Learn From the Animals
מַלְּפֵנוּ מִבַּהֲמוֹת אָרֶץ
He teaches us from the beasts of the earth.
Why the Animals
Shlomo spoke of them, Iyov was told to ask them, and the Gemara says we could have learned the Torah’s ways from them.
Shlomo HaMelech
The wisest man spoke of animals
וַיְדַבֵּר עַל הַבְּהֵמָה וְעַל הָעוֹף וְעַל הָרֶמֶשׂ וְעַל הַדָּגִים
He spoke of the beasts, the birds, the creeping things and the fish.
Melachim I 5:13
לֵךְ אֶל נְמָלָה עָצֵל רְאֵה דְרָכֶיהָ וַחֲכָם
Go to the ant, lazy one; watch her ways and grow wise.
Mishlei 6:6
Iyov
Ask the beasts, they will teach you
וְאוּלָם שְׁאַל נָא בְהֵמוֹת וְתֹרֶךָּ וְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וְיַגֶּד לָךְ
Ask the beasts and they will teach you, the birds of the sky and they will tell you.
Iyov 12:7
מַלְּפֵנוּ מִבַּהֲמוֹת אָרֶץ וּמֵעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם יְחַכְּמֵנוּ
He teaches us from the beasts of the earth and makes us wise from the birds of the sky.
Iyov 35:11
Rabbi Yochanan
Had the Torah not been given
אִילְמָלֵא לֹא נִיתְּנָה תּוֹרָה, הָיִינוּ לְמֵידִין צְנִיעוּת מֵחָתוּל, וְגָזֵל מִנְּמָלָה, וַעֲרָיוֹת מִיּוֹנָה, דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ מִתַּרְנְגוֹל
Had the Torah not been given, we would have learned modesty from the cat, not stealing from the ant, faithfulness from the dove, and courtesy from the rooster.
Eruvin 100b
Yaakov & Moshe
The end of days blessings
אֵת אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָא אֶתְכֶם בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים
What will befall you at the end of days. The tribes are blessed as animals.
Bereishit 49:1
- Yehuda, lion cub (49:9)גּוּר אַרְיֵה
- Yissachar, donkey (49:14)חֲמֹר גָּרֶם
- Dan, snake (49:17)נָחָשׁ
- Naftali, doe (49:21)אַיָּלָה שְׁלֻחָה
- Binyamin, wolf (49:27)זְאֵב יִטְרָף
- Yosef, ox and re’em (Devarim 33:17)שׁוֹר, רְאֵם
- Gad, lioness (Devarim 33:20)כְּלָבִיא
- Dan, lion cub (Devarim 33:22)גּוּר אַרְיֵה
Yehuda ben Teima
Four animals for one Will
הֱוֵי עַז כַּנָּמֵר, וְקַל כַּנֶּשֶׁר, וְרָץ כַּצְּבִי, וְגִבּוֹר כָּאֲרִי, לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹן אָבִיךָ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמָיִם
Be bold as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer and strong as a lion, to do the will of your Father in Heaven.
Pirkei Avot 5:20
Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta
A sage who tested the ant
אֲשֶׁר אֵין לָהּ קָצִין שֹׁטֵר וּמֹשֵׁל
She has no chief, officer or ruler. He went out in Tammuz, spread his cloak over an ant nest and marked one ant, to see for himself whether they have a king.
Mishlei 6:7; Chullin 57b
Made Before Us, From the Same Ground
God made the animals first, from the same ground He later formed us from, and the Torah calls both of us nefesh chayah. Their ways were in the adama before we were, which is why so many people carry their traits.
וַיִּצֶר ה׳ אֱלֹהִים מִן הָאֲדָמָה כָּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה
God formed from the ground every beast of the field. (Bereishit 2:19)
וַיִּיצֶר ה׳ אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן הָאֲדָמָה
God formed the man, dust from the ground. (Bereishit 2:7)
In the Order They Were Made
Day five filled the water and the sky. Day six filled the land, and ended with us. Choose a kind of creature.
יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם שֶׁרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה וְעוֹף יְעוֹפֵף עַל הָאָרֶץ
תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה לְמִינָהּ בְּהֵמָה וָרֶמֶשׂ וְחַיְתוֹ אֶרֶץ
The End of Days
The Animals Within
וְנַעַר קָטֹן נֹהֵג בָּם
And a small child shall lead them.
The prophecy
וְגָר זְאֵב עִם כֶּבֶשׂ וְנָמֵר עִם גְּדִי יִרְבָּץ
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid.
Yeshayahu 11:6
A parable about people
מָשָׁל וְחִידָה
The Rambam calls the verse a parable and a riddle: the wolf and the leopard are people, living together in peace.
Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 12:1
Souls that pass through them
יתגלגל או בדומם, או בצמח, או בחי, או במדבר
A soul may return as stone, as plant, as animal, or as a speaking person.
Arizal, Sha’ar HaGilgulim 22
Their ways are already in our ground. The soul has walked them too.
Read: The Animals Within