A Deeper Appreciation of a Well-Known Ramban on Mitzvos that are Zecher L’Yitzias Mitzraim Adapted from the Torah of Rav Yitzchok Hutner, zt”l (Pachad Yitzchok, Chanukah, Reshima)

A Deeper Appreciation of a Well-Known Ramban on Mitzvos that are Zecher L’Yitzias Mitzraim Adapted from the Torah of Rav Yitzchok Hutner, zt”l (Pachad Yitzchok, Chanukah, Reshima)

By Eliakim Willner

Eliakim Willner is author of “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaTorah: An Appreciation of Torah Study”, a translation with commentary of a work by the Maharal of Prague, published by Artscroll/Mesorah. A continuation of the Nesivos Olam series, “Nesivos Olam – Nesiv HaAvodah: The Philosophy and Practice of Prayer”, and an adaptation of a collection of Pachad Yitzchok Maamorim for an English-speaking audience, are currently awaiting publication.

Before we present Rav Hutner’s insightful appreciation of the words of the Ramban we will quote this seminal Ramban directly, in free translation. The Ramban appears at the end of parshas Bo (Shmos 13:16).

The Ramban

“I now present a principle that will explain numerous mitzvos.

“From the time that idol worship began spreading throughout the world, in the days of Enosh, people began to develop corrupted faith ideas. Some denied the existence of a Creator and maintained that the world always existed. Some denied Hashem’s omniscience saying, ‘How does Hashem know, and is there knowledge in the Most High?’ (Tehillim 73:11). Others acknowledge His omniscience but deny his active direction of world affairs, claiming that man and beast are equal in that Hashem does not watch over them, does not reward or punish them and does not care what happens in the world.

“When Hashem chooses a group or an individual and performs miracles that depart from the natural order on their behalf these false ideas are discredited for all to see. Open miracles demonstrate that there is a G-d in the world who created it from nothing, who knows what transpires in it, who watches over His creations and who is omnipotent. Moreover, when the miracle is predicted in advance by a prophet it further demonstrates that there is truthful prophecy and that Hashem communicates with man and reveals his secrets to His servants, the prophets. This in turn demonstrates the veracity of the Torah. …

“Thus, open miracles and signs are clear proofs to the principles of our faith in Hashem and to the entirety of the Torah.

“And since Hashem will not perform signs and miracles in every generation, and in the presence of every evil person and scoffer, He has commanded us to continually make commemorations and remembrances to these miracles that we witnessed with our own eyes and to pass a record of these events to our children, and they to their children, and so on until the final generation. And Hashem was very stringent on this matter, as we see from the fact that excision was decreed upon those who consume chometz or neglect the korban Pesach…

“There are many other mitzvos that are commemorations of the Egyptian exodus and the purpose of all of them is that there be, in all generations, support for the principles of our faith through these never-to-be-forgotten miracles, and so that there shall be no opening for scoffers to deny these principles of faith.

“Thus, a person who purchases a mezuzah for pennies,  and affixes it to his doorpost, and has in mind its purpose, implicitly acknowledges that Hashem created the world, is aware of what transpires in it, actively supervises it, communicates to prophets; and he also implicitly acknowledges his belief in all the fundamentals of the Torah – and, moreover, he demonstrates at the same time that Hashem is benevolent in the extreme to those who fulfill his will, as can be seen from the fact that He delivered us from slavery to freedom and to great honor, in the merit of our forefathers, who chose to serve Him…

And in acknowledging open and public miracles, a person is at the same time acknowledging hidden miracles, which are the foundation of the entire Torah, for a person has no claim to any part of the Torah of Moshe if he does not believe that all our affairs and all our events, whether transpiring to groups or to individuals, are themselves miracles, not results of nature or predetermination.

“Rather, if a person fulfills the mitzvos his reward will be success, and if he violates them his penalty will be excision, all in accordance with Hashem’s will…”

The Pachad Yitzchok’s Understanding of The Ramban

What does it mean to say, in such strong terms, that mundane events are actually miracles? This is the focus of the Pachad Yitzchok’s discussion, as follows.

In his well-known commentary at the end of Parshas Bo (Shmos 13:16), the Ramban writes that open miracles enable us to appreciate that what appears to be the “natural order” is actually just as miraculous, albeit in a non-obvious way. Open miracles demonstrate that Hashem is continually aware of what transpires in the universe and maintains full control over all events, large and small. However, for reasons the Ramban explains, Hashem prefers to keep his “choreography” obscure, except in exceptional circumstances, hiding His involvement in what appears to be laws of nature. He concludes with the statement that anyone who does not believe that all apparently natural events are in reality “stealth miracles” has utterly rejected the Torah of Moshe.

Let us examine the inner workings of the relationship between open miracles and the stealth miracles that are commonly referred to as natural law, as defined by the Ramban.

By definition, the laws of nature take the form of limits. In the physical world infinity is a concept, not a reality. Things and events have start and end points and quantifiable measurements. Limits stand in opposition to the Ohr Haganuz, the primordial light that marked the onset of the creation process; the light about which it is said that (Chagigah 12a), “with it, man could see from one end of the universe to the other”. The light of the first day of creation is a supernatural, spiritual light that exists independently of any heavenly bodies (which had net yet been created). Hashem hid it away for a future time so that it would not be used by the sinful generations that would soon ensue. Since this light is infinite, the concept of “limit” does not apply to it and it is thus not subject to natural law, which is, as we said, bound by limits.

The Ohr Haganuz was hidden away for the righteous, in the world-to-come. (See Rashi on Beraishis 1:4, citing Beraishis Rabbah 3:6) It is important, though, for seekers of the deeper layers of meaning that underlie the words of chazal to clearly understand that when chazal say about a thing that it was “hidden away” the intent is not to convey that for all practical purposes it ceases to exist in the here-and-now.

It is a fallacy, for example, to think that when chazal teach us (See Shekalim 6:1; Yoma 53b) that the Aron, the ark of the covenant, was hidden away, they mean to imply that the world is the same with the Aron hidden as it would be if the Aron did not exist at all. If the Aron exists, it is certain that there are here-and-now implications to its existence, albeit that it is hidden. Rather, “hidden” means that the effects of the Aron’s existence prior to its being hidden are different from the effects after it was hidden. Prior to its being hidden, the effects of the Aron’s existence were overt and perceptible. After it was hidden its effects are also hidden; they are veiled and obscured. (See Pachad Yitzchok, Shavuous, Maamar 26:14)

The same principle applies with respect to the Ohr Haganuz. Ordinarily it also makes its presence felt in the here-and-now, in a veiled and obscured manner. This is what we call “nature” – finite, and following predictable rules which limit physical behavior – for example, the law of gravity limits the direction in which an object can move; the law of momentum limits how far an object will travel when force is applied to it, and so on. It is in fact a reigned-in version of the Ohr Haganuz that provides the energy for the material world to function, albeit in the limited manner that it does. However, what we call a “miracle” and what we call “nature” are actually the same Ohr Haganuz working in two different ways. A well-placed, miniscule “puncture” in the fabric of the veil that, as a rule, hides the Ohr Haganuz, manifests itself as a suspension of the normally restrained behavior in the area where the puncture was made. For example, in the case of kriyas yam suf, water rose instead of seeking its level – its behavior when the Ohr Haganuz is veiled, as it usually is. We refer to this suspension of the veiling of the Ohr Haganuz as a “miracle”. When, however, the veil remains tightly sealed in all directions, then the Ohr Haganuz only functions in muted form, its full powers hidden, and we refer to this state of affairs as “nature”.

This is what the Ramban means when he writes that, in reality, nature is actually miracles in hidden form. He is saying that the very same Ohr Haganuz that powers miracles, actually powers the day-to-day events of nature. When the hiddenness is lessened that light produces miracles. When the hiddenness remains intact that light produces nature.

The Maamar is adding an important additional dimension to our understanding of the Ramban. Superficially the Ramban can be understood as merely saying that Hashem’s involvement in world (and individual) affairs is as real and intense when it is non-obvious (through natural law) as when it is blatant (through miracles). This is certainly true. However the Maamar additionally points out that it is actually the same force – the Ohr Haganuz – that powers both natural law and miracles, although functioning in different ways. Not only do natural law and miracles have the same divine Author, they are both implemented using a common medium – the Ohr Haganuz.