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October 15, 1999/5 Cheshvan 5760, Vol. 52, No. 7
Rainbow is a sign of God's promise
Torah Study
MARGARET J. MEYER
Genesis 6:9-11:32/Noah
Although the rainbow also exists in other ancient myths, its appearance in this week's Torah portion, Noah, is particularly significant. While other legends depict the rainbow as a military bow, a symbol of war, in the story of Noah, the rainbow is a symbol of peace and a sign of promise.
The medieval commentator Ramban explained that the base of the rainbow in Noah is aimed not down at the earth, as if it were a bow that might send forth arrows, but in the opposite direction. Similarly, enemies turn their bows inward toward themselves when offering peace to their adversaries.
Most importantly, the rainbow in Noah is a sign of God's covenant with humanity: "I now establish my covenant with you and your offspring to come, and with every living thing ... Never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth" (Genesis 9:8-11).
We tend to forget that this covenant was established not only between God and Noah, but with all future generations. We, as God's creations, are required to do our part to keep the covenant alive and to work for a better, more peaceful world.
Regretably, peace does not appear as spontaneously as a colorful bow in the sky follows the rain. Individuals and governments must constantly strive to achieve it. And when peace happens, its presence reveals itself less tellingly in headlines, treaties and handshakes than in small, everyday events that signify a return to normalcy.
Today our fellow Jews in the land of Israel are finally beginning to reap the results of peace. An example illustrates this. Ten years ago at Kibbutz Lotan, near Eilat, a terrorist crossed the border, shot a young American volunteer working in the date field and took another woman hostage. Miraculously, the wounded woman recovered completely, the terrorist was captured and the hostage was released unharmed. In those days, the Jordanian border was tense and guarded by soldiers, workers in the field were armed, and all Israelis were frequently on the alert for enemy attacks.
This past summer the members of Lotan held a ceremony to recall that day 10 years ago. Songs of peace were sung and prayers for peace were read. And although complete peace has not yet been achieved, little by little a sense of normalcy has returned.
The young woman taken hostage is now married and has a child, and the wounded American volunteer, who has become a physician, recently returned to Kibbutz Lotan with her husband and four young children to make a life in the now-quiet, peaceful region.
The Jordanian border is no longer patrolled by the military; kibbutz members no longer carry guns to the fields; and a new generation of more than 40 children plays outdoors unafraid. Throughout Israel, visitors from Jordan and other Arab lands swim in the Mediterranean Sea and stroll the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Has peace truly come to the Middle East? No, not yet, not completely. But day by day, in small ways, people who live there are working to fulfill their part of the covenant of peace with God. There will be setbacks, but when they occur, perhaps we will remember to look up at the skies and search for the rainbow, the sign of God's promise.
In the final lines of this week's Torah portion (Genesis 11:26), we read that Abram, later renamed Abraham, the patriarch of our people, was a direct descendant of Noah. In a subsequent portion, we will read that Abraham fathered two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, whose descendants have long fought each other. Perhaps now, at last, all of Abraham's children can look forward to fulfilling and living the promise of the sign of the rainbow.
Rabbi Margaret J. Meyer is the director of Alumni Relations at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and serves as the rabbi of Congregation B'nai Israel in Jackson, Tenn. Torat Hayim is produced by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. To read other commentaries on the Internet, visit www.uahc.org/growth.
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