Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Torah as the Pathway to Perception of Hashem's Presence
One of the signature symbols in parshat Noach is the rainbow, which Hashem displays following the mabul (Flood) as evidence of his commitment that He will never again destroy the world with water (Noach 9:13). Initially, the rainbow thus appears to be a positive sign - a covenant evidencing Hashem's commitment to mankind.
However, Rashi states that the appearance of a rainbow actually has negative connotations. Observing that the word "dorot" (generations) in the pasuk (9:12) immediately preceding the introduction of the rainbow is missing letters (i.e., two "vavs"), Rashi explains that the word "generations" is "written 'chaser' [missing letters] since there are generations that do not need this sign [that Hashem won't destroy the world with water] since they are totally righteous like the generation of Chizkiyahu King of Judah and the generation of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai." In other words, when a rainbow appears in any generation, it is a sign that there is wickedness in the world, and the generation is deserving of destruction but for Hashem's commitment as evidenced by the rainbow. Indeed, Rabbeinu Yehudah bar Yakar (a teacher of the Ramban) writes in his Peirush HaTefillos Vehaberachos (2:58) that one ought to be inspired to do teshuva upon seeing a rainbow.
Other sources reflect similar ambivalence concerning a rainbow. On the one hand, one makes a bracha upon seeing a rainbow. But once the bracha is made, it is inappropriate to gaze at the rainbow for a prolonged period of time (Chagiga 16a). This is because the rainbow represents the "Shechina" (Divine Presence) (as per the navi Yechezkel, 1:28) (interestingly, there is a natural phenomenon similar to a rainbow called a "glory").
It is also inappropriate to run and tell someone else about a rainbow that one sees since it is like spreading a bad report (that is, the rainbow is a sign that bad deeds are being done, and Hashem is withholding punishment) (Chayei Adam, 63:4) (for full list of "rainbow" sources see here).
What can we learn from this ambivalence? What can we learn from rainbows?
Rabbi Daniel Cohen of Congregation Agudath Shalom shared an interesting observation that perhaps can clarify what we are meant to learn from the phenomenon of a rainbow.
Scientifically, a rainbow results when the sun's rays are refracted by drops of mist or rain into separate bands of color (see Wikipedia). When we look at regular sunlight we do not see these colors. It is only through the prism of water that the richness of color inherent in sunlight becomes apparent.
The rainbow can thus be viewed as a metaphor for enhanced human perception. But perception of what?
In general, during the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, most people do not reflect on Hashem's presence in the world. Various natural events and phenomena occur daily that we tend to take for granted - the sun rises, the sun sets. We ascribe these routines to the laws of nature.
What can enhance our perception of Hashem's presence in nature?
The gemara (Baba Kamma 82a) states that when bnei yisroel went for 3 days without finding water, the allusion is to 3 days without Torah. An absence of water symbolizes an absence of Torah. Shir Hashirim Rabbah (1:19) states that "just as water cleanses the body of impurity, Torah cleanses the soul." The giver of the Torah, Moshe, was so named because he was pulled from water.
So we see that Torah is equated to water.
Let us now return to the rainbow. As noted, absent water, we do not perceive the colors within sunlight. Indeed, it may be said that we do not perceive light per se at all. Every day, sunlight fills the world, and we are its beneficiaries. Yet, light is invisible - you cannot see it - or touch it. It is everywhere, but nowhere. We can generally only perceive sunlight via its impact on the world in terms of being able to see; when it is not present, we cannot see anything at all. But then comes water and makes invisible light visible to all in the form of a rainbow.
Hashem's presence is like light. As the old day school ballad goes, "Hashem is here, Hashem is there, Hashem is truly everywhere." Like sunlight, Hashem is everywhere. Yet, also like sunlight, Hashem is not visible - He cannot be perceived directly by the human senses. Rather, we can only perceive Hashem though His impact on the world (if we are willing to acknowledge such). Or by the absence of his presence - resulting in darkness (hester panim).
But just as water makes invisible sunlight visible, there is a mechanism that makes Hashem "visible" (so to speak). It is the Torah. We have said that Torah is equated to water. The analogy becomes clear. Just as water divulges the richness of color in sunlight, Torah study is the mechanism by which we can maximize our appreciation of the presence of Hashem in life. As water is a prism, so too is the Torah. The prism by which we, more broadly speaking, discover spirituality in a material world.
This all suggests that a rainbow is positive. But what about the ambivalence we discussed above? We can recall that certain generations did not need a rainbow. That is because these generations perceived Hashem's presence unaided. They did not need reminders. However, the more common path is for people to take things for granted. Which leads one down a slippery slope to the point where (c'v) Hashem is no longer perceived as a factor in one's life, and an individual becomes free to decide for himself what is right and what is wrong. Which philosophy, on a societal level, can lead to tremendous wickedness (see our earlier post for development of this idea).
So the rainbow, displayed through the prism of water, serves as a reminder that mankind is missing the boat - is failing to perceive Hashem. Spirituality is lacking. Were everyone righteous - operating on a high spiritual, moral level - this reminder would not be necessary. But since Hashem is not being perceived, and people are preoccupied with the material world to the exclusion of spirituality, Hashem seeks to jolt us into changing our course through the display of the rainbow.
The danger, however, is that we miss the message and instead perceive the rainbow as yet another natural marvel. This is the reason that once we make a bracha - which essentially acknowledges the spiritual message of the rainbow - we should not gaze on it any further. The rainbow is supposed to facilitate renewed recognition of Hashem's presence, but once we have recited the beracha, that purpose is accomplished, and any further gazing may shift our focus from appreciation of Hashem's presence to preoccupation with the natural aspects of the phenomenon (with Hashem being once again forgotten).
As such, running to tell a friend about a rainbow is also discouraged for this may only exacerbate the problem the rainbow is meant to rectify. That is, as more people gather to admire the rainbow, the focus becomes nature rather than Hashem (far better, upon seeing a rainbow, to run and have a chavrusa ; - ).
The same can be said of world affairs. We often forget that Hashem controls human history. Instead, we ascribe control of events to human power. Man thinks he is running the show. At times, Hashem may send us a message to remind us of the true "cause" of events. Ideally, this would not be necessary. Like the totally righteous generations who didn't require rainbows, we should not need reminders, but should rather constantly perceive Hashem's role in unfolding events.
A good example might be the Six Day War. Many attributed Israel's victory to superior military planning and execution. But when one reads the accounts of pilots and soldiers who fought in the war (e.g., in Michael Oren's Six Days of War) -- about how everything the Israelis did went right, and everything the Arabs did went wrong -- one cannot help but see Hashem's hand in those events (incidentally, in another book on the Six Day War, Swift Sword, there is an analysis by an American general of the war, and he concludes that he cannot explain certain aspects of the Israelis' success from a purely military standpoint).
One can say that Israel's victory in the Six Day War was a "rainbow" - a glimpse of Hashem's hand in Jewish history. Yet, for those without a Torah perspective, it was more likely perceived as a smashing victory resulting from Israel's military prowess. But only a few years later the limits of military power were tragically seen during the Yom Kippur War. Was this a message that we missed the earlier one?
In short, the danger of natural occurrences like the rainbow (or events like military victories) is that we don't perceive Hashem's presence in them. But through the prism of regular Torah learning we can heighten our spiritual sensitivity so that we always perceive Hashem's presence in nature and human events even though we cannot see Him directly - just as the prism of water divulges the rich colors otherwise hidden in the invisible sunlight that envelops the world every day.
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