20/20 hindsight miracles

With today’s daf TB Yoma 21 we finish the first chapter of our massekhet. It ends with a lot of Aggadah about the Temple. Everybody agrees that 10 miracles were performed in the Temple, but not everybody agrees what are the 10. I’ll share with you the first set of 10, you can study the daf, and learn which miracles were combined into one and which miracles some rabbis added to the list.

“As we learned in a mishna: Ten miracles were performed in the Temple. No woman miscarried from the aroma of the sacrificial meat, as a pregnant woman craves various foods and occasionally that craving leads to miscarriage. And the sacrificial meat never putrefied. And no fly was seen in the slaughterhouse, although flies are generally attracted to a place where there is flesh and blood. And a seminal emission did not befall the High Priest on Yom Kippur. And no disqualification was found in the omer or the two loaves, which are communal offerings, or in the shewbread. And the Jewish people stand crowded but bow spaced. And neither a snake nor a scorpion ever harmed anyone in Jerusalem. And a person never said to another: There is no room for me to stay overnight in Jerusalem.

“The Gemara notes: This list opened with miracles that occurred in the Temple, and closed with miracles that occurred in Jerusalem. Apparently there were not actually ten miracles performed in the Temple. The Gemara answers: There are two other miracles in the Temple, as it was taught in a baraita: Rain never extinguished the fire of the arrangement of wood on the altar, despite the fact that the altar stood in the courtyard, exposed to the elements. And with regard to the smoke of the arrangement, even if all the winds in the world come and blow it, they do not move it from its place and it rises directly heavenward.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Human beings were responsible for three of these miracles. Because the priests were industrious and performed their tasks in a timely fashion, the sacrificial meat never had time to putrefy. The High Priest’s fear of heaven prevented a disqualifying seminal emission on Yom Kippur. His thoughts were focused solely on the holy work he needed to accomplish to gain atonement for the Jewish people. Jerusalemites opened their homes and observed the mitzvah of welcoming guests to accommodate the throngs of Jews who went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the three pilgrimage holidays. I personally have experienced the warm and welcoming homes of my friends in Jerusalem. They have carried on this tradition mention in the Talmud.

But the other miracles were only noticeable in hindsight. Only looking back people realized that a pregnant woman never miscarried from the aroma of the sacrificial meat. Only looking back that people realized was seen in the slaughterhouse. Walking in Makhne Yehuda, the Jewish outdoor market, or the old city market, he one can’t but help notice flies attracted to the meat and desserts displayed.

I think God still performs daily miracles, but we sleep walk through life and don’t notice them. If we just stop and look back, I’m convinced that you will be overwhelmed by miracles. Then your gratitude will know no bounds.