Beautiful rainbow connection in Parshat Noach

Within the span of just a few verses In this week’s parsha, Noach, the Torah mentions a brit (covenant) seven times. What is the nature of this brit and who is a part of this covenant?

Noach and his children had just survived an unprecedented tragedy. If we study chapter 9 we get insight into a number of the conflicts and issues the last men on earth were struggling with.

The Torah begins the chapter with the command (advice?) to be fruitful and multiply. We also read that the covenant includes the land as one of the participants as well as the rest of the animal kingdom. With the understanding that a brit is a two-way street that requires something from its participants, things start to make a lot of sense.

The sons of Noach and probably Noach himself (we could study how Noach handled the trauma of the flood starting with verse 9:20) were hesitant to start a new life. Why have more children? Why raise cattle and other livestock? Why replant the world if the risk was ever present that the world could be destroyed again? Aren’t their concerns founded?

Hashem responds with almost a quid pro quo, you do your job, and I will do Mine. You take on the task of repopulating the world. Tend to the animals and let them flourish. Plant and rejuvenate a destroyed land and I will assure it does not meet the fate of the last civilization.

This also helps explain the interesting inclusion of the Noachide law against murder. It is a complete abandonment of man’s part of the covenant. Anyone who destroys one soul from the Jewish people, i.e., kills one Jew, the verse ascribes him blame as if he destroyed an entire world (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). Our job is to fill the world and make it blossom and Hashem has reassured man that his efforts will not be in vain.

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The rainbow symbolizes a bow, which is traditionally a weapon of war, but when it is inverted, it is a sign of peace. When we see a rainbow it is a sign that Hashem may be expecting more from us and that we are not keeping up our end of this deal. Hashem, whose sign is Truth, will always keep His word it is for mankind who needs some occasional reminders.

I saw a nice insight from Rabbi Yaakov Kaminetsky (Emet L’Yaakov); at least this is how I am choosing to interpret his words:

The rainbow is symbolic of all the signs and hints in our lives that we receive, almost on a daily basis, that are gentle and sometimes not so gentle reminders of how we are doing. We aren’t privileged to see our “heavenly report card” in this lifetime, but it doesn’t mean we don’t get progress reports.

The rainbow is only one of many. It carries national and even global significance. But it is not the only one.

Each of us has to work on being attuned to our personal rainbows and reminders, endeavoring to see the signs of how the ways that we are acting and treating others are building up the world or, G-d forbid, tearing it down.

Rabbi Dr. David Wiseman has been leading a weekly Torah class at the Young Israel of Hewlett for over 30 years.