As retold by Ginzberg, whatever God created has value. It's a radical idea, isn't it? That the snail leaving its slimy trail is actually serving a purpose, providing a remedy for boils. That the sting of a hornet can be healed by a crushed housefly. Even the seemingly useless gnat, who only takes in food, becomes an antidote to viper venom! And the venomous viper itself can cure eruptions, while a lizard is the antidote to a scorpion’s sting.
It’s not just about utility, though. It’s about wisdom. God "teacheth us through the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wise through the fowls of heaven." The natural world becomes our teacher, if we’re willing to learn.
Imagine this: if the Torah hadn't been revealed to us, we could still learn about decency from the cat who buries its waste, about respecting property from ants who never steal from each other, and about decorum from the rooster who promises his hen a cloak before mating, and then reminds her he’ll provide it when he can!
Even the grasshopper, singing its heart out until it literally bursts, teaches us to do our duty regardless of the consequences. And the stork? He becomes a model of family purity and compassion.
Perhaps most surprisingly, even the humble frog can teach us. According to the Legends, some animals by the water live solely off aquatic creatures. When a frog sees one of them hungry, it offers itself as food, fulfilling the commandment, "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink." (Proverbs 25:21).
The whole of creation, then, is a symphony of praise. Everything exists to glorify God, each creature with its own unique song. Heaven and earth, paradise and hell, desert and field, rivers and seas – all have their own way of paying homage.
The earth sings, "From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, glory to the Righteous." (Isaiah 24:16). And the sea exclaims, "Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty." (Psalm 93:4).
Even the celestial bodies join the chorus. The sun, moon, and stars, the clouds and the winds, lightning and dew – all proclaiming the praise of their Creator. The sun sings, "The sun and moon stood still in their habitation, at the light of Thine arrows as they went, at the shining of Thy glittering spear" (Habakkuk 3:11); and the stars declare, "Thou art the Lord, even Thou alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee." (Nehemiah 9:6).
And the plants! The fruitful tree sings, "Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy, before the Lord, for He cometh; for He cometh to judge the earth" (Psalm 96:12-13); and the ears of grain sing, "The pastures are covered with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing." (Psalm 65:14).
Among the birds, the cock is particularly revered. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) tells us that when God visits the pious in Paradise at midnight, the trees break into song, awakening the cock, who then begins his own praise. Seven times he crows, each time reciting a verse. He calls out, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." (Psalm 24:7-8). He urges, “Arise, ye righteous, and occupy yourselves with the Torah, that your reward may be abundant in the world hereafter!” He even scolds the lazy: "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?" (Proverbs 6:9).
Even the vulture has a song, according to tradition: "I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them, and they shall increase as they have increased" (Zechariah 10:8). It’s said that this is the very verse the bird will use to announce the coming of the Messiah!
The lion proclaims, "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man; He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war; He shall cry, yea, He shall shout aloud; He shall do mightily against his enemies" (Isaiah 42:13); and the fox exhorts unto justice, saying, "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not his hire." (Jeremiah 22:13).
Even the "dumb fishes" know how to praise God. "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters," they say, "the God of glory thundereth, even the Lord upon many waters." (Psalm 29:3) And the frog? He exclaims, "Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever" – a phrase central to Jewish prayer and devotion.
Even the reptiles join the chorus. The mouse extols God with the words: "Howbeit Thou art just in all that is come upon me; for Thou hast dealt truly, but I have done wickedly" (Nehemiah 9:33). And the cat, finally, sings: "Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord." (Psalm 150:6).
So, what does this all mean? Perhaps it’s an invitation to look at the world with new eyes. To see purpose and value in everything, even the things we don't understand. To recognize that we are all part of a greater whole, a magnificent symphony of praise to the Creator. And to remember, as we go about our day, that even we have a unique song to sing.
"Whatever God created has value." Even the animals and the insects that seem useless and noxious at first sight have a vocation to fulfil. The snail trailing a moist streak after it as it crawls, and so using up its vitality, serves as a remedy for boils. The sting of a hornet is healed by the house-fly crushed and applied to the wound. The gnat, feeble creature, taking in food but never secreting it, is a specific against the poison of a viper, and this venomous reptile itself cures eruptions, while the lizard is the antidote to the scorpion. Not only do all creatures serve man, and contribute to his comfort, but also God "teacheth us through the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wise through the fowls of heaven." He endowed many animals with admirable moral qualities as a pattern for man. If the Torah had not been revealed to us, we might have learnt regard for the decencies of life from the cat, who covers her excrement with earth; regard for the property of others from the ants, who never encroach upon one another's stores; and regard for decorous conduct from the cock, who, when he desires to unite with the hen, promises to buy her a cloak long enough to reach to the ground, and when the hen reminds him of his promise, he shakes his comb and says, "May I be deprived of my comb, if I do not buy it when I have the means." The grasshopper also has a lesson to teach to man. All the summer through it sings, until its belly bursts, and death claims it. Though it knows the fate that awaits it, yet it sings on. So man should do his duty toward God, no matter what the consequences. The stork should be taken as a model in two respects. He guards the purity of his family life zealously, and toward his fellows he is compassionate and merciful. Even the frog can be the teacher of man. By the side of the water there lives a species of animals which subsist off aquatic creatures alone. When the frog notices that one of them is hungry, he goes to it of his own accord, and offers himself as food, thus fulfilling the injunction, "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink." The whole of creation was called into existence by God unto His glory, and each creature has its own hymn of praise wherewith to extol the Creator. Heaven and earth, Paradise and hell, desert and field, rivers and seas—all have their own way of paying homage to God. The hymn of the earth is, "From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, glory to the Righteous." The sea exclaims, "Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty." Also the celestial bodies and the elements proclaim the praise of their Creator—the sun, moon, and stars, the clouds and the winds, lightning and dew. The sun says, "The sun and moon stood still in their habitation, at the light of Thine arrows as they went, at the shining of Thy glittering spear"; and the stars sing, "Thou art the Lord, even Thou alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee." Every plant, furthermore, has a song of praise. The fruitful tree sings, "Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy, before the Lord, for He cometh; for He cometh to judge the earth"; and the ears of grain on the field sing, "The pastures are covered with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing." Great among singers of praise are the birds, and greatest among them is the cock. When God at midnight goes to the pious in Paradise, all the trees therein break out into adoration, and their songs awaken the cock, who begins in turn to praise God. Seven times he crows, each time reciting a verse. The first verse is: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." The second verse: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; yea, lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory." The third: "Arise, ye righteous, and occupy yourselves with the Torah, that your reward may be abundant in the world hereafter." The fourth: "I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord!" The fifth: "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?" The sixth: "Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread." And the seventh verse sung by the cock runs: "It is time to work for the Lord, for they have made void Thy law." The song of the vulture is: "I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them, and they shall increase as they have increased"—the same verse with which the bird will in time to come announce the advent of the Messiah, the only difference being, that when he heralds the Messiah he will sit upon the ground and sing his verse, while at all other times he is seated elsewhere when he sings it. Nor do the other animals praise God less than the birds. Even the beasts of prey give forth adoration. The lion says: "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man; He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war; He shall cry, yea, He shall shout aloud; He shall do mightily against his enemies." And the fox exhorts unto justice with the words: "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not his hire." Yea, the dumb fishes know how to proclaim the praise of their Lord. "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters," they say, "the God of glory thundereth, even the Lord upon many waters"; while the frog exclaims, "Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever." Contemptible though they are, even the reptiles give praise unto their Creator. The mouse extols God with the words: "Howbeit Thou art just in all that is come upon me; for Thou hast dealt truly, but I have done wickedly." And the cat sings: "Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord."
