The Seeds of the Future

By Daniel Kieval In the insightful children's book Noah’s Wife, which provides a modern-day expansion of the Biblical story of Noah, the title character Naamah goes out and gathers seeds from every kind of plant while her husband is busy collecting all of the animals for the ark. After the floodwaters receded, she and Noah are able to repopulate the Earth with all of its plants as well as its animals. Until hearing of this midrash, most people never even notice this glaring hole in the Biblical story—I hadn't. What would the animals have eaten in a world without plants? Where would they have gotten oxygen to breathe? Obviously, this is not the only scientific critique we can make of the Noah story, but it is one that calls attention to the importance of plants, and their...

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The Olive Conflict

By Lily Hoffman Simon When Noah’s ark ended its forty day journey, Noah sent forth a dove, which returned to him with an olive branch. The olive branch indicated the end of the flood and reappearance of land, and symbolized the restoration of justice to humanity (Genesis 8).  Since then, the olive branch has become a symbol of peace in the Jewish and Western traditions.  But recent history concerning olive trees in the West Bank seems to contradict this peaceful association. First, a little history is necessary. Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan in 1967. The Palestinian inhabitants of the territory are not Israeli citizens.  Some areas of the West Bank are entirely under Israeli control, while other areas have an autonomous Palestinian governmental body. However, Israeli settlements in the West Bank impede the development of Palestinian...

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