After the flood, G-d promised Noah that He would never again bring a flood that would destroy the world. A rainbow is a reminder of this covenant that G-d made with Noah, his descendants, and all living creatures. Therefore, upon seeing a rainbow, we recite the following blessing:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֶלוֹק ֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָּעוֹלָּם זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִ ית וְּ נֶאֱמָּן בִבְּרִ יתוֹ וְּקַיָּם בְּמַאֲמָּרוֹ
Baruch ata Ado-nai Elo-heinu melech ha'olam zocher ha'bris v'ne'eman bivriso v'kayam b'ma'amaro.
Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to His covenant, and keeps His promise. (Berachos 59a; Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 229:1.)
Definition of a Rainbow
An arc of light separated into bands of color that appears when the sun’s rays are refracted by drops of mist or rain.
Question: On what types of rainbows do we make a blessing?
Answer: The blessing is made on a rainbow that results from a rain event. We do not make a blessing on the rainbows from other circumstances such as seen from waterfalls, sprinklers, etc.
Question: What is the meaning of the multiple parts of this blessing?
Answer: “Who remembers the covenant” HaShem does not need a reminder. Rather, the reminder of the rainbow shows to the world that HaShem would not destroy the world even when evil deeds increase and the world might be liable for destruction. “And keeps his promise” Even if He did not make the covenant, He would not destroy the entire world again. (Marasha)
Ben Yehoyada explains that the three types of praise in the blessing reflects the three unique colors and their connection to attributes of HaShem:
- White Chesed Who remembers the covenant
- Red Gevurah Is faithful to His covenant
- Green Rachamim Keeps His promise
Question: Does one make a bracha again if one sees a rainbow a second time within 30 days?
Answer: If one sees a rainbow again, even within 30 days, one makes another blessing. This is unlike similar blessings on nature such as the newness of the moon, upon seeing the ocean, etc. (which are only recited once in 30 days). Each rainbow is different, since each rainbow is the result of a different cloud and water situation. (Shaarei Teshuvah)
Question: How much of the rainbow must be seen in order to say this blessing?
Answer: The Shulchan Aruch writes that one who sees a Keshes, a rainbow, should recite the Bracha. The Biur Halacha (ibid. "Haroeh") raises the question whether one must see the entire rainbow, i.e. the bow-shape, in order to make the Bracha, or it is enough to see any part of the rainbow. He leaves the question unanswered. The Teshuvos V'hanhagos (3:76:6) concludes that since it is a Safaik (case of doubt), one should not say a Bracha unless he sees the bow-shape of the rainbow.
Background:
We learned that there is a special bracha one says when he sees a rainbow. The Shulchan Aruch, immediately after mentioning the bracha, says that it is not permissible to look at the rainbow for a prolonged period of time.
Question: Why can't you look at a rainbow longer than it takes to say the bracha?
Answer: The Gemara (Chagiga 16a) mentions this amongst other things that a person shouldn't look at (for a prolonged period). Two other things are the Cohanim (while they are blessing Yisrael) and the Nasi. The Gemara explains that these things are representative of the Shechina, and therefore one shouldn't look at them. Maharsha explains that one who looks at the Shechina dies, and being representative of the Shechina, one shouldn't look at these three things.
Question: Is it proper to tell another person that a rainbow can be seen?
Answer: Chayai Adam mentions that one should not tell another about the rainbow due to a reason of spreading a bad report (a rainbow reflects evil deeds being done). Mishneh Berura states that it is not proper to tell another. Torah Ladaas says it is not proper even though the other person would then be able to say a blessing. The Zos Habracha says that everyone maintains one can pursue the opportunity to see the rainbow in order to make a blessing, since the only possible “disgrace” involves telling another person. He wonders whether it is possible to gesture to another (by eyes or hands) to another to be able to see the rainbow.
However, The Bris Cohunah and the Yalkut Yosef maintain it is permissible to tell another Jew in order that they could make a blessing. They maintain this blessing was instituted as an acknowledgment of G-d’s Chesed and we should be happy and share that happiness with others.
Question: How is the rainbow connected with the coming of Moshiach?
Answer: Before the coming of Moshiach, a very special rainbow will appear. This rainbow will be so bright that all rainbows that have appeared on earth will seem very dim and weak in comparison. The bright strong colors of this rainbow are a sign that the Redemption is about to come. It is this rainbow, the Zohar tells us, that G-d was speaking about when He said to Noah (Gen. 9:16), "I will look at it to recall the eternal promise." (Zohar 1:72b as quoted in Discover Moshiach)
Question: Why, of all His many creations did G-d choose a rainbow as this symbol?
Answer: A rainbow is a diffusion of light through water. Light starts out as a single monocular ray. When it is filtered through a cloud in a certain way the one single color diffuses and diversifies into all colors. In a sense, the rainbow is a revelation of the inner truth of light. What seems to be white and simple is actually made up of many different colors.
In the Yom Kippur prayer, we describe the beautiful sight of the Kohein Gadol as he came out of the Holy of Holies. We describe him like a rainbow. The Kohein represents the entire nation of Israel when he stands before G-d. He stands before the One, the only One, but represents the diversity which HaShem created. When one succeeds, he is beautiful in his Ahavas Yisroel. He brings forth the simple light, the Ohr Dak and turns it into a rainbow.
Further, all living things need water to survive. Water, also known as H2O, has a molecular weight of eighteen atomic mass units (amu). The Hebrew word Chai, which means life, has a gematriyah (numerical value) of eighteen.
The generation of the Flood had the commandment to “be fruitful and multiply.” However, Man desecrated this commandment by mating with other creatures. As a result, God destroyed the generation with the substance on which life is dependent. Just as a newborn baby emerges from the amniotic fluid, a whole world was reborn from water. Thus, water is a vital component of the rainbow which provides the message to people to seek ultimate perfection (peace).
A discussion of Halachic topics; for final rulings, consult your Rav.
את קשתי נתתי בענן (בראשית ט,יג)
Chasam Sofer
ק"דושתי ש"מי ת"ורתי י"מיני
As the intention at the end of a person’s silent supplication (אלקי נצר) we request even when a cloud is between us that HaShem accept us for the sake of Your name, for Your right hand, for Your Torah, for Your holiness.
Colors On the Mystical Significance of the Rainbow
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Courtesy of MeaningfulLife.com
And G-d spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: "...This shall be the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all generations. My rainbow I have set in the cloud... When the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud, I shall remember My covenant... Never again shall the waters become a flood to destroy all flesh." Genesis 9:8-15
The rainbow, of course, is a natural phenomenon. Rays of sunlight pass through water droplets suspended in the atmosphere; the clear, crystal-like droplets refract the light, unleashing the spectrum of colors it contains and displaying them in an arc across the misty skies.
Yet before the Flood, this natural occurrence did not occur. There was something about the interaction between the moisture in the earth's atmosphere and the light emanating from the sun that failed to produce a rainbow. It was only after the Flood that the dynamics that create a rainbow were set in place by the Creator as a sign of His newly-formed covenant with His creation.
The spiritual and the physical are two faces of the same reality. This change in the physical nature of the interaction between water and light reflects a deeper, spiritual difference between the pre- and post-Flood worlds, and the resultant difference in G-d's manner of dealing with a corrupted world.
Contrary Differences
An examination of the Torah's account of the first twenty generations of history reveals two primary differences between the world before the Flood and the post-Flood era.
The pre-Flood generations enjoyed long lives -- we find people living into their 8th, 9th and 10th centuries (Noah's grandfather, Methuselah, lived 969 years; his father, Lemech, 777 years; Noah himself, 950 years). The Zohar explains that this was an era of divine benevolence, in which life, health and prosperity flowed freely and indiscriminately from Above.
Following the Flood, we see a steady decline in the human lifespan. Within ten generations, Abraham is old at the age of 100.
The second difference is one that seems at odds with, and even contradictory to, the first: After the Flood, the world gained a stability and permanence it did not enjoy in the pre-Flood era. Before the Flood, the world's very existence was contingent upon its moral state. When humanity disintegrated into corruption and violence, G-d said to Noah:
The end of all flesh is come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I shall destroy them and the earth.
Following the Flood, G-d vowed:
I will not again curse the earth because of man... neither will I again smite everything living, as I have done. For all days of the earth, [the seasons for] seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.
No longer would the cycles of life and nature totter on the verge of extinction whenever man strays from his G-d. The post-Flood world is a world whose existence is assured, a world that is desired by its Creator regardless of its present state of conformity to His will. And the guarantor of this assurance, the symbol of this new stability, is the rainbow.
