The Rainbow’s Secret – and Zohran Mamdani’s Opportunity
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (19th-century Germany) found symbolic meaning in the colors of the rainbow:
Each color— remember Mr. “ROY G. BIV” — represents a different kind of being. The outermost ring, red, closest to the heavens, is linked to Adam, the first human, formed most directly in the image of God.
In Hebrew, this connection is also linguistic: Adam (אָדָם) and adom (אָדוֹם), “red,” share the same root.
As the colors move inward, they symbolize beings increasingly distant from that pure divine likeness. Yet when all the colors unite, they form one radiant beam of white light.
So the rainbow becomes a symbol of the beauty that emerges when unity does not erase differences but celebrates them.
So the rainbow becomes a symbol of the beauty that emerges when unity does not erase differences but celebrates them.
As Professor Peter Beinart said about NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani:
[That minorities] can bring their full selves into all aspects of their life… It is such a powerful and beautiful evocation of the America that has meant so much to Jews — to gain full acceptance and be fully who we are without having to pretend.
His excellent analysis is worth the full 6 minutes:
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