Themes
In the story of the Flood, Noah builds an ark for his family and the animals, which he invites on board in pairs. That way he can save them from the Flood and make a new beginning possible. The story of Noah’s Ark includes many themes that are still very meaningful today. You’ve probably already thought about these themes yourself.
Contemplating God and the world
Noah’s Ark and the Flood is one of the best-known stories from the Torah, the most important part of the Hebrew Bible. It plays an important role in various religions: in Judaism, in Christianity, and in Islam. The story raises many questions: Why would God want to destroy all people with a flood? How could the Ark survive this disaster? What is important for a new beginning after the flood?
At the beginning of the story, God punishes people with the Flood because they acted badly. After the Flood is over, God sends a rainbow and says: “I will never again curse the land and kill all living things. People are the way they are.” People aren’t purely good or purely bad. For a new beginning, they should ask themselves: How can each of us make the world a little better by deciding for ourselves how to act? That’s an interesting question that we also want to talk to you about in the Children’s World.
Tikkun olam
Have you heard of the Jewish concept of tikkun olam? Tikkun olam literally means “repairing the world.” It doesn’t just mean solving problems and repairing broken things. It means that you decide for yourself how to act, good or bad. For example, let’s say you’re playing with two kids and some other kids want to play with you. You would have to start over and explain the game to them again. Even though you don’t really want to, you let the new kids play with you. Because you don’t want to leave them out. That way everyone gains something because more people can bring more ideas into play.
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
How can you improve the world a little bit? At ANOHA, this question might arise to you.
Nature and the environment
How do people and animals live together on the earth and in nature? The question comes up in the Torah, but it is also important today. Technology is causing the world to grow closer and closer together. At the same time, climate change is threatening people, animals, and nature.
Flood stories in various cultures and religions
Did you know that there are stories about floods in almost every culture and religion in the world? In these stories, there is often a new beginning after the flood. This allows people to make a conscious decision about how they want to live in the world after the disaster.
In the future, how do we want to live together on this earth? Animals like the saber-toothed tiger and the mammoth are already extinct. The panda, the polar bear, and the orangutan are now on the red list, which means that they are threatened with extinction. Changes to the environment often have bad consequences for people and animals.
At ANOHA Children’s World, we want to talk with you about these subjects. How can we protect animals and the climate? How can we interact with nature and the environment in a sustainable way? For example, what can we reuse and what can we recycle? In the future, we want the world to keep giving us food and a place to live.
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
The polar bear is threatened with extinction. Push it onto the ark to save it.
Diversity and identity, discrimination, and exclusion
Cheetahs are very fast, while snails are very slow. Hedgehogs are awake at night, while meerkats are mostly active during the day. As you can see, there’s a lot of variety in the animal world. There is also variety among people. For example, there are different genders, our bodies have different shapes, we come from different parts of the world, speak different languages, and have different religions or none at all.
At ANOHA, you can think about yourself and our diverse world. Who are you? What different talents and qualities do other children have? Maybe together we can find out what interests you, what you like, and what you don’t like. What do you wish you could have? What are you afraid of?
At the Children’s World, we want to encourage diversity. That also means that we all respect each other and value each other’s differences. Together, we want to imagine a fairer, safer world and to work on creating it at ANOHA.
Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
Orangutans are mostly solitary creatures. But you can hang out with our orangutan – no problem.
