We often hear that if Hashem were to perform open miracles for us as He did in days of old then we would also serve Hashem as they did. In truth there’s a major error in this excuse for great miracles happen for us every day miracles we cannot perceive with our mortal eyes especially since we’ve grown accustomed to seeing nature in everything even in something that’s nothing short of a miracle. (Darkei Mussar Rav Yaakov Neiman)

 “Bye-bye!” We enthusiastically tell our eight-month-old. “Bye-bye” we say again waving a hand before his eyes. The child looks at his hands then hesitantly motions. He did it! Call Grandma! He’s a genius!

We’ve just witnessed a miracle. A vast Divinely orchestrated process — the baby heard the words understood the association with a hand motion wanted to imitate us made the attempt sent messages from the brain to the hand and then did it. A miracle!

Did you see Hashem in that interaction?

How many miracles do you witness every day?

As many as you want there to be.

Our holy Sages decreed that we thank Hashem in our prayers “for Your miracles that are with us every day and for Your wonders that occur at every time.” With their brilliant eyes they saw the miracles that take place every day and every moment but we do not see them for we are used to interpreting all the miracles that take place as natural occurrences. In this physical world it is utterly impossible for there to be a miracle completely removed from nature. “For no man shall see Me and live” — and therefore every miracle is cloaked in a veneer of nature. 

This is what our Sages mean when they teach us that when Hashem revealed Himself at Yam Suf the Jewish people recognized Him and said “This is my G-d and I will build Him a sanctuary.” At first when an angel came to the Jewish babies in the fields and brought them two round cakes one of oil and one of honey … they also thought that it was all part of nature. Any miracle can be mistakenly perceived as part of nature.

But at the Yam Suf they had a clear recognition and there was a Divine revelation. They knew that it was Hashem Who had given them the honey that sustained them in the fields. (ibid.)

A tableau of barren rocks and wailing babies. Honey and oil appear. They could have said: “How brilliant of their mothers to leave them here. These rocks are filled with excellent resources.”

They could have attributed the Plague of Blood to an ecological disaster in the Nile the Plague of Pestilence as a contagious disease and the Plague of Darkness as an eclipse.

Some did.

It was only at Yam Suf when they reached extraordinary spiritual heights and tangible closeness with Hashem that they could confidently declare “This is my G-d.” Finally they saw clearly that the cakes of honey the Plague of Blood and the Exodus from Mitzrayim were all miracles.

And it was then that they were catapulted to the height of faith.

To recognize a miracle for what it is to grasp the miracle within the outer wrapping of nature that encloses it a person must have extraordinary wisdom. To perceive the miracle and to recognize it we must have spiritual sight. Above all we must have profound faith as I once heard in the name of the Chiddushei HaRim that when the Torah says “The nation saw and they believed ” it means that even though the nation saw they still needed to have faith.

A person gifted with this vision this wisdom and faith will see and recognize great miracles every day. Especially now in our days we are witness to open miracles as Hashem delivers the many into the hands of the few. A person who lacks the heart and eyes to have this perception also saw nothing in Egypt. And the wicked son asks “What is this service to you?” because he saw nothing.

Welcome to the night of faith. The Haggadah is open before you and the miracles have been inscribed on your heart. There are a thousand miracles wrapped in the simple packaging of our day-to-day lives a million miracles taking place every second without the slightest hint of fanfare or rousing background music.

Do we have the clarity to stand on the shores of the Yam Suf of our lives and declare with confidence “This is my G-d and I will build Him a sanctuary”?