Wednesday, September 23, 2009

40 Days and 40 Nights

My kids and I like to read Torah together. The other day we were reading Genesis again, and the story of Noah and his ark came up in our reading.

When we got to the part where it was raining ofr 40 days and 40 nights, Matthew asked, "What on earth were they doing for 40 days and nights in that ark?"

Justing, ever the practical one replied, "What, they were cleaning up after all the animals and they were trying to keep the lion from eating everyone else."

Of course as we went on with the story, Craig started to wonder how they managed to store enough provisions for not only the humans but the animals, why on earth they took mosquitoes with them, and how Noah stored all the fish as the rain must have diluted the salt content of the oceans to unbearable level to sea creatures, yet at first the infusion of salt water to the sweetwater bodies must have killed all the sweet water creatures. Good thing we are not Bible literalists, because I simply don't have the asnwers to those questions. Of course some answers are available from midrashim, rabbinic writings, but then some of them cannot.

While Noah might have been busy 24x7 caring for the animals, my kids are not really buying it. Spending a year with only his close family they must have read and prayed together and probably played together. Matthew thinks they played cards and charades. And 20 questions. Definitely 20 questions. Craig thinks it was more like 2000 questions, given the time frame.

How would YOU spend 40 days and nights in an ark with your immediate family?

2 comments:

  1. Hee hee. Craig asked exactly the same sort of questions I used to ask!! I couldn't spend 40 days and 40 nights with them in the same room or under the same roof. I need my alone / me time away from work and home. A lot! The train is the most precious time of my day!

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  2. Emm, same here! As much as I love my kids/siblings/other family, I need at least an hour every day when they are not around me!

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