Big Gulp

How much water can a camel drink?

In Parshas Chayei Sarah, Rivka gives water not only to Eliezer, but to all his camels, too. It was a huge chesed, since camels can drink gallons of water at a time—but why?

Hashem built camels to survive in the desert, with bodies that can go days or even weeks without water. Those funny-looking humps are where they store fat, and they can slowly break it down for energy. Camels have wide feet to walk across hot sand without sinking, thick lips to eat thorny desert plants, and long eyelashes and closable nostrils to keep out sand.

When camels do find water, they can drink 20 gallons in 10 minutes!