Miracle, Test, and Free Choice

The Creator of the world created man for a clear purpose. The goal is that through the faith a person has in Hashem, he will earn eternal life, which is life in the World to Come. However, it is not customary to reward an achievement that was obtained with no effort; therefore, every person must face a test in the realm of faith and prove themselves. For this purpose, the Creator granted humans the ability of free choice. A person is not 'forced' to believe, nor are they 'forced' to observe the commandments.

A person believes and observes commandments because they want to, because they freely choose this path, foregoing the fulfillment of personal desires and overcoming impulses that lead towards a life without burden and without faith. If common sense were allowed to rule over a person without limits, this struggle would not exist at all.

Faith in Hashem would overcome the opposing impulses without battle. In the face of faith's truth, in the face of logical reasoning, and in light of the great reward awaiting Hashem's servants, indulgence would be completely and immediately defeated. Only the trait of 'suppression' allows the hesitation between following desires and standing on the principles of faith. The purpose of a miracle is to illustrate the presence of the Creator, thereby laying a tangible foundation for faith. However, as mentioned, there must not be 'coercion' to believe.

The moment belief becomes mandatory, a person could no longer deny the existence of the Creator, and the balance of free choice would be disrupted. Therefore, the Creator ensures that when a miracle occurs, there is always some 'escape hatch' through which the miraculous phenomenon can be 'explained' by a natural explanation. The explanation might be far-fetched and ridiculous as it may be, but it will be an explanation for someone who wants to err. Those seeking to strengthen their faith will use their sound reasoning to see in the miraculous phenomenon the hand of divine providence.

Conversely, anyone who wants to persist in denying the existence of a supernatural phenomenon will find refuge in a natural explanation and ignore the logic that discerns the supernatural phenomenon. Such a person will continue as if nothing happened. The most prominent miracle that occurred at the time of the Exodus from Egypt serves as an example: at the parting of the Red Sea, when the Israelites entered into the sea, the waters of the sea stood as walls on both sides, creating a wide passage with twelve lanes for the twelve tribes of Israel. How did this happen? A visible miracle!

Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and it was divided and split into sections. But the scripture notes an interesting detail: a strong wind blew all night. Why was this wind necessary? Can anyone really believe that even the strongest wind could hold up the sea like a solid wall? Has anyone ever heard of a typhoon creating a stable 'road' in the middle of the sea? The wind that blew that night contributed nothing to the splitting of the Red Sea, but it allowed staunch deniers to continue on their way and deny the existence of the Creator. This phenomenon repeats countless times.

Amazingly, its implications are vividly expressed particularly in our time. Science increasingly reveals the scope of the great miracle known as 'nature.' As scientific research progresses, highly sophisticated mechanisms responsible for the creation and functioning of humanity and the entire universe are discovered. These mechanisms clearly demonstrate that creation is the product of a wise Creator, a Creator whose wisdom is beyond human comprehension.

And yet, despite all of this, science has not learned to unequivocally recognize the existence of the Creator. Darwin's theory of evolution is one of the 'escape hatches' for skeptics defending this area. It allows scientists to ignore the revelations of science. These are people whose intellectual abilities are not in doubt. Despite all of this, we see that they have deviated in this area from the rules of common sense.

This occurs thanks to the free choice that the Creator has granted each person. This choice allows them to cling to puzzling explanations that do not hold up under scientific scrutiny, just so as not to recognize the truth of faith.