Page 16 - HaMizrachi #27 Purim USA 2021

TORAT MIZRACHI

Rabbi Hershel Schachter

Hidden and Revealed Miracles

he Mishnah in Avot (5:6) enumer- conditional, dependent upon its split- observer it has been created presently, is
ates 10 things that were created ting for the Jewish people when they not a new miracle. It is, in fact, the nes
Ton erev Shabbat at bein haSh- left Mitzrayim. Thus, G-d implanted the of Creation, and it occurs only because
mashot (twilight), including the mouth Yam Suf’s future transformation into it was so stipulated well in advance. On
of the earth that engulfed Korach, the its very nature. This was the case with the other hand, a nes nistar is not the
mouth of the well that provided water the creation of all of the nissim geluyim nes of Creation. It is a present-day nes
in the Midbar, the mouth of the donkey (revealed miracles) that would occur that G-d orchestrates through hashga-
that spoke to Bilaam, the man, and the throughout history as well (Bereishit cha pratit, by suspending free will to
staff with which Moshe performed the Rabbah 5:5). achieve a given result.
signs in Mitzrayim. Nissim nistarim (hidden miracles), how- Some explain (see Rav Shlomo Yosef

All of nature had been created on the ever, are of a completely different nature. Zevin, LeTorah UlaMoadim, Purim 1)
previous six days, but these future mir- The Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 3:17) that this is why we drink wine on Purim
acles, exceptions to G-d’s natural order, explains that although G-d does not to a greater extent than on other Yamim
were provided for on erev Shabbat at adjust the laws of nature He established Tovim, to the point of ע ַ דָי א ָ ל ְ ּ ד ד ַ ע – “until
bein haShmashot. Thus, the Rambam during Creation, He does, at times, one does not know [the difference
explains, it is not the case, as it may exercise hashgacha pratit to suspend between cursed is Haman and blessed
appear to an onlooker, that G-d altered man’s free will. In other words, free will is Mordechai]” (Megillah 7b). Contrary
the laws of nature at the time those is the only aspect of world events not to the common impression that a nes
miracles occurred. Instead, the ratzon governed by the laws of nature. nigleh is of a higher caliber, a nes nistar
Hashem that these innovations occur The Rambam presents a mashal of a such as the nes Purim deserves greater
in the future was present at the time of ship that capsizes at sea. G-d desires that celebration. After all, it was a nes that
Creation itself (see Rambam, Shemoneh this accident should occur and therefore G-d performed at the time of Morde-
Perakim, 8; Peirush HaMishnayot, Avot He may suspend the ship manufacturer’s chai and Esther, not an ancient nes that
5:6). free will, so the ship is less sturdy than is really part of the nes of the Creation
usual. Furthermore, G-d may see to it itself.
The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 21:6)
expounds on a pasuk describing kriyat that a rasha decides to travel on the Adapted from Rav Schachter on the Parsha II.
ship, even though he is unaccustomed to
Yam Suf along the same lines. The pasuk doing so, and that a tzaddik avoids trav-
describes, ֹונ ָ תי ֵ א ְ ל ר ֶ ק ּ ֹב תֹונ ְ פ ִ ל םָּי ַ ה ב ׁ ָ שָּי ַ ו – “and eling on the ship. G-d similarly adjusts Rabbi Hershel Schachter is Rosh Yeshiva
the water went back to its power toward the choices that people make in order to and Rosh Kollel at Rabbi Isaac Elchanan
morning” (Shemot 14:27), and the Mid- arrange for nissim nistarim. Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University.
rash relates the word ֹונ ָ תי ֵ א ְ ל to ֹואָנ ְ ת ִ ל (to
its stipulation). This indicates that the It emerges from this explanation that A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
original creation of the Yam Suf was a nes nigleh, though it appears to the mizrachi.org/speakers

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