Welcome to Perek Shirah. Today we're up to the song
of the Akrav/scorpion.
The Akrav says טוֹב יְיָ לַכֹּל וְרַחֲמָיו עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו: /God is good to
all and has mercy on all His creations.
The Akrav/scorpion is an extremely
dangerous predator. In fact, the sefer Misaprim
Tehilot L'Hashem says the word עקרב Akrav is
a contraction of עק Ak which
means pain in Aramaic, and רב Rav, which means he's a great pain, and
therefore we want to stamp him out.
Interestingly, scorpions procreate at a very rapid
rate. As we mentioned previously, the Midrash Rabba in Shemot 1,8
tells us on the word V'yishritsu, that in Mitzrayim,
some say the women had 60 babies at a times (and don't be amazed
because scorpions have large amounts like that)! Modern day scorpions have an
average closer to 25 offspring at a time, so perhaps the Egyptian scorpions
were different, or nature has changed. Regardless, scorpions procreate at a
rapid rate and they survive, because Hashem in His mercy, doesn't
want to wipe them out. They serve a purpose. Hashem is Tov lakol,
V'rachamav al kol Ma'asav, good to all, and merciful on all His
creations- even on this low, seemingly dangerous being. That's number
one. Hashem is Tov lakol even for scorpions.
And V'rachamav al kol ma'asav, we
can't really hate the scorpion because Hashem has mercy and He doesn't let the
scorpion bite whoever it wants. The scorpion only bites who God sends them to
bite. Furthermore, V'rachamav al kol ma'asav, it says the
scorpion itself is a healing for the scorpion bite. In ancient times,
they would take a dead scorpion, soak it in olive oil and rub it on the wound
and it would heal. There are other medicinal treatments that come from
the scorpion. So on one hand, Hashem takes care of the scorpion and on the
other hand, Hashem takes care of the world at large.
Now let's delve a bit into the scorpions as a messenger,
and the goodness of the scorpion.
The Zohar (vol 3, page 107a) on the pasuk
in Bereshit where it says
וַיַּ֤רְא
אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־ט֖וֹב מְאֹ֑ד God saw
everything He did. V'hinei tov me'od and it
was very good says this refers to the
crawling creatures, specifically, the scorpion. And even
though you see them and they're destructive, they are all here as God's
servants. People don't know what they're doing. In the words of the
Zohar, Every one of them is there on a mission and
therefore, Don't treat anything improperly. And it quotes the
pasuk, Tov Hashem L'Kol/ God is good to all. So wonders of
wonders! The Zohar is quoting the exact same pasuk as Perek
Shirah for our scorpion as the epitome of the concept that Hashem saw
everything that He did was very good.
Further, Reshit Chochma in the Gate
of Fear of Hashem, (11th chapter), says that God has many
messengers that He uses to bring about the judgment. He quotes a Midrash that
when listing the different things that God uses, it says, God has many
scorpions.
Additionally, the Gemara in Nedarim 41A
tells the story of how Shmuel saw a scorpion on the back of a
turtle. The turtle carried the scorpion on his back across a river
to where a man was lying down, and the scorpion bit him! This is an example, it
says, of how Hashem uses creations as His messengers. The scorpion is one of
God's messengers. He has what to do. So don't look at the scorpion as a fiend.
He's not a fiend. He's God's messenger. He has a job to do.
And on the topic of Rachamav al Kol Maasav,
Hashem's mercy, the Mishna in Masechet Berachot says
that when a person is praying and he hears a snake hissing, he should continue
praying because snakes, by and large, do not attack unless provoked, but if you
see a scorpion, stop your prayers and leave. So God has mercy on a person
and says, You're praying to me? Do something to protect yourself
from the scorpion. God cares about protecting us from scorpions.
I saw an unbelievable thought from Rabbi Eliyahu of
Izmir, in his sefer Shevet Musar. (perek יא ). He says
that God used the scorpion as a messenger for Brit Milah. He quotes the
Midrash Tanchuma in Parashat Lech
Lecha, that when God told Abraham to do a Brit Milah, Abraham didn't
know where exactly he was supposed to do it. It doesn't say where. So
Hashem sent a scorpion and the scorpion bit him on that spot. Some understand
that the scorpion did the Milah because the Lashon of the
Midrash is, ועקצו
עקרב ונמצא מהול God
used the surgery of the scorpion. And he
quotes Rav Abraham Hichini, a student of the Maharit and a very early
source, who cites a proof from a pasuk that says,
בעצם היום הזה On that very day,
Be'etzem stands for בנשיכת
ע"קרב צ"דיק מ"ל ע"כ: With
the biting of the scorpion, the righteous man was circumcised. So
not only is the scorpion the messenger of destruction, he's also the messenger
of a Brit Milah.
The Shevet Musar adds that God used
the scorpion in the future, when Bnei Yisrael would procreate like the
scorpion, maybe 60 at a time, and produce a tremendous abundance of children-
all in the merit of Abraham Avinu's Brit Milah! So, the scorpion is the
messenger for Abraham Avinu's Brit Milah. Wonder of wonders!
Therefore the scorpion is the one that sings
the song, Tov Hashem L'Kol God is good to everybody.
Finally, a story: Many years ago when I was in
Israel I heard about a man who moved into a new apartment that had scorpions
all over the place. He called the exterminators but they wouldn't go away.
He went to Rav Chaim Pinchas Sheinberg, who said,
"Let's look in the Perek Shirah," and he found the pasuk of Tov HaShem LaKol.
So he said, Maybe you weren't doing Tov HaShem LaKol,
The man thought about it and realized that there had
been a poor man who always came to his house in the old neighborhood. But
since he moved apartments, he hadn't had him over. So he tracked
him down, and started inviting him again, and the scorpions went away.
Wonder of wonders.
