I didn’t know it as a kid but my endless fascination with the trails of tiny creatures in our backyard was the scholarly pursuit of Myrmecology -a branch of entomology, with a focus not only on the scientific study of all insects but specifically on ants.
Myrmecologists suggest that ant societies may contain the ideal forms of society, thanks to their complex and varied forms of social organization. Recently, researchers have studied ant colonies for their relevance in machine learning, complex interactive networks, parallel computing, and other computing fields.
The ancients were equally fascinated by these tiny industrious creatures.
Today’s chapter of Proverbs includes an homage to the busy ant that echoes a much more familiar tale - Aesop’s Parable of the Ant and the Grasshopper.
Aesop was a storyteller, possibly a slave, who likely lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE.
Somehow his collection of oral fables came to be collected, written and over time be known worldwide.
Whoever wrote Proverbs, attributing the teachings to King Solomon, did or did not know these fables but clearly they had the same idea in mind: The ants teach us how to be less lazy, more productive and more wise - even if at the expense of fun and folly, and in the preference of communal values over individual choices.
In the ongoing series of wise words to the young son, the author advises:
לֵֽךְ־אֶל־נְמָלָ֥ה עָצֵ֑ל רְאֵ֖ה דְרָכֶ֣יהָ וַחֲכָֽם׃ אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֵֽין־לָ֥הּ קָצִ֗ין שֹׁטֵ֥ר וּמֹשֵֽׁל׃ תָּכִ֣ין בַּקַּ֣יִץ לַחְמָ֑הּ אָגְרָ֥ה בַ֝קָּצִ֗יר מַֽאֲכָלָֽהּ׃ עַד־מָתַ֖י עָצֵ֥ל ׀ תִּשְׁכָּ֑ב מָ֝תַ֗י תָּק֥וּם מִשְּׁנָתֶֽךָ׃
Lazybones, go to the ant;
Study its ways and learn.
Without leaders, officers, or rulers,
It lays up its stores during the summer,
Gathers in its food at the harvest.
How long will you lie there, lazybones;
When will you wake from your sleep?
Prv. 6:6-9
On the face of it, this is wonderful advice, and a helpful wake-up call to all of us who procrastinate and focus on the present moment without thought to future needs and the needs of others.
Whether the ancient writers knew the inner workings of ant colonies or not, they were able to do what I did as a fascinated child - watch carefully as long lines of disciplined ants carried on their collective missions and made sure their colonies survived.
Over time and throughout different cultures many different takes on Aesop’s fable and the Bible’s wisdom continued to criticize this prudent mass production which comes at the expense of simple joys and individual choices to live and love.
The 1998 film Antz is one such case in point, an example of a text that wrestles with the legacy of lazybones and the perils of industrial societies.
Some of ancient rabbis must have been fascinated by Myrmecology as well.
The rabbinic collection called Midrash Devarim Rabbah includes several creative rabbinic interpretations of these verses, mostly admiring the bugs, and exploring what ethical norms the ant has to teach us.
“What is meant by “see its ways and become wise”? The Rabbis said: See the proper behavior that it exhibits, as it eschews robbery. Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta said: There was once an incident involving a certain ant that dropped a wheat kernel. All the others came and smelled it, but not one of them would take it. The one to whom it belonged came back and took it.”
Chapter 6 includes many more wise tips for the young person, some of them in line with more fear-based and foreign-suspicious tones we’ve already began to explore here.
The ant may or may not be our best role model for how to reconcile needs and values.
Yet it’s good to know that we are also heirs of human humility that looks to the lives of the smallest creatures among us help us lead more helpful, ethical, responsible and healthy lives.
Below the Bible Belt: 929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections.
Become a free or paid subscriber and join Rabbi Amichai’s 3+ years interactive online quest to question, queer + re-read between the lines of the entire Hebrew Bible. Enjoy daily posts, weekly videos and monthly learning sessions. 2022-2025.
Become a Paid Subscriber? Thank you for your support!
#Proverbs #Mishlei #Proverbs6 #hebrewbible #כתובים #Ketuvim #Hebrewbible #Tanach #929 #משלי #חכמה #labshul #belowthebiblebelt929
#ants #Myrmecology #antfarm #Aesop #Aesopsfables #grasshopperandant #peace #prayforpeace #nomorewar #hope #peaceisposible #Wisdom #natureknowsbest #ancestralwisdom #dontbelazy #humility
This was one of our favorites as kids, and my dad used to read that one to us. There were a LOT of ants where I was growing up; the red fire ants, the tiny black ants, and then the big black ones that mostly left you alone unless you bothered them. I also find it fascinating that patriarchy makes these things like studying ants seem so dour ( I can't wait till tomorrow's chapter lol)... there was always so much joy and admiration around the cooperation of ants for us two little girls. Ants still fascinate me.
Love this, including the mental image of you as a youthful myrmecologist! 🙂