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RainbowsAugust 2004From the Desk of Rabbi CohonWe are in the monsoon season here in the Southwest now, which means we Arizonans are the delighted recipients of the rains of summer, featuring full-on lightning storms of spectacular quality and variety. As you all know, there is nothing like a little cold rain on a brutally hot day to improve a desert afternoon markedly. Sometimes along with all the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning we also have the privilege of seeing and enjoying magnificent rainbows-or even double rainbows. We had one recently that was a truly phenomenal sight: a shimmering band of marvelous color shining all across the huge Sonoran desert sky, with a second reflected arc of brilliance soaring behind it, slightly more ghostly and ephemeral. I have been told that rainbows are merely an atmospheric trick, water vapor refracting sunlight from a peculiar angle-but a luminous double rainbow on a gorgeous afternoon is enough to make even the most hardened atheist begin to suspect that there is some supreme being at work in the world, and that only God could create such beauty and magnificence. At times like that, those of us who are of the more religious persuasions, like me, feel the need to say a blessing of thanksgiving. Now, if you remember your Fiddler on the Roof, you'll know that in Judaism there is a blessing for absolutely everything, and that applies to lightning, thunder, and, especially to rainbows. The blessing for lightning begins like most Jewish blessings: Baruch Ata Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha'Olam, and finishes Osei ma'asei v'reisheet-blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who made the work of creation. The blessing for thunder begins the same way but concludes Shekocho gevurato malei olam, Blessed are You, God, whose power and might fill the world. And for rainbows it's zocheir habrit v'ne'eman bivrito v'kayam b'ma'amaro: We praise You, God, You remember the covenant, are faithful to the covenant, and keep Your word. Each is an expression of our overwhelmed appreciation for God as Ribono shel Olam, Creator of the amazing world in which we live. In essence, this is an acceptance of our own humility, and our awe in the presence of the wonder, power, and exquisite beauty of the natural world that God has created. It is easy in the course of our daily grind to forget what Abraham Joshua Heschel called the "radical amazement" which lies at the heart of Jewish living, and of religious meaning. But living in a region where it is impressed upon us regularly with beauty and power can certainly help. I am often asked why I believe in God. In many ways it probably comes down to a non-rational leap of faith. But at moments of exquisite natural beauty, and at moments of profound human connection that reflect a similarly deep beauty, knowing that God is present seems simply factual. And understanding and appreciating that God possesses magnificence beyond our understanding, and gifts us with the ability to perceive elements of it, is evident and holy. L'shalom v'rei'ut, in peace and friendship, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon
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