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This week's question is, in light of Hanukkah, what are the ways that I can see miracles in my life, and why does Hashem not reveal Himself in open miracles anymore? In order to understand this, we have to go back to basics. Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires to have a dwelling place in the world down below. Nesavah Hakadosh Baruch Hu liyos lo yisbarach diru b'tachtayim. This is why Hakadosh Baruch Hu creates the world according to the Medrash in Parshas Naso. What does it mean down below? Down below means that G-d desires to be revealed in the lowest places in this world. Meaning, we have to get down to the essence. In order to reveal Hakadosh Baruch Hu in this world, we have to strip away layer by layer until we get down to the core of our humanity, to the core of this world, and reveal Hakadosh Baruch Hu. That is a process, like peeling back an onion until you get to its essence.
That is a process. So the world itself goes through different phases. The first phase of the world is going to be more revealed. It's going to be higher. And as we get lower and lower, as we get closer and closer to the essence, things become more hidden. So in the beginning of a relationship, there might be more open communication. There's less pain involved. So there's the excitement of dating. There's the excitement of the budding romance. There's the initial phases of marriage. And then as a couple becomes more comfortable with each other, they're getting closer and closer to the essence, which means there's a painful process of stripping away outer layers. How does a couple reveal that they are essentially connected? when they're not communicating as well as they once were, when they feel distant and estranged from one another, and in their core, in their essence, they know you are the only person for me.
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So as painful as it is to be in this relationship, the revelation of our essence is that we continue to fight for one another. And the truth of the matter is that's what all fighting is about, right? Every couple is fighting against each other because they're really fighting for each other. If you could have subtitles to every single fight, what would it look like? How could you do this to me? Don't you know I love you so much? There was a time in history, there was a time in our history where Hakadosh Baruch Hu revealed himself in a more open way. And these. were more romantic times. These were more open times. But it wasn't the essence, it wasn't the lowest that it could be. And so we go through this painful process where we lose the Beis HaMikdash, where we are estranged from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, so to speak. And the fact that we're loyal, the fact that we went out into Galus, is the opportunity to reveal our essence, to reveal that in our core, what we are is a chelak ala kamimal.
So it has to be that there's going to be a process where we don't hear from him anymore. And it's so frustrating. How many young men and women have I spoken to over the years who tell me, why should I daven? I'm just talking to no one. That's the feeling that we have. We don't see open miracles anymore. We see miracles, but we don't see open miracles. What does it mean to see miracles? We look around. The fact that the world is evolving the way it is, is miraculous. It's just miraculous. There's no other way to describe it. The burgeoning of Tyre after the Holocaust, the fact that Jews have returned en masse to Israel, is unparalleled in history. There's something that's going on that's wondrous and miraculous. And yet we don't have open miracles. We don't have, so to speak, the finger of God that we can see and that we can look at unequivocally and say, this is a miracle. And that's why there are so many things that are wonderful today,
and yet at the same time, there's a feeling of distance and disconnect. So how can we see the miraculous in our life? Well, the answer is twofold. First, let's pay attention to the very clear miracles that are going on around us. Let's pay attention to the fact that Judaism is flourishing today, when historically any other nation in the world would have rolled over, and that would have been at least the end of their values, if not the end of their culture. We continue to have both. So we can pay attention to the larger, miraculous things that are going on in history. And on a small day-to-day basis, we can also be aware of the blessings, the miracles that happen in our life, that children are being born is a miracle. Every small thing. Again, this doesn't mean that if you miss a bus, Something has to happen to that bus in order for it to be a miracle. Sometimes we just miss a bus. We could talk about the Hashgacha Pratis of the Rambam versus Rov Rishonim,
whether or not every small aspect is Hashgacha Pratis, or whether or not you have to be a tzaddik in order to be worthy of Hashgacha Pratis. But we can become more aware of the small, wondrous, miraculous things that happen in our life. But on a larger level, the truth of the matter is, there are no open miracles. We can't become aware of them. What can happen is that we can become aware of the hidden nature of G-d in this world. We can become aware that everything we touch, everything we engage, every aspect of our lives is wondrous. It's filled with Hakadosh Baruch Hu, so to speak. So this is one beautiful pshat and what it means that Yosef accused his brothers of eating Eivar Menachai. How could Yosef have accused his brothers of eating Eivar Menachai? Eivar Menachai is one of the Sheva Mitzvot B'nei Noach. The Shuvatim were eating from a live animal.
They were tearing the limb off of a live animal and eating it. Obviously not. So one very beautiful pshat that I heard is that Yosef HaTzadik was saying everything in this world is filled with Hakadosh Baruch Hu's life. Everything in this world is a representation and a manifestation of Hakadosh Baruch Hu's will and wisdom. And my brothers are not engaging that world. The Shuvatim had a yesod of we're shepherds and we're closed off. They weren't engaging the world. They were exceptionally lofty people. So they weren't engaging the world. And Yosef was saying, you're tearing off the limb from a live animal. This animal of the world is lebedek. It's alive. And we have to engage its kedusha. So the way that we can reveal Hakadosh Baruch Hu in this world is specifically, because there are no open miracles, it gives us the opportunity to serve Hakadosh Baruch Hu, authentically from a place of essence, not just from a place of romance.
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