Vayikra Rabbah 22, a fascinating collection of stories and teachings, explores just that. It suggests that everything – from frogs to plants to even inanimate objects – can be instruments of divine will.
One story tells of a man observing a frog ferrying a scorpion across a river. He marvels, thinking, "This one is prepared to perform its mission." And indeed, the scorpion stings someone, causing their death. The frog then carries the scorpion back. The sound of wailing fills the city. It's a stark reminder that even seemingly insignificant actions can have profound consequences.
Rabbi Pinḥas, citing Rabbi Ḥanin of Tzippori, shares a similar tale. A man in the Beit Shofarei Valley fashions a wreath from a shrub. When he kills a snake, a snake charmer examines the dead reptile and is curious who killed it. The man admits it was him. The snake charmer, realizing the shrub is protecting the man, asks him to remove it. The moment he does, the snake’s venom instantly kills him. The shrub, an ordinary plant, was fulfilling its protective mission until the very end.
These stories aren’t just strange anecdotes. They point to a deeper truth: that everything in creation has a purpose, a role to play in the grand scheme of things. Even seemingly harmful creatures, like scorpions and snakes, might be acting as agents of divine justice.
Rabbi Yanai, teaching at the city gate, witnesses a snake behaving erratically. He declares, "This one is prepared to perform its mission." Moments later, someone in the city is bitten and dies. Rabbi Elazar experiences a similar situation with a Roman who disrespects him. A snake appears and kills the Roman, prompting Rabbi Elazar to quote (Isaiah 43:4): "I placed a person in your stead."
And it's not just living things. Rabbi Elazar also encounters a thighbone that refuses to stay buried. Eventually, it trips up a Roman courier carrying evil decrees against the Jews of Caesarea, leading to his death. The bone, seemingly inanimate, becomes an instrument of justice.
The text continues with more extraordinary tales. Rabbi Shimon observes a hoopoe, a non-kosher bird, building a nest. When Rabbi Shimon interferes, the hoopoe uses a magical herb to undo his actions. Rabbi Yannai's donkey eats a herb and becomes blind, then eats another and regains its sight. A man returning from Babylon witnesses birds using an herb to revive the dead and decides to use it to resurrect the dead of Israel, but when he tries it on a dead lion, the revived lion devours him! As the saying goes: If you have performed good for the wicked, you have performed evil. Do not perform good for the wicked, and evil will not befall you.
These stories, found within Vayikra Rabbah, may seem outlandish, but they offer a profound message about the interconnectedness of all things and the potential for even the smallest elements of creation to play a role in the divine plan.
Even water, Rabbi Tanhuma reminds us, can fulfill God's mission. He tells of a man afflicted with boils who is healed by immersing himself in the Spring of Miriam in Tiberias. This spring, a miraculous source of water that accompanied the Israelites in the wilderness, is said to be located in the Sea of Tiberias. According to Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, if you climb Mount Yeshimon, you might see a sieve-like item in the sea, and that is the spring of Miriam. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri adds that it's aligned opposite the middle gate of the ancient synagogue of Tiberias.
What are we to make of these stories? Are they literal accounts of miraculous events, or allegories meant to teach us a deeper truth? Perhaps it's both. They remind us to be mindful of our actions and to recognize the potential for the divine to manifest in the most unexpected ways. They challenge us to see the world not as a collection of random events, but as a tapestry woven with purpose and meaning, where every thread, no matter how small, plays a vital role. So, the next time you see a frog, a plant, or even a stray bone, remember Vayikra Rabbah 22, and wonder: what mission might this be prepared to perform?
Another matter, “The advantage of land” – there was an incident involving a certain man who was standing on the bank of the river. He saw a frog laden with a scorpion and taking it across the river. He said: ‘This one is prepared to perform its mission.’ It took it across the river, and it went and performed its mission.11The scorpion bit a person. [The frog] took it back to its place. The sound of wailing was heard in the city: A scorpion bit so-and-so, and he died. Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanin of Tzippori: There was an incident involving a certain man who was standing and digging in the Beit Shofarei Valley. He saw a shrub, gathered it, and fashioned it into a wreath for his head. A certain snake came, and he struck it and killed it. A certain snake charmer came, and stood and examined the snake. He said: ‘I wonder, who was it who killed this snake?’ That man said: ‘I killed it.’ He turned his face and saw the shrub with which he made the wreath on his head. He said to him: ‘Truly, I killed it.’ He said to him: ‘Could you lift that shrub off of your head?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ Once he lifted it, he said to him: ‘Can you touch this snake with this stick?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ When he approached that snake, his limbs immediately fell off.12The snake charmer understood that the man had been protected from the snake’s venom only because of the shrub that he had on his head. Once he took it off, the man was no longer protected. Rabbi Yanai was sitting and teaching at the city gate and he saw a certain snake raging and approaching. He would chase it away from this side, but it would return from that side. He said: ‘This one is prepared to perform its mission.’ Immediately, a report spread in the city: A snake bit so-and-so and he died. Rabbi Elazar was sitting and attending to his needs in the outhouse. A certain Roman came and made him stand up, and [the Roman] sat [in his stead]. [Rabbi Elazar] said: ‘This is not for naught.’ Immediately, a certain snake emerged, attacked [the Roman], and killed him. [Rabbi Elazar] applied to him the verse: “I placed a person in your stead” (Isaiah 43:4). Rabbi Elazar was standing on a certain crag over the sea at Caesarea. He saw a certain thighbone that was rolling and approaching. He would bury it, but it would roll out. He said: ‘This is prepared to perform its mission.’ Several days later, a certain courier13A courier of the Roman Empire. passed by, and it rolled between his legs. He stumbled on it and died. They went and examined him and found that he was carrying evil missives regarding the Jews of Caesarea. Rabbi Shimon would investigate phenomena. He had a certain orchard. One time, he was sitting in it and there was a certain tree stump in it. He saw this hoopoe that was making itself a nest in it. He said: ‘What does this non-kosher bird seek in this orchard?’ Rabbi Shimon went and destroyed that nest. The hoopoe went and repaired it. What did Rabbi Shimon do? He brought a board and placed it over the opening of that nest, and affixed it with one nail. What did that hoopoe do? It went and brought a certain herb, placed it on that nail, and burned it. What did Rabbi Shimon do? He said it would be best to hide that herb so thieves would not learn to do so and ruin mankind. Rabbi Yannai’s female donkey ate the herb and was blinded. It ate a different herb and recovered its sight. There was an incident involving two men who were coming on the paths of Tiberias, one blind and one sighted, with the sighted leading the blind. They sat to rest along the way and eventually they ate from the herb. The one who was blind regained his sight and the one who was sighted became blind. They did not leave from there until the one who had been blind led the one who had been sighted. There was an incident involving a certain man who was ascending from Babylon.14He was travelling from Babylon to the Land of Israel. He sat to rest on the way and saw two birds fighting with one another, and one of them killed its counterpart. That other one15The bird that remained alive. went and brought an herb and placed it on [the dead bird] and revived it. [The man] said: ‘It would be good for me to take of this herb and revive with it the dead in the Land of Israel.’ When he ran and ascended, he saw a certain dead fox cast alongside the road. He said: ‘It would be good to test it on this fox.’ He placed it on it and revived it. He ascended until he reached the Promontory of Tyre. When he reached the Promontory of Tyre, he saw a certain dead lion cast alongside the road. He said: ‘It would be good to test it on this lion.’ He placed some of the herb on it and it was revived. It arose and devoured him. That is what people say: If you have performed good for the wicked, you have performed evil. Do not perform good for the wicked, and evil will not befall you. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: Even with water, the Holy One blessed be He accomplishes His mission. There was an incident involving one who was afflicted with boils who descended to immerse in Tiberias. It happened that at that moment the spring of Miriam16This was a spring of water that traveled with the Israelites in the wilderness and provided water for them. rose, and he bathed and was cured. Where is the spring of Miriam? Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: It is written: “And overlooks the surface of the wasteland [hayeshimon]” (Numbers 21:20), as anyone who climbs to the peak of Mount Yeshimon and sees a small sieve-like item in the sea of Tiberias, this is the spring of Miriam. Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri said: The Rabbis calculated it, and it is aligned opposite the middle gate of the ancient synagogue of Tiberias.
