Marvel at the Spider (Visual)

By Rabbi Avigdor Miller 

​“Yoducha Hashem kol maasecha — Hashem, all of your deeds praise you” (Ashrei).

A little spider is born and immediately knows how to make the spider web, which is a feat at engineering. Who taught him that? It’s all computerized in his little brain. You need a microscope to see his little brain. But in that little brain, all the details of that excellent feat of engineering are imprinted already, computerized. That’s the sign of design... of great design. Great design only comes from a great designer. 

And therefore, when you see a spider climbing out and spitting out of his mouth a material, know that in his stomach it was a liquid. As soon as it comes in contact with the air, it becomes a thread. If it would become a thread inside of his stomach, he’d be constipated. As soon as he spits it out, it becomes a thread, and he's able to paste it to one corner. And then he flies quickly across with agility to another corner and fastens the other end; up and down, back and forth. A few threads and he has a business already, a parnasah. He's ready to catch flies. 

The purpose of this spider is to testify to the Great Engineer

Ever watch a spider catch a fly? I watched it. A fly flies into the web, and the spider’s sitting in the corner, inconspicuous. As soon as he sees the fly is struggling in the web, he speeds along that web to the caught fly and out of his mouth he now spits not a thread, but a sheet, and with it quickly he wraps the fly. The fly is now like in the refrigerator. Whenever he wants, he comes back and eat a little bit; the fly’s waiting for him. 

All that is computerized. Nobody taught him that. All the equipment he has there, in his little body. So, the spider has a purpose. One purpose is to catch flies. It’s a good purpose; shouldn’t have too many flies! But there's a bigger purpose: the spider is there to attract our attention and say “Mi boro eileh — Who created all this?” The purpose of this spider is to testify to the Great Engineer who taught him how to do that, the great designer who computerized his little brain, and gave him all the information. — Lessons of Purim (#731)

Photos: Wikimedia Commons CC