Does a Miracle Disrupt Nature?

Dor asks: "Hello. First, I would like to mention that I listen to lectures by Rabbi Zamir Cohen shlit"a on the Hidabroot website, and I sometimes attend his lectures on the weekly Torah portion in Ramat Aviv, thoroughly enjoying every moment. Thank you! Now to my question: In the lectures, I heard about the secret of the letters and the laws that Hashem embedded in nature when He created the world, through which supernatural miracles occur. Therefore, I wish to understand, does Hashem change and break the laws of nature when He performs miracles, or did He, blessed be He, already embed all supernatural miracles within the framework of nature? For example, was a miracle like the resurrection of the dead embedded in nature from the creation of the world? Thank you in advance."

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Hello and blessings Dor. Kudos on your spiritual strengthening process, and for the appreciation you have shown to the esteemed rabbi shlit"a. Rise and succeed!

The esteemed rabbi intended to explain that what we call nature and laws in the world is nothing but a visible miracle - a constant divine supervision on the small and the large details. The force of gravity, which at this very moment holds us on the earth, is no less wondrous and supernatural than the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea. The righteous who delve deep into this fact reach the root of the divine leadership behind creation, and therefore merit visible miracles from Hashem, which seem to ordinary people as a breaking of the laws of nature, but the truth is - there is no essential difference between nature and a miracle.

Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler zt"l beautifully explained this (in the book "Michtav Me'Eliyahu", Part 1, page 178). And since the language may be slightly difficult for beginners, I will phrase this important quote in simpler language.

Rabbi Dessler zt"l: "Nature is a law in creation, which the Creator placed so that nature behaves in a limited manner of cause and effect. Like sowing, plowing, and watering - all these are the natural causes that bring about the growth of crops. But in truth, we do not know the reason for this process, only that it repeats itself. Is it not a miracle that occurs constantly, a miracle we have simply become accustomed to? Imagine seeing a grave in which a person has already turned to dust, and suddenly from this grave emerges a human body growing from the ground, until eventually a living human comes out, walking and talking like any other person - what would we say about that? Wouldn't that be a miracle of resurrection? If so, why do we not recognize this miracle also in crops, in a seed planted in the ground, a seed that completely rots, and then suddenly begins to grow out of decay - is this not truly a miracle of resurrection?

(Photo: shutterstock)

Surely this is also a miracle, but we have not become accustomed to the miracle of resurrection, and we have become accustomed to the miracle of crops. If we were used to the opposite - we would call the resurrection of the dead in the cemetery "nature", and the resurrection of crops we would call "miracle". But the truth is that there is no difference between "miracle" and "nature", because everything is a miracle. The entire world has no reason to exist except the will of the Creator, meaning the actions and guidance of the Creator. Because whatever the Creator wills is created on its own. And what we call "miracle" is only something we are not yet accustomed to, and the novelty in nature causes us to awaken and recognize that everything happens according to the Creator. And what we call "nature" is what the Creator chose always to behave in one way to which we become accustomed.

This presents a test for man, whether he will see the will of the Creator also in the nature to which he is accustomed, or perhaps he will think that the Creator created forces in nature that man can operate by himself. Therefore "nature" is not reality at all, but is like an illusion, so that man has the possibility to err, or to think and choose the truth. One who has truly stood this test of understanding the divinity behind "nature" to the point that he no longer has such a test, a person who has reached this level does not need assistance from heaven through hidden nature, and therefore miracles occur for him. And Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa said in the Talmud (Ta'anit 25): "He who says oil shall burn, may He say vinegar shall burn" - meaning, he saw no difference in his heart between miracle and nature, and so the oil and vinegar were equal to him for lighting!

Let's describe it with a parable: Imagine a man looking into a house through the keyhole in the door, and through it, he sees the tip of a pen writing on paper, and he imagines that the pen writes by itself! So is the denier of the existence of the Creator who thinks that nature operates on its own. But if the person opens the door - he will see the person writing on the paper. So the believer sees that the Creator is the doer and causes everything, and all causes and human actions are in the hand of the Creator like a pen in the writer's hand, to do with it as He wills. The word "nature" is only a very superficial expression of the immense wisdom found in creation, it is impossible in any way that a "natural" process without life and intent would create such a marvelous world. There is no greater ignorance than such a thought! Every natural scientist seeks answers to questions of how, how much, and where - but he cannot answer the question "why does nature behave as it does?", is there not someone ensuring that the stars move in their paths? Who ensures that the concentration of oxygen and the ozone layer remain constant? In this way, all processes occur, the large and the small, the constant and the recurring, which are called "nature" meaning habit.

From this you learn, that everything that exists in the world derives from the power of Hashem who rules over all and renews creation at every moment. However, Hashem does not change the laws He established in the six days of creation - so our Sages revealed, that after the creation of the world, Hashem does not bring something new (Avot Chapter 5, Mishnah 6), rather the miracles were preplanned to be expressed in creation at the specific time and place designated by Hashem, who knows all generations beforehand. Thus, even the resurrection of the dead will certainly be considered a miracle outside the bounds of the nature familiar to us today, and nonetheless, it should be known that this miraculous and astonishing standard was set during the six days of creation, and was embedded and hidden within the wisdom of creation from its inception!