Welcome to Perek Shirah. Today we're up to the song of the Akrav / scorpion . The Akrav says טוֹב יְיָ לַכֹּל וְרַחֲמָיו עַל כָּל מַעֲשָׂיו: / God is good to all and has mercy on all His creations. The Akrav/scorpion is an extremely dangerous predator. In fact, the sefer Misaprim Tehilot L'Hashem says the word עקרב Akrav is a contraction of עק Ak which means pain in Aramaic, and רב Rav, which means he's a great pain , and therefore we want to stamp him out. Interestingly, scorpions procreate at a very rapid rate. As we mentioned previously, the Midrash Rabba in Shemot 1,8 tells us on the word V'yishritsu , that in Mitzrayim , some say the women had 60 babies at a times (and don't be amazed because scorpions have large amounts like that)! Modern day scorpions have an average closer to 25 offspring at a time, so perhaps the Egyptian scorpions were different, or nature has changed. Regardless, scorpions procreate at a rapid rate and they survive , because Hashem in His mercy, doesn't want to wipe them out. They serve a purpose. Hashem is Tov lakol, V'rachamav al kol Ma'asav, good to all, and merciful on all His creations- even on this low, seemingly dangerous being. That's number one. Hashem is Tov lakol even for scorpions. And V'rachamav al kol ma'asav, we can't really hate the scorpion because Hashem has mercy and He doesn't let the scorpion bite whoever it wants. The scorpion only bites who God sends them to bite. Furthermore, V'rachamav al kol ma'asav, it says the scorpion itself is a healing for the scorpion bite. In ancient times, they would take a dead scorpion, soak it in olive oil and rub it on the wound and it would heal. There are other medicinal treatments that come from the scorpion. So on one hand, Hashem takes care of the scorpion and on the other hand, Hashem takes care of the world at large. Now let's delve a bit into the scorpions as a messenger , and the goodness of the scorpion. The Zohar (vol 3, page 107a) on the pasuk in Bereshit where it says וַיַּ֤רְא אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־ט֖וֹב מְאֹ֑ד God saw everything He did. V'hinei tov me'od and it was very good says this refers to the crawling creatures, specifically, the scorpion . And even though you see them and they're destructive, they are all here as God's servants. People don't know what they're doing. In the words of the Zohar, Every one of them is there on a mission and therefore, Don't treat anything improperly. And it quotes the pasuk, Tov Hashem L'Kol/ God is good to all. So wonders of wonders! The Zohar is quoting the exact same pasuk as Perek Shirah for our scorpion as the epitome of the concept that Hashem saw everything that He did was very good. Further, Reshit Chochma in the Gate of Fear of Hashem , (11th chapter), says that God has many messengers that He uses to bring about the judgment. He quotes a Midrash that when listing the different things that God uses, it says, God has many scorpions. Additionally, the Gemara in Nedarim 41A tells the story of how Shmuel saw a scorpion on the back of a turtle. The turtle carried the scorpion on his back across a river to where a man was lying down, and the scorpion bit him! This is an example, it says, of how Hashem uses creations as His messengers. The scorpion is one of God's messengers. He has what to do. So don't look at the scorpion as a fiend. He's not a fiend. He's God's messenger. He has a job to do. And on the topic of Rachamav al Kol Maasav, Hashem's mercy, the Mishna in Masechet Berachot says that when a person is praying and he hears a snake hissing, he should continue praying because snakes, by and large, do not attack unless provoked, but if you see a scorpion, stop your prayers and leave. So God has mercy on a person and says, You're praying to me? Do something to protect yourself from the scorpion. God cares about protecting us from scorpions. I saw an unbelievable thought from Rabbi Eliyahu of Izmir, in his sefer Shevet Musar . (perek יא ). He says that God used the scorpion as a messenger for Brit Milah. He quotes the Midrash Tanchuma in Parashat Lech Lecha, that when God told Abraham to do a Brit Milah, Abraham didn't know where exactly he was supposed to do it. It doesn't say where. So Hashem sent a scorpion and the scorpion bit him on that spot. Some understand that the scorpion did the Milah because the Lashon of the Midrash is, ועקצו עקרב ונמצא מהול God used the surgery of the scorpion. And he quotes Rav Abraham Hichini, a student of the Maharit and a very early source, who cites a proof from a pasuk that says, בעצם היום הזה On that very day, Be'etzem stands for ב נשיכת ע"קרב צ"דיק מ"ל ע"כ: With the biting of the scorpion, the righteous man was circumcised. So not only is the scorpion the messenger of destruction, he's also the messenger of a Brit Milah. The Shevet Musar adds that God used the scorpion in the future, when Bnei Yisrael would procreate like the scorpion, maybe 60 at a time, and produce a tremendous abundance of children- all in the merit of Abraham Avinu's Brit Milah! So, the scorpion is the messenger for Abraham Avinu's Brit Milah. Wonder of wonders! Therefore the scorpion is the one that sings the song, Tov Hashem L'Kol God is good to everybody. Finally, a story: Many years ago when I was in Israel I heard about a man who moved into a new apartment that had scorpions all over the place. He called the exterminators but they wouldn't go away. He went to Rav Chaim Pinchas Sheinberg, who said, "Let's look in the Perek Shirah," and he found the pasuk of Tov HaShem LaKol. So he said, Maybe you weren't doing Tov HaShem LaKol, The man thought about it and realized that there had been a poor man who always came to his house in the old neighborhood. But since he moved apartments, he hadn't had him over. So he tracked him down, and started inviting him again, and the scorpions went away. Wonder of wonders.