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Drash for Shabbat B'shalach/Shira By Charlotte Rheingold - February 2, 2007 This week’s Torah portion is full of miracles. There’s the cloud of fire that guided the Israelites, the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, and the miracle of the manna that sustained the Israelites in the wilderness. Despite all of these miraculous happenings, I’m amazed of the doubt the Israelites had for God. More than once they complained to Moses about their situation. I feel that maybe after seeing such a high concentration of miracles that the Israelites took them to be commonplace. This is kind of ridiculous because we still marvel at those events today. B’shalach reminds me of a conversation that my Hebrew School class had one Tuesday concerning miracles. We were discussing events that are clearly miracles as illustrated in the Torah and the not-so-obvious ones that occur today. Are phenomenon such as earthquakes, births, and even breathing thought to be miracles? Can they compare to a pillar of fire? We concluded that it depends on how you personally define the word "miracle." If, to you, a miracle is a God-sent event that happens once in a million lifetimes, then, no, breathing is not a miracle. But if you have a looser definition, a miracle can be anything from finding your inconspicuous rental car in the Disneyland parking lot to seeing a sensational sunset. Another way to measure is to look at how often a "miracle" occurs. An incident like the crossing of the Sea of Reeds that will only ever come to pass once is a miracle. However, couldn’t it be argued that how many times our heart beats during our lifetime is just as astounding? It’s an immeasurable number. To me, that sense of unknown and the sense of the unfathomable is as astonishing as the manna. Consider this: the miracles from God are thought to be the most ordinary. Rainstorms, hurricanes, blizzards, and other natural occurrences are regarded as the second most average. Everyday miracles, walking, breathing, waking up every morning, and seeing the stars at night are the extraordinary miracles. So, take a moment to think of all miracles, both extraordinary and ordinary. Shabbat Shalom.
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