Nature, Hidden Miracles, and Purim: Discovering God’s Hand Behind Coincidence

Nature is a word with an innocent sound, one that was even adopted by one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Yet its deeper meaning hints at Judaism’s perspective on the modern world.

Some people see humanity’s growing understanding of nature as something that contradicts religious belief. They argue that science explains phenomena once attributed to God, turning God into an outdated answer to why things happen.

Judaism sees no conflict at all. On the contrary, from the Torah’s point of view, the more we understand nature, the more deeply we can understand God. The Hebrew word teva (nature) itself hints at this idea. It means something that has been imprinted. The word matbe’a (coin), which comes from the same root (ט.ב.ע), illustrates this well: a coin is called a matbe’a because it is formed by a mold that imprints its shape onto metal.

According to Jewish consciousness, science and nature are nothing more than God’s imprint on the world. The more we understand the universe — and even ourselves, the closer we come to grasping divine wisdom and the rich life it offers. The word olam (world) comes from helem (concealment): the world hides God’s hand behind nature, allowing us to deny His existence. This concealment is itself a blessing, because it enables free will. If reality were so obvious that no one could deny God, there would be no merit in choosing to connect to Him. In truth, nature is simply the medium through which God reveals His personal providence.

Above Nature

With this introduction, we can also understand the limits of nature. Although nature cloaks God’s presence, throughout Jewish history there were individuals who saw through the disguise so clearly that the laws of nature no longer applied to them. For such people, nature had no independent meaning, because it failed to obscure God’s involvement in the world.

As a result, they were not bound by natural laws and could alter reality itself — in other words, perform miracles. One example is Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa. One Friday evening he came home to find his daughter distressed. She explained that she had accidentally lit the Shabbat lamps with vinegar instead of oil, knowing the wicks would soon burn out. Rabbi Chanina told her that the One who commanded oil to burn could also command vinegar to burn — and so it did. The lamps burned with vinegar just as they would have with oil. For him, the mechanism of combustion was no less miraculous than the splitting of the Red Sea.

Nature, then, is nothing more than a screen, that loses its relevance the moment a person perceives the hand of God hidden behind it.

Purim and the Master of the Rings

One biblical story powerfully highlights the centrality of nature and how God uses it to shape history. The Book of Esther is filled with strange, seemingly “natural” coincidences.

King Achashverosh executes Queen Vashti in a drunken rage. This act sets the stage for a new queen — Esther, without the king knowing she is Jewish or that she will one day save her people from destruction.

In another chain of “natural” events, Mordechai overhears two courtiers plotting to assassinate the king, simply because he happens to understand the foreign language they are speaking. He reports it, the incident is recorded, and later, in a moment that appears entirely coincidental, the king stumbles upon this record precisely when the plan to annihilate the Jews is nearing execution. The honor given to Mordechai for saving the king’s life begins the downfall of Haman.

Later still, when Esther hosts a banquet and invites the king and Haman — the architect of the Jews’ destruction, the king storms out in anger and returns at the exact moment Haman is pleading for his life, in a way that just “happens” to make the king suspect inappropriate behavior toward the queen. That suspicion seals Haman’s fate.

Coincidences — or Hidden Miracles?

The Purim story is a tale of hidden miracles — divine intervention within nature, without breaking nature’s laws. It should not surprise us that the physical symbol of control over events in the story is a ring. A signet ring, like teva, leaves an imprint. It represents the keys to nature.

The royal ring begins on Achashverosh’s finger. When Haman convinces the king to destroy the Jews, the ring is given to him, and the decree is sealed with it. After Haman’s downfall, the king removes the ring and gives it to Mordechai, and the decree that allows the Jews to defend themselves is sealed with the very same ring.

The keys to nature pass from hand to hand, and ultimately come to rest where they belong. This is the lesson of the Megillah: all the “natural” events were nothing more than hidden miracles in disguise.

Once we understand that nature is merely God’s fingerprint, we can apply this insight to the “coincidences” of our own lives. Instead of wasting energy trying to manipulate natural forces in our favor, we can turn directly to the Master of nature — and arrive at the perfect solution.