Miracles
– In
Memoriam of
Mr. David M.
Warren (Menachem
Dovid ben
Harav Yosef
Z’L)
“And they
journeyed .
. . and they
encamped . .
. And they
journeyed .
. . and they
encamped . .
. and they
journeyed .
. .” Hence
the name,
Parshat
Masei – the
chapter of
journeys.
(Numbers 33)
Forty-two
times, the
parsha
repeats the
verse “And
they
journeyed .
. . and they
encamped . .
.” Why?
Nahmanides
(1194 –
1270) quotes
Maimonides'
Guide to the
Perplexed
(1135 –
1204; 3:50):
“When we
notice the
narratives
in the
Torah, which
have no
connection
to any of
the
commandments,
we are
inclined to
think they
are entirely
superfluous,
lengthy, or
repetitious;
this is only
because we
do not see
these
occurrences
as
noteworthy.
For example,
the stations
the
Israelites
made in the
desert
appear
useless.
Yet, the
Torah
explicitly
says that
the stations
were written
“by the
commandment
of G-d”.
However, it
is indeed
most
necessary
that these
be written.
Miracles are
only
convincing
to those who
witness
them; future
generations
are only
familiar
with the
miracles
through the
account of
others;
future
generation
may consider
them untrue.
Miracles
cannot
continue for
future
generations.
The greatest
miracle in
the
wilderness
was the
forty years
supply of
Manna. The
wilderness
described in
the Torah
consisted of
places that
were remote
from
cultivated
land and
naturally
uninhabitable
for Man.
(Numbers
20:5) G-d
knew that,
in the
future,
people may
doubt the
miracles.
Therefore,
the details
of the stops
that the
Israelites
will
strengthen
the fact
that the
only way
Israel
survived was
through the
Manna.”
(Translation
with the
help of Dr.
M
Friedlander;
Jews'
College,
London 1881
– 1907)
Maimonides
is speaking
of people
who believe
the Torah
was written
by G-d, that
every word
is true. Why
might such
people doubt
the miracle
of the
manna?
“Miracles
are only
convincing
to those who
witness
them; future
generations,
are only
familiar
with the
miracles
through the
account of
others;
future
generation
may consider
them untrue.
Miracles
cannot
continue for
future
generations.”
Maimonides
teaches us a
very
important
lesson. Even
people who
believe
every word
of the
Torah, that
G-d created
the universe
and is
involved in
our everyday
lives, find
it hard to
believe in
revealed
miracles.
Our natural
inclination
is to
downplay the
miraculous
because we
find it so
hard to
believe.
Even a Torah
observant
Jew might be
tempted to
ask “Did G-d
truly make
magical food
appear from
nowhere each
weekday
morning for
the entire
Israelite
nation for
forty years?
Maybe the
Israelites
traveled
near fertile
land and G-d
created the
Manna
through
natural
means. Or
maybe the
Israelites
had other
food in
addition to
the Manna.”
The Torah,
therefore,
refutes the
possibility
the Manna
could have
been
anything
less than
absolutely
miraculous.
The
Israelites
were in
places where
it was
impossible
to grow
food. It was
impossible
for the
Manna to
have been
created
through
natural
means or for
the
Israelites
to have
subsisted
through any
other food
aside from
the Manna
falling from
heaven. The
person who
believes in
the Torah
must also
believe in
the complete
miracle of
the Manna
because
there is no
alternative
explanation.
The old
saying that
“seeing is
believing”
bears a lot
of truth.
People,
including
fervent
believing
Torah
Scholars,
are
naturally
inclined to
find it
difficult to
believe in
anything
that defies
nature and
lies
completely
outside
their
personal
experiences.
As
Maimonides
says,
“Miracles
are only
convincing
to those who
witness them
. . . G-d
knew that,
in the
future,
people may
doubt the
miracles.
Therefore,
the details
in the
wilderness
strengthen
the fact
that the
only way
Israel
survived was
through
Manna from
heaven.”
Shabbat
Shalom
