Miracle-Workers

As I was driving him home from a family celebration motza'ei Shabbos, a relative told me that he is considering paying a visit to a new mekubal he just heard about who tells you exactly what to do - how many times to dunk in a mikvah, what chapters of Psalms to recite, what color string to wear around which finger, etc. - and wanted to know my thoughts about it. I don't know why he asked me because he knows me well enough to be able to guess my reaction. I told him that I don't think it is technically assur although I know others who do.

If you want God's assistance, try praying, learning more Torah and performing more mitzvos. Despite our strong desire for them, there are no shortcuts in life. Work hard, do your job, be faithful and true. "Be wholehearted with the Lord your God" (Deut. 18:13).

But, he told me, he has heard such great miracle stories about this mekubal. Maybe. I don't deny the existence of miracles, but I remain skeptical about individual miracle workers. For years, every day on my walk home from the train I would pass by a fortune teller's storefront that almost always had customers in it who, presumably, believed wholeheartedly in that fraud's powers. Just last week, I read that Mother Theresa has "600 'divine favors' (unverified, possible miracles) credited to her intercession." If other people can be duped into believing about such miracle-workers, then maybe we should be skeptical also.

A little knowledge about statistics also goes a long way in these matters.

Most importantly, don't give any money for these cures. That is a sure-fire way to know you are being ripped off.