The seventh plague struck Egypt with terrible force. Hailstones fell from heaven, devastating the land. But these were no ordinary hailstones. The Torah describes the scene:
Rashi, the great eleventh-century commentator, explains that this constituted “a miracle within a miracle.” Not only was hail miraculously descending from the sky, but within each hailstone burned actual fire, flame contained within ice. These are opposing elements, natural enemies. Fire melts ice into water; water extinguishes fire. For them to coexist violates the basic laws of nature. Yet here they were, suspended together in each falling stone, neither destroying the other. The fire didn’t melt its icy shell. The ice didn’t quench its internal flame. They existed in impossible harmony, held together by divine will alone.
For one brief moment, Pharaoh’s resistance cracked:
The confession didn’t last. Within hours, Pharaoh’s heart hardened again. But he had glimpsed something real—a unity so impossible it could only be God’s work.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis recently invoked this image to speak of the Jewish unity that emerged following October 7th. When rockets fell on Tel Aviv, and hostages languished in Gaza, the usual divisions between religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, right and left faded to insignificance. In those moments, we were simply Jews, standing together.
But there is another fire-and-ice unity unfolding before our eyes, one that would have seemed equally impossible just decades ago: the alliance between Jews and Christians.
For two thousand years, these groups were divided by a deep theological chasm. Blood libels, forced conversions, pogroms, and the Holocaust itself grew from Christian soil. The enmity seemed eternal, written into the fabric of Western civilization.
Yet today, the most passionate defenders of the Jewish state outside Israel itself are Christians. They lobby Congress, organize rallies, raise millions for Israeli charities, and stand with Jews when others turn away. Meanwhile, Orthodox rabbis have embraced these Christian allies without surrendering their beliefs.
This is fire burning within ice.
The prophet Zechariah foresaw this moment:
For centuries, this seemed like a messianic fantasy. Today, it describes reality.
What makes this unity possible? Not theological compromise—Christians haven’t stopped believing in Jesus, and Jews haven’t accepted him. The unity exists because both communities have chosen to see what binds them rather than what divides them. Both revere the Hebrew Bible as God’s word. Both believe the Jewish people have an eternal covenant with the land of Israel. Both see history moving toward redemption. Both have decided that working together toward shared goals matters more than nursing ancient grievances.
Rabbi Tuly Weisz calls this emerging reality “Universal Zionism.” In his new book by that name, he argues that the Zionist movement has progressed through distinct stages: first, political Zionism established the Jewish state; then religious Zionism reawakened Jewish spiritual identity in that state. Now comes the third stage—Universal Zionism, where Jews partner with gentiles who support Israel, fulfilling the ancient Jewish mission to be a “light unto the nations.” The fire-and-ice alliance isn’t an accident or a temporary political convenience. It’s the next chapter in a divine plan.
This isn’t natural. It violates every expectation formed over two millennia. Like fire and water, these communities do not naturally coexist peacefully. That they do reveals divine orchestration.
The timing matters. This alliance crystallized precisely when the Jewish people needed it most—when the left abandoned Israel, when antisemitism surged globally, when even some Jews questioned Zionism itself. At that moment, millions of Christians stood up and said: We will not abandon you.
Rabbi Mirvis prays that Jewish unity will outlast the current war. That prayer applies equally to Jewish-Christian partnership. When the immediate crisis passes, will we remember what we learned? Will we maintain these alliances?
May this unity endure not just through today’s darkness but into the light beyond. And may we prove wiser than Pharaoh—able to recognize a miracle, and faithful enough to let it transform us.
