Philosophy:Miracles/1
Miracles
Introduction
What is a Miracle?
Tanakh is replete with stories of Hashem's miracles. It speaks of talking serpents and donkeys, the Ten Plagues, the splitting of the Sea, and the stopping of the sun by Yehoshua. There are many less flashy miracles, as well, such as those performed by Eliyahu and Elisha, not for the nation, but for lay individuals. These include the retrieving of a lost ax, the curing of a bitter stew, and the nourishing of 100 men with but one loaf of bread. Some miracles appear overtly supernatural; others less so.
In Tanakh, there is no clear definition for miracles. In fact, there is no term uniquely used for miracles. The term נס, used to refer to miracles in modern and medieval Hebrew, is never used in that meaning in Tanakh, where it always refers to a flag or signal. Meanwhile, the terms אות and מופת are used in a variety of ways, often referring to non-miraculous signs and symbols.
In medieval sources, the boundary between miracle and nature is similarly ambiguous. Are angels and spirits part of the natural world (as understood by R. Saadia in Ibn Ezra), or are they supernatural violations of nature (as viewed by Rambam and Ramban)? Are natural phenomena such as rain, disease, or reproduction actually natural, or are they miraculous manifestations of Hashem's will (as stated by Ramban)?
Given the ambiguities above, it is unsurprising that the nature of miracles themselves was questioned. How can one synchronize the unchanging laws of nature with the existence of miracles? Are miracles part of the natural world, do they coexist, or, perhaps, are the laws of nature simply a small part of a miraculous universe?
Additional Questions
Additional issues which affect this question include:
- Divine providence – How encompassing is Hashem's interaction with His world? Does everyone merit providence to the same degree? How often will Hashem actively intervene and perform miracles to either protect or punish?
- Mutability of nature – Once Hashem established the natural order, how fixed must it remain? Might the laws of nature change and evolve, or would that undermine the entire order of the world?
- Purpose of miracles – What is the purpose of miracles? What prompts Hashem to intervene and override the natural order? Is He always responding to a human need? Must that need be a physical one, or might the goal of the intervention be simply recognition of Hashem's powers?
