09 Jun BERACHA ON A RAINBOW

And G-d said: “This
is the sign of the
covenant, which I
am placing between
Me and between
you, and between
every living soul that
is with you, for everlasting generations.
My rainbow I have placed in the cloud,
and it shall be for a sign of a covenant
between Myself and the earth.
Bereishis 9:12-13
The rainbow symbolizes the covenant
between Hashem and humanity and His
promise to never again destroy the world
with a flood. This would seemingly make
the rainbow a positive sign, one that
prompts us to be thankful and praise
Hashem. It’s no surprise, then, that Chazal
established a beracha for us to recite
whenever we see a rainbow. Yet the
rainbow carries other symbolic meanings,
and from a different perspective, Chazal
had a more negative view of rainbows.
How do these viewpoints fit together in
terms of hashkafa and halacha?
Two Contradictory Sources and a
Resolution
The Gemara (Berachos 59a) presents the
following discussion as the source for the
beracha on rainbows:
And Rabbi Alexandri said in the name of
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: One who sees
a rainbow in the cloud should fall on their
face, as it is stated: “Like the appearance
of the rainbow that will be in the cloud…
and I saw and fell on my face.” They
cursed this practice in the West (i.e., in
the Land of Israel), because it appears as
if one is bowing to the rainbow. However,
one should certainly recite a blessing.
What blessing does one recite? “Blessed
is He who remembers the covenant.” In a
beraisa it was taught: Rabbi Yishmael, the
son of Rabbi Yochanan ben Beroka, says:
“Faithful in His covenant and steadfast in
His word.” Rav Pappa said: Therefore,
we should say both: “Blessed is He who
remembers the covenant, and faithful in
His covenant and steadfast in His word.”
While the wording of the beracha
references Hashem’s promise after the
flood, the Gemara also quotes the pasuk
in which Yechezkel describes seeing the
Divine Presence on the heavenly chariot
as similar to a rainbow. This would seem
to only add another dimension to the
spiritual beauty of a rainbow and the need

to appreciate it. Indeed, Rabbi Yehoshua
ben Levi maintained that rainbows are so
wonderous that one should bow upon
seeing them. While that practice is not
accepted, this Gemara indicates that
rainbows are very positive symbols, and
we should, seemingly, seek them out, and
recite a beracha upon seeing them. Yet
elsewhere, the Gemara (Chagigah 16a),
in very strong terms, says it is forbidden
to even look at rainbows!
Anyone who does not show respect for
the honor of their Creator, it would have
been better for them not to have been
born. What is this referring to? Rabbi
Abba said: This refers to one who gazes
at a rainbow… Gazing at a rainbow, as it
is written: “Like the appearance of the
rainbow that will be in the cloud on a
rainy day, so was the appearance of the
brightness all around. This was the
appearance of the likeness of the glory of
the Lord.”
This Gemara also quotes the same pasuk
from Yechezkel that compares the
prophetic vision of Hashem to seeing a
rainbow. However, rather than
encouraging us to enjoy and appreciate a
rainbow, this Gemara derives a prohibition
against even looking at one. It is so holy
that gazing at it directly is seen as
dishonoring our Creator, and one who
does so, the Gemara states, should never
have been born. The first Gemara records
an obligation to recite a beracha upon
seeing a rainbow, but the second Gemara
says that it is forbidden to even look at
one. How can these sources be reconciled?
The Shulchan Aruch (229:1) rules that
one who sees a rainbow should, in fact,
recite a beracha, but adds that it is
forbidden to “stare at it excessively.” This
resolves the two contradictory sources. A
person should look at the rainbow just
long enough to appreciate its significance,
but not gaze at it for too long, as that
would be considered disrespectful —
akin to staring at the glory of Hashem.
Another Application of This Distinction
This distinction between a brief glance of
appreciation on the one hand, and an
intent, prolonged gaze on the other,
applies elsewhere in halacha as well.
Chazal (Berachos 58a) composed a
beracha, shenasan michvodo l’vasar
vadam — “Hashem gave from His honor
to flesh and blood,” when encountering
royalty, whether a king or queen.
However, commentaries ask that since

the Gemara (Berachos 24a) explicitly
forbids a man from staring at a woman,
how can he say the beracha for seeing a
queen?
Rav Moshe Cohen, a nephew of the Rosh,
records (Sefer Chasidim Tinyana 99) that
he asked this question to the Rosh, who
responded that there is a distinction
between briefly glancing and staring
intently, whether in the case of a rainbow
or when a man sees a woman. Specifically,
regarding a rainbow, a person should look
briefly and say the beracha, but one
should not look for an extended period of
time, as cited earlier from the Shulchan
Aruch.
Rav Ovadiah Yosef (Yabia Omer 6 O.C.
13), though, questions this distinction, as
the Gemara (Avodah Zarah 20a) explains
that even though certain rabbis remarked
about the beauty of particular women that
they saw, it was specifically due to chance
encounters, not because they purposely
looked at these women, even for a brief
moment. If the Rosh is correct in asserting
that people are permitted to briefly glance
at even those things that they may not
stare at intently, the Gemara could have
simply explained that these holy rabbis
did indeed purposely look at the women,
but did so for just a short time, and they
refrained from staring excessively. From
the fact that the Gemara gives a different,
more limiting explanation, it seems that
even looking quickly is considered
problematic.
Despite Rav Ovadiah Yosef ’s question,
we accept the Rosh’s distinction
l’halacha, and, therefore, one may look at
and appreciate a rainbow or a queen’s
honor but not stare intently with the
intention of deriving pleasure from either
of them. The Gemara that says that the
rabbis only happened to see the women
and did not intentionally look at them
even for a moment is possibly because
these great individuals were stricter than
the average person needs to be, and they,
therefore, chose not to even glance at a
woman. Alternatively, it is possible that
the rabbis knew that these women had a
reputation for great beauty, and they
would not have knowingly put themselves
into a situation that would have enticed
them to look more intently.
Telling Others About a Rainbow and
How Much Does One Have to See?
The Chayei Adam (1:63:4) writes in a

parenthetical remark that he saw in a
sefer, the name of which he can no longer
remember, that one should not inform
others when he sees a rainbow. This is
because we are discouraged from sharing
bad news and a rainbow is a “bad sign”
from Heaven, since it implies that
Hashem seeks to destroy the world and
only refrains from doing so because of his
promise after the flood. This is based on
the Gemara (Kesubos 77a), which states
that due to the exceptional righteousness
of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi and Rabbi
Shimon bar Yochai, a rainbow never
appeared in the sky during their entire
lifetimes. Thus, one who announces that
he has seen a rainbow is reporting that his
generation is not a particularly worthy
one and has no great tzaddikim that make
it worthy of existence. Although this
concept is relatively recent and comes
from an unnamed source, the Mishna
Berura (229:1) rules that it is not advisable
to tell others about a rainbow.
The Mishna Berura (Bei’ur Halacha
229:1) also raises the question of whether
a person must see the full semicircle of a
rainbow or if seeing even a small portion
is enough to say the beracha. It’s possible
that the arched shape is necessary since
the Gemara refers to seeing a keshes, the
Hebrew word for both rainbow and bow
(to shoot an arrow), which has a curved,
semicircular form. Since the Mishna
Berura does not answer this question,
Rav Moshe Sternbuch (Teshuvos
V’Hanhagos 3:76:6) rules that a person
cannot say the beracha unless he sees the
rainbow in an arched shape, to avoid the
risk of a beracha l’vatalah.