You can often see a rainbow in a spray of water such as from sprinkler irrigation. Is the brocha for a rainbow applicable in that case?
Also, does a rainbow that comes from a prism get a brocha too?
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@msh210 Should we keep the rainbow tag? I see a couple other questions that could be relevant when I search for the word 'rainbow' but it seems we always used other tags for them.– Double AA ♦Jan 20, 2012 at 14:52
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@DoubleAA I'm going with no, because I don't foresee anyone ever wanting to see all Jewish rainbow questions. Feel free to re-instate it if you feel strongly.– Isaac Moses ♦Jan 20, 2012 at 15:24
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@DoubleAA, I'd go with yes, because I forsee someone's wanting to see all Jewish rainbow questions. But I certainly won't press the point (and am deliberately not pinging Isaac Moses on this).– msh210 ♦Jan 20, 2012 at 15:37
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related: judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/10065/rainbow-as-a-bad-omen– MenachemJan 22, 2012 at 1:04
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Related: judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/29208/…– msh210 ♦Jun 3, 2013 at 22:21
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1 Answer
In a book I own called שער העין - Shaar HaAyin by a Rabbi Eliyahu Ariel in Chapter 7 Footnote 14 he says that this does not qualify for the special blessing on a rainbow as that was only for rainbows in clouds which are similar to the one by Noah. However, he suggests that it qualifies as an amazing natural wonder (similar to lightning) and would therefore deserve a Oseh Maaseh Vereishit like lightning. He concludes that as it is a matter of doubt, one should recite the blessing of Oseh Maaseh Vereishit but omit God's name from the blessing.
EDIT: In the book he is talking about a rainbow you can see sometimes near a waterfall. As the prism and sprinkler are artificial (and certainly not Maaseh Vereishit) it is likely that even he would agree not to say any blessing at all upon these rainbows.
answered Jan 20, 2012 at 6:26
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7I don't know if he makes this point, but there is also the fact that every time the word קשת is mentioned in Gen. 9:13-17, it is qualified with בענן. Which also seems to imply that only the kind that appears in the clouds is a sign of Hashem's promise (and therefore of the berachah, which refers to it).– AlexJan 20, 2012 at 16:55
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@doubleaa, see here the Rivevos Ephraim 6:103 hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=1084&pgnum=175– samFeb 4, 2015 at 3:55
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I saw a rainbow today that was in a cloud on a sunny day -- apparently it is the result of ice crystals that create a halo. This was a natural event and in a cloud i.imgur.com/nQDNF6R.jpg but not related to rain or water droplets. Totally didn't know what to do.– rosendsJun 18, 2020 at 1:03
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