Why Drip Irrigation Works – But Miracles Don’t

You cannot cook a turkey in half the time by doubling the temperature.

All the really big human accomplishments not only started as small things, but they all grew and developed because of small things. A kind word or a helpful act creates ripples that can propagate and multiply.

There is real value and importance to be found in the drip-drip of small, ongoing investment, instead of a huge grand action. Even the biggest operational buildings we create rely on ongoing maintenance in order to stay upright (it is no coincidence that the manmade structures that really do last forever, pyramids, are those built for the dead).

Drip irrigation works because the real nurturing force for life and goodness is more about ongoing giving than it is about single events, no matter how impressive they might be.

This might explain why G-d stopped performing open miracles thousands of years ago: they didn’t work. People adjusted very quickly, and went back to complaining.

We see that today.

Over the past 2 years, anyone with an ounce of awareness recognizes that Israel has experienced open miracles, miracles as brilliant and clear as the splitting of the sea. From blocking hundreds of incoming ballistic missiles, to explosives that happen to detonate only where the fewest number of people could possibly be injured, Israelis have seen and felt G-d’s presence and love.

Has it led to a major religious resurgence? No, not really. And the reason is simple enough: just as we are our own worst enemies, we are also the only effective forces to change ourselves. We surely are limited by our nature and nurture. And we all need guidance and education in order to expand our potential achievements. But ultimately, it is what we each invest that changes ourselves and the world around us.

And how do we do that? Little things. Step by step. Row by row.

This is how Bilaam describes the Jews: Tents pitched set firmly by G-d (N. 24:6). G-d may be permanent and timeless, but we are not – and tents are inherently flimsy and seasonal, at best.

How do you keep a tent up? Endless small adjustments, constant repairs… if you are not attentive, the wind will blow it over, the sun will crack the skins, water will weaken the connections to the ground and wash it away.

This is our life: G-d knows that miracles don’t work. He knows that if He wants us to grow (and He surely does!), we don’t get to create nice and stable lives. We don’t get to build something that will last forever – that is only for the dead. The living are instead kept in a condition of constant movement and endless little strains and pressures. It is through our response to those pressures that we defy – or at least delay – the inevitable.

The very best relationships are not those with grand parties or vacations. They are the relationships of ongoing investment and love and consideration for other people – bit by bit, day by day. Drip irrigation works at all levels.