Depending on Miracles

By Shlomo Katz

“She came and told the man of Elokim, and he said, ‘Go sell the oil and pay your creditors, and you and your sons will live on the remainder’.” (Melachim II 4:7)

R’ Shlomo Kluger explains: Our Sages teach that one should not derive benefit from a miracle, lest it be deducted from the reward in the World to Come (Rashi, Ta’anit 24a).

Therefore, after the woman miraculously filled all of the available jugs with oil from her one small container, she asked Elisha what to do with all the oil that she obtained miraculously?” Elisha answered her: First, pay your creditors.

Paying creditors is a Mitzvah and, therefore, is not considered as benefiting from the miracle. This was especially true since the debts she was paying were her late husband’s, not her own.

Thereafter, Elisha continued, you and your sons may live on the remainder, which will be insignificant compared to the amount you spent on the Mitzvah. (Chochmat Ha’Torah: Shema Shlomo p.655)

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