[Avodah] Birds & Fish in the Mabul

[T613K at aol.com]

From: Micha Berger <micha at aishdas.org>
>>> And, why did  the birds have to be on the teva?  Couldn't they
>>> just fly above  the flood? [--RSY]

>> For a year?!  Not even a vulture or a condor can do  that! [--RZS]

> OTOH, how did the olive tree survive?
> Clearly teva wasn't  involved.
> (Which would also explain the lack of erosion or other  evidence.)

How do you explain the apparent evidence of continuous human habitation,  
going back thousands of years before the mabul, in the Americas, Australia 
and  Asia -- and the lack of evidence of any interruption and world-wide 
wipeout of  human life ca. 4000 years ago?


From: Zev Sero <zev at sero.name>
>> OTOH, how did the olive  tree survive? [--RMB]

> IIRC from yesterday, the Ramban says that a  floating branch could have
> taken root as soon as there was a dry spot to do  so.

How did all the other plants and trees in the world survive the flood?
The Chumash seems to imply that Noach took vine cuttings with him into
the ark but what about everything else?

--Toby Katz
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