Komentarz do Rodzaju 9:12

לדרת עולם FOR GENERATIONS FOR EVER — The word לדרת “for generations” is written defective (without Vav) (implying that the sign will be necessary only for such generations as are “defective’’ in faith) because there will be some generations which will require no sign since they were completely righteous, such as the generation of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and the generation of R. Simeon ben Yochai (Genesis Rabbah 35:2).

THIS IS THE SIGN OF THE COVENANT WHICH I MAKE. It would appear from this sign that the rainbow in the cloud was not part of creation and that now G-d created a new thing by making a rainbow in the heavens on a cloudy day. Now commentators have said²¹³I have found this opinion in Chizkuni. concerning the meaning of this sign that He has not made the rainbow with its feet bent upward because it might have appeared that arrows were being shot from heaven, as in the verse, And He sent out his arrows and scattered them²¹⁴Psalms 18:15. on the earth. Instead He made it the opposite of this — [with the feet bent downward] — in order to show that they are not shooting at the earth from the heavens. It is indeed the way of warriors to invert the instruments of war which they hold in their hands when calling for peace from their opponents. Moreover, [with the feet of the bow being turned downward towards the earth, it can be seen] that the bow has no rope upon which to bend the arrows.
We must perforce believe the words of the Greek [philosophers who maintain] that the rainbow is a natural result of the heat of the sun falling upon damp air for even in a vessel containing water which stands in the sun there is the appearance of the rainbow. When contemplating the language of Scripture we will understand that it is so, for He said, I have set My bow in the cloud,²¹⁵Verse 13 here. [the use of the past tense indicating that He had already set it so from the beginning and it is not a new creation]. He did not say, “I set in the cloud,” even as He said, This is the sign of the covenant which I make. Moreover, the word kashti (My bow) — [in the possessive form] — indicates that He possessed the bow previously. Therefore, we shall explain the verse thus: “The rainbow which I have set in the clouds from the day of creation will be from this day on a sign of covenant between Me and you; whenever I will see it I will remember that there is a covenant of peace between Me and you.”
And should you want to know how the rainbow can be a sign, the answer is that it has the same meaning as the verse, This stone-heap be witness, and this pillar be witness;²¹⁶Genesis 31:52. likewise, For these seven ewe-lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me.²¹⁷Ibid., 21:30. Every visible object that is set before two parties to remind them of a matter that they have vowed between them is called a “sign,” and every agreement is called a “covenant.” Similarly, in the case of circumcision, He said, And it shall be a token of a covenant between Me and you,²¹⁸Ibid., 17:11. because of the agreement that all seed of Abraham be circumcised to serve Him with one consent.²¹⁹Zephaniah 3:9. Moreover, when the above-mentioned rainbow is seen in its inverted form, [namely, with the feet of the bow turned downward], it is a reminder of peace, as we have written. Thus, whether the bow was a newly established phenomenon or one that always existed in nature, the significance thereof as a sign is the same.
Our Rabbis however have a profound secret in this section. They have said in Bereshith Rabbah:²²⁰35:3. “I have set ‘kashti’ (My bow) in the cloud.²¹⁵Verse 13 here. This means, ‘My likeness, that which resembles Me.’ But is that possible? It is possible only as the straw resembles the fruit.

ויאמר אלוקים, to both Noach and his sons, that the visible sign that they need not worry about experiencing another deluge when He had occasion to make rain fall on earth, is the rainbow, which will serve as such a sign of the covenant for all future generations.

זאת אות הברית, “this is the sign of the covenant, etc.” Nachmanides writes that at first glance it appears from these words as if prior to the deluge there had never been rainbow visible in the universe, and that at this time G’d created a new phenomenon. However, when you examine the wording of the text more closely you will find that this is not so. G’d speaks about קשתי, “MY (rain)bow,” i.e. this is not a new phenomenon. Had it been something new, the wording would have had to be “I am placing a bow in the clouds, etc.,” instead of “My bow which I have placed among the clouds will henceforth be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth from now so that every time I behold it I will remember that there is a covenant between Me and all living creatures.” The word קשתי is proof that there had been a rainbow already earlier. If you were to ask what the point is in making out of this rainbow a sign, a symbol, the meaning is not so different from the pile of stones Yaakov and Lavan erected between them in Genesis Surely, there had been occasions when people had erected piles of stones. It was on this occasion that a pile of stones had been designated to serve as a specific purpose, as a reminder that two people had made a truce at that location. The Torah simply tells us that as of then the rainbow would serve in a similar capacity, reminding G’d as well as people that there existed a binding agreement between the Creator and His creatures not to bring another deluge on the globe. The term ברית is applicable to any such visual reminder of an agreement that is visible to both the parties who are party to such an agreement. Circumcision is also known as a ברית, as it represents the agreement between G’d and the male descendants of Avraham that there is a special relationship between them, an exclusive relationship. Continuance of this relationship is proved by the continued observance of the rite of circumcision on the part of the creature involved. A further reason, purpose to this particular אות, sign, is the fact that the rainbow is not shaped in a manner suggesting that it is anchored in the sky, suggesting that it is something decreed from heaven, from above. [the author compares the rainbow to the bow used by the archer in hunting or in war. Ed.] If the rainbow were to appear in the sky with its two ”feet” at the top this would suggest that it is a dictate from heaven. However it is positioned with its two feet on the ground, suggesting that man is not merely a creature at the whim of the Creator Who is a dictatorial ruler. [I have changed the wording somewhat to convey the author’s idea, I hope. Ed.] When warriors call their opponents to a truce, they also reverse the position in which they hold their bows in order to signal peaceful, conciliatory intentions. Another special feature of the rainbow versus the archer’s bow is that it has no provision for placing arrows at the base of it, i.e. it is the reverse of a war-like instrument. Some commentators see in the shape of the rainbow an allusion to the verse in Ezekiel 1,27:ממראה מתניו ולמעלה וממראה מתניו ולמטה ראיתי כמראה אש סביב ראיתי כמראה אש ונוגה לו סביב כמראה הקשת אשר יהיה בענן ביום הגשם, “like the appearance of his loins upward, and from the appearance of his loins downward I saw as if the appearance of fire, like the appearance of which shall be so was the appearance of the brilliance all around. on the cloud of a rainy day. the bow.”

That did not require a sign. You might ask: How does the incomplete form imply this exegesis? It seems the answer is: When the generations are incomplete — wicked — they need the rainbow as a sign, but not when they are complete, i.e., righteous, they do not need the rainbow as a sign. Another answer: Since דרת is written in an incomplete form, it can be read דָרַת — “dweller,” in the singular. Thus, לדרת עולם connotes “for a certain dweller in the world.” The verse is saying: “For certain families that dwell in the world, I have set My rainbow in the clouds.” Yet, [we ask,] is not the rainbow for all? Perforce, “There are some generations that did not require a sign....” (Re’m) The Maharshal explains: If it were written complete, we would understand that all generations for all time require the sign. Now that it is written incomplete, it implies the generations that [dwell in] this world [only], require a sign. However, those generations which dwell in this world and are destined for the World to Come, do not require a sign.

Wie Gott hier sich nicht mit dem bloßen Ausspruch seines Wortes begnügt,. sondern seinem Ausspruche ein Denkmal stiftet, so sehen wir auch im ganzen Verlauf der weiteren Geschichte der göttlichen Waltungen, für alle das Heil der Menschheit und Israels begründenden Wahrheiten, אותות, Zeichen, Denkmäler gestiftet, die diese Wahrheiten mit immer neuer Frische dem MenschenBewusstsein vergegenwärtigen sollen; so תפלין ,שבת ,מילה usw. - לדרת עולם, doppelt חסר, für Zeiten, die intensiv und extensiv mangelhaft erscheinen, die, sich selbst überlassen, dem Untergang verfallen wären. Wenn in solchen Zeiten das Menschengemüt verzagt, oder an der Gottesgerechtigkeit verzweifeln will, erinnert es der Lichtbogen im Gewölke, dass selbst über solche Zeiten hinaus die Gotteswaltung den Bund mit der Menschheit und ihrer Erde geschlossen, und selbst über solche Zeiten hinüber zu ihrem Ziele leitet.

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth.²²¹Verse 14 here. Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Shimon, ‘This is like one who had in his hand some heated flour which he wanted to cast upon his son, but [because of his compassion for him] he cast it upon his servant.’”²²²In the same way, when the generation is wicked and deserves destruction, G-d instead punishes the fruit of the earth. There in Bereshith Rabbah it also says:²²³35:4. “And the bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between G-d²²⁴Verse 16 here. — this alludes to the attribute of Justice on high. And every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth²²⁴Verse 16 here. — this alludes to the attribute of justice on earth. The heavenly attribute of justice is stern; the earthly one is sparing.” And you already know the saying of the Rabbis concerning one who gazes at the rainbow:²²⁵Chagigah 16a. “Whosoever takes no thought for the honor of his Maker would have been better off had he not come into the world.” And if you will be worthy to understand the words of the Rabbis, you will know that the explanation of the verses is as follows: My bow — [kashti shares a common root with the word kasheh (hard, stern)] — which is symbolic of the attribute of justice, set in the cloud, shall be at the time of judgment for a token of the covenant.²¹⁵Verse 13 here. And it shall come to pass when I bring clouds over the earth²²¹Verse 14 here. — meaning that when G-d will not make His countenance shine upon²²⁶See Numbers 6:25. the earth on account of the sins of its inhabitants— “My attribute of justice will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember the covenant in a remembrance of mercy, and I will have compassion on the little ones that are on the earth.” Thus, this token and the covenant are like the token of circumcision and the covenant thereof,²²⁷See Ramban further, 17:13. and the language of the verses is very appropriate for the subject. And thus the Rabbis in the above Midrash have explained the expression between G-d²²⁴Verse 16 here. as referring to the attribute of justice on high, which is gevurah (strength), and that which is upon the earth²²⁴Verse 16 here. as being the attribute of justice on earth, which is a kindly attribute, conducting the world together with the attribute of mercy, for Scripture does not say “that which is in the earth,” [which would have alluded to “the earth above”], but only “that which is on the earth.” I have already hinted²²⁸See Ramban above, 6:13. at the secret of the Rabbis concerning the name “earth.” But Rashi wrote, “Between G-d²²⁴Verse 16 here.— between the attribute of justice on high and you.” But our Rabbis did not intend to imply this interpretation in their Midrash.