work with dreams and drawings we know our future but we also need to learn from my mother. the answer to all my problems was, "it was meant to be. gof is redirecting you. something good will come of this." a curse becomes a blessing when it makes us more complete, tov.
(7) x, February 22, 2010 12:42 AM
I like it a lot
this is very very very SUPER
(6) Beverly Kurtin, February 21, 2010 10:36 PM
Have we all...
Have we all, at one time or another, contemplated suicide? Most of the time we just shake it off as a whisper from The Satan, other times we have to take a bit more time before deciding that suicide, despite the theme song from M*A*S*H that says "suicide is painless" it is anything but. Recently an enraged man burned down his family's home and then flew to Austin into a building that housed a department of the IRS. He was one of two people killed. The other was reportedly a devoted husband and father. What a shame, what a loss. Not only did he burn down his family's roof, his children now have to go through life knowing their father was a murderer; his name will go down in history in a negative manner. How would we feel if our parents had done that? Nah...suicide isn't painless, especially for those who we leave behind. I'm a certified peer counselor for heart and stroke survivors, but am also a former crisis intervention/suicide prevention counselor. I can't recall the number of times I got phone calls from survivors who were left behind because someone had chosen to kill themselves; the pain and guilt they each felt was heart wrenching I lasted four years as a volunteer, most go in less than two. But I would still go back to helping people if the opportunity arose. Suicide is FOREVER; as life goes on, the things you thought would never get better, not only do get better but as the rabbi's comments above show us, in most cases, things work out far better than we could have imagined.
(5) ruth, February 21, 2010 9:25 PM
being anonymous
Yes, I have heard and seen this phrase many times, that coincidence is God's way of being anonymous, and the reverse must also be true, because it's God's way of being glaringly public and visible, in the miracle of that astonishment of connectivity, that simply cannot be random. when an individual experiences so many hits, being the astonishment of story, it's very obvious that God is totally in the wings, and that this symphony has a conductor. to realize the depths of this, as in the stories given in this article, is to go to another very deep and profound place and most people cannot go further than the initial statement
(4) D. Bach, February 21, 2010 8:58 PM
YES!
I am often amazed by the stories that my clients tell me. I often "see" God's hand in their stories and His midah k'neged midah and how He punishes children for their father's sins (but less harshly, it seems to me) when they don't repent. It blows me away to be able to hear these things so clearly.
(3) Anonymous, February 21, 2010 8:51 PM
Miracle or coincidence
So hope that these exampleas are true for me and my greatest tragedy will indeed become a blessing, while I am not suicidal and pray Hashem will bless me with a long and healthy life, i do feel very broken, so much want to trsut and believe this is for me too.. thank you-
(2) laurel, February 21, 2010 7:30 PM
how true
I want ot thank you for Modern Miracles. How true this is.
(1) miriam baum benkoe, February 21, 2010 5:16 PM
We Need Articles like this one -they're like booster shots...
Rabbi Blech has a brilliant and uncanny talent. His writings reinforce our appreciation of "Gam Zu L'Tova" -- this too is for the good -- and reminds us that The One Above is the master architect of our lives. It's up to us to appreciate this.