In secular culture, the rainbow is the subject of folklore and song, a symbol of the unattainable dream. For the Torah Jew, it signifies God's covenant with humanity that He will never bring another flood to destroy the world. Within the rainbow's shape, colors, and position in the heavens, our sages find messages that bring us hope and inspiration. The rainbow is like a hunting bow. It is arced, but it is not facing earth, and therefore its arrows will never shoot down from heaven to harm mankind. Additionally, its shape connects heaven and earth, forming a bond between the two, says Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch. The rainbow consists of light and water set amid ominous clouds, signifying that even when we deserve strict justice, Hashem will temper it with compassion. The rainbow takes light in its purest form and breaks it down into seven component colors. From the deepest red (
adom
) we get the man (
adam
) closest to God, and from there we move further away until we get the dullest color, symbolizing the lowest of man furthest from the light of the Creator, yet still carrying a glimmer of His spirit.
My rainbow,
k
a-
sh
-
t
-
i
, incorporates four of God's attributes, shows us Rabbi M. Bick:
K
edushati
, My Holiness,
Sh
mi
, My Name,
T
orahti
, My Torah,
Y
emini
, My right hand. These are the same four attributes that we mention daily at the end of the
Amidah
prayer when we ask Hashem to treat us with compassion against our enemies. In essence, we are "reminding" Hashem daily of His covenant with us. These are four of the seven attributes, reflecting the seven colors of the rainbow, mentioned in
Sim Shalom
in the
Amidah
. Rabbi E. Munk calls these the seven blessings of love. They are symbolized by the seven colors of the rainbow. As such they are manifestations of God's glory, and therefore, we are cautioned not to gaze upon the rainbow, but to turn aside, as Moshe did at the sight of the burning bush.
The rainbow is our wake up call to do
teshuvah
, says the
Alshich Hakadosh,
and therefore, notes Rabbi Y. Kaminetsky, it is a favor God extends to us. He does not want to punish us as he did the generation of the flood. The
Sforno
calls on our Torah
leaders to take note of the rainbow and urge us to do
teshuvah.
This rectifies the omission of Noach who, as righteous as he was, did not pray for the salvation of his generation.
The rainbow is meant to bring us closer to a relationship with Hashem by reminding us that Hashem runs the world, says Rabbi M. Solomon. Like a sudden clap of thunder or a terrifying dream that induces fear, and we call out to Hashem to help us as we are moved to
teshuvah
. Because it reminds us of our sins, says Rabbi E. Kitov, it is customary not to stare at the rainbow. Further, the bow reminds us that although Hashem will not punish us with another flood of such magnitude, writes the
Mikdash Halevi,
Hashem nevertheless has other weapons in his arsenal. However, He tempers His judgment with mercy, never letting all the colors representing judgment come close to each other, for between them, Hashem has placed colors representing mercy, explains the
Alshich
. Further, Hashem placed the rainbow in the clouds, reminding us that if we do
teshuvah
, Hashem will erase our sins as He erases the clouds from the sky, writes Rav Y. Hacohen.
The Tallelei Chaim asks, the rainbow appeared after the flood, but why did Hashem choose the medium of water to destroy the world? Water represents mercy and love, while fire represents justice. In the beginning Hashem created infinite light. But the light permeated everything, leaving no room for anything else. Therefore, all was chaos,
tohu
. Creation began only when Hashem set boundaries, beginning with the light being contained in "vessels", so that there could be day and night.
Chessed
without
gevurah
, the power that contains that energy and focuses it so that it can become useful, becomes a destructive force.
The Torah tells us that there was rampant thievery and a complete breakdown of sexual restrictions before the Flood. They had reverted to the state of chaos which Hashem rejected with the creation of the world. And Hashem responded measure for measure. Water, the symbol of
chesed
is necessary for life. But unrestrained love, like unrestrained water, becomes a destructive element. Hashem flooded the world with unrestrained water, the symbol of that unbound "goodness". That is why the blessing for rain in the
, Amidah
prayer, is included in the second blessing of
gevurot,
because we want rain to be a source of life for us, and not a destructive force. The rainbow, then, becomes the symbol to remind us that
chessed
and
gevurah
need to exist in a balanced relationship.
Until the flood, man's free choice was unlimited, but Hashem decided it could not remain unrestricted, explains
Halekach Vehalebuv
. Man could go round and round in a circle without end in his evil ways. Therefore Hashem instituted a system of reward and punishment so that man would never again revert to a chaotic state of existence. This change is symbolized by the half circle of the rainbow. We must learn the lesson that compassion and justice must be in balance.
The
Sichot Mussar
writes that Hashem made a commitment, and He created a rainbow as a constant reminder. Hashem doesn't need reminders but man does. When that first burst of inspiration overtakes us, we must invest it in something tangible, perhaps by starting to study a page of a
sefer
or making that first phone call to an elderly person. Only by beginning can we ensure that we will follow through on our resolutions and become better people.
