By Ilana Stein – The rainbow is found in the Bible in the book of Genesis. The flood to destroy the Earth and all living creatures of every kind has receded and Noah and his family have come out of the ark.
God places a rainbow in the sky and promises that this is the sign of an everlasting covenant between God and humanity.
The Rainbow In The Bible
And God spoke unto Noah, and his family with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you…. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the rainbow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the sign of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. (Genesis 9:8-17)
The Lessons Of The Rainbow
A previous blog dealt with some of the lessons of the flood and of Noah and his family. When we see the rainbow in particular, there are a few more concepts to consider.
The Meaning Of The Rainbow In The Clouds
What is the meaning of the rainbow, when it appears in the clouds over the Earth on a rainy day?
When clouds would gather in the sky, people might fear that the rains would become a flood and destroy all life. God therefore placed the rainbow in the clouds as a reminder of God’s covenant to future generations – that God would never destroy the Earth again.
The Rainbow As A Comfort or A Warning?
While the rainbow may comfort people’s fears, there is an underlying warning. For while the rainbow means that God will never destroy all living creatures again, it also reminds humanity that it was their actions in the first place that caused the destruction.
The meaning of the rainbow then is the connection between humanity’s sins or immoral actions and the destruction of all life on Earth.
Today, perhaps the greatest risk of humans destroying the world comes not from those with the intent to do so but rather from the collective, unintentional actions of billions of people. Scientists tell us that our way of life is making war on nature, and will likely bring more flooding, tropical disease, severe storms, and intense hurricanes. In a sense, we are upending the balance that God for His part promised not to upset.
For the first time in human history, we now have the ability to destroy the world and all life on it. We may have no malicious intent, but our shortsightedness and selfishness can also destroy the world (Countering Destruction: Lessons from Noach).
While God promises not to destroy humankind again, it is up to humankind not to destroy itself.
A Covenant Of Diversity
Rabbi Sampson Rafael Hirsch (on Genesis 9:15) sees a deeper meaning of the rainbow – that of maintaining the world’s diversity, as God created it.
The colors of the rainbow, from “one pure complete ray of light, broken up into seven degrees of seven colors,” symbolize different types of living creatures of every kind.
Yet, “God unites them all together in one common bond of peace, all fragments of one life, all refracted rays of the one spirit of God….” (The Pentateuch, vol. 1: Genesis, Judaica Press, Gateshead, England, 1989 , p. 182)
The Rainbow Reminds Us To Take Responsibility For The Planet
When Noah obeys the Creator’s will and helps to preserve life on the ark, his actions result in a message shining from the rainbow, thus serving as a model for us to take responsibility for the continuation of a living and livable planet.
The Beauty of The Rainbow
Rainbows are beautiful, inspiring wonder. In the famous Vision of the Chariot of the prophet Ezekiel, the rainbow represents a view of the likeness of God:
Like the appearance of the bow which is in the cloud on the day of rain, such was the appearance of the brightness round about. That was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell upon my face. And I heard the voice of someone speaking. (Ezekiel 1:28)
The Zohar understands this on a deeper level, as a symbol for the Divine Presence on Earth.
The Blessing On Seeing A Rainbow
According to Jewish tradition, on seeing a rainbow, one says a blessing:
Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who remembers the Covenant, is faithful to Your Covenant and keeps Your promise. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Blessings 10:16)
A blessing is not merely a saying. It transforms the passive experience of seeing something beautiful to an active reaction. The human being reacts by expressing his/her wonder and gratitude to God.
This takes the meaning of the rainbow up one more level: through it, the human being connects to God and acknowledges that God’s covenant has been fulfilled.
Indeed, a medieval commentator (Seforno on Genesis 9:17) understands the rainbow as a wake-up call for Noah and his family, “to awaken the people of the generation to repent, to be wise, and to do good”.
Today, we too realise that human action – which once led to destruction – can be positive, and can lead to tikkun olam – a literal repair of the world.
The most recent studies have found that by undertaking positive actions in reducing our carbon emissions, and thus keeping below the global temperature goals, we may be able to reduce the risk of climate extremes, such as heatwaves and flooding.
The Three-Dimensions of The Rainbow
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks spoke movingly on this at the Lambeth Conference in 2008:
God says: Never again will I destroy the world. But I cannot promise that you will never destroy the world — because I have given you free will. All I can do is teach you how not to destroy the world. How?
The covenant of Noah has three dimensions. First: ‘He who sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for in the image of God, He created man.’ The first element is the sanctity of human life.
The second: Read Genesis 9 carefully and you will see that five times God insists that the covenant of Noah is not merely with humanity, but with all life on earth. So the second element is the integrity of the created world.
The third lies in the symbol of the covenant, the rainbow, in which the white light of God is refracted into all the colors of the spectrum. The rainbow symbolises what I have called the dignity of difference. The miracle at the heart of monotheism is that unity up there creates diversity down here. These three dimensions define the covenant of fate.
* Featured image source
