When does a miracle take place?
Identifying a miracle is tricky business. How does one define a miracle? Definitions include a surprising occurrence that has divine agency or an improbable, unexplainable event that is both welcoming and wondrous. But I am realizing that a miracle isn’t a miracle until someone takes the time to open their eyes and label the event. A sunset to one may just be a daily, routine event and to another, it is a miracle that the world continues to function according to a particular order. Waking up each day and taking a breath may be commonplace and insignificant to one, and to another, a miracle that we are gifted one more day on this blessed Earth.
Do you name the miracles in your life?
Yitro says to Moses, “Blessed is the Lord, who saved you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of Pharaoh, who saved the people from beneath the hand of Egypt.” The Talmud explains that it is Yitro recognizing God’s gifts that compels the rabbis to declare that when someone experiences a miracle, you must bless the moment. The Talmud continues with a litany of blessings, helping us understand that even moments perceived as ordinary or mundane should be recognized as gifts from God.
Take a deep breath and pause. Who are your miracles? What are your miracles? Name them, recognize them, give import to their place in your life.
Now, bless God and give thanks.
Shabbat Shalom
