It’s easy to imagine grand, sweeping transformations, but sometimes, the most profound miracles are about containing the uncontainable – about fitting more into less. That’s what our sages explore in Bereshit Rabbah, specifically section five.
The text begins with a simple, almost paradoxical question: "The way of the world is that a person empties a full vessel into an empty vessel. Can one, perhaps, pour a full vessel into a full vessel?" It seems impossible. The world itself is already full of water, so how could God command that the waters be gathered "to one place" (Genesis 1:9)? It challenges our understanding of space and capacity. But the Rabbis aren't interested in literal hydraulics. They’re pointing towards a spiritual truth: that a smaller space can indeed contain a greater amount than its size would suggest. We see this idea echoed throughout our tradition. Bereshit Rabbah, along with texts like Kohelet and Vayikra Rabba, draws parallels from other stories. Remember when Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock (Numbers 20:10)? The space in front of the rock was described as being “the size of a small sieve,” yet the entire Israelite nation stood before it! How could that be? It seems impossible, and yet, there it is.
Then there’s the story of the soot from the furnace (Exodus 9:8). God tells Moses and Aaron to take "handfuls" – plural – of soot. Rav Huna asks a pointed question: could Moses's cupped hand really hold eight clenched handfuls? A cupped handful is twice the size of a clenched fist. If God wanted two handfuls each, that's four cupped handfuls, or eight clenched ones. And yet, the text says Moses threw it all with one hand! Again, we’re confronted with the idea that something smaller can hold something much, much larger.
Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥalafta brings up the dimensions of the courtyard (Exodus 27:18): one hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide. Could all of Israel really fit inside? The commentaries in Leviticus suggest that they did! It defies logic, but the tradition insists on this idea of a space being able to be much larger than its dimensions.
Perhaps the most powerful image comes from the Book of Joshua (Joshua 3:9-10). Joshua gathers the Israelites between the two staves of the Ark. Rav Huna says he had them stand there. Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina suggests they leaned on each other. Rava says they were crowded in. Whatever the exact posture, Joshua declares that the very fact that the staves of the Ark could contain them all is proof that the Divine Presence, the Shekhinah, is in their midst!
This idea isn't limited to the desert. In Jerusalem, the Talmud (Yoma 21a) tells us that during Temple services, people stood crowded together, yet they prostrated themselves with ample space. Rabbi Shmuel ben Rabbi Ḥana, quoting Rabbi Aḥa, even specifies that each person had four cubits of space, plus an extra cubit on each side so they wouldn’t hear their neighbor’s prayers!
Looking to the future, the prophet Jeremiah (3:17) proclaims that Jerusalem will be called the Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather there. Rabbi Yoḥanan, visiting Rabbi Ḥanina, questions how Jerusalem could possibly contain the Throne of God and all the nations. Rabbi Ḥanina responds that God will tell Jerusalem to "Expand and extend and receive your populations," citing Isaiah (54:2-3): "Enlarge the place of your tent… For you will spread out right and left."
So, what does all this mean? It's not just about spatial anomalies or ancient physics. It’s about the nature of the Divine, about the potential within us, and about the boundless capacity of faith. It suggests that even in the most confined circumstances, in the narrowest of spaces – whether physical or spiritual – we can find room for the infinite. Maybe miracles aren't about changing the rules of physics, but about revealing the hidden potential within them.
What "small space" in your life might be holding more than you realize? What hidden potential are you ready to "expand and extend?" Perhaps the miracle is already here, waiting to be discovered.