Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” These words come to life in a startling way on Israel’s Channel 12 a few days ago.
The Prime Minister was being interviewed by the highly experienced news anchor Dana Weiss. Asked a question about the battle against coronavirus, Bibi transformed into a biblical prophet. He raised his hands heavenwards, gazed deeply through the studio ceiling to the skies above and intoned the words “With God’s help”.
Failing to recognise the transubstantiation of cynical politician into Old Testament seer, Weiss corrected him. “Surely you mean with the help of Machon Weitzmann? [The Weizmann Institute]” Rejecting the vital role which Israel’s leading scientific institution could play in halting the pandemic, Bibi repeated “With God’s help.” Dana Weiss held her ground, explaining that the Bet Hamikdash of old (the Temple) had been replaced by Machon Weitzmann.
Before us the personification of Einstein’s polar opposites. Bibi looking to divine miracles, while Dana Weiss was happier to rely on science. This is, of course, not a new debate. On the one hand the Talmud tells us that “we should not rely on miracles” (Kiddushin 39b), yet on the other the Torah has instance after instance of divine intervention to save some or all of humanity.
Of all the festivals it is Pesach which has the most to say about miracles. Ten plagues, the splitting of the Red Sea are just two of the supernatural events which are enumerated in that wonderful family Seder favourite Dayeinu. When we read the Haggadah, we are seemingly entering into one of Einstein’s paradigms. We are sitting with Bibi gazing at the heavens. Dana Weiss may be whispering in our ears that there is a rational explanation for all the miracles but this is not her moment.
As ever sophistication lurks beneath the surface of the text. The sixth stanza of Dayeinu refers to the miracle of at the Red Sea. The story unfolds as a classical miracle, a divine supernatural intervention. Maimonides takes another view. There are no interventions. The world which was created is perfect for its purpose and no subsequent tampering and adjusting is required.
That the Red Sea would split on time was part of that Creation. At a certain time winds would blow and tides would change and the sea will split. Maharal, writing in Prague in the 16th century, takes Maimonides idea a stage further. There is a physical world order regulated by laws of nature. In addition, there is a parallel spiritual order wherein spiritual laws determine reality.
When a miraculous event takes place, we can observe it through either lens. There are two separate truths which coexist. Einstein is wrong, it’s not a binary choice, it’s a singularity. Bibi and Dana shouldn’t argue, they are both right
The Haggadah which we read today evolved over centuries according to a template initially laid down in the Talmud. We can find a large part of the material already formulated in the Mishnah written in the second century CE.
Then we find two third-century rabbis disputing how we tell the story of the Exodus. Rav tells us it is a spiritual story charting our nation’s progress from serving idols to the acceptance of the One God. Shmuel tells us it is a political story highlighting the emergence of a nation of slaves to become a free people.
This contrast is highlighted by the biblical verse, “Let My people go”, which is immediately followed by the spiritual demand, “That they may serve Me”. The anonymous author of the Haggadah, living some time in late antiquity, faces a dilemma — Rav or Shmuel, supernnatural or natural, Bibi or Dana.
He makes a momentous decision. He uses both narratives. The story of slavery, historical antisemitism and freedom weaves around the description of the spiritual growth of the Jewish people.
Shaare Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem was founded in 1902 by the legendary German doctor Moshe Wallach. He raised the money, diagnosed, prescribed, operated, in fact he performed most of the functions of the hospital aided by the ever loyal Schwester Selma, who lived and worked in the hospital for 68 years.
As patients succumbed to the slumber of anaesthesia, Wallach often asked the same question, “What is your mother’s name?” Some patients managed to challenge the need for such idiosyncratic information. It did little to allay the patient’s anxiety when Wallach explained that he wished to say Tehillim (Psalms) for him before he operated. Spirituality and science hand in hand.
As we fight our way through this current tragedy some have abandoned spirituality, wondering where is God in this crisis. Others have believed that they can ignore science and rely on divine providence to protect them.
It is claimed that some shuls have displayed “Closed” signs with directions to alternative venues written in Yiddish. Apparently the virus doesn’t speak Yiddish. We need to fall in behind Moshe Wallach. Only science will defeat the virus, but only God can help us search for the meaning of the catastrophe.
Rabbi Pollak is an educational consultant to Pajes and head of philosophy at JFS
