Skywatch Friday: Modi'in, Israel

My friends Leora and Ilana-Davita usually post beautiful pictures for Skywatch and other photo blogs. I somehow never get around to posting pictures, but last Friday I was able to photograph something in the sky that always has the power to make people stop and look. Some say that a rainbow is a sign from G-d that the world has become evil enough to be destroyed. After the great flood, G-d made a brit, a covenant with Noah that He will never again bring a flood great enough to destroy the entire world; he shows us the rainbow as a sign of this covenant instead. I saw this rainbow over my city, Modiin, last Friday, just as I was reading reports of dead bodies being found in the Chabad House in Mumbai, India. It was in a way, a comfort to see that perfect arc of color. Yes, it seemed to say, the world can be an evil place, but still, I am here, making my presence known.

According to Jewish tradition, when one sees a rainbow, the following blessing is said:

Praised are you our God, Sovereign of the world, Who remembers the covenant, who keeps the promise, and fulfills His word.