Hebrew scholar and Jewish academic Irene Lancaster reflects on the meaning of a miracle.
As Rabbi Nathan Cardozo was writing the chapter on ‘Bo’ (‘Come’: Exodus 10:1-13:16) for his book, Shemot: The Book of Exodus, on the miracles that took place in Egypt, he adds the comment that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were just making peace with the State of Israel. This was indeed a miracle.
The question must be posed: Is Israel herself a miracle? What in fact is a miracle?
As I write this, the body of the last remaining Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, was found and returned to Israel. He was ‘the first to go out; the last to return!’ He is being buried in his Negev home town as I write.
It is surely no coincidence that all this took place around Holocaust Memorial Day, with the passing of the much-denigrated Holocaust Memorial Bill and it now becoming an Act.
Holocaust survivor families speaking in the House of Lords on Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27, pointed out the double standards surrounding this Act, exacerbated by the BBC refusing to use the word ‘Jew’ on its specially-honed commemorative programmes, while Israel concentrated on the miracle of being able to stop counting the days of the October 7, 2023 war after reaching day 843.
The return of Ran Gvili’s body coincided with the Sedra of Beshalach: ‘When Pharaoh let the people go (Exodus 13:17)’ Moses takes the bones of Joseph with him (v 19) to be buried in the Promised Land, which Joseph had requested (Genesis 50:25) as his very last words.
Let us return however to the biblical miracles of Egypt outlined in the previous Sedra of ‘Bo’ (Exodus 10:1-13:16). The fact that the Jewish people have suffered atrocities and disasters throughout their very long history, and yet have survived and flourished, outliving all their enemies, is maybe the greatest miracle of all, crowned by the creation and contribution of the State of Israel.
For Rabbi Cardozo: ‘the true power of a miracle is in the individual’s experience of an event … permitting a glimpse of the sphere in which another unrestricted Power is at work.’
For the Russian Orthodox Christian theologian, Nikolai Berdyaev (1874-1948): ‘ … this people ought long ago to have perished. Its survival is a mysterious and wonderful phenomenon … The survival of the Jews, their resistance to destruction, their endurance under absolutely peculiar conditions and the fateful role played by them in history, all these point to the particular and mysterious foundations of their destiny.’
According to Rabbi Cardozo, despite being surrounded by more than 100 million Arab and Muslim people and subject to wars, murders and acts of terrorism on an ongoing basis, ‘the people of Israel continue to experience a great number of miracles.’
‘Throughout Israel’s history, these miracles have given birth to optimism.’ Even after suicide bombings and the recent trauma of October 7, 2023, the worst anti-Jewish atrocity suffered since the Shoah itself, ‘almost as soon as the smoke had cleared, things got back to normal.’
‘ … We must realize that miracles have been part of Israel’s history as long as Jews, in and outside the Land, have understood their uniqueness and have done everything possible to merit these extraordinary events.’
Part of this openness to miracles comes from the Hebrew understanding of the concept ‘duty calls’. In English this call appears to be coming from afar. In order to hear this call we ourselves have to come nearer. Some prefer not to approach at all, opting to stay away from the call of duty.
In Hebrew however, obligation is viewed very differently. In Hebrew, obligation actually ‘embraces’ us. There are no ‘long-distance calls.’ Rather, these calls hold us in their grasp. This type of duty encourages growth. It allows us to live as full human beings.
Maybe this embrace of obligation is why the Sedra of ‘Bo’ starts with G-d coaxing Moses to ‘’come to’ Pharaoh.’ We might have thought that Moses would approach Pharaoh on his own. But this time, for the three final plagues, G-d was ‘with Moses’ forever.
G-d Himself would help Moses overcome Pharaoh’s stranglehold over the enslaved children of Israel. Now, after seven unsuccessful attempts to persuade Pharaoh to see reason, G-d tells Moses that they will go together. In this way, with G-d at his side, Moses could finally leave Egypt and darkness behind. Moses could now truly face his fears head-on, as genuine freedom awaits both him and the children of Israel.
