Dove as Peace Symbol
Question
Mrs. Priva Newman
Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.Morbi adipiscing gravdio, sit amet suscipit risus ultrices eu.Fusce viverra neque at purus laoreet consequa.Vivamus vulputate posuere nisl quis consequat.
Answers
There’s no reference in the Talmud identifying the dove or olive branch as symbols of peace.
However, Noah’s flood is compared to a “war” between God and Mankind. This idea is seen in the symbol of the rainbow. After the flood, God showed Noah a rainbow as a sign that there would never again be a world-wide flood. The rainbow looks like an archer’s bow pointing up towards heaven. The Ramban explains that the “upside-down bow” symbolizes that God will no longer “shoot arrows” at the earth in the form of a flood, just as a warrior turns his bow towards himself as a gesture of peace.
In this sense, the dove returning to the ark could be seen as peace symbols, indicating that the “war” between God and Man had ended.
By the way, the “olive branch” is a misconception. The dove returned to Noah with an olive leaf in its mouth, not a branch.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team