Masechet Makkot ends with one of the most famous stories in the Rabbinic canon, the story of the fox on the Temple Mount:

“When they arrived at the Temple Mount, they saw a fox that emerged from the site of the Holy of Holies. They began weeping, and Rabbi Akiva was laughing. They said to him: For what reason are you laughing? Rabbi Akiva said to them: For what reason are you weeping? They said to him: This is the place concerning which it is written: “And the non-priest who approaches shall die” (Numbers 1:51), and now foxes walk in it; and shall we not weep?” (Makkot 24b)

While the power of the story lies in the continuation, where we see Rabbi Akiva’s optimism, it is interesting to examine the circumstance that makes the other rabbis cry. The animal that emerges from the Holy of Holies is a shual שועל, usually translated as a fox. Dr. Moshe Raanan explains that the shual can be one of two related but different animals. One is the familiar fox:

Artemy Voikhansky, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The other is the slightly larger golden jackal:

Ummidnp, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Both are common animals in the Land of Israel, even today. Sometimes it is clear which one is being referenced, other times it is ambiguous. When the Song of Songs mentions “small shualim” that destroy our vineyards (2:15) the animal that fits the bill is the (small) fox. And when Samson puts torches between the tails of three hundred shualim to set the fields of the Philistines on fire (Judges 15:4-5) the fox is also the right choice since he has a magnificent tail that droops and would set fire to the fields.

However, which animal is correct here?

“Rabbi Mathia ben Harash said:.  . .  And be a tail unto lions, and not a head unto shualim” (Avot 4:15)

Unlike lions, foxes do not hunt their prey in groups. They are solitary and stay away from people. They also do not have a social hierarchy with leaders (heads) and followers (tails). Jackals on the other hand hunt together and do have a hierarchy so they seem to fit this description.

Whether we translate shual as fox or jackal (and in our Makkot story it seems to be ambigious), it is clear that the Rabbis saw the shual as very low on the rung of animals. Statements like the above one from Pirkei Avot show us that the shual is an inferior creature and joining its ranks proves that you do not have much value yourself. This idea is reinforced in descriptions of Sages who are either lions (great) or shualim (lowly):

“Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: The lion you mentioned has become a fox,” (Bava Kama 117a)

When Rabbi Judah the Prince is sad about being defeated by Rabbi Elazar beRabbi Shimon, his father consoles him that he is “only” a lion son of a fox while Rabbi Elazar is a lion son of a lion (Bava Metzia 84b).

Tanakh adds to this portrayal. The prophet Ezekiel denounces false prophets as being fearful and not helping the people, in essence acting like shualim:

“Your prophets, O Israel, have been like shualim among ruins” (Ezekiel 13:4)

If the shual is among the lowest of animals, then its presence is a terrible desecration of the Holy of Holies.

Another interesting image of the shual appears in the famous story that Rabbi Akiva (again!) tells to Pappus ben Yehudah:

“It is like a shual walking along a riverbank when he sees fish gathering and fleeing from place to place. The shual said to them: From what are you fleeing? They said to him: from the nets that people cast upon us. He said to them: Do you wish to come up onto dry land, and we will reside together just as my ancestors resided with your ancestors? The fish said to him: You are the one of whom they say, he is the cleverest of animals? You are not clever; you are a fool. If we are afraid in our habitat, then in a habitat that causes our death, all the more so”.(Berachot 61b)

In this allegory, the fish represent the Jewish people and the shual represents the nations of the world. Not only are they smart, they are also sneaky, trying to trick the Jews out of their relatively safe environment in order to prey upon them. It is interesting that Rabbi Akiva represents the nations (or the Romans) as a shual. It corresponds to another image the rabbis have of the shual:

“When the shual is in its hour, bow down to it” (Megillah 16b)

Even if the person in power is not necessarily the most worthy candidate, he must be submitted to. The Romans hold the reins of power and though they may be only shualim, they must be obeyed.

However, the rabbis do not only have negative things to say about the shual. We have already seen in the Samson story that the shual is fast. It is also territorial and will return to its place after the danger from the hunters is gone:

“Samson said: Let the animal that goes in reverse [Rashi: returns in an indirect manner], come and exact punishment from the Philistines, who reneged on their oath” (Sotah 10a)

In many cultures, the fox is seen as clever and sneaky. It outwits its predators and its prey and lives to see another day. Because of these qualities (real or imagined) the fox starred in many folktales. Rabbi Meir was known for his “fox tales” (Sanhedrin 38b). In the Middle Ages a French scholar named Berechiah haNakdan wrote a book called משלי שועלים, something like Aesop’s Fables with a Jewish twist.

http://www.childrenslibrary.org/library/books/c/crababy_00150086/thumbs2/crababy_00150086-0009-thumb11.jpg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Why did the fox get this reputation for cleverness? It does a good job of escaping the hunters, it is omnivorous and opportunistic and will find food pretty much everywhere and it has a great sense of smell. Dr. Raanan adds another interesting idea. It has large eyes and a sharp nose, making it look intelligent to humans:

Peter Trimming / Fox at the British Wildlife Centre, Newchapel, Surrey

In modern times, one of the early armored regiments in the the IDF was called Samson’s Foxes, שועלי שמשון. They were swift and, like Samson’s shualim,  they “burnt up” the south, the former area of the Philistines, which they helped conquer in the War of Independence. They took as their symbol Samson’s fox with a torch. Unlike other motorized units, they did not have army-issued cars but instead confiscated civilian jeeps to use for the war effort:

צילום:ד”ר אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons

In recent years there have been fox sightings at the Western Wall and on the Temple Mount. This video records one of those incidents: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2414221972175528

I will let readers decide if this is a sign that Rabbi Akiva’s vision is coming true.