The emunah that HaKadosh Baruch Hu is in charge of every denizen in the world, and their leaders, is, as we know, one of the tenets of our faith. We believe with full emunah that even the smallest, most minor occurrences that we encounter in our lives, for better or for worse, are done with the Hashgachah and Hanhagah of the Creator, and as Chazal say (Chulin 7b): “A person does not injure his finger in this world unless it is thus decreed on High.”
Under the guise of the course of nature, the world is managed with precise Hashgachah pratis. We are surrounded by countless miracles, as we say in davening, “and for Your miracles that are with us each day.” But they are concealed in nature, and we must just open our eyes to discern them.
On this subject, it is fitting to cite the piercing words of the Ramban in his commentary on the Torah (Shemos 13:16): “A person does not have a share in Toras Moshe Rabbeinu until we believe with all our words and encounters that they are all miraculous, there is no teva, nature, or way of the world.”
One of the things that brings us to this recognition is the recital of Birchos Hashachar with kavanah. When a person thanks his Creator each morning: for giving him back his neshamah and giving him strength to overcome his tiredness, for being able to stand straight and move his limbs, for preparing the steps of a man and granting so many good chassadim, he internalizes that all these natural good things “are all miracles.”
On this subject, as well, the words of Rabi Yosi (Brachos 53b) apply: “The one who answers amen is greater than the mevarech.” Because when a person answers amen with kavanah after Birchos Hashachar of the mispallelim, and he declares over and over his emunah in Hashem in that He is the King of the world Who supervises His creations at all times, He restores their souls, opens their eyes and releases their bonds each day anew, and only He can prepare each and every step that a person is destined to walk each day, he merits to internalize: “That everything that happens to us is all miracles, there is no teva and ‘way of the world.’”
In the past, I have written that in the order of the aleph-beis, the letters א, מ, ן are followed by the letters ב, נ, ס to teach us that in the merit of answering amen a person merits miracles. But we can add to this that this order of letters comes to teach us that in the merit of answering amen after the brachos, a person merits to recognize that he is surrounded with miracles, not nature.
So we have another lofty virtue of someone who takes upon himself to come early and answer amen to the brachos of mispallelim. He merits to recognize the fact that he is surrounded by “countless – which ניסים אין מספר ”,miracles is an acronym for amen. And this recognition will surely draw down to him an abundance of goodness and brachah ad bli dai.
Good Shabbos
Yaakov Dov Marmurstein
