The commandment to tell the Exodus story emphasizes the role of miracles in revealing faith in God in the world * However, miracles sometimes also come through natural means, and after practical efforts by Israel * The reason for the cessation of miracles from the moment Israel entered the Land * The holiness of Israel is revealed in the Land of Israel through natural ways, but one must remember that the power behind Israel’s actions comes from God
Commandment to Tell of the Exodus
It is a commandment to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt on the night of the 15th of Nisan, and whoever elaborates on the Exodus story is praiseworthy. There is also a commandment to remember the Exodus every day – both day and night, as well as on all Sabbaths and festivals. The significance of this commandment will be explained further.
Between Nature and Miracle
In this context, it is worth contemplating the relationship between God’s governance of the world through natural means, and through miracles. Nature operates within an orderly framework of understandable laws, while miracles break through the natural order.
The difference between nature and miracle exists only from the human perspective. Natural order appears to humans as self-evident and self-sustaining according to its inherent laws, while miracles are not as readily understood and therefore impress people more, as they reveal God’s power overcoming natural order. But from the Creator’s perspective, there is no difference between nature and miracle, as God gives life to everything, both nature and miracle alike. By His will, He established that the world would function according to natural laws, and by His will, He established that sometimes it would function in ways that break these laws, which we call “miracles.” Therefore, even what we call a miracle could be called nature, in the sense that even miraculous governance has an order established by the Creator (Maharal). Conversely, nature itself can be considered miraculous, since it exists only by God’s will, except that from a superficial view, it appears that God governs miracles openly, and nature, in a hidden way. Thus, natural governance can be called hidden miracles, as we say in prayer: “Your miracles that are with us every day” (Ramban, Exodus 13:16).
The Primary Governance through Nature
Generally, God created the world to function according to natural laws, because this way humans can realize their potential in the optimal manner. As Rabbi Yitzchak Arama explained (Akeidat Yitzchak, Gate 3), if God were to govern His world through miracles, “there would be no place for human free choice, which is the foundation of humanity, nor any entrance for reward and punishment, which is the secret of its purpose, as will be explained.” The Ran also wrote (Discourse 8): “The first premise is that God desires and wills to maintain the natural order of the world wherever possible, and that nature is precious in His eyes; He will not change it except for a necessary purpose.” The Maharal similarly wrote (Gevurot Hashem 64): “For nature is appropriate for governing the world and is the governance of truth, and the righteous, insofar as they are righteous, desire truth, and do not wish for the world to depart from the order of truth.” Rabbi Kook also explained (Ein Ayah, Shabbat 2, 193-195) that humans grow according to the extent of their action through natural means.
The Place of Miracles
However, miracles have an important place. First, to reveal God’s word to the world. Therefore, the Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah occurred through great miracles, through which God was revealed to the world, and through which God’s choice of Israel as His treasured people was revealed, to receive His Torah and inherit the Land, in order to bring blessing to all the families of the earth, as was promised to our Forefathers.
Second, to reveal that God always governs the world, and therefore sometimes, in times of distress, when there is no other option, God performs miracles. Sometimes miracles are performed in an obvious and explicit manner, and sometimes in ways that appear natural, but one who contemplates the world with a comprehensive view, understands that this was from God.
The eminent Torah scholars of the generations have written that the great miracles are necessary for revealing the faith of Israel (Saadia Gaon in the introduction to Emunot v’Deot; Kuzari 1:11, 25, 80-86; Ramban Exodus 13:16; Sefer HaChinuch 21, and many others. See also Rambam, Foundations of the Torah 8:1-2).
The Meaning of Telling the Exodus Story
There are two main purposes for the commandment to tell the Exodus story on the Seder night: 1) To instill in our minds God’s choice of Israel as His people to reveal His word in the world. 2) To instill in our minds that God governs His world, and all the prophecies stated in the Torah and the Prophets will be fulfilled. And even if it seems to us that the redemption is delayed, we know that God governs the world, and even from distress, He causes salvation to grow. This faith, which sustained our ancestors, will sustain us, so that we may merit to continue establishing ourselves in our Land, until the complete redemption.
The Purpose of the Exodus Was to Enter the Land of Israel
However, we must always remember that the purpose of the Exodus from Egypt was to enter the Land and fulfill the divine destiny there, through natural means. Therefore, generally, from the time Israel entered the Land, the miracles that occurred to our ancestors in the desert ceased, and the Divine Presence began to be revealed through the actions of Israel.
Therefore, the meaning of telling the Exodus story is twofold: One, to strengthen our faith that God governs the world, and therefore Israel is assured that they will ultimately be redeemed. Two, to awaken ourselves to the fullest extent possible, to bring blessing and redemption to the world. For from the Exodus we learned that humans are not in an inescapable prison, but through the power of faith and Torah revealed to Israel, it is possible to break barriers, and advance the world toward its redemption. And the appropriate place for this is the Land of Israel, where the divine idea can be realized through natural means. Therefore, the commandment to settle the Land is equal to all the commandments.
In the Land of Israel Holiness is Revealed through Natural Ways
The Land of Israel is the Holy Land, meaning, that although it is earthly, it is holy, and its holiness is revealed through the actions of Israel in natural ways. However, when Israel is in exile, since it is not possible to reveal God’s word within the natural reality, holiness is revealed only through miracles above and beyond nature, and even Israel’s existence, despite all persecutions, is miraculous. But this is a situation of after-the-fact, as Rabbi Kook wrote (Orot HaTechiya 28): “The holiness that is in nature is the holiness of the Land of Israel, and the Divine Presence that descended into exile with Israel, is the ability to establish holiness in opposition to nature. But holiness that fights against nature, is not complete holiness.”
Thus, the commandment to conquer the Land and defend it, must be fulfilled by the army of Israel in the natural way. Therefore, God commanded Moses to count those who go to the army in the desert in preparation for the war to conquer the Land. As the Ramban wrote (Numbers 1:45): “For the Torah does not rely on miracles, that one should pursue a thousand.” Therefore, they also needed to send spies before conquering the Land, because one should not rely on miracles, but rather, fulfill the commandment in the natural way (Ramban, Numbers 13:2).
Remember That God Gave Us the Strength
However, engaging in settling the Land, which brings blessing and greatly empowers humans, might cause us to become arrogant and forget God, and the purpose placed upon us. As it is said: “And you say in your heart, ‘My strength and the might of my hand have made me this wealth'” (Deuteronomy 8:17), and as a result, we would perish from the good Land. In order for this not to happen, the Torah instructed: “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to make wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 8:18).
The Ran precisely explained that if the Torah had wanted to diminish the value of the works of Israel’s hands, it would have said: ‘For He gives you wealth,’ but it said, “For He gives you power to make wealth,” to teach us that Israel, with their own strength, create the wealth, but they should remember that God gave them this strength (Drashot HaRan, beginning of Discourse 10).
In this manner, for every good thing that happens to us, we should thank God, and bless Him for it. From this, we should strengthen ourselves to continue to act with all our might to fulfill God’s will in the world through our handiwork, and our prayer is that God will help us in our handiwork. “May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us, and establish the work of our hands.”
Effort Preceding the Miracles of the Exodus
Even regarding the great miracles which were meant to reveal God’s word in the world, God insisted they would occur only after an awakening of Israel, so that they would be partners in bringing them about, and would not mistakenly think their actions have no value. Therefore, the Exodus from Egypt took place after Israel agreed to sacrifice Egypt’s idols to God. Similarly, our Sages said that the splitting of the Red Sea occurred after Nachshon ben Aminadav began entering the sea (Sotah 37a). Likewise, the giving of the Torah came after Israel said: “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do” (Exodus 19:8).
One Does Not Pray for a Complete Miracle
Even in prayer, we pray for things that can come naturally, and do not ask for miracles. Therefore, when Jews greatly needed water, they established a fast day for prayer for rain at a time when there was still a chance it would fall, until half a month before the festival of Shavuot, but not after that, because then, rainfall would be miraculous, and one does not pray “for miraculous acts” (Jerusalem Talmud, Taanit 3:2).
Similarly, in all matters that a person needs, one should not pray for God to perform a miracle for them that is contrary to the way of nature (Sefer Chassidim 794, Gevurat Ari, Taanit 19a).
Effort for Fulfillment of Miracles in the Temple
Our Sages said (Mishna Avot 5:5): “Ten miracles were performed for our ancestors in the Temple,” among them that the sacred meat never spoiled. Nevertheless, they did not prepare tables of gold or silver for placing the meat lest it spoil, but prepared tables of marble for this, showing that they did not rely on the miracle that the sacrificial meat would not spoil (Mishna Tamid 3:5; Rambam, Ra’av).
Another miracle that occurred in the Temple was that the High Priest never experienced a seminal emission on the night of Yom Kippur, yet they made great efforts to keep him awake all night, because one does not rely on miracles (Jerusalem Talmud, Yoma 1:4).
They also said that miraculously, the showbread remained warm and fresh after a week (Yoma 21a), and despite this, they took care to place it in a way that prevented it from becoming moldy (Jerusalem Talmud, Shekalim 6:3). On the matter itself that there were ten miracles in the Temple, the Maharal explained (Derech Chaim, ibid.) that since the Temple is holy and separated from nature, it is necessary that miracles be performed in it.
This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper and was translated from Hebrew.
