Hidden Miracles and Divine Providence: The Deeper Meaning of Purim and Coincidence

The miracle of Purim is, in many ways, an unusual one. A careful reading of the Megillah reveals what looks like an amusing chain of coincidences that ultimately led to the salvation of the Jewish people from a Persian era version of the “final solution.” No meteor crashed into Achashverosh’s palace. No lightning bolt struck Haman the Agagite as he searched for a tree suited to Mordechai’s height. There was no overt, dramatic miracle at all. Only a sequence of events which, through precise timing, led Haman to the gallows and Mordechai to a seat of honor in the Persian treasury.

A New Type of Divine Intervention

The Book of Esther is built from dozens of events, each of which, on its own, seems insignificant. Only when all the pieces are combined does the intoxicating brew called Purim emerge. This marked the appearance of a new kind of miracle on the world stage. Until then, divine providence was revealed openly, through visible miracles and prophecy, a phenomenon unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

With the destruction of the Temple, however, a new era began, an era of hiddenness. Divine guidance now operated beneath the surface, cloaked in the fixed laws of nature. Purim was the first hint of this new mode of divine involvement. It is no coincidence that this scroll is called Megillat Esther, a name that literally means the revelation of concealment. Even today, miracles continue to occur, but they are hidden behind statistics, probabilities, and seemingly random anomalies that allow unusual events to happen while preserving human free will.

Coincidence or Design?

Consider a modern story that raises precisely this question. A plane was en route to Antwerp carrying about one hundred passengers. Among them was the late Rebbe of of the Pittsburgh dynasty, together with eight of his students, traveling to a wedding. Aside from them, there were no other observant Jews on board.

Mid-flight, the pilot suddenly announced a fuel shortage, forcing an unscheduled landing at a small, remote airport outside the city. The airport was deserted, used mainly for domestic flights. All passengers disembarked, and the Rebbe and his students began looking for a quiet place to pray the afternoon service.

The Rebbe approached an airport employee and asked whether a side room could be opened for prayer. Suddenly, the man turned pale, as though struck by lightning. After regaining his composure, he said, “I’ll open a room for you on one condition: let me say Kaddish for my father.”

“You’re Jewish?” the Rebbe asked. The man nodded. “I don’t know any Jews in this part of Belgium. May I ask why you’re here?”

“Actually,” the Rebbe replied, “I was about to ask you the same thing. You are exactly the tenth man we need for a minyan.”

A Promise Kept

“I don’t think you’ll believe my story,” the man said, “but it’s absolutely true. I left my family many years ago and moved to this small town. Although I come from a deeply Orthodox family, I haven’t observed mitzvot for decades. All this time, I never said Kaddish for my father, who has since passed away.

“Last night, my father appeared to me in a dream and said, ‘Yankel, tomorrow is my yahrzeit, and I want you to say Kaddish for me.’ I protested, ‘Father, I’m the only Jew in town. How could I possibly find a minyan?’ And he answered, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll bring you one.’”

The man woke up shaken, but soon dismissed it as a meaningless dream. And yet here they were.

The Rebbe later told this story to his niece, Ita Halberstam Mendelbaum, who published it along with many similar accounts in her book Small Miracles. The book became a bestseller, selling over a million copies in twelve languages. Was this merely coincidence, or the guiding hand of providence?

A Burial Meant to Be

A similar question arises in another story, published in the Israeli press. Moshe was driving on a major highway in the United States when he noticed something strange. The road, usually crowded, was nearly empty. He had not listened to the radio, preferring Torah lectures, but his unease grew. Turning on the radio, he learned that a severe snowstorm was approaching, expected to block roads for days.

Snow began to fall, and Moshe realized he had to stop immediately. He exited the highway and searched for shelter, struggling through worsening conditions. Finally, he spotted a large building by the roadside. His car could go no farther, so he walked through the freezing wind until he reached it. A sign read “Nursing Home.”

The staff reluctantly allowed him to sleep on a sofa in the cold lobby. Later, they offered him the bed of a resident who had died the previous day. In the room, Moshe noticed a book of Mishnah. The deceased was Jewish.

Learning that the body would be handed over for Christian burial, Moshe insisted on arranging a Jewish burial. After many obstacles, he succeeded. When he reached the Jewish cemetery and presented the documents, the director froze in shock. Years earlier, a man had donated money to create burial plots for lonely, childless Jews. The deceased was that very donor.

Providence had guided Moshe through a snowstorm to ensure that the man was buried exactly where he himself had prepared.

Hidden Order in a Deterministic World

These stories reveal a force that orchestrates events with astonishing precision, without breaking any laws of nature. Each step could be explained statistically, yet the combined result defies ordinary logic.

According to Jewish thought, God created a deterministic world governed by fixed laws. Scripture says, “He set a statute that shall not be transgressed.” Open miracles are rare. As Nachmanides writes, God does not perform signs and wonders in every generation before every skeptic.

Yet there is a subtle opening within nature itself, through which divine providence operates. Statistics, probabilities, and deviations allow the world to remain orderly while still guided.

The Key to Experiencing Miracles

Not everyone merits even a hidden miracle. Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler explains that there is a small crack in the wall of nature, and through it miracles enter. That crack is self-sacrifice. A person willing to give of themselves to do God’s will, and who pours out their heart in prayer, may witness the world aligning in extraordinary ways.

Moreover, Rabbi Dessler adds that no plan is ever fully within human control. Whether in business, family, or life itself, countless details remain beyond us. These are entrusted to divine providence, so that a person comes to understand that outcomes are not shaped by human mastery alone, but by a higher will guiding all events.