Clouds

Clouds feature in the Torah in various contexts: God tells Noah and his family that a rainbow in a cloud will serve as a sign of God's covenant with humanity and God's promise never again to destroy the world with a flood. A heavy cloud descends on Mount Sinai as the people of Israel receive the Torah, and a pillar of cloud from God leads the people of Israel as they wander through the desert. Later Jewish texts analyze the meaning of clouds in biblical stories, halakhic aspects relating to clouds – like how movements of clouds may affect when one says a blessing on lightning or thunder – and the mystical and spiritual significance of clouds.