A Jewish View of Miracles
By The Late Rev. Sam Stern
In the Scriptures
A miracle is an extraordinary event, either seen or unseen, which cannot be explained by any known human or natural phenomena and is therefore deemed to be supernatural. Those who believe in the literal meaning of the Bible accept certain occurrences recorded there, such as the creation, [Genesis Chapter 1] as a miracle.
In the first verse of Genesis, Chapter One, the Hebrew word bara is used to denote that God created something out of nothing:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Jeremiah also uses bara to show that the LORD created something new:
…for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth…[Jeremiah 31:22].
Malachi 2:10 also records God creating something out of nothing:
Have we not one father? Hath not one God created us?...[Malachi 2:10].
Bara Means Creator
The fact that God is the one who makes miracles can be borne out in the following verses, where the word bara is actually used to mean Creator:
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth…[Ecclesiastes 12:1].
I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King...[Isaiah 43:15].
…God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth…[Isaiah 40:28].
God’s Miracles in Egypt -- Use of "ot"
In the Hebrew language, as in others, one word can have several meanings. The word ot for example, can mean signal, flag, beacon, monument, mark or token. The particular use of the word in the sentence or paragraph or in a larger context determines its meaning.
In the book of Exodus God refers to two signs that He commanded Moses to perform so that the Israelites would have faith: 1) the rod that became a serpent [4:3], and 2) Moses’ hand that became leprous and then healed [4:7].
Since God ordained Moses His servant to perform these two signs, and the Bible shows that they actually occurred, both events are miracles of God as well as signs.
The following are two references to other miracles that God accomplished in Egypt:
Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt…[Numbers 14:22].
And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to all his land [Deuteronomy 11:3].
Later in Israel’s History
Another miracle occurred when Gideon asked God to show him a sign (ot) that He was actually talking to him [Judges 6:17]. God granted Gideon’s request and sent an angel to cause fire to rise up out of a rock and consume the flesh of the animal and the unleavened cakes that Gideon had placed there [Judges 6:21]. This sign was also a miracle.
Further, in II Kings 20:8-11, Hezekiah asked God’s prophet Isaiah, not God Himself, for a sign that he would be healed. The sign given, in answer to Isaiah’s cry to the LORD, was that the shadow went backward ten degrees instead of the ordinary going-forward ten degrees. This unusual occurrence that went against nature also qualified as a miracle of God.
I Samuel 10:5-7 relates Samuel telling Saul that he would become a prophet of God:
And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man.
Verse 9 of this chapter continues and tells of the miracles that came to pass.
The Aramaic Word -- ness
Another word, ness, which is Aramaic and is also used in the Hebrew language, is sometimes translated as sign and standard, and also denotes a miracle. Numbers 26:10, for example, tells of a miracle that happened regarding the destruction of Korah after the plague:
And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah…and they became a ness.
The Talmudic writers use the Aramaic word ness almost exclusively to mean miracle. For example, Berachoth 19b gives an interpretation of why miracles were performed for former generations, but not for the generation of that time:
The former generations were ready to sacrifice their lives for God’s name, but we do not sacrifice our lives for God’s name.
Berachoth 51a, on the other hand, sees miracles as a blessing:
If one sees a place where miracles have been wrought for Israel, he should say: Blessed be he who brought miracles for our ancestors in this place.
In the following comment, the Talmudist sees birth as a miracle. Although it is said to happen to an individual, Leah the wife of Jacob, it can also be construed as affecting the future of the Jewish nation:
Leah the wife of Jacob said, I have six sons. The handmaids have four sons. If this child that I bear is a son, my sister Rachel will not be equal to her handmaids.
The writer continues:
Therefore the child was a girl, Dina, which means judgment. This was a miracle [Berachoth 60a].
A passage in another book of the Talmud, Baba Mezia, also deals with a miracle relating to one person and distinguishes between a major and a minor miracle:
A shepherd who guarded a flock left it…then a wolf entered in and killed a sheep or a lion came and tore it to pieces…if he were worthy, a miracle could happen…but he can reply, Granted I am not worthy of a great miracle, yet I am worthy of a minor one. This indeed is a difficulty [Baba Mezia 106a].
A reference to the Sabbath appears in the Talmudic book by that name, Shabbath:
Firemen…came to extinguish the fire on the Sabbath, but he [Joseph ben Simlai] did not permit them in honor of the Sabbath and a miracle happened on his behalf. Rain descended and extinguished the fire [Shabbath:121a].
Miracles Regarding Job and Esther
Rabbi Jose, in the following passage in the book of Chulin, enriches the meaning of the miracle regarding Job:
Rabbi Jose son of Rabbi Judah: If the gallbladder is pierced, the meat is not kosher [according to rabbinic law], but it says, "He poured my gall upon the ground [Job 16:13]" and he lived! His disciples retorted, You may not quote miraculous deeds. A miracle is an exception. The whole book of Job is a miracle [Chulin 43a].
Not only do some Talmudists consider the entire Book of Job to be a miracle, but the story of Esther also has a special place among miracles, as shown in the following reference:
Esther is compared to the dawn to tell you that just as the dawn is the end of the night, so is the story of Esther the end of all miracles [Yoma 29a].
Further, the Talmudic book Shabbath deals with many miracles regarding the temple. One of these important comments follows:
How do we know that a crimson colored cord is tied to the head of the [scape] goat that is sent to Azazel? [Leviticus 16:21-26] Because it is said, If your sins are as scarlet they shall be white as snow [Isaiah 1:18]. This cord turned white by a miracle to show that the sins are forgiven [Shabbath 86a].
The Biblical reference in the above citation does not mention a crimson colored cord tied to the head of the scapegoat and sent to Azazel. It was inserted by the Talmudic commentator of the passage.
A few pages later in Shabbath, the Talmudist writes:
It is written, But Aaron’s rod swallowed their rods [Exodus 7:12]. Rabbi Eliezer said, It was a double miracle [Shabbath 97a].
Another Talmudic book, Baba Batra 98b, speaks of Solomon’sTemple:
Ravina said in the name of Samuel, The cherubim made by Solomon stood by a miracle.
Berachoth 54a elaborates on the idea that miracles are blessings for Israel:
Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord who hath delivered you [Israel] [Exodus 18:10]. This blessing was for a miracle which happened to a large body but not for an individual.
In the above instance, God blessed Israel by delivering them; therefore, Jethro blessed God for His deliverance of the nation.
Miracles in the Temple
Other Talmudic books deal with miracles in the Temple. One of these, Yoma 21a, states as follows:
Said Rabbi Yehuda in the name of Rav, When Israel came to the festival they stood pressed together, yet there was a lot of space. This was one of the ten miracles that occurred in the Temple.
Further, Hagiga 26b says:
The shewbread never got old to show to the festival pilgrims…For Rabbi Yeshua ben Levi said: A great miracle was performed in regard to the shewbread: it was put warm and taken away warm.
Meila 17b, on the other hand, deals with a different subject:
The Romans gave out an order that Jews should not keep Sabbath and should not perform circumcision. The rabbis decided to send Rabbi Yehoshua, the son of Yochai, because he was a melumad b’nissim [a miracle maker].
What Does Sanhedrin Say?
Dealing with the religious life, Sanhedrin 92a and 92b advance the teaching that the righteous will return to life:
Tana Deby Eliahu said: The resurrected righteous will not return to the grave because it is written: Those who remain in Zion and in Jerusalem will be called holy…This will be a siman [miracle] that they are righteous.
The LORD will make them wings like eagles and they will fly above the water, as it is written: Therefore we will not fear, when the earth is removed, and the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea…[Psalm 46:2].
Use of Mofet
Another word for miracle is mofet, which also means token, sign or wonder. Ezekiel 24:27, which reads as follows, illustrates the use of this word:
In that day shall thy mouth be opened to him which is escaped, and thou shalt speak, and be no more dumb: and thou shalt be a sign [mofet] unto them; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
God’s opening the mouth of the speechless so that they can speak is both a miracle and a sign. The words are in this case synonymous.
Exodus, on the other hand, uses the word mofet to mean miracle when God instructs Moses:
When Pharoah shall speak unto you, saying, shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, take thy rod, and cast it before Pharoah, and it shall become a serpent [Exodus 7:9].
Infrequent Use of Pela
Still another word, pela, which appears infrequently, is translated as miracle in the following verse:
And Gideon said unto him…Oh my LORD…where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? [Judges 6:13].
From the preceding references, it is evident that miracles are an accepted teaching in Judaism. The Bible records miraculous events that the Jewish sages accept, about which they also write their comments. In addition, the Talmud contains many writings about miracles, some from the Scriptures and others not.
Two examples of miracles are worthy of note because they involve miraculous births. In the first case, God appeared to Abraham and told him that his aged wife Sarah would give birth to Isaac:
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son…Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women…Is anything too hard for the LORD?… At the appointed time I will return to thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son… [Genesis 18:10, 11, 14].
The Bible commentator Kley Yakor discusses this miracle as follows:
Sarah saw that a miracle happened to her against nature. She went back to her youth, when she was a girl. She felt that not for nothing did a miracle happen to her…She said, I who received back my time and period, it is because of my worthiness. Perhaps I will live much longer. But my husband’s youth did not return to him and he will not live much longer. Why then does he need a son in his old age? That is the reason that she laughed [Genesis 18:13].
We find another interesting reference to a miracle birth in the Talmudic book Baba Batra 119b. It tells the story of a woman who bore a child when she was 123 years old:
Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob said, The youngest of the daughters of Zelophechad was not married until she was forty years of age. How can this be? Surely R. Hisda said, The one who marries under 20 begets until 60, at 20 begets until 40, at 40 begets nothing.
But the daughters of Zelophechad were virtuous [Numbers 26:33]. A miracle happened in their case as that of Yochebed, [the mother of Moses] as it is written: And there was a man in the house of Levi who took a wife of the tribe of Levi [Exodus 2:1]. She was then 123 years old. It was a miracle.
Why is Yochebed called daughter? Because at 130 she was as pretty as a young girl.
The Hebrew words that mean miracle which are used in this article, the Bible references, and Talmudic interpretations cited clearly show that one of the tenets of Judaism is the belief in miracles. In the next article we will consider a miraculous birth which fulfills one of Isaiah’s prophecies.© 2003 Dorothy Stern - Mayim Hayim Ministries