The ‘hidden’ miracles of Purim – and everyday life

Many Jewish holidays involve miracles, but I never thought to include Purim in this list until I read Slovie Jungreis-Wolff’s article “When God is Hidden: The Meaning of Purim” at aish.com.

“Purim’s miracles were intentionally hidden,” Jungreis-Wolff writes. “Esther happened to be chosen. She happened to be Jewish. Achashverosh happened to be taken by her. We had one of our own in the palace and wow, were we lucky!

“Mordechai happened to hear the plot to kill the king. Haman happened to erect the gallows upon which he was eventually hanged .…

“There is no luck or coincidence here. It’s all meant to be, directed behind the scenes by God’s guiding hand.”

I couldn’t agree more.  I have had so many miracles in my life! On the surface, they seemed like coincidences, but I know they were from God.

In my book “Pathfinding, Seven Principles for Positive Living,” I write about my belief in miracles. I also believe we can create them with our thoughts.

We’ve all experienced those “coincidences” when someone we have just been thinking of calls us, or we bump into the person we really need to talk to, or we find the right thing at exactly the right time, or we miss a mishap by seconds. But were they really just “coincidences”?

If you really want to experience a miracle, ask for it, pray for it and truly believe you will receive it. You won’t have to work at it because something greater than you is at work. I define that something as God.

For example, at one point, I was having a lull in my business and was getting concerned. I did some prayer about it. The very next day, out of the blue, I got a call from someone on the other side of the country who was referred to me by someone I had interviewed on my radio show three years earlier – someone I didn’t remember. The person who called me became a client and paid half in advance on the spot! That to me is one of those hidden miracles that we might not always recognize. 

Jungreis-Wolff concludes his article with: “The Book of Esther teaches us that even in the darkness of exile, even in the looming shadows, we must never fear. God is watching over us. Perhaps His hand seems hidden. Perhaps the healing seems to be taking forever. We wonder, does God even care? ...

“Beneath the heavy clouds is the hand of God, tenderly watching over us.”

PATRICIA RASKIN, owner of Raskin Resources Productions, is a media host, coach and award-winning radio producer and business owner. She is on the board of directors of Temple Emanu-El, in Providence. She is a recipient of the Providence Business News 2020 Leaders and Achievers award.