Jewish history consists of many epoch-making events. However, not all of these occurrences have entered the consciousness of the Jewish people. For this to happen, the event must become, as Jewish philosopher Emile Fackenheim calls it, a root experience; a moment in which the hand of God becomes most apparent through His active participation in Jewish history. Still, this alone is not sufficient to transform an event into a root experience of enduring value. It is also necessary for the experience to take place in front of a multitude of observers, as in the case of the splitting of the Red Sea, when “what a maidservant saw by the sea Yechezkel ben Buzi [the prophet] did not see in all of his days.” (*) It is not the opening of the heavens but rather the transformation of the earth that is decisive in affecting all future Jewish generations. However, above and beyond all, a third element is necessary. It must be possible for later generations to have access to this vision. Only then can one speak of an actual root experience. If a vision cannot be shared with later generations, it will turn into a claim of the past and lose much of its religious value within Judaism.
In this context, it is most important to realize that it is not the conventional understanding of a miracle that is of importance here. While nobody can deny that the splitting of the Red Sea was a violation of the laws of nature, this is not the source of its religious power or message. The most important quality of a miracle is not that it is supernatural, or super-historical, but that it is a moment which, even if it can be argued away in terms of science and brought into the nexus of nature and normal history, remains miraculous in the eyes of the person who encountered it. The real power of a miracle is that it is an astonishing experience of an event in which the current system of cause and effect becomes, as it were, transparent, permitting a glimpse of the sphere in which another unrestricted Power is at work. As such, it destroys the security of all knowledge and undoes the normalcy of all that is ordinary. It is the abiding astonishment that is crucial. The religious person stands in wonder; no knowledge or cognition can weaken his amazement. Any natural explanation will only deepen his wonder. It is in this sense that a historical miracle becomes a root experience and allows later generations to have access to it through their own involvement in it. It is possible for these later generations to relive the experience, not because of what happened, but through the way they perceive it.
The establishment of the State of Israel was no doubt an epoch-making event. It is the completely extraordinary nature of this event that stands out – the transformation of the Jewish people’s earthliness into a radically different situation. While miracles no doubt occurred to enable it to happen, the most important religious dimension is, again, the enduring astonishment at this event, especially after the Holocaust. Only when the establishment of the State of Israel is seen in the light of the miracle at the Red Sea will its fascination continue. And this is exactly where the greatest danger to Israel’s continued existence lies. Just as we are informed that the miracle at the Red Sea lost its religious impact on the Israelites, and normalcy became the call of the day when they complained that God had left them, so we see a similar component at work in today’s Israeli society and leadership. Just as the complaints concerning food and water took on a new impetus after the great miracle at the Sea, so we see a mentality of psychological denial and existential dullness in the State of Israel where many people, and most of all members of its leadership, no longer understand the miracle of the State’s very existence. And just as the Israelites in the desert paid a heavy price, so will Israeli society if it does not force itself once again to look through the clouds, marvel at the wonder of it all, and rejuvenate itself through it.
Pesach Kasher veSameach !
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(*) Mechilta d’Rabbi Yishmael, Masechet Shira, 3
Only when our leadership understand’s the Eternal’s hand in three miracles, establishment of the Israel, revival of Hebrew as a spoken language, and victory in 1967 with the unification of Jerusalem, will more Arabs Muslims also begin to understand it.
Rabbi Cardozo
I agree with your comments one hundred per cent. May we see a shift which may come about if individuals continually repeat your message of the miracle of Israel in our times.
שבת שלום וחג פסח כשר שמח
ED
Dear Rabbi Cardozo, You write; “Just as the complaints concerning food and water took on a new impetus after the great miracle at the Sea, so we see a mentality of psychological denial and existential dullness in the State of Israel where many people, and most of all members of its leadership, no longer understand the miracle of the State’s very existence. And just as the Israelites in the desert paid a heavy price, so will Israeli society if it does not force itself once again to look through the clouds, marvel at the wonder of it all, and rejuvenate itself through it.” Do you mean the State of Israel denies the miracle of the Red Sea opening? What are the practical implications of this?What is the shape of ‘existential dullness’? I’m trying to picture the nitty-gritty of what this looks like in real life terms. What form would the ‘price to be paid’ take? I sense the threat but I’m unable to make a connection, see what form ‘rejuvenation’ must take. Michelle Friedman