ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא על כל הרעה אשר עשה
And I will conceal; I will conceal my face on that day, on all the evil which has been done.
The Miracles of Everyday Nature
The verse[i] in וילך presents one of the most chilling prophecies in the Torah: ואנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא על כל הרעה אשר עשה — And I will conceal; I will conceal my face on that day, on all the evil which has been done.
This declaration comes as a continuation to the preceding verse, which foretells that the Jewish people will stray, worship idols, and subsequently face terrible tribulations. In their distress, they will conclude, הלא על כי אין אלקי בקרבי מצאוני הרעות האלה – Is it not because my G-d is not within me that these evils have found us? Historically, the implication is clear—when the Jewish people turned away, the Divine countenance is hidden, leaving them vulnerable to the harsh, unforgiving forces of the world.
Yet, the Gemara[ii] makes a seemingly counterintuitive assertion.
The Sages ask, אסתר מן התורה מנין – From where do we know Ester from the Torah? Where is her story hinted at? The Gemara answers by quoting this exact verse: ואנכי הסתר אסתיר. However, this response demands explanation. Why deliberately link Ester to this specific prophecy of rather than Daniel, or Ruth?[1] The narrative of Ester does indeed begin with the threat of annihilation, but its climax and eternal theme is exactly the opposite: ונהפוך הוא — the opposite happened.[iii] None of Haman’s evil decrees came to fruition. Instead of a tragic consequence of Divine abandonment, the Purim story culminates in physical salvation, spiritual triumph, and a mass awakening, as ורבים מעמי הארץ מתיהדים – many of the people of the land became Jews (converted to Judaism).[iv] Why, then, would the ultimate expression of G-d hiding his face serve as the Torah’s source for the ultimate hidden miracle?
The Struggle for Canonization
This paradox was not lost on the Sages of that generation. The Gemara[v] relates that Ester sent a formal petition to the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah: כתבוני לדורות – Write me down for the generations [Canonize me]. She requested that her story be enshrined as part of Tanaĉ.
The Sages initially refused. They cited the verse[vi] הלא כתבתי לך שלישים – Have I not written for you in triplicate? According to tradition, the commandment to wage war against the evil of Amalek[2], was meant to be recorded only three (3) times in Scripture: the initial battle[vii], the issuance of the Mitzvah to eradicate them and their memory[viii], and King Shaul’s war[ix] against the nation-state of Amalek. A fourth mention would violate this principle.
Eventually, however, the Sages acceded to Ester’s request based on a deeper reading of the verse[x]: כתב זאת זכרון בספר – Write this as a remembrance in the book. Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i[3] expounded that:
- כתוב זאת refers to both mentions in the Torah.
- זכרון refers to that which is written in the Prophets.
- בספר refers to the writing of the Megillah to be included in the Writings.
We are left with several questions. If the Anshei Knesset Ha’Gedola already established Ester’s biblical validity through the verse in Shemos, why does the Gemara search for her origin and land on the verse of הסתר פנים? Furthermore, if the theme of הסתר פנים is G-d’s absence resulting in tragedy, why use it to hint at a story of absolute[4] salvation?
The Shift of Generations: Why Did the Miracles Stop?
To resolve these questions, we must address a broader theological dilemma posed in the Gemara[xi].
Rav Papa asked Abaya a question: What was different about the early ones [the prior (Tana’im) generations] for whom miracles were performed, as compared to us for whom miracles are not performed. If it is due to the Torah learning; Rav Yehuda spent all his time studying [the laws of] damages, while we study all six (6) orders of the Mishna… [Rav Papa then provides examples, and concludes] and yet, when Rav Yehuda would remove one of shoes [to begin the process of fasting for rain to ease a draught] rain would come. While we torment ourselves, cry out [to G-d] and no one pays attention to us.
[Abaya] said to him: Those who came before dedicated their lives to the sanctification of [G-d’s] name. We do not dedicate our lives to the sanctification of [G-d’s] name… [Abaya then provides examples of the sages of the Mishna who dedicated their lives to the sanctification of [G-d’s] name.]
This exchange raises serious questions. What is the precise spiritual mechanic that links מסירת נפש על קדושת השם – self-sacrifice to sanctify G-d’s name, to the altering of weather patterns and physical miracles? Furthermore, is Abaye suggesting that the great Amora’im (and all subsequent generations of holy sages for the last fifteen hundred years) lacked dedication to G-d? And if miraculous intervention depends solely on this specific caliber of מסירת נפש, why do we pray[5] for miracles daily?
Finally, we must ask the opposite of Rav Papa’s premise. Did miracles truly cease? The Gemara[xii] explicitly relates that Rav Papa himself experienced the same miracle he was asking about!
Once, during a severe drought, Rav Papa decreed a fast, but no rain fell. Faint with hunger, he ate a bowl of porridge. Another scholar publicly mocked him, saying, “If the Master swallows another bowl, rain will surely come!” Deeply embarrassed by this public shaming, Rav Papa experienced emotional distress, and immediately, G-d sent a miraculous downpour.
Clearly, miracles did happen to Rav Papa.
The Kabbalistic Root of Miracles: סובב vs. ממלא
The Mittler Rebbe, in his foundational discourse on בורך שעשה ניסים discusses this very question. He constructs a Kabbalistic framework explaining the historical shift discussed by Rav Papa and Abaye:
There are two primary modes of Divine illumination:
- סובב כל עלמין – Transcendence: Also known as אור המקיף – surrounding light, this is the infinite G-dly energy that encompasses creation, operating entirely above the natural order. When drawn down, it ignores the boundaries of nature, creating an open, overt miracle that transcends nature (such as water splitting).
- ממלא כל עלמין – Immanence: Also known as אור פנימי – internalized light, this is the Divine energy that clothes itself within the limits of creation. It animates the world according to what we call the Laws of Nature. When G-d operates through this mode, he conceals himself within the garments of nature.
Truthfully, these lights of סובב and ממלא are not separate lights emanating from G-d, but rather they are both aspects of G-d’s infinite power. True infinity is something that is both למעלה מעלה עד אין קץ – supreme and above until there is no end (to the Nth degree above), and למטה מטה עד אין תכלית – permeating and descending to the lack of purpose (to the Nth degree down).
During the era of the Tana’im (like Rav Yehuda), the prevailing spiritual state of the world was closer to its source. They served G-d with a profound, intrinsic self-nullification. This ביטול bypassed the structured order of the cosmos all the way to the Sefira of כתר. Because their souls bypassed the limitations of their own nature, they drew down an energy that bypassed physical nature entirely.
The Era of Refinement: Finding G-d in the Shadows
As history progressed into the post-Mishnaic eras, the Divine mandate changed. If miracles constantly overpower nature, the material world is never truly refined; it is merely suppressed by a blinding light. G-d’s ultimate desire is a דירה בתחתונים – a dwelling place in the lowest, most physical realm.
Therefore, the Divine strategy shifted to עבודת הבירורים – the work of refinement. The later generations from the Mishna on were tasked with elevating the sparks of G-dly light within the natural world. Work that does not involve miraculous subjugations of nature but elevating the physical to a refined state (taking a material object or idea and converting it into something that expresses holiness).
Rav Papa did experience miracles. But his question to Abaye revolved around the word אתרחיש, which denotes an overt stirring or vibration. He was asking: “Why do we no longer feel the overt, nature-breaking vibration of the miracle?” The answer is because the Divine Will required them to find G-d within the concealment. They engaged in the meticulous, daily מסירת נפש of finding holiness in the mundane.
This can be explained by understanding the various terms used for Divine intervention, aka miracles / nature:
- פלא – Wonder: The reverse of אלף – to teach. Defying the orderly progression of nature. Its purpose is to achieve an outcome regardless of the world’s so-called ‘rules’.
- אות – Sign & מופת – Wonderous Sign. These terms are used to indicate a wonder performed, not for the accomplishment of a particular outcome, but rather as a sign to the beholder as to who is performing these wonders. Since the outcome is unimportant, these can be either wonderous, in which the rules of nature are bent or broken, or they can be mundane items which could have a ‘natural’ explanation. Because they were predefined they are determined to have been caused by Divine agency.
- נס – Banner: Operating at the threshold of nature, it is wondrous but leaves room for a natural explanation. It shows that nature is ordered by G-d’s will.
- טבע – Nature: Associated with מטבע – coined [as in repetitive equal actions like the minting of a coin] and טובע – drowned or hidden. Nature is a coined term indicating the point where our understanding ceases, where repetitiveness and unvarying actions drown out the presence of the Creator.
Both nature and miracles are direct actions of G-d. The purpose of a miracle is to show that G-d is the Master of the world. The purpose of nature is to hide that Mastery, granting us the illusion of independence. The task of עבודת הבירורים was to prepare the world to bridge this gap: to refine the world and elevate it to the point where G-d’s presence is felt and observed unequivocally within Nature. That there is in fact no difference between Nature and a Miracle.
The Messianic Paradigm Shift
However, the spiritual landscape of history does not stand still.
The Mittler Rebbe articulated the theology of עבודת הבירורים during the hours before the dawn of redemption. When the darkness began gathering to its most intense state in a last-ditch effort to prevent its eradication. Today, as we approach the 199th anniversary of his passing, we must recognize that his diagnosis was for a specific, grueling era of history – an era that has since concluded.
As the current Lubavitcher Rebbe repeatedly and emphatically declared, the historical labor of עבודת הבירורים is completed. The sparks have been elevated. If the era of the Tana’im was marked by open miracles, and the subsequent millennia were defined by the painstaking extraction of sparks from within the concealment of nature, we have now transitioned into the final phase: the Messianic era.
In this new paradigm, our responsibility is fundamentally different. We are no longer engaged in extraction and refinement. We do not seek to rescue the holy spark and discard the physical shell. Instead, our mandate is absolute revelation: we must reveal that both the hidden sparks and the mundane shells in which they hide are equally methods by which G-d reveals Himself.
Nature is no longer viewed merely as a coarse shell designed to hide G-d so we can elevate a spark from within it. Rather, nature itself is revealed as the ultimate masterpiece of the Creator. The physical world does not need to be overwhelmed by a פלא, nor does it merely need its sparks extracted through בירורים – the physical world in its raw, natural state is itself the דירה בתחתונים.
The Ultimate ונהפוך הוא
This brings the story of Ester and the defeat of Amalek to its triumphant realization.
Amalek represents the philosophy of random happenstance the nation that “knows its Master and intentionally rebels against him.”[6] To defeat Amalek, it is not enough to split a sea. Amalek will rationalize the splitting of sea. The final weapon against Amalek is canonizing Megillas Ester – proving that even when G-d is completely hidden within the political machinations of a foolish Persian monarch, G-d is pulling the strings.
But in the Messianic paradigm, we take this one step further. “ואנכי הסתר אסתיר” is not a curse that we survive, nor is it merely a challenge we work through to elevate a spark. When the Rebbe declares that the בירורים are done, it means the concealment itself is no longer a concealment. Instead, it is the highest form of revelation. The king’s signet ring, the Persian decrees, the physical reality – they are not hiding G-d; they are G-d’s ultimate expression of himself as the Creator.
This explains a Halaĉic anomaly regarding Purim. The Gemara[xiii] asks why we do not recite Ha’lel on Purim. The Gemara answers: אכתי עבדי אחשורוש אנן – We are still servants of Aĉashverosh.
אחשורוש was a title given to the idiotic Persian king by the Jewish people. It means א חש וי ראש – the one who makes us feel our sick head (gives us a headache). When he found out about the name, he demanded an explanation, and the sages responded saying that it was obviously a mistake, and that the real etymology of the name was from אח שהוא ראש – a brother who is a head (a brotherly king). Kabbalisticly though, it refers to the King of the Universe[7] – אחרית וראשית שלו – he to whom the end and the beginning belong. We do not recite Ha’lel (which is designed to acclaim nature-breaking miracles) because we no longer need to rise above the world to praise G-d.
We are “still servants of Aĉashverosh” – we are still bound to the physical, natural order of time and space. But that servitude is no longer an exile in the Messianic era. We do not seek a world where nature is constantly overridden. We seek the ultimate Messianic realization: recognizing that the rigid laws of nature, the machinations of empires, and the struggles of daily life are not obscuring the Divine. The concealment itself is the revelation, and the physical world is the throne.
Blessing the New Year with Natural Miracles
Incidentally, since this verse ואנכי הסתר אסתיר is always recited in connection with Rosh Hashana, either on the Shabbos before or after, it is appropriate to explain its connection to the events occurring this time of the year. Normally, on the Shabbos before the new month, the Jewish people bless the new month with the Tefillah of מי שעשה ניסים לאבותינו – May the one who performed miracles for our forefathers etc.
However, the Shulĉan Aruch[xiv] rules that we do not do this for the month of Tishrei. The source for this deviation from custom is based on the understanding of the verse[xv] תקעו בחדש שופר בכסה ליום חגינו – sound the shofar in the month which is hidden in the day of the holiday. Unlike other holidays, Rosh Hashana falls out on Rosh Ĉodesh, effectively ‘obscuring’ the presence of the new month.
The Ba’al Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch taught[xvi]:
The Alter Rebbe said: I heard from my master [the Maggid of Mezritch] in the name of his master [the Baal Shem Tov]: “The seventh month, which is the month that is satiated [מושבע] with all goodness—the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself blesses it on the שבת מברכים, which is the last Shabbos of the month of Elul. And with this power, Israel blesses the [other] eleven months.”
During the course of the year, the Jewish people assert their mastery over time, granted to them in the Mitzvah of החודש הזה לכם, to bless the other months miraculously. However, the start of the year, the remembrance of the creation of the world, and the source for all the miraculous blessings which are to come – is not a supernatural miracle. It is the absence of one. The natural order of things in which the Creator, whose nature is good and wishes to do good, blesses the month and the year with natural goodness – with which power we bless the remainder of the months.
וחכיתי לה’ המסתיר פניו מבית יעקב, וקויתי לו
And I wait for G-d who conceals his face from the House of Yaakov, and I hope for him.[xvii]
I hope he will fulfil these, my words, and send salvation to the House of Dovid, with the revelation of Moshiaĉ and the return of his open presence, naturally, to the Jewish people. With the provision of a כתיבה וחתימה טובה לשנה טובה ומתוקה to all of us for this year and all of those to come.
[1] The common response to this is due to the similarity of names Ester has the same letters a הסתר אסתיר. In fact, as the Megillah itself states, Ester was not actually her name. Her name was הדסה. Therefore, the adoption of the name אסתר was a deliberate choice in the Megillah – presumably to align her experience to this verse. If so, the answer of the similarity of her name to the verse is not answer at all – as it does not explain why this name was adopted. One might answer that the name Ester was actually a Persian name, and the adoption of the name is a fact of history, and therefore the Megilla remains true to this. However, in recording such names in the Torah, there is no need to continue mentioning the adopted name other than for a single verse. As we find by Yosef who was named צפנת פענח – and yet, thereafter the Torah makes no mention of that name, and continues using the name Yosef. Here the opposite is true. הדסה is named, and immediately, the Megillah notes היא אסתר – that is Ester, and never again mentions her given name.
[2] The literal and ideological ancestor of Haman.
[3] Who argued with Rabbi Yehoshua – who learned this verse as: כתוב זאת – in Shemos. זכרון in Devarim. בספר in the Prophets. As to the verse in Mishlei, according to Rashi, the reference to a triplicate writing refers to Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings – which is presumably what Rabbi Eliezer from Modi’in held.
[4] The story of Purim did not end with the war against Haman and the antisemites. This began (or perhaps continued) the process of rebuilding the second Base Hamikdash and forming the second Jewish commonwealth in Israel.
[5] And we do so using G-d’s name. If there is no expectation that the miracle of healing the sick (for example) will occur, why are we allowed to use G-d’s name in vain (Heaven forbid!) in reciting the ברכה of רופא חולים.
[6] Initially, this phrase was used to explain the name of נמרד. Nimrod was an evil king who told his people to deliberately rebel against G-d. Amalek too displayed this attitude. The world had just witnessed the miracles of Egypt, but Amalek did not care. So long as they could attack Jews, that is sufficient for them. The know and recognize that G-d’s chosen people are the Jews. The know and recognize G-d protects the Jewish people. They know and recognize G-d has given the Land of Israel to the Jewish people. And they do not care. They attack anyway. Not with a hope of winning, but with the hope of אשר קרך – to cool down the inspiration felt when others witness the miracles or natural occurrences performed for the Jewish people.
[7] In fact, every time the word המלך is used without defining which king is explained in Ĉassidus to be automatically referring to G-d, the true King.
[i] Devarim 31:18
[ii] Gem. Ĉulin 139b
[iii] Ester 9:1
[iv] Ester 8:17
[v] Gem. Megillah 7a
[vi] Mishlei 22:20
[vii] Shemos 17:8–16
[viii] Devarim 25:17–19
[ix] Shmuel I 15
[x] Shemos 17:14
[xi] Gem. Beraĉos 20a
[xii] Gem. Ta’anis 24b
[xiii] Gem. Megillah 14a
[xiv] Oreĉ Ĉaim 581:4, see also Mishna Berura 581:14
[xv] Tehillim 81:4
[xvi] See Hayom Yom – 25th of Elul
[xvii] Yeshayahu 8:17