The Torah Says (from Genesis Chapter 6)
“God said, ‘I will wipe them [humans] out, together with all the animals, creeping things, and birds, for I am sorry that I made them (verse 6).’”
“…the earth was filled with violence (verse 7).”
Our Careful Readers Say:
Girl 1: Why did he [God] want to wipe out all the animals and the people?
Boy 1: The animals were making the world violent.
Girl1: No, the people were bad. I don’t hear anything about the animals [being bad]. It’s probably just the humans because I don’t know how animals can be violent.
Boy 2: They kill each other.
Girl 1: Well, that’s just what they do. They kill animals and eat them.
Boy 1: They also eat plants, which is bad for the earth.
Girl 1: Earthworms eat plants, and they’re [earthworms] good for the earth.
Boy 1: Falcons eat prey. So not birds. They [birds] didn’t do anything wrong [so why does God wipe them out?].
Boy 2: Yeah, birds eat worms. They help the soil. It’s wrong for the birds to eat the worms [because they help the earth].
Girl 1: I don’t think… it’s not that wrong; it’s just one of the things they do. {pause} Couldn’t the birds fly above the flood or something?
Boy 1: Yeah, falcons can fly really high. (The children discuss how a falcon catches prey.)
Girl 1: …I just don’t understand why God wiped out the animals. I don’t think that [animals killing each other for food] is wrong; it’s just what they do.
The End of the Flood: “It’s also a little sad, but I didn’t know how to draw the sad.”
