A Rainbow in the Clouds

Yael Eckstein  |  October 14, 2026

The ground is soft beneath his feet.
The boy walks slowly, not yet trusting the earth. Everything feels different than before. New.
Behind him, the ark rests, its long journey finished.
There is light in the sky. He looks up.
At first, it is only brightness—white and wide, stretching through the wisps of cloud.
But then, as he watches, something happens.
The light begins to change. It softens. It bends. It breaks. Color appears.
The colors are faint at first. Then they become clearer.
A streak of red. A band of gold. Something green. Blues that the boy has never seen before.
He squints, then opens his eyes wider, watching as the colors stretch across the heavens.
For the first time since the waters came, the world feels new.

Genesis 9:13

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

If you follow me on social media, you’ve probably noticed how much I love rainbows. I often share photos of rainbows here in Israel, and their beauty has amazed me ever since I was a little girl. Every time I see one, I can’t help but pause and feel a sense of wonder.

But the rainbow is more than just beautiful. It is biblically meaningful.

Today’s Bible verse says, “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.”

After the flood—after destruction, loss, and heartbreak—God placed the rainbow in the sky as a sign of His covenant. Most of us think of the rainbow as a reminder to us that God will never again destroy the world by flood. But Jewish tradition invites us to see another meaning.

The rainbow may also be a reminder to God Himself—to remember to treat humanity, even with all our failings, with compassion and mercy.

The 19th-century Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch offered a beautiful interpretation. Rabbi Hirsch taught that the rainbow is formed when pure white light passes through rain and separates into a full spectrum of colors. Those many colors, he explains, represent all of humanity—every nation, every culture, every kind of person created in God’s image.

This, Rabbi Hirsch says, is the heart of the covenant. God binds Himself not to one group alone, but to the entire world. Despite humanity’s differences—and despite our imperfections—God chooses connection over destruction, compassion over judgment.

The flood marked an end, but the rainbow marked a beginning. God gave His greatest creation a fresh start.

But a fresh start doesn’t mean forgetting the past. It means learning from it without being trapped by it. Noah and his family stepped out of the ark into a changed world, carrying both memory and hope.

And we are invited to do the same.

Step out of your ark—your tevah—today. Lift your eyes to the sky. And live out your purpose with faith, courage, and boldness, knowing that God’s covenant still stands—over you, and over all the world.