We are continuing with the Bet HaLevi’s discussion of why open miracles don't happen today. The reason is because Hashem wants us to work on our Bitachon and Emuna on our own, and not have the cheat sheet and the answers given to us. For most of us, seeing an open miracle would force us to believe, so to say, and take away our freedom of choice.
In 1956 in Eretz Yisrael, there was a 4-year-old child who was perfectly fluent in all areas of Torah, quoting passages of Gemara by heart and proving that which
Chazal told us, that before a child is born, an angel teaches it the entire Torah. Although the angel usually causes the baby to forget, it seems, in the case of this child, that the angel had not done so. It's told over that Hacham Yehuda Sadka went to visit this child and asked him to quote from the Ben Ish Chai, and he was able to do so. He then asked him to quote from a certain sefer that was written by a rabbi, who did not have the best hashkafa/thought process, who wasn't accepted by many of the other rabbis, and the child wasn't able to quote that sefer. Rav Yehuda Sadka said that we see from here that there actually is a, so to say, Library of Congress up in the heavens with books that are approved, or no approved, by God.
Rav Leib Bakst, Rosh Yeshiva of the Detroit Yeshiva heard the story and wanted to confirm if it was true. He sent a letter to Rav Haskel Levenstein, who lived near this child’s family. (Rav Bakst was from the Mir Yeshiva that had escaped to Shanghai, and Rav Chaskel Levenstein was the Mir Mashgiach)
Rav Chaskel wrote back the following: “I heard about the story as well. I can confirm that it's 100% true. My daughter and son-in-law, Rabbi Reuven Ginsburg, live near the child’s home. She herself has seen this phenomenon with her own eyes. Originally, I wanted to go there and see this as well. However, I then thought to myself, if I feel the need to strengthen my Emuna by seeing the child, I would be declaring that up until now, my Emuna was not rock solid, for I'd be doubting the truth of the tradition with which my parents raised me, as if to say that perhaps they lied to me and I need more proof.
I therefore decided not to go.”
That means a person is supposed to be working on his Emuna on his own and not to be fazed by outside miracles or stimuli. Rav Chaskel felt that talking to this child would be an outside-type of stimuli, and not something he’d actually worked on himself.
That’s the key-we need to work on our Emuna not to have it come from the outside.
As the Mishna famously says,
Im en Ani Li, Mi Li/If I'm not for myself, who's for me?
I have to work on things myself.
Additionally, the Midrash tells us that when Abraham Avinu was a child, was brought to Nimrod by his father Terach, on account of his attacks on idol worship. Nimrod threatened that if Avraham did not return to the faith of his father, he’d be thrown into a burning furnace. Avraham chose to cling to his faith and miraculously survived the burning flames.
Rav Leib Bakst raised the question, How was Avraham allowed to forfeit his life and jump into the fire, if he was not yet commanded to give up his life rather than commit idolatry? He suggested that Avraham had reached such a high level of Emuna that he firmly believed that the One who commands fire to burn can command it to not burn as well, similar to Rav Chanina ben Dosa.
Applying the Bet Halevi’s principle, since Abraham had reached such an absolute level of Emuna, there was no need for Hashem to conceal Himself, and therefore Hashem allowed Avraham to experience such an open miracle.
Even our times, we have great Sadikim for whom miracles have occurred. ArtScroll recently put out a book on the Ribnitzer Rebbe, in which many open miracles were cited.
But again, these things only happen to people who have worked on it on their own.
Have a wonderful day.