With an Eye on Eternity - Chapter 9
With an Eye on Eternity
Chapter 9
This Book in One Big Document |
9. Miracles
It is beyond question that all of the creations of our universe came into existence only because the will of the Creator decreed that it be so. The same applies to all of the natural laws and the limitations associated with the universe. All of these [laws] were established only because the Creator in His wisdom understood that they were most suitable for the use of the creations He placed in the world. [This is what the world calls the laws of nature. Typically, people acknowledge such laws but, ironically, completely ignore the Master who instituted them!] However, just as He established these laws solely through His ill, in the very same way He can, at any time or period He desires, revoke them or alter them through His Will.
Events which the Creator causes to happen in the world contrary to the fixed set of natural laws which He established are called miracles (nissim).
By and large, the Master of the Universe wishes to run the world He created within the framework of its laws. Because He chose this particular system and designed it the way He did, it is certain that He knew it to be the best of all possibilities. Nonetheless, He does not refrain from changing these laws at the time He so desires for reasons known to Him.
It is possible that He may perform a miracle to make known the truth of His Divine Providence (hashgachaso) and His Omnipotence (yecholto). It is also possible that He performs a miracle because it is appropriate for use in dealing with a particular happening. Sometimes the reason behind such a miracle may be understood by invoking a rational interpretation of the occurrence and linking it to the overt and known features. It is also possible that the reason for that particular miracle may be connected to hidden aspects of the events and certain secrets of Divine Providence (hashgachah) which are involved. There are still other possible reasons for a miracle to occur which are not at all within the grasp of our mortal understanding.
Sometimes the Creator will bring about miracles through those dedicated servants which are close to Him. He does this to demonstrate the high esteem in which He holds such servants and the power which He vests in them to act in a way exercising mastery over the universe. Their degree of closeness to the Creator determines the extent to which they are granted the power to bring about miracles and wonders.
Belonging to the category of miracles is also the power of the Divine Names. It was the will of the Creator that he be called by various names. These names correspond to the concealed influences (hashpaos) which emanate from Him to His world and to the operational mode through which He administers His world. He desired and programmed into His universe processes which respond to these Holy names, and mere mention of them produces many miraculous wonders. He apportioned and designed these matters with wondrous wisdom, and he inserted a different potential power into each one. It was the Creator's design that by mentioning one of these particular names, a divine effect is triggered which consequently causes specific, unusual, and miraculous events to occur in the universe.
This Book in One Big Document |
The Kest-Lebovits Jewish Heritage and Roots Library
and is distributed by Feldheim Publishers
© 1994 Rabbi Yehudah Lebovits
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