Miracles!

And Sara laughed within herself saying, after I have become old, will I conceive again, and my master is old too. (Bereshith 18:12)

As we know, Sara Immenu, a”h, gave birth to Isaac at the age of 90, and Avraham was 100. This is, of course, something quite unheard of, and Sarah Immenu reacts here to what the angel tells he when he informs her that she will have a son.

Hakham Yosef Hayim writes in Od Yosef Hai Derashoth that when something goes against nature, and in our eyes it is miraculous, in G-d’s eyes it’s not. In His eyes, there is no difference between something that is natural and something that goes against nature. We, human beings, who are physical in essence, are subject to the rule of nature. G-d’s Name, “Elokim,” is the Name that functions in accordance with nature. That is why it has the same gematria as “Hateba” (the nature) = 86. G-d’s ineffable Name, the Shem Hawaya (the Tetragrammaton), symbolizes that which goes above nature.

Our rabbis of blessed memory tell us in the Gemara of Shabbath (32a), that if a miracle is performed for someone, it detracts from his merits. (This, of course, refers to miracles that are clearly miracles, and not those which occur through the course of nature.)

Sara Immenu giving birth at 90 is clearly a miracle that goes against the laws of nature. This explains Sara Immenu’s reaction when she was informed that she would conceive at an old age. Not only that, but her husband, Avraham, was even older. This makes it a sort of “double miracle,” which would possible take away a substantial amount of merits away from them.

G-d’s reply was, “Is anything beyond G-d’s capabilities? At the appointed time I will return to you at this season, and Sarah will have a son.”

We need some explanation. We know that for early tzadikim (righteous people), miracles that went against nature were commonplace for them. Do we then have to assume that many of their merits were taken away from them, G-d forbid, as a result? The answer is that there is a difference between the great tzadikim and the ordinary person.

The difference is that a regular human being falls under the rule of nature, which is, as we mentioned, under the direction of the Name “Elokim.” Tzadikim, however, transcend nature and are under the influence and direction of the Shem Hawaya, Barukh Hu, where there is no difference between above or below nature. Under the Shem Hawaya, even something that appears to our eyes to be above nature is actually considered to be a natural and mundane thing. And, therefore, since it is not considered to be a miracle for them, it does not detract from their merits.

There is a story in the Gemara of Ta’anith (25a) about the daughter of Ribbi Hanina ben Dosa. One Friday night, he noticed that his daughter was very sad. He asked her what the matter was. She replied to him that when she lit the Shabbat candles she made a mistake. Instead of putting in oil for the wicks to burn, she put vinegar instead. He said to her, “Why is this troubling you? The One who commanded the oil to burn will also command the vinegar to burn.” We are told that these candles made of vinegar burned throughout the following day till the end of Shabbat the following evening, when they took the light for the havdalah for it.

Why was the daughter of Ribbi Hanina Ben Dosa sad? She was very concerned how many merits she would lose on account of this miracle. Her father’s response, “The One who commanded the oil to burn will also command the vinegar to burn,” is very significant. What he is saying is, since we are not under the jurisdiction of Nature, we are under the Shem Hawaya, which operates above and beyond nature. Therefore, you have no need to be concerned about losing merits, since nothing out of the ordinary was done for you.

But there is still something very puzzling about this story. What was the need for the candles to burn for more than a day? The answer is this. Would G-d cause a miracle such as this, which was totally out of the ordinary, to take place if there were no need for it and all it would do is lessen someone’s merits? Of course not. Therefore, this was a miracle performed by G-d “Behinnam - for free,” to say to the daughter of Ribbi Hanina ben Dosa: Just as I am performing this amazing (and, I might add, even unnecessary) miracle for you, and you obviously will not lose any merits, so too, the miracle that I did for you with the oil and the vinegar will not cost you any merits whatsoever, either.

When the Torah asks “Is anything beyond G-d’s capabilities?” it uses the Shem Hawaya to show that whatever is done through the Shem Hawaya is ordinary and not extraordinary and therefore, Sara Immenu should not be concerned about losing her merits.

For most of us, miracles occur all the time, but in natural ways. The Pele Yo’es Hakadosh says that we tend not to recognize the miracles that occur for us. There are so many people who undergo, l”’a, suffering and hardships, that if G-d would make a miracle for them and end their pain, they would never stop praising Him. How much more so then, we, who are blessed with so much - health, peace of mind and, I might add, life itself - should be grateful and praise G-d from all the bad that He has saved us from and the good that we take for granted. Unfortunately, we tend to do the opposite. We complain about how hard life is and how stressed we are and so on. If we take the time to stop and think, we will realize that we are surrounded by miracles.

Rabbi Ya’aqob Menashe is a renowned author and lecturer, whose Shiurim continue to inspire thousands around the world. Many can be seen at www.NonstopTorah.com. His daily Torah Minutes are eagerly anticipated by thousands every morning. They can be seen at www.ATorahMinute.com. Rabbi Menashe is the spiritual leader of Midrash BEN ISH HAI. More information is available at the Midrash website,
www. Midrash.org.