In what could be termed an ironic case of life imitating art, filming of a biblical epic telling the story of Noah and his ark was put on hold this week due to Superstorm Sandy.

Darren Aronofsky's film, starring Russell Crowe as Noah, was due to be filmed on Monday at locations in New York.

When rabbis deliver their sermons tomorrow, many will take a passage from the weekly Torah portion and make some link with a contemporary issue or event. The assumption that the biblical texts have something to say to us thousands of years after they emerged is so natural to us that we hardly give it second thought.

Nothing is such a test of our humanity, and religion, as whether we can be true to the first mention of the human being in the Bible. It’s not a commandment, just a statement: God makes man in God’s image.

Former Baywatch star Donna D’Errico sustained severe injuries after a nasty fall on Mt Ararat this week while searching for Noah’s Ark.

"Since I was a kid, I have been moved and inspired by the story of Noah and his family’s journey. The imaginations of countless generations have sparked to this epic story of faith.

"It’s my hope that I can present a window into Noah’s passion and perseverance for the silver screen."

"My favourite genre of movie - if you could call it a genre, because there's not so many of them out there - would be the ordinary woman doing the extraordinary thing.

"The David versus Goliath-style fighting, one lone woman fighting injustice."

Friday night dinner might never be the same, thanks to researchers at two Israeli universities.

Academics at Haifa and Bar Ilan universities have launched an investigation into the biblical species referred to in the book of Deuteronomy as "clean" or kosher.