Monday, October 25, 2010

Reacting to a miracle

Hi,

"A man was travelling in Ever Yamina when he was attacked by a lion. Miraculously, he was spared. He went to Rava, who told him, 'Whenever you come to that place, recite this blessing: Blessed is the One who performed a miracle for me on this site.'"

(Talmud, Berachot 54a)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

3 comments:

  1. Who sent the lion to attack him in the first place, or does s*** just happen and we hope HaShem will save us thru miracles? If he were traveling with his son and the son was killed and the man lost his arm, should he still be thankful for the miracle that at least he survived despite the loss of his son, not to mention his own arm? Could you recommend sources that address this theological dilemma? I imagine Holocaust survivor literature attempts explanations.

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  2. Anonymous 8:40 AM-
    This is a classic question, and there certainly are sources on it. My personal favorite is the Netziv on the Sifri, Bamidbar 42. Do you have access to that?

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  3. Thank you. I believe I have some local sources whom I will approach for that reference. Also, I apologize for my *** reference to "bad things". (One of my personal output filters was malfunctioning or being poorly monitored.)

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