Category — Miracle?

I arrived to the terminal at 12:28 , walked up to the desk, and… was informed that they had just closed the desk and I had missed my flight. No more flights to NYC were set for that day. Oh, how aggravating!

No story or begging I could come up with could convince the airline to let me board, and so I was left with no option but to buy a new ticket on a different airline. Thank G-d, I was given a refund for the missed flight.

With much time on my hands until the flight, I started playing G-d and try to figure out why I had missed my flight; after all, it was the first time in my life that I had made such a mistake. I’m usually one of those who arrive together with the oldies even before the desk has opened…

Having read so many a book on Divine Providence, citing tales of so-and-so who missed his flight and was saved from a crash, or the guy who missed the train and was saved from certain death on 9/11, I could already imagine my plane getting high jacked and…. Blah blah blah… Just like in the movies.

Oh, if such a thing were to happen, what a story I would have to share! In my mind’s eye, I saw myself telling everyone how G-d had watched over me and preaching about how everything is so orchestrated by our Father in Heaven. Feelings of gratitude would permeate my being, and tears would come to the eyes of the audiences. And they would all (including me) turn over a new chapter in their lives.

BOOM…

Suddenly normalcy hit me like a bolt of lightning. How immature my thoughts have been! How cruel! NINETY PEOPLE DON’T HAVE TO DIE, FOR ME TO KNOW THAT G-D WATCHES ME.

Do the twin towers have to fall for me to know that G-d watches over me? Does sickness and death have to strike, Heaven forbid, for us to appreciate the miracle of life?

NO! We can see G-d in the wave of a leaf, and in the breaths we take. Every moment is a miracle, every step monumental. And every circumstance is an opportunity to experience G-dliness – even missing a flight when, Thank G-d, nothing happens.

Let us merit experiencing a truly miraculous world, one where every detail will clearly declare G-d’s glory. May it be soon, with the coming of Moshiach.

Amen.

A religious man sits atop of a roof during a great flood. A man comes by in a boat and says, “Get in! Get in!”

The religious man replies, “No, I have faith in G-d. He will grant me a miracle.”

Soon, the water is up to his waist. Another boat comes by and this guy also tells him to get in. He responds that he has faith in G-d’s kindness. With the water about chest-high, another boat comes to rescue him, but he again turns down the offer because “G-d will grant me a miracle.”

With the water up to his chin, a helicopter throws down a ladder and they tell him to get in. Mumbling, with water in his mouth, he again turns down the offer of help, proclaiming faith in G-d.

He arrives at the gates of heaven with broken faith and cries to G-d:

“I thought You would grand me a miracle; I have been let down!”

G-d softly responds, “I don’t know what you’re complaining about. I sent you three boats and a helicopter….”

***

Did you have any events in your life that you could call a miracle?

Well, first we must define what a miracle is.Many might consider it a miracle for America to win the world cup. Having a government in Israel that finishes its full term would probably enter that category as well. A true declaration of victory in Iraq is certainly a desperate need – for the polls of the president… It would doubtless be a miracle.

The common denominator in all the above scenarios and in all those times we declare phenomena as miracles or pray for one is that these surpass nature. Such a miracle is, by definition, an event that goes against the natural course the world follows.

When an old man lies in open-heart surgery, the stakes are high; his chance for survival is slim. And so we pray for a miracle.

With the score 19-3 in the ninth inning it’s kind of impossible to believe in a comeback, but the diehard fans remain hoping and praying for a miracle.

Yet there is another kind of miracle, one that is often overlooked. For a miracle is nothing more and nothing less than the Hand of G-d at work. Take a moment to reflect on your own life: Have you ever experienced a miracle?

For starters, you were born. That is the greatest miracle – life. Plus, you are able to read this email, meaning that your brain and eyesight are functioning properly. And surely there are those in this selfish world who love you selflessly – the miracle of love.

Search in those tiny encounters, in the cries of a baby, in the roar of a car, in terror attacks averted, in the progress of the sciences.

And if you’re too blinded to see G-d’s Hand in your life, set out to create your own miracle: go beyond your nature by doing a noble act, by making a positive difference in someone else’s life.

Miracles aren’t a thing of the past; they happen daily as millions of people change the world with acts of goodness and kindness. With what do they alter creation if not the power of the Creator?

We have just entered Nissan, the month of miracles. Let us all make the greatest miracle of all and bring Moshiach!