One of the architectural perks of our house is that I get to live in two meteorological realities at the same time. I will often hear a little rain on the roof, pausing to ask if it’s actually rain or just the AC turning on. I will look out into our backyard to see raindrops falling in the pool, only to glance back into the front lawn to see sunshine. Just yesterday afternoon, I stood in our synagogue portico as I watched dark stormclouds rip through the camp carpool line. On the other side of the portico? Not a cloud in the sky. 

This is very Jacksonville. It is also the reality of life- holding on to two opposite signs of darkness and light in the same space. From a Jewish lens, this is very much the moment of twilight on a Friday night- that Kabbalat Shabbat moment when we still feel the struggles and frustrations of the weekday while holding space to invite Shabbat into our midst. 

Our Rabbis delve into this specific twilight moment in Pirkei Avot, found in Siddur Sim Shalom on pg. 273

Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets

13th Century Rabbi Menachem Meiri comments that these ten items were created at the “edge” of creation—bein hashmashot—to signal that although they appear miraculous, they were part of the original plan of the universe.

“These are not new interventions in nature, but pre-programmed events that God placed into creation itself.”
— Meiri on Avot 5:6

My favorite 16th century Italian Rabbi, Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro, aka the Bartenura, explains each of these ten items in Pirkei Avot 5:6:

At twilight: on the eve of the Shabbat of creation, before the creation was completed

.(1)The mouth of the earth: to swallow Korach and his congregation, (a reference to Numbers 16:32:

“and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all Korah’s people and all their possessions.”)

(2)and the mouth of the well: The well of Miriam that went with Israel in the wilderness on all of the journeys. And some say, that it opened its mouth and uttered song, as it stated (Numbers 21:17), “rise up, O well; answer it.”

(3)and the mouth of the donkey: At twilight it was decreed that it should speak with Bilaam.

(The Message: Truth can come from unexpected places)

(4)and the rainbow: as a sign of the covenant that there would not be another flood.

(5)and the manna: that descended for Israel for forty years in the wilderness.

(It’s Message: Trust in God’s daily provision. Trains spiritual discipline—no hoarding, just enough.(Emunah- faith))

(6)and the staff [of Moshe]: with which the signs were performed. And it was [made] of sapphire.

(7)and the shamir: It is like a type of worm, the [size of a grain of] barley in its entirety. When they would [place] it on the stones that were marked with ink [to demark what they wanted cut, the stones] would become indented on their own. And with it did they engrave the stones of the vest (ephod) and the breastplate, as it is written about them, “in their fullness.” 

(Talmud Sotah 48b) teaches the value of purpose: A supernatural worm that cut stone without iron (used in Temple construction).
(It’s Message: The Temple must be built in peace; even tools of violence are excluded.)

(8)the letters: The shape of the letters that were engraved on the tablets;

(9)the writing: that they could be read from all four sides.

(10)the tablets: were [made] of sapphire. Their length was six and their width was six and their thickness was three, like a stone whose length, width and thickness are equal and it was split into two. And they were soft and they were quarried from the ball of the sun.

Side note: the text mentions the tongs (tsevat), made with tongs- yes the first set of tongs were formed through divine intervention

Midrash Shmuel, a major 16th-century commentary on Pirkei Avot, explores how each item listed in the Mishnah has moral or theological meaning.

On the rainbow, he writes that it is both a reminder and a restraint—a symbol that God holds back anger and destruction, and that humans must remember our part in preserving life.

On the mouth of the earth, he suggests that it is a warning against hubris and rebellion—specifically, Korach’s arrogance in trying to replace divinely-ordained leadership.

“The mouth of the earth represents the dangers of pride; the rainbow represents the blessings of humility and submission to the Divine.”
— Midrash Shmuel on Avot 5:6

The mouth of the earth, we know, appears in this week’s parashah. Korach, Datan, and Aviram rebel against Moses and Aaron. They challenge their leadership—not, it seems, to build something better, but to tear down what they feel excluded from. And in response, God causes the earth to open its mouth and swallow them whole. Too many people die in these horrific events, marred by rupture and silence. 

The rainbow, on the other hand, comes from a similar, yet very different story. After the flood, after the destruction of nearly all life on earth, another potentially terrifying image of a barren world, God places a bow in the sky—a symbol of covenant, of peace, of enduring love for humanity. Nahmanides (13th-century Spain) suggests it is a bow (as in a bow and arrow) that is no longer aimed at the earth. Sforno adds on Genesis 9:17- a reference to a “double rainbow” (זאת אות הברית,) that acts as the sign of the warning aspect of the covenant. When this rainbow appears it is high time to call people to order and to warn them of impending natural calamities unless they change their ways.

Nahmanides teaches that 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.”  The rainbow is a reminder of an eternal, covenantal bond. It is the one enduring symbol out of all ten from Pirkei Avot that we continue to see today. As the storm dissipates and the sun peaks through, it is a literal and figurative call to action. 

The rainbow really is the bein hashmashot symbol- between sunlight and the storm. When we look at regular sunlight, we do not see the colors of the rainbow. It is water that acts like a prism, revealing the beautiful spectrum of colors that make up sunlight. Water is divine, but water is also our story.  Tears of empathy, tears of acceptance, tears of struggle, tears of joy open up a full tapestry for us all to hold,  allowing beauty to emerge from brokenness.

It was under this teardrop-rainbow that 10 years ago, the Supreme Court affirmed that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the right to marry for same-sex couples, ensuring equal protection under the law.

If there were a song to accompany that moment, it may have been “Somewhere over the rainbow” a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg.

Its almost-prophetic  lyrics—framed by the pogroms of the past and the Holocaust on the horizon —dreamt of a world where “troubles melt like lemon drops.” The song spoke to those who felt out of place, othered, or voiceless. That’s part of the other side of the rainbow story, popularized by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz. When Garland died in June of 1969, her funeral was held on June 27—just one day before the Stonewall Uprising, often considered the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Many who mourned her found themselves marching the next night, igniting a revolution that continues to this day.

A rainbow was always more than light—it was the dream of belonging.

We are called to resist the pull of Korah’s pride, pride that turned quickly to selfishness, in order to build community not from ego, but from empathy. And we are called to pursue the light of the rainbow—to create sacred space for everyone, affirming that all souls reflect the Divine image.

Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, expands on the rainbow from a Jewish lens:

“We are not all the same. We are each different, each unique, each a fragment of the Divine image. The rainbow reminds us that unity is not uniformity”…Later he writes, “A rainbow is unity in diversity: many colors, each beautiful, each different, forming a single harmonious whole. That is the Jewish vision, one God, one humanity, many cultures, many faiths.” 

The story of Korah reminds us that the earth can swallow from below. Pride can pull us down as we are tripped up by haughtiness and ego. 

The rainbow shines from above, a mirror of what our world can look like. We can always keep our head up, even in the storm, to catch that glimmer of light that creates beauty even for just a moment. 

May we keep our heads high, appreciating the beautiful spectrum of those who make up our community. 

May we keep our heads high, proud of one another.

May we keep our heads high, ready to join the blue birds in circled flight. 

Od lo avda tikvateinu”—“our hope is not lost”—Even in the darkest of times, the Jewish people have dared to believe in a brighter horizon.

May we always dare to dream.

And may our dreams rise like the rainbow—arched across the sky…

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, 

There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby. 

Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, 

And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. 

Someday I’ll wish upon a star

 and wake up where the clouds are far behind me. 

Where troubles melt like lemon drops 

away above the chimney tops, 

That’s where you’ll find me. 

Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly. 

Birds fly over the rainbow; why, then, oh why can’t I?