379. Miracle and Choice
“Rabbi Yitzhak said, ‘If there are serpents and scorpions in it [the pit], why is it written about Reuben, ‘In order to save him from their hands, to return him to his father’? Did Reuben not fear for him, that those serpents and scorpions might harm him? …But Reuben saw that while he was in his brothers’ hands, the harm was certain, for he knew how much they hated him…’ Because of this, in a place of snakes and scorpions, if he is righteous, the Creator will make a miracle for him. And sometimes, the merit of one’s fathers assists a person and he is saved from them. But once one is given to one’s enemies, few can survive” (The Zohar, VaYeshev, Items 130-132).
We should understand why “once one is given to one’s enemies” the Creator does not make a miracle for him. Concerning saving, we find two manners: 1) where harm is found, 2) where harm is not found, meaning that there are animals that harm only out of appetite, and when they are not hungry, they do no harm.
Some harm by nature, since they have a natural desire to harm people and their manner is to always prey. We also find that there is hatred for the human race in general, and sometimes there is hatred for a specific person and not to the whole collective, meaning that the animal feels that this person wants to harm it, so it intends to harm him.
But here we find that the bad animals, which are serpents and scorpions, have no hatred toward this specific person, but to the whole of the human race. Therefore, this is not regarded as harm that is found, so it is possible to rely on a miracle. But in the hands of his brothers, who have a specific hatred for this person, this is harm that is present, and then it is forbidden to rely on a miracle.
We can also say that there is a difference between animals and people, since man can choose. Animals do harm because it is their nature, since the Creator planted in them a nature for craving it. It follows that everything they do is from the Creator and they haven’t the power to overcome it, meaning not to do harm.
Therefore, where the Creator wants to make a miracle, it is also from the Creator, so we can rely on a miracle.
This is not so with man, who has the power to choose between doing harm and doing good. It follows that if the Creator makes a miracle for that person and saves him so the other does not harm him, then the Creator has taken from him the power of choice, and where there is a conflict with free choice, we must not rely on a miracle.