Q&A: Looking at a Rainbow
Looking at a Rainbow
Question
Hello, honorable Rabbi,
I saw that the Sages forbade looking at a rainbow, because the rainbow is considered a sign created in accordance with the covenant made between the Holy One, blessed be He, and Noah that He would never again bring a flood upon the world, and prolonged gazing might be considered disrespectful toward the Holy One, blessed be He.
In addition, some warn that examining a rainbow may cause one's eyes to grow dim, as part of the understanding that it is a divine manifestation and not something to be viewed as just an ordinary natural object.
I would be glad to hear the Rabbi's view on this and whether there is a basis for these things, because on the face of it there does not seem to be any real prohibition here aside from a spiritual concern.
So is it really forbidden?
Answer
Indeed, there is such a prohibition in the Talmud, tractate Chagigah. But Maimonides and several other halakhic decisors did not codify it as Jewish law, and it seems they held that it is not a halakhic prohibition.
The reason given about the eyes growing dim seems doubtful to me, but I am not sure whether the Jewish law is based on that concern—in which case there would be room to permit it—or whether they simply say that this is the punishment of one who looks at it.
See an overview here: https://www.hidush.co.il/hidush.asp?id=88374