Tefillah - 155 Seeing The Daily Miracles

Miracles Each Day

ועל ניסיך שבכל יום עמנו – “And for Your miracles every day [that You perform] with us”. We thank Hashem for the miracles He does for us.

There are miracles that happen once in a while and are not every day, and these are the great miracles that our people have experienced, such as the giving of the Torah at Sinai. One of the reasons it was called Sinai, as the Gemara says[1], is because sinai is from the word nes, miracle. The giving of the Torah is actually the root of all miracles. We also thank Hashem especially for the Rabbinic festivals in Al HaNissim, which are about the miracles we experienced during those times.

But there are also miracles which each person experiences personally, every once in a while. In the blessing of Modim, though, we thank Hashem for the miracles He does for us every day. So there are also miracles we have every day.

What are those miracles? The Gemara says that sometimes we experience miracles that we aren’t aware of. For example, the Gemara brings a case where someone missed his boat, and he found out later that boat had overturned during its journey. But what are the personal miracles that we experience every day?

The miracles which the general public experiences are not every day. (From a subtle viewpoint, there are indeed miracles every day for the public, but we won’t deal with this deep point here). The personal miracles are every day, but they are in different areas; sometimes a person has a miracle in one area of his life, and another time he experiences a miracle in a different part of his life.

But there is also a kind of personal miracle which every person experiences, every day. What is that personal miracle?

Nature, Hidden Miracles, and Open Miracles

It is explained in our holy sefarim that there are three levels with how Hashem runs the world. The lowest level is teva (nature), the higher level is nes nistar (hidden miracles), and the highest level is nes nigleh (revealed miracles).

“Nature” is the normal design with which Hashem runs the world with; it is the rules which He has carved into Creation. The Kuzari says that “Nature is G-d.” These are “laws” which Hashem has made in His Creation: the sun rises and sets, the stars and planets revolve, etc.

The higher level is nes nigleh. There are two kinds of open miracles – a miracle which the public experiences, and a miracle which is experienced by an individual, as we mentioned.

But in between the level of nature or the level of revealed miracles, there is a middle level: nes nistar, hidden miracles. The Ramban says[2] that from open miracles, we can come to realize hidden miracles. The purpose of Creation is for a person to come to recognize the Creator even amidst the most hidden situations; from seeing open miracles, where it is obvious that there is a Creator, a person can come to recognize the Creator in even the hidden situations.

Where Are The Daily Hidden Miracles?

Nes nistar, from a superficial perspective, is a miracle that we cannot see, being that it is not revealed out in the open. But if one lives internally and he has an inner perspective towards life, he can see all of Creation as a nes nistar. He can see how it is all a miracle.

How can a person see the nes nistar of Creation? We do not always see open miracles. All we see is nature. As for hidden miracles, we are really experiencing them every day, as we say in Shemoneh Esrei, ועל ניסך שבכל יום עמנו. What is that miracle we experience every day?

Examples of Daily Miracles In Our Physical World

There are miracles in our physical world, as well as miracles in our spirituality.

When it comes to our physical world, there are miracles all the time; as an example, “Hashem protects the fools”. In a sense, we are all like ‘fools’, because the world is full of dangers that we are unaware of, and Hashem saves us all the time from the perils that surround us on this world. Many people, in fact, get sick every day due to their ignorance of what’s going on in their surroundings. The Gemara[3] says that when a sick person recovers, it is a miracle that is even greater than the miracle that happened with Chananya, Mishael, and Azaryah. Even more so, the very fact that people are not getting sick as much as they really should be is a kind of hidden miracle.

Here is another example of a hidden miracle that happens every day: Every day, Hashem feeds the entire world. Every animal gets what it needs to survive, all the way from the biggest animals down to the smallest insect. When we think into this, how all of the Creation gets exactly what it needs to survive, this is entirely a hidden miracle. We are all kept healthy and we are fed.

Another miracle is that our souls are returned to us every day after we wake up from our sleep. In fact, the words ועל ניסך שבכל יום in Shemoneh Esrei are after the words ועל נשמותינו הפקודות לך, which imply that the daily miracle we experience each day is that our souls are returned to us each day after being entrusted to Hashem at night.

There are many more examples of as well of hidden miracles that are each day; we have given three examples of daily miracles. Firstly, however, we need to contemplate this concept at least in our minds, and then we need to internalize it into our hearts: to recognize, and feel, that Hashem is always running this world, with miracles.

Seeing Beyond Nature

If we only see “nature” as it is and we do not see Who is behind it, this is simply a denial of the Creator. As the Kuzari states, “Nature is G-d”, therefore, we must see nature as being run by G-d. Nature is one of the ways with which how Hashem runs the world, as the Rambam states.

However, if someone focuses on “nature” alone - even if he is aware that Hashem runs it - he is still tied to the perspective of “nature”, and in turn, he will be limited to the laws of nature which Hashem has designed as the “default mode” in Creation. He will not be able to see or experience anything beyond those laws of nature, albeit that he is aware of the fact that the Creator is running it.

This is because a person is dealt with by Hashem according to how he sees the world. It is written, “Hashem is your shadow”, and the sefarim hakedoshim explain that the way a person sees Hashem in the world is how he will be dealt with. If all he sees is nature, he will be dealt with according to the laws of nature.

But if he makes sure to see the miracles in nature – both the open miracles and the hidden miracles – he is then connected to the higher mode of conduct with which Hashem runs the world: the way of miracles. He will then merit to experience miracles in his own life, because Hashem shows miracles to a person who believes and sees the miracles.

This is not only because we need to thank Hashem for all that He does for us, as the Chovos HaLevovos speaks about at length in Shaar HaBechinah. Recognizing the daily miracles is not only for the purpose of having gratitude to Hashem. It is because there is a very big difference between one who thinks about the daily miracles with someone who doesn’t think into them.

As we said earlier, if one doesn’t see and feel that there are daily miracles, even if he is aware that Hashem is running nature, all he sees is nature, and he will be on the level of “nature”: Hashem will deal with him on the level of “nature”. He will have to make more effort to make a living and to stay healthy, exactly as the laws of “nature” demand.

But when a person reflects into it, and he sees and feels that there are hidden miracles taking place each day, and that the miracles are merely disguised by nature – this perspective enables him to connect more and more to the higher mode of conduct with which Hashem runs the world in, and Hashem will deal with him accordingly: he will merit miracles in his own life. He will find that less effort is required to make a living, to keep healthy, etc.

This is a deep use of our free will: How do we view life? What kind of mode will we choose to live life with? Although we are human and our feet are on this world, we still have the power to choose deeply, of how Hashem will deal with us – depending on how we choose to see the world. Chazal say that “In the measurement that a person measures for himself, that is how he is dealt with.”

To summarize, the more a person reflects with his mind, and he lives this concept in his heart – to be aware of the hidden miracles each day in Creation – the more he enters the level of hidden miracles.

When such a person thanks Hashem every day in Shemoneh Esrei for the miracles each day, instead of this being a superficial utterance, he will be able to say the words from the deep perception that he has reached: for he lives the hidden miracles, each day. And the more he lives it, he becomes more connected to this level, and he will see even more hidden miracles. He will then find that he has even more to thank Hashem about, because he is seeing more and more miracles.

Seeing The Hidden Miracles As Open Miracles

The Chazon Ish writes in a letter that “My livelihood comes to me in miracles.” When someone really sees the miracles in Creation, Hashem deals with him accordingly, and he merits miracles in his own life.

The more a person sees the “hidden” miracles as “open” miracles – the more elevated his soul becomes, and it can comprehend more levels, and it can see how the hidden miracles are really open miracles. This transforms the hidden into the revealed, and the person will see more revelations, entering more and more inward into the secrets of Creation. In this way, a person can eventually merit to experience even open miracles in his life.

It seems, superficially, that in order to merit open miracles, one would have to be on a very high spiritual level and to be capable of lofty comprehensions. But according to the perspective we have described, it is very clear, that the root of seeing miracles in one’s life is to always see the miracles in nature; this enables a person to see how all of nature is really a miracle.

Even more so, a person can see the hidden miracles of nature are obviously pointing to a Creator, and with the more obvious it becomes, he sees the hidden miracles as open miracles. He draws himself closer and closer to miracles, and he will find even open miracles in his own life.

The Prerequisite To “Ain Od Milvado”

The Nefesh HaChaim[4] says that it is a great segulah for one to believe, deeply, that there is nothing else in Creation other than Hashem: “Ain Od Milvado”. The more a person ingrains this belief, the more it penetrates, and Hashem deals with him according to the high perceptions he has reached.

However, a person cannot merit miracles in his life by starting with the words of Nefesh HaChaim. There is a prerequisite stage which must come before this. The first step is for one to see that all nature is being run by Hashem; that “nature is G-d.” The second step is for a person to reflect into the hidden miracles that fill Creation. The more that a person deepens his perception of this, he can begin to see how even the hidden miracles are really open miracles, for it is all pointing to how Hashem is running everything with Divine Providence.

Only after all of these three steps have been reached, can a person’s soul become so elevated and be able to to ingrain the words of the Nefesh HaChaim about “Ain Od Milvado”. After reaching that perception, a person can then be on the level of lessening his effort and to rely on his faith in the Creator. Although there is always a balance between effort and faith that we all need, the question is, how much of a balance do we require? It depends on the level of faith one has reached. The more a person sees how it is obvious how much Hashem is running every aspect of the world, the less effort he will have to make.

After a person reaches that perception, he has an entirely new understanding in these words of Shemoneh Esrei: ועל ניסך שבכל יום. He doesn’t just thank Hashem for the hidden miracles he sees each day; he thanks Hashem for the open miracles he is seeing.

How To Access This Deep Perspective

On one hand, we have described here a level which seems very far from us. But at the same time, “The matter is very close to you; it is in your mouth and heart to do it.” The more a person reflects into nature and how it is all miracles, he can then see the hidden miracles as more obvious that Hashem is behind them; it becomes simpler to him that Hashem is behind it, and he begins to see it more openly. This connects a person to the perception of miracles.

It would be a very high spiritual level for one to always live with this deep perception. But we can definitely be in touch with it at certain times.

We can access it at times when our hearts are open and feeling elated, or at times when we feel like we are suffering; such as the suffering of the End of Days, in which we can find Hashem amidst our suffering. The very joyful times we experience, as well as the very painful times we experience, are both opportunities to enter deeply into the perspective of seeing Divine Providence.

Other than those times, it is also possible for a person to feel the Divine Providence of Hashem so clearly, for at least once in his life; if he merits to feel it during more times of his life, this is even more praiseworthy.

It is for this very reason that we are all created for. The purpose of all our suffering, and all of our needs that we have as we live, is: to bring us to emunah, to ingrain in ourselves the deep perception that “nature is G-d”, and that even the hidden miracles are really like open miracles. When we reach this level of belief, we are connected in emunah to Hashem; we will be connected to the “Tree of Life” and partake of its fruit. It is the meaning of the verse, “And the righteous person shall live by his faith.”

The Miracle of Our Spiritual Survival

Until now, it was addressed the miracles that take place in the physical dimension of the world. But beyond that is the spiritual dimension, in which there are even deeper miracles taking place.

Rav Yaakov Emden[5] famously said, “The greatest miracle in Creation is the survival of the Jewish people.” The Jewish people are compared to “one lamb, surrounded by seventy wolves.” Our survival is clearly the greatest sign that Hashem is running the world with Divine Providence. The other nations have the world have all disappeared as the generations continued, whereas the Jewish people continue to survive, through thousands of generations.

“In every generation and generation, they stand up against us to destroy us, and Hashem saves us from their hands.”[6] This is the most open miracle in Creation, and it takes place every day. This is beyond the level of recognizing that “nature is G-d”, and beyond the level of recognizing the hidden miracles. It is an open miracle, each day. The nations of the world are always trying to get rid of us, but we are still here. There can be no greater miracle.

Even more so, the Gemara[7] says that every day, the evil inclination gets stronger and seeks to destroy a person, and if not for Hashem’s help, a person would not be able to overcome. The [inner] meaning of this is that within the laws of nature, it is not possible to fight the evil inclination. But Hashem can help a person overcome it – this is the daily miracle that Hashem does every day.

When a person doesn’t reflect deeply into this, he thinks that it is up to himself, as a human being, to fight his evil inclination as much as he can, and to use his power of free will, to choose good over evil. As it is written, “And you shall choose life.” But when he is aware of the above statement of Chazal and he internalizes it, he realizes that it is actually impossible to overcome evil if he were to use his own abilities.

When he does succeed over the evil inclination, he attributes this to Hashem’s help; and if it is before the difficulty with the evil inclination, he first turns to Hashem for help, in prayer. “Prayer accomplishes half.” He realizes and feels that the only way to succeed spiritually is that it is only possible through miraculous intervention of Hashem.

Miracles: Tapping Into The Limitless

A miracle is above nature, and that is why it is called ‘miracle’. There are two implications of the term ‘miracle’: anything that is not natural, and anything that goes beyond the bounds of Creation. These two definitions are actually one and the same. One kind of miracle is when the laws of nature are broken, such as the miracle of ‘kefitzas haderech’ (meriting a ‘shortcut’), and another kind of miracle is when nature is transcended.

Nature can be overcome; such as in the halachah of ‘Yisgaber K’Ari’, “Be strong like a lion.” But a lion has its limits. There are limits to everything in Creation. But we have the power to tap into the unlimited, which transcends the limits of Creation. That is ‘miracle’.

The fact that the evil inclination gets stronger every day and wishes to destroy a person pits a limited human being against the evil inclination, who is stronger than a person. But when a person gives himself over to Hashem, Who is unlimited, he merits the help of Hashem to overcome the evil inclination, and receives the power of the unlimited, to overcome evil.

Thus, the daily miracles which take place each day, from an inner perspective, is for a person to deeply realize that any energies which he does have comes from Hashem, not from himself. All of our strength can only come from a place that is beyond our limitations; from the place of “The rock of my heart and portion, is G-d.”  It is a power found in the depths of the heart, but that doesn’t mean it comes from our self. It comes from Hashem[8]. Because if Hashem would chas v’shalom remove His presence from the world for even one moment, everything would cease.

We must understand, deeply, that the daily miracles which take place each day are not just Heavenly ways, although that is certainly true. The depth of it is because there are miracles that take place in our own soul each day.

The miracles are not some force outside of us; they are inner force present in our soul, which Hashem has carved into us. If one wants to see the miracles of Creation, the superficial way of how he can see it is by observing the world. But the inner way to see miracles is to look within. There are miracles taking place, deep within the soul. There, we can see how nature is always being transcended.

Hashem’s Power In Our Own Soul

This is the depth of the words, ועל ניסך שבכל יום עמנו. It is the power to recognize that in our soul, there is a way to go above the limits of nature.  If one recognizes this power in the depths of his soul, he will be able to tap into the limitless, and receive success.

If one doesn’t recognize it, he thinks that all of his struggles fought are being fought from his own strength. Even if such a person asks Hashem for help, deep down he thinks that he is fighting his evil inclination, so his prayer will not be answered.

But when a person does realize that the power of miracles exists deep in his soul – in other words, when he realizes that Hashem’s abilities are able to be accessed within the soul (as we say in the blessing over the Torah, “Eternal life He planted within us”) – all of his life will be filled with miracles, with the more a person is in touch with this matter. He will be able to succeed in an unusual fashion, because Hashem’s miracles are taking place inside him.

This was how those who served Hashem throughout all of the generations were able to go way beyond their normal strengths. This also helps us understand the stories we hear about tzaddikim who performed miracles. Whenever tzaddikim performed miracles, it wasn’t because they simply had the power to perform miracles as it appeared. It was because they deeply realized that Hashem enabled them to have any power, and that He has implanted this power deep in the soul. They were always in touch with using the power of “miracles” that are in the soul.

This was always true, but it is especially applicable in our own generation, [the End of Days], when “darkness shall cover the earth.” If a person merits the “light” of Hashem to shine within him – he is connected to miracles, and then he can merit miracles.

Whenever a tzaddik in the past faced danger, he was able to escape it, through accessing the “miracles”. In the same sense, anyone today who is going through difficult times, can merit miracles, and be saved from all of the hardships crashing around them – through realizing that Hashem’s power lies deep within our own soul. That is the great “miracle” engraved in our soul.

Through accessing it, one reveals a whole new world, in which he can rise above all difficulties we recognize! It is really impossible to overcome the difficulties of this world. It is too much for anyone to bear. If someone doesn’t think so, he doesn’t understand what life is about. Yet, we are amazingly able to succeed on this world and overcome all difficulty - when we recognize that Hashem is within us.

In Conclusion

“Hashem nisi” – “Hashem is my miracle”; this power is found deep in the soul. When one uncovers this power in his soul, he doesn’t “run away” from reality as if he’s running away to “city of refuge”. Rather, he is revealing the reality that is “Hashem nisi” – to be attached with Hashem.