נראה לי בס"ד בפשיטות דאם יש בנס דשינוי סדרי בראשית טובה יתירה מאם היה עושה באופן טבעי אין זה גרעון אלא מעלה, דלהכי עשה נס בשינוי סדרי בראשית כדי להרבות בטובה, וכמו ענין ירידת המן שנעשה להם שינוי סדרי בראשית שירד להם מן השמים, הא ודאי יש בזה כמה רבוי טובה לישראל מאם היה ממציא להם מזון טבעי מן הארץ, כי זה להיותו יורד מן השמים היה נבלע באיברים ואינו מסריח בבטן, וגם היה משתנה טעמו לכמה מטעמים, וגם היה ערב מאד, ועוד כמה מעלות נמצאו בו, ולכן מה שנתן להם באופן זה שהוא שינוי סדרי בראשית ודאי זה חיבה ומעלה להם, ולזה אמר מְשַׁנֶּה סִדְרֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית בִּשְׁבִיל 'לְטוֹבָתָן' דייקא ולא אמר 'בשבילם' מה שאין כן במעשה דגמרא דידן אין באופן שינוי סדרי בראשית יתרון טובה, שאם היה עושה לו נס להמציא לו מעות שיתן שכר מינקת, לא היה יתרון טובה בחלב שהניק מדדיו על חלב של המינקת, ולזה אמר שֶׁנִּשְׁתַּנּוּ לוֹ סִדְרֵי בְּרֵאשִׁית ולא אמר 'לטובתו' כדנקיט רבי שמעון בן גמליאל, דבאמת לא היה לו יתרון טובה מצד השינוי
Ben Yehoyada:
It seems simple to me that if there is a change in the course of nature with a miracle a greater benefit, that if the same thing would have been achieved through natural means it wouldn't have been as effective - that is a benefit and not a deficiency. In other words, that is the purpose of the miracle - defying nature to achieve something that naturally could not have been achieved. So is the case with the bringing of the Manna in the Wilderness - which was a greater benefit than having to find natural food in the Wilderness and helped Israel get through that time.
However, in this case the miracle could have been finding money for a wet-nurse through a miracle, and instead the man was able to breastfeed through a miracle. And there is no greater benefit to finding money rather than changing the father's nature to be capable of breastfeeding.
Olat Reiyah, Essays on Prayer, Prayer and Torah
Prayer serves to bring all the Torah, all service, all wisdom and the entirety of manifest life. For an exploration of this concept see Maharal Tifferet Yisrael perek 13, and 59, Midrash Tehillim 50. And Shmonah Kvatzim 3:339 from R’ Kook. into a natural quality and well-founded state of the soul. Prayer is the life of the moment, that is to say - she gives life to the moment by placing it in line to draw down the abundance of everlasting life. But the Torah is everlasting life, above nature itself. When natural processes run right, then a miracle. The word נס can mean a flag or a miracle (see Rashi on Bamidbar 17:15), and the two are linked. A flag is raised in the midst of battle, or as a sign of sovereignty, in order to have a symbol above the plane of struggle. When people lift up their eyes to that symbol on high, it adds meaning to their plane of existence and struggle by adding a dimension to it, literally lifting up a flat worldview. In the same way, miracles reveal that there is another order of existence, of expressed Divine will, which exists. The splitting of the Red Sea will stand forever as an emblem of what is actually possible in the world, despite the evidence of our daily existence. is a great and lofty level indeed, but when nature itself degenerates, then miracles are an imposition on heaven and a deficiency in that they change the orders of creation, “how lowly is this man…” (Shabbat 53b). For more on the relationship between nature and miracle see Michtav M’Eliyahu p.177 HaNes v’HaTeva. Also the Rambam Yesode HaTorah 8:1. We pray in order to set nature right, that eternal life be well-founded with us, aligned with the life of the moment which appears continually within us. “Let all that has breath praise the Lord,” (Tehillim 150:6) it is distinct praise for every individual breath. The momentary and the eternal double over together, becoming a delight. “I will delight myself in your statutes – and I will speak of your statutes continually“.
(ג) ודע - כי עם האמנת חידוש העולם יהיו האותות כולם אפשריות ותהיה התורה אפשרית ותפול כל שאלה שתשאל בזה הענין - עד שאם יאמר למה שם האלוה נבואתו בזה ולא נתנה לזולתו? ולמה נתן האלוה תורתו לאומה מיוחדת ולא נתנה לאומה אחרת? ולמה נתנה בזה הזמן ולא לפניו ולא לאחריו? ולמה צוה באלו המצוות והזהיר באלו האזהרות? ולמה ייחד הנביא באלו הנפלאות הנזכרות ולא היו זולתם? ומה כונת האלוה באלו התורות? ולמה לא שם אלו הענינים המצוה בהם והמוזהר מהם בטבענו אם היה זה כונתו? יהיה מענה אלו השאלות כולם שיאמר כן רצה או כן גזרה חכמתו! כמו שהמציא העולם כשרצה על זאת הצורה ולא נדע רצונו או אפני החכמה ביחד צורתו וזמנו כן לא נדע רצונו או חיוב חכמתו ביחד כל מה שקדמה השאלה עליו. ואם יאמר אומר שהעולם כן התחיב - יתחיב בהכרח שישאלו השאלות ההם כולם ואין לצאת מהם כי אם במענים מגונים יקבצו ההכזבה והביטול לכל פשוטי התורה אשר אין ספק בהם למשכיל שהם כפי הפשוטים ההם - ומפני זה היא הבריחה מזה הדעת. ולזה כלו ימי החשובים ויכלו בחקירה על זאת השאלה שאילו התבאר החידוש במופת - ואפילו על דעת אפלטון - יפול כל מה שדברו בו עלינו הפילוסופים סרה. וכן אילו התאמת להם מופת על הקדמות על דעת אריסטו תפול התורה בכללה ויעתק הענין לדעות אחרות: הנה כבר בארתי לך כי הענין כולו נתלה בזה המבוקש - ודעהו:
(3) Accepting the Creation, we find that miracles are possible, that Revelation is possible, and that every difficulty in this question is removed. We might be asked, Why has God inspired a certain person and not another? Why has He revealed the Law to one particular nation, and at one particular time? why has He commanded this, and forbidden that? why has He shown through a prophet certain particular miracles? what is the object of these laws? and Why has He not made the commandments and the prohibitions part of our nature, if it was His object that we should live in accordance with them? We answer to all these questions: He willed it so; or, His wisdom decided so. Just as He created the world according to His will, at a certain time, in a certain form, and as we do not understand why His will or His wisdom decided upon that peculiar form, and upon that peculiar time, so we do not know why His will or wisdom determined any of the things mentioned in the preceding questions. But if we assume that the Universe has the present form as the result of fixed laws, there is occasion for the above questions; and these could only be answered in an objectionable way, implying denial and rejection of the Biblical texts, the correctness of which no intelligent person doubts. Owing to the absence of all proof, we reject the theory of the Eternity of the Universe; and it is for this very reason that the noblest minds spent and will spend their days in research. For if the Creation had been demonstrated by proof, even if only according to the Platonic hypothesis, all arguments of the philosophers against us would be of no avail. If, on the other hand, Aristotle had a proof for his theory, the whole teaching of Scripture would be rejected, and we should be forced to other opinions. I have thus shown that all depends on this question. Note it.
(ו) עֲשָׂרָה דְבָרִים נִבְרְאוּ בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, וּפִי הַבְּאֵר, וּפִי הָאָתוֹן, וְהַקֶּשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר, וְהַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף הַמַּזִּיקִין, וּקְבוּרָתוֹ שֶׁל משֶׁה, וְאֵילוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף צְבָת בִּצְבָת עֲשׂוּיָה:
(6) Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs.
Maimonides:
https://hakirah.org/Vol%203%20Guttmann.pdf
To paraphrase, “As I understand the Mutakillimun they disagree on this point and say that the will is constantly needed in everything at all times. That is not our belief. For we believe that the will was present during the six days of Creation, and that all things always behave according to their nature as it says “Only that shall happen which has happened only that shall occur which has occurred; there is nothing new under the sun” (Kohelet 1:9.) Therefore the Rabbis found it necessary to say that all the miracles that already happened, that will happen in the future as promised, and that are irregular, all were willed during the first six days of creation. Those things had in their original nature the novel behavior that occurred later, at a set time, and when that happened at a fortuitous time, people perceived them as if they were willed now. That is not so. Our Rabbis expanded on this in Midrash Kohelet and in other places. They also stated “the world acts according to its custom.”33
הרב אליהו דסלר:
אין בין נס והטבע כלום: הכל נס הוא; כל העולם כולו אין לו שום סיבה זולת רצונו ית', ורצונו היינו מעשיו והנהגתו, כי כל אשר ברצונו מתהווה מאליו, רק זה שאנו קוראים לו נס היינו רצון שיתהווה עניין שלא הורגלנו בו, וממילא החידוש פועל בנו להתעורר ולראות בו את יד ה'. וזה שאנו קוראים טבע הוא אשר רצונו ית' שיתמיד אופן אחד אשר נהיה מורגלים בו, ויהיה מקום לנסות את האדם, אם גם בכזה יראה אך את רצון ה' לבד, או יחשוב כי מסר השי"ת כוחות לטבע - ושבתוך הטבע יש גם לאדם עצמו כוח לפעול בדרך סיבה ומסובב. ולפי זה הטבע איננה במציאות כלל, אלא היא רק אחיזת עיניים לאדם, שיהיה לו מקום לטעות וגם לבחור באמת.
Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler:
There is no difference between miracle and nature. Everything is nature! The entire world exists only because of Hashem's will, and His will is His doing and leadership. Since everything that He wills manifests itself. What we call a "miracle" are simply the manifestations of Hashem's will that we are not accustomed to, and therefore that novelty is viewed as a miracle from our point of view. What we call "nature" are things that Hashem's will is consistently manifesting and we are accustomed to...
It is an ultimate test for man. The "nature" is a "miracle" in disguise. Everything is Hashem's direct will, and "nature" is an optical illusion, in order for man to have free will and have a place to make mistakes and choose the true path.
Solomon Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology: Major Concepts of the Talmud , p. 7
In the whole of rabbinic literature there is not one single instance on record that a rabbi was ever asked by his colleagues to demonstrate the soundness of his doctrine, or the truth of a disputed halakhic case, by performing a miracle. Only once do we hear of a rabbi who had recourse to miracles for the purpose of showing that his conception of a certain halakhah was a right one. And in this solitary instance the majority declined to accept the miraculous intervention as a demonstration of truth and decided against the rabbi who appealed to it. Nor, indeed, were such supernatural gifts claimed by all the rabbis. Not a single miracle is reported, for instance, of the great Hillel, or his colleague Shammai, both of whom exercised such an important influence on rabbinic Judaism. On the other hand, we find that such men as, for instance, Honi ha-Me’aggel, whose prayers were much sought after in time of drought, or Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa, whose prayers were often solicited in cases of illness, left almost no mark on Jewish thought, the former being known only by the wondrous legends circulating about him, the latter being represented in the whole Talmud only by one or two moral sayings.
Rabbi Mordechai Broyer:
The miracles do not bring one to Emunah (faith, conviction in God), rahter the Emunah prepares the heart to see the miracles.
הרב קוק:
Rav Kook's view is that there is a synthesis between nature and miracles. Ultimately, everything is from Hashem, and the natural course of events and nature itself is elevated when the splendour of the miraculous realm appears from within it. The relationship between nature and miracle is parallel to the relationships between the external and internal ways of viewing the world.
Questions:
1. According to the Talmud's story - what is the dispute between Abayei and Rav Yosef?
2. Which commentaries view that miracles are inherently good?
3. Which commentaries view that miracles are inherently not good or even bad?
4. What is your personal opinion?
5. Do you think we should live our life relying on miracles or wanting miracles?
6. What Miracles have you experienced in your lifetime?