The ancient Rabbis certainly did. In Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, we find a series of stories, almost like little parables, illustrating this very idea. They paint a picture of a world where everything – even the smallest creature or a seemingly random object – can be an agent of divine purpose.
Rabbi Tanhuma and Rabbi Menahama recounted a bizarre tale: a frog, carrying a scorpion across a river! Can you imagine that? The frog delivered its venomous passenger safely, and, predictably, the scorpion stung someone who later died. The story concludes with the frog carrying the scorpion back to its original location. "This one is certainly prepared to fulfill its mission," the observer remarks. It’s a chilling reminder that even the most unlikely pairings can be instruments of fate.
Rabbi Pinchas, citing Rabbi Hanin of Tzippori, shared another strange incident. A man, reaping in a valley, fashioned a wreath from a shrub. He then killed a snake. A snake charmer arrived, examining the dead serpent and wondering who killed it. The man confessed. The snake charmer, realizing the wreath was protecting him from the venom, tricked him into removing it, and the man died instantly from the snake's venom. These aren't just quirky anecdotes; they suggest that everything has its purpose, its role to play in the grand scheme. Sometimes, that purpose is protection, sometimes it's something far more… sinister.
We hear about Rabbi Yannai, teaching at the city gates, observing an agitated snake. No matter how he tried to drive it away, it kept returning. The inevitable cry soon followed: someone had been bitten and died. Rabbi Elazar, in a less dramatic but equally telling story, was forced from his seat in a bathhouse by a Roman. "This did not happen gratuitously," he declared. Sure enough, the Roman was promptly bitten by a snake and died. Rabbi Elazar then quoted (Isaiah 43:4), interpreting "adam" (men) as Edom (a rabbinic code word for Rome) – "I will place Edom in your stead." It’s a powerful statement about divine retribution and the ultimate triumph of justice.
Rabbi Yitzchak ben Rabbi Elazar encountered a rolling femur bone on a crag by the sea. He tried to bury it, but it kept reappearing. "This is prepared to fulfill its mission," he realized. Days later, a messenger carrying evil decrees against the Jews of Caesarea tripped over the bone and died. The bone, seemingly insignificant, became an instrument of salvation.
Even nature, it seems, is part of this intricate web. Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta discovered a hoopoe nesting in a tree stump in his orchard. When he tried to block the nest, the bird brought a special shrub that destroyed his barrier. This led Rabbi Shimon to conceal the shrub, fearing its destructive power might be misused. And in a bizarre twist, Rabbi Yannai’s donkey ate a similar shrub and went blind, only to regain its sight after eating another.
These stories culminate in a cautionary tale about interfering with what is meant to be. A man returning from Babylon saw one bird kill another, only for the survivor to revive its fallen companion with a shrub. He decided to use the shrub to resurrect the dead in Israel. He even revived a dead fox! But when he tried to revive a dead lion near Tyre, the lion turned on him and devoured him. The moral? "Do not perform good for the evil, and evil will not befall you. If you perform good for the evil, you have performed evil." Sometimes, death serves a purpose, and our attempts to alter it can have unforeseen, even deadly, consequences.
Even water, Rabbi Tanhuma reminds us, can be an instrument of divine will. A man afflicted with boils was cured when he immersed himself in the Sea of Tiberias at the precise moment the spring of Miriam – a miraculous spring that followed the Israelites in the desert – rose to the surface. Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba pinpointed the spring's location, and Rabbi Yochanan noted its alignment with the ancient synagogue of Serongeya.
The final anecdote touches on the Israelites’ sacrifices in the wilderness. Before the Tabernacle was built, they were permitted to make offerings on makeshift altars, but they were punished for violating this practice. God then commanded Moses to prohibit slaughtering animals outside the Tabernacle to prevent them from slaughtering consecrated animals inappropriately. This illustrates how even seemingly arbitrary rules can serve a deeper purpose, protecting the community from unintended consequences.
These stories from Kohelet Rabbah, bizarre and captivating, invite us to contemplate the hidden forces at play in our lives. They suggest that everything is interconnected, and that even the smallest event can have profound consequences. Are we merely passive observers in this grand drama, or do we have a role to play? And if so, how do we discern our purpose and avoid interfering with the divine plan? Perhaps the answer lies in recognizing the inherent interconnectedness of all things, and approaching the world with humility, awareness, and a deep sense of wonder.
Rabbi Tanḥuma and Rabbi Menaḥama were relating these incidents. There was an incident involving a certain man who was standing near a river. He saw a frog laden with a scorpion and taking it across the river. He said: This one is certainly prepared to fulfill its mission. It took it across, and it fulfilled its mission.47It bit a person. And it took it back to its place. The sound of a cry was heard in the city: So-and-so, a scorpion bit him and he died. Rabbi Pinḥas [said] in the name of Rabbi Ḥanin of Tzippori: There was an incident involving a certain man who was reaping in the valley of Beit Tofat. He saw a shrub and crafted [it into] a wreath for his head. A certain snake came and he struck it and killed it. A certain man48Apparently, he was a snake charmer. came and stood and examined the snake. He said: ‘I wonder, who was it who killed the snake?’ That man said: ‘I killed it.’ He saw the shrub on his head [and] said to him: ‘Can you remove that wreath from your head?’49The second man understood that the first man was protected from the snake’s venom only due to the wreath he was wearing on his head. He said: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘Can you come here [and touch] this snake with this staff?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ When he approached that snake, immediately his limbs fell off. Rabbi Yannai was sitting and teaching at the entrance to the city and saw a certain snake that was agitated and was approaching. [When] he would pursue it from here, it would return from here, from that side. He said: This one is certainly prepared to fulfill its mission. Immediately the sound of a cry befell the city: So-and-so was bitten by a snake and died. Rabbi Elazar was sitting in the bathroom; a certain Roman came and made him stand up and [the Roman] sat down [in his stead]. [Rabbi Elazar] said: This did not happen gratuitously. Immediately, a snake came and bit [the Roman], and he died. [Rabbi Elazar] read this verse in his regard: “I will place men [adam]in your stead” (Isaiah 43:4), [which he read as:] I will place Edom in your stead.50The Sages identify Rome as Edom. Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Rabbi Elazar was strolling on a crag over the sea at Caesarea. He saw a femur bone rolling and coming. He buried it, but it rolled [out]; he buried it, and it rolled [out again]. He said: This is prepared to fulfill its mission. Several days later, a messenger from the kingdom passed and it rolled between his feet and he stumbled, fell, and died. They went and checked in his bag, and found that it was filled with evil edicts against the Jews of Caesarea. Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta was a researcher. He had an orchard in which there was a tree stump. A hoopoe went and made a nest on it. Rabbi Shimon rose and dismantled it. What did he do? He brought a board and a nail to the entrance [to the nest] and affixed it. What did the hoopoe do? It went and brought a shrub, placed it on that nail and destroyed it. What did Rabbi Shimon do? He said: It would be best for me to conceal that [shrub] so thieves will not go and do as it did and bring destruction upon the people. Rabbi Yannai’s female donkey ate the shrub and was blinded. It ate a different shrub 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 on the way, and it happened that they ate of the shrub. The one who was blind recovered his sight, and the one who was sighted went blind. They did not move from there until the one who had been blind led the one who had been sighted. There was an incident involving a man who ascended from Babylon.51He was travelling from Babylon to the Land of Israel. He sat to rest on the way and saw two birds fighting with each other, and one killed its counterpart. The other went and brought a shrub and placed it on the dead one and revived it. He said: It would be good for me to take this shrub and revive with it the dead in the Land of Israel. He ran and ascended; he saw a fox that was dead and cast on the way. He said: It would be good for me to test it on this fox. He placed it on it and revived it. He was walking until he reached the Ladder of Tyre. When he reached the Ladder of Tyre, he saw a lion that had been killed and cast on the way. He said: Let me test it on this one. He placed it on it and revived it. It rose against him and ate him. This is what people say: Do not perform good for the evil, and evil will not befall you. If you perform good for the evil, you have performed evil. 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 the sea of Tiberias, and it happened that at that moment the spring of Miriam52This 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 Mount Yeshimon sees a small sieve-like item in the sea of Tiberias, and this is the spring of Miriam. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The Rabbis calculated it, and it is aligned opposite the middle gate of the ancient synagogue of Serongeya. Rabbi Huna bar Pappa said: The children of Israel sacrificed offerings on prohibited makeshift altars in the wilderness [the way they did] before the Tabernacle was established. We learned: Before the Tabernacle was established, makeshift altars were permitted and the sacrificial service was by the firstborn. Once the Tabernacle was established, the makeshift altars were prohibited and the sacrificial service was by the priests. The Israelites would violate the prohibition of makeshift altars in the wilderness, and punishments would eliminate them. The nations of the world would say: They worship in His name and He kills them in the wilderness. Therefore, the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: “Any man of the house of Israel who slaughters a bull or sheep.… and to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting [does not bring it]…[that man shall be cut off from among his people]” (Leviticus 17:3–4).53In order to prevent them from slaughtering consecrated animals outside the Tabernacle, God commanded them to refrain from slaughtering even non-sacred animals.
