“If he offers it for thanksgiving.” [Leviticus 7:12] Rashi explains that this verse refers to those who bring the offerings known as shelamim to thank God for a miracle manifested in their behalf. He gives four examples: “Those who travel by sea and survive all dangers; the traveler who safely crosses the wilderness; the prisoner who is released; and the person who recovers from illness.”
We might notice that each of these “miracles” happens quite regularly. Recovering from illness, or arriving safely from a journey, is a common, everyday experience. Rarely do we stop to think that anything out of the ordinary has occurred. One of the purposes of Jewish tradition is to help us to recognize the divine hand at work in our daily lives. We too easily overlook what we might consider the mundane miracles of life. The discipline of performing mitzvot helps us realize that simple matters – eating a meal, waking to a new day, taking an effective medicine – partake of the miraculous. We must not take them for granted