The last chapter of Mishna Brachos (Tractate Blessings) opens by saying that one, who sees a place where miracles took place for the nation of Israel, should say a blessing. The Gemara (Brachos 54) then explains this Mishna giving examples of where it is applicable. These include the place of the parting of the Red Sea; the place where the Jordan River split for Joshua; the stone which Og king of Bashan wanted to throw on Israel; the stone on which Moses sat during the war with Amalek; the pillar of salt which Lot's wife turned into; and the walls of Jericho which sank into the ground.
The story of Og is a popular Jewish legend. Og was a giant who survived the Great Flood of Noah and became a friend of Abraham. Later he became an enemy of the people of Israel and tried to kill them all. The Gemara recounts that the Israelite camp was three parasangs long. A parasang is an ancient Persian measure of distance and three of them would be about twelve miles. Og went and uprooted a mountain of the size of three parasangs and carried it on his head. But the Holy One, blessed be He, sent ants which bored a hole in the center of it, causing it to fall down and settle around his neck. When he tried to take it off, his teeth grew and stuck out in all directions, forcing him to leave the mountain there. To get an idea of how big Og was, Moses was ten cubits (about fifteen feet) tall; he took a battle axe ten cubits long; jumped ten cubits high; and cut Og in the ankle. It was a fatal blow causing Og to bleed to death.
The Gemara mentions the story of Yisro, that when he heard about the miracles that G-d performed for Israel, he exclaimed, “Blessed is Hashem that rescued you . . .”, (Exodus 18:10). Therefore for these miracles it would be appropriate for all Jews to say a blessing. The Shulchan Aruch rules, in regards to a miracle that was done for all of Israel, one is obligated to say the blessing, “that He did miracles for our fathers in this place”, and mention in it G-d’s name and His dominion over the universe.
The above cases were where a miracle was done for many people. However there are cases where a miracle was done for an individual. The Gemara brings a situation where a man was miraculously saved from a lion. Rava, a Talmudic sage, said to him, Whenever you pass that place say, “Blessed be He who wrought for me a miracle in this place”. There was the case, too, of Mar the son of Rabina who was once going through the valley of Araboth and was suffering from thirst and a well of water was miraculously created for him. In another case a wild camel attacked a man and at that moment the wall of a nearby house fell allowing him to escape. For these it would be appropriate for them and their descendent to say the same bracha, but not all Jews. Concerning this miracle which an individual experienced, the Shulchan Aruch rules that he and his descendents, but not all Jews, would say, upon seeing the place that it occurred, the blessing, “that He performed for me a miracle in this place”, and his descendants would say, “that He performed for a miracle for my father in this place”. Also G-d’s name and His dominion over the world would be mentioned. A blessing would also be said if the miracle happened on behalf of one’s rabbi.
The following subject of the Gemara are four classes of people who are obligated to offer thanksgiving. They are those who have crossed the sea, those who have journeyed through the wilderness, one who has recovered from an illness, and a prisoner who has been set free. Today travel is not dangerous but in the days of the Talmud it was. Likewise illness very often was fatal and prison incarceration was often a death sentence. Thank G-d things today are not nearly as bad as it was back then. However illnesses can be fatal and prison can be dangerous. As a result people who have emerged from these situations are required to give thanksgiving to G-d.
There are those that say one only makes a blessing on a miracle that that deviates from the norms of this world. However concerning a miracle that is within the world 's natural processes, such as thieves come at night, there is danger, one and is rescued, and likewise, a blessing would not be recited. But there are those that dispute this, and say that it is good to make a blessing but without mention of the name of G-d and His kingdom. The custom though as brought in the prayerbook is to go to synagogue and after the reading of the Torah to make a blessing, “who bestows goodness on the guilty and who has bestowed every goodness on me”, including mentioning G-d’s name and His dominion over the world.
The blessings do not vary greatly from each other but the fundamental message comes through. The word in Hebrew for miracle is נֵס which is the same word for banner. So to speak when Hashem does an act of kindness on our behalf openly, He is waving a flag as if to say this came from Me. In fact everything comes from Hashem including things that come by way of natural agency. Nevertheless if we are cured of a disease, get out of jail, or arrive from a hazardous journey we see the hand of Providence through the veil of nature and are motivated to thank Him publicly for His kindness. If it is an open miracle where the deliverance seems to be supernatural he would want to thank G-d plus wave a flag as if to say not only is he thankful for the deliverance but thankful for the Divine revelation as well. When it is a big miracle done in the presence of all of the nation of Israel, all Jews in all generations want to loudly wave the flag of revelation and thanksgiving while proclaiming enthusiastically this is my G-d I will glorify Him.
לע"נ הסבא אהרן בן יוסף ז"ל נלב"ע כז טבת תשכ"ו
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