While the link is still live, this can be seen on the website of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
For all-time, it can be viewed below:
Noach
by Rabbi Avi Billet
Community Fellow of Yeshiva University’s Center for Jewish Future of South Florida
“The Colors of the Rainbow”
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… a rainbow!
Growing up, some of my teachers tried to suggest that a rainbow is a bad omen. Perhaps it can be considered evil. After all, God used it as a symbol to remind Himself that He promised never again to destroy the world with a flood. (Bereshit 9:11-16)
This would mean that when we see a rainbow, God meant to destroy the world in this recent rain, but did not because of His promise.
Not so fast.
The rainbow is not necessarily meant to be a reminder to God to stop Him from unleashing His wrath at this moment. It is a reminder to God of His promise — that no matter how bad things look down here from His perspective, rain cannot be used to wipe out the world.
To be sure, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis can all happen. Many lives can be lost. We’ve seen all of these happen in the last five years alone.
But the rainbow is also a reminder to us that as bad as a storm may be, and as much havoc as waters can cause, storm waters will never destroy virtually all of humanity as it did back then, in the time of Noach. And this has remained true.
There are those who suggest its presence is a sign that the generation of humans who see it may be guilty of the same deeds that caused the floods in the days of Noach (Rabbenu Bachaya). [Open The Miami Herald and you see this is the case every day.]
Others suggest the positioning of the bow is likened to the way archers turn their bows when they are no longer shooting, making it a sign of peace between former foes (Chizkuni).
All things considered, the rainbow is meant to be, in the words of Rabbenu Bachaya, “a gift.” It is a sign of a hope that people will improve and better their ways. Considering its beauty, it is surely appreciated as the gift it is when it appears below the clouds.
Why was the rainbow chosen as the symbol? Why could the symbol not be a “really cool” cloud formation? Why could it not be a single-color band, such as gold perhaps, in the sky? Why all the colors?
According to howstuffworks.com, the scientific explanation for a rainbow begins with “the refraction and reflection of sunlight by drops of water… [or] by light scattered by large numbers of water droplets. Although each droplet separates sunlight into colors, the different colors in a rainbow come to the eye of a viewer from different groups of droplets.”
To take science to a different level, let us suggest the rainbow is a symbolic reflection of humanity. It is a unique and rare fusion of different colors and (curved) stripes living together in harmony, reflecting the warmth and shining light of the Master of the World who is responsible for all of our being on this earth.
One of the beautiful marks of our Jewish experience is that we are not one race, have never been one race, and will never be only one race. Like the rainbow, we come in all different colors and stripes. Not only do we come from all kinds of different backgrounds, but anyone who sincerely wants to join the Jewish family and is committed to living a Jewish lifestyle as defined by Jewish law and tradition is welcome to join our ranks.
When we live in peace and harmony amongst ourselves, we are a sight as beautiful to behold as the serenity of a rainbow.
For all-time, it can be viewed below:
Noach
by Rabbi Avi Billet
Community Fellow of Yeshiva University’s Center for Jewish Future of South Florida
“The Colors of the Rainbow”
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… a rainbow!
Growing up, some of my teachers tried to suggest that a rainbow is a bad omen. Perhaps it can be considered evil. After all, God used it as a symbol to remind Himself that He promised never again to destroy the world with a flood. (Bereshit 9:11-16)
This would mean that when we see a rainbow, God meant to destroy the world in this recent rain, but did not because of His promise.
Not so fast.
The rainbow is not necessarily meant to be a reminder to God to stop Him from unleashing His wrath at this moment. It is a reminder to God of His promise — that no matter how bad things look down here from His perspective, rain cannot be used to wipe out the world.
To be sure, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis can all happen. Many lives can be lost. We’ve seen all of these happen in the last five years alone.
But the rainbow is also a reminder to us that as bad as a storm may be, and as much havoc as waters can cause, storm waters will never destroy virtually all of humanity as it did back then, in the time of Noach. And this has remained true.
There are those who suggest its presence is a sign that the generation of humans who see it may be guilty of the same deeds that caused the floods in the days of Noach (Rabbenu Bachaya). [Open The Miami Herald and you see this is the case every day.]
Others suggest the positioning of the bow is likened to the way archers turn their bows when they are no longer shooting, making it a sign of peace between former foes (Chizkuni).
All things considered, the rainbow is meant to be, in the words of Rabbenu Bachaya, “a gift.” It is a sign of a hope that people will improve and better their ways. Considering its beauty, it is surely appreciated as the gift it is when it appears below the clouds.
Why was the rainbow chosen as the symbol? Why could the symbol not be a “really cool” cloud formation? Why could it not be a single-color band, such as gold perhaps, in the sky? Why all the colors?
According to howstuffworks.com, the scientific explanation for a rainbow begins with “the refraction and reflection of sunlight by drops of water… [or] by light scattered by large numbers of water droplets. Although each droplet separates sunlight into colors, the different colors in a rainbow come to the eye of a viewer from different groups of droplets.”
To take science to a different level, let us suggest the rainbow is a symbolic reflection of humanity. It is a unique and rare fusion of different colors and (curved) stripes living together in harmony, reflecting the warmth and shining light of the Master of the World who is responsible for all of our being on this earth.
One of the beautiful marks of our Jewish experience is that we are not one race, have never been one race, and will never be only one race. Like the rainbow, we come in all different colors and stripes. Not only do we come from all kinds of different backgrounds, but anyone who sincerely wants to join the Jewish family and is committed to living a Jewish lifestyle as defined by Jewish law and tradition is welcome to join our ranks.
When we live in peace and harmony amongst ourselves, we are a sight as beautiful to behold as the serenity of a rainbow.
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