Q&A: On Miracles
On Miracles
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I would like to ask the Rabbi about miracles described in the Torah. There are descriptions that are hard for someone who has never encountered such things to accept. For example: a staff turning into a snake. Water turning into blood. A donkey speaking like a human being. A snake carrying on a dialogue with the woman [although there are those who argue that there it is meant as a parable]. My question is: a. Does the Rabbi think these descriptions actually happened in reality, and if you hold that this is only a parable or something similar, do you really believe that…?
b. Do the laws of nature known to us, which contradict the possibility of such cases—for example, living cells being created from inanimate matter—mean that if this indeed happened, God can change nature at any moment and is not bound by His laws? If so, do you think this could explain the possibility of belief in the resurrection of the dead?
In my opinion, this whole matter of miracles in the Torah and in the Prophets [where it is no less wild than science-fiction movies, such as: fire from heaven, chariots flying in the air, bowls of oil appearing on their own, etc.] and in the time of the sages of the Mishnah and the Talmud is very confusing. I would be glad if the Rabbi could bring a bit of order to this topic.
Thank you in advance
A Simple Person
Answer
a. Since in the ancient period there were miracles, it is possible that this really happened. Although it is certainly possible that all of these are parables. I did not understand the question of whether I really believe in parables.
b. Clearly, God, who created the laws of nature, is not bound by them and can deviate from them. The mouth that forbade is the mouth that permitted. In practice, it seems that at least in our day He does not do so. As for the resurrection of the dead, that belief is certainly possible (whoever created the world and us can revive the dead). So there is no question of possibility. Will it actually happen? I do not know.
In the time of the Tannaim and Amoraim, I assume there were no miracles. There we are dealing with aggadic literature and parables, not factual descriptions. And so too in Maimonides’ introduction to the Mishnah, where he divides approaches to aggadic literature into three groups: the fools, who see everything literally; the wicked, who interpret everything literally and claim it cannot be, and therefore mock it; and the wise, who understand that there are parables there and that the things are not necessarily real. As is well known, even regarding events in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), Maimonides interprets them as parables or dreams (for example, the revelation of the angels to Abraham).