One of the things I love about Judaism is that we have a blessing for everything!  We are a faith that gives thanks. Gratitude is our attitude.  We give thanks for the food we eat with the Motzi before and Birkat HaMazon after a meal. We give thanks for wine and Shabbat with the Kiddish.  We have a blessing for the New Moon and a blessing for our children. We recite a bracha, a blessing for going to the bathroom and a blessing for being rescued from a dangerous situation called benching gomel!

We have a blessing for seeing a leader and a blessing for a rainbow. 

A bracha, a blessing is part of the very fabric of our Jewish way of life. 

This week's Torah portion is the story of Noah and the Flood. The rainbow in the sky is the sign of a new covenant God makes with humanity not to destroy the world by water.  Today when we see a rainbow we are to recite the following blessing:

Baruch ata Ado-nai  Elo-heinu melech ha'olam zocher ha'brit v'ne'eman bivrito v'kayam b'ma'amaro.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Source of the universe, who remembers the covenant, and is faithful to the covenant, and keeps God's promise.

Every time we see a rainbow we are reminded of the universal covenant God made with all of humanity not just the Jewish covenant.  God's role in that covenant is not to merely wipe out creation and start over.  But humanity had 7 rules by which to live as well and these basic 7 Noachide laws help to create a basic social order of society and these seven Noachide laws as listed in the Tosefta are;

The prohibition of idolatry.

The prohibition of murder.

The prohibition of theft.

The prohibition of sexual immorality.

The prohibition of blasphemy.

The prohibition of eating flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive.

The requirement of maintaining courts to provide legal recourse.

The rainbow is to remind us of these foundational ideas for creating a just society.  Of course Judaism and the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai went further than this and we Jews have more mitzvoth to maintain and honor in our covenant with God.  But these seven laws are bound into each of the seven colors of the rainbow.  So the next time you see a rainbow, don't just take a picture and post it to your Instagram or Facebook account, but recite the blessing above and remember not only God's promise to Noah but the basic human requirement to create a just society.