Last week, we discussed the dove’s foot and Noah’s hand, that it was an olive leaf in the dove’s mouth, why the leaf indicated the waters had receded, that the dove did not come back the second time, that six hundred and first year refers to the years of Noah’s life, that the animals would be fruitful and multiply, the different gender order descriptions of leaving the ark, that the animals would be fruitful and multiply, that the fact that the pure birds and animals would be sacrificed explains why more of them were taken on the ark, that the animals left the ark by species, that God smelled the pleasant smell of the sacrifices and decided that, even though the inclination of the human ‘heart’ is bad from youth, he would never wipe human beings out again, what it means that the story is bookmarked by the plan to destroy humankind and the plan never to do it again, why God changed from destroying to determining not to destroy–and more.

Our artwork this week is by Jewish-Indian New Jersey artist, Siona Benjamin (Tikkun ha-Olam above, Lilith below).