Welcome to our class on Perek Shira. We're now up to the song of the ant. There are two versions on what the pasuk of the ant is. One says it's Mishlei , 6,6, which is quite apropos. Shlomo HaMelech tells the lazy man, לֵֽךְ־אֶל־נְמָלָ֥ה עָצֵ֑ל רְאֵ֖ה דְרָכֶ֣יהָ וַחֲכָֽם Lech el nemalah atzel. Go (look at) the ant. Re'ei deracheha/ look at its ways, v'chacham/and you will become wise. There's another version that says the ant says a pasuk in Tehillim 136:25. נֹתֵ֣ן לֶ֭חֶם לְכׇל־בָּשָׂ֑ר כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃ The Mabit says that, " Lechol basar " refers to creatures that have only flesh and no bones , one of them being the ant , and that's why, as we'll see, the ant doesn't live such a long time. The sefer Knaf Renanim says that both versions are true. We learn 2 lessons from the ant. One is not to be lazy, and we also see how careful they are not to steal. The Midrash Rabbah in Devarim 5:2, tells us that the ant builds three stories in his dwelling. He doesn't store his wheat in the top story because of the dripping of the rain, and he doesn't put it in the bottom because it could get too moist. He puts in the middle. And he only lives for six months because he has no bones and he has no sinews. He hardly eats in that amount of time, and yet he keeps storing and storing food. Why? Because he thinks maybe Hashem will give him life and he'll have a little bit more time. Rav Shimon Bar Yochai says he once went to a certain ant colony and found 300 kur (a large amount) of wheat! Furthermore, Re'ei deracheha/ look at its ways, v'chacham/and you will become wise- the rabbis say the ant has Derech Eretz, it stays away from thievery. They describe how an ant once dropped a wheat kernel. The other ants passed by and smelled that it wasn't theirs and so they stayed away. These are the two major lessons we learned from the ants, and therefore both pesukim are apropos. The Gaon of Vilna analyzes the pesukim . There are actually three things he says: One is, Lech el nemalah atzel. If you're lazy from doing mitzvot and ma'asim tovim, look at how fast and zariz the ant is. It gathers and gathers, even though it only needs a little, That's a lesson for us. We should be gathering for Olam Haba. Regarding Re'ei deracheha, see his ways, the word Derech refers to Middot . V'halakhta bidrachav, means It goes in G-d's ways, and follows His Middot. So what's its Midah ? We just said it has good Middot , it doesn't steal. It's careful to follow the Derech Eretz. V'chacham means he's wise – he knows how to properly store his wheat. The second pasuk, Noten lechem lechol basar, ki le'olam chasdo is saying the ant understands that G -d is the One that provides and therefore I don't have to grab, I'll get what's mine. The whole Perek Shira is about the lessons we learned from the animal kingdom, but the Malbim says we learn specifically from this pasuk, in which Shlomo HaMelech actually says, Go to the ant and learn from it. That's the ant song. The ant is there to teach us. And as we've said in the past about all the animal traits, Na'aseh Adam , G-d said to all of creation Let's make man. So we all have those traits inside of us. We just have to channel them or unleash them. That's why עַז כַּנָּמֵר, וְקַל כַּנֶּשֶׁר, וְרָץ כַּצְּבִי, וְגִבּוֹר כָּאֲרִי, לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹן אָבִיךָ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמָיִם We have to be brazen like a leopard, strong like a lion, run like a deer. How could you ask that from me? The answer is, you have that ability. And therefore Shlomo HaMelech is saying look at that ant, look how fast he is, look what he can do- and you can do it too!