31 Oct VAYERA: HOW TO PERFORM MIRACLES
The Be’er Mayim
Chaim (Noach)
discusses how
s u p e r n a t u r a l
miracles happened
to Avraham, but not
to Noach. Avraham
threw the earth,
and it was
transformed into
weapons. He was
thrown into a
burning furnace
and survived, and
so on. In
comparison, Noach
was saved naturally, in the teiva
B’Derech Hatevah. The difference
between them lies in the way they
served Hashem. Avraham served
Hashem beyond the rules of his
nature. As Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah
42:13) teach, “The entire world was
on one side, and Avraham was on the
other.” He also went against his nature
with the ten tests, especially the
akeidah. He was rewarded Middah
K’neged Middah, and Hashem
performed supernatural miracles for
him. Noach, on the other hand, served
Hashem according to the rules of
nature, as it states (66:9), “Noach
walked with Elokim, nature” (because
Elokim is gematria Hatevah, nature).
He served Hashem within the confines
of nature, so he was saved within the
rules of nature.
In the days of the Be’er Mayim
Chaim, many tzaddikim performed
miracles. The Be’er Mayim Chaim
explains that they did these miracles
because they served Hashem beyond
nature. He writes, “Even in our
generation, one sees the miracles that
happen often by the gedolei yisrael,
the true tzadikim. Nature bends for
them. This is because they serve
Hashem with righteousness and
truthfulness beyond the rules of
nature.”
We add that in our generation, too,
miracles and wonders will happen to
those who serve
Hashem beyond
their natural
limits. One
doesn’t have to
literally be
moser nefesh to
do something
outstanding for
Hashem. Even
small tests, like
learning Torah
when one
doesn’t want to,
refraining from speaking lashon hara,
remaining silent in a machlokes,
overcoming anger, dressing more
modestly, and so on, are examples of
mesirus nefesh, and for passing these
tests, miracles will occur.
The Gemara (Brachos 20) states:
Rav Papa asked Abaya, “Why did
miracles occur for the scholars of the
past, but they don’t occur for us?
Abaya replied, “The earlier
generations were moser nefesh for
Hashem. We aren’t moser nefesh.”
In Sanhedrin (106:) the Gemara
repeats this question: Why did
miracles happen in the past and not in
the present? This time, Rava answers,
“Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires the
heart.” Meaning, give your heart to
Hashem by abandoning your
temptations and desires that go
against His will. This is mesirus
nefesh that has the power to change
the rules of nature.