A talmid chacham met me, and his face was glowing. “For many years,” he told me, “I’ve been puzzled by a perplexing question, and this past month, I found an answer.”
He went on to explain: We all get excited about the miracles of Yetzias Mitzrayim. Hakadosh Baruch Hu overturned the laws of nature, and everyone saw tangibly that everything testifies to the existence of Hashem and comes about through His hashgachah. If so, how is it possible that Pharaoh didn’t see this as well?
Even more puzzling, how did most of the Jews not see this? Of the three million Jews, only six hundred thousand left Mitzrayim. Two million four hundred thousand Jews died during makkas choshech because they didn’t want to leave Mitzrayim (and according to some, it was many more than that). How is such a thing possible?
This past month I understood how it could be.
We all saw the great miracles that took place in Eretz Yisrael on Motzaei Shabbos Parshas Tazria. Hundreds of deadly missiles, including some that had the power to destroy several buildings, flew over Eretz Yisrael, and not a fingernail on a Jew’s hand was hurt. No one can understand how such a thing could occur naturally. Hakadosh Baruch Hu showed us tangibly His hashgachah over Eretz Yisrael.
And what happened on Erev Pesach on Rechov Techeiles Mordechai in Yerushalayim is no less wondrous.
A car drove into four bachurim who were standing there, throwing three of them into the air, and that night all of them sat comfortably in their homes at the Seder, singing Hallel. There is no logic to this. The terrorists got out of their car with a gun they had prepared well, and they tried to shoot but didn’t succeed. They had an ax in the car, but they left everything behind and ran off to hide. (An incredible interview with the four bachurim will, iy”H, be published in the Chodesh Sivan Magazine.)
We see clearly how Hakadosh Baruch Hu watches over Am Yisrael.
“I was sure,” this talmid chacham told me, “that now we would hear words of emunah and rededication to Hakadosh Baruch Hu throughout the world. I anticipated seeing how all Yidden would come back to their source after such miracles and wonders.
“Ultimately, though, we talk about these stories nonchalantly and explain, ‘Missiles flew in from Iran, and they succeeded in intercepting them.’ ‘Terrorists wanted to shoot at Jews and were prevented from doing so.’
“And this is the answer to the question.
“In Mitzrayim it was the same thing. After makkas dam, the headlines in the Egyptian newspapers were: ‘A problem that occurred in the Nile River caused its waters to be awash with blood. We worked on fixing the problem, and after a week the problem was resolved.’ After makkas tzefardeia, ‘A giant frog gave birth to many frogs. After a week, we succeeded in getting rid of the frogs.’
“And the same type of headlines appeared after every single makkah.
“They took every incredible miracle and packaged it as simple nature, and the foolish Egyptians believed them.”
After this conversation, I saw that the sefer Ohr Hameir says exactly these things.
Blessed is Hashem, Who has given us the Torah of truth and implanted within us eternal life. We thank and praise Him for the revealed miracles that He shows us each day. HaTov ki lo chalu rachamecha, v’haMeracheim ki lo samu chasadecha!
Gut Shabbat Pinchas Shefer
