Some ideas about Snow

Just an interesting idea that I came across last year that comes to my mind whenever it snows (as it did today!). In the end of Shmuel Bet, the Navi goes through a list of various people in the "cabinet" of David Hamelech. One of them was his army general, Binayahu ben Yehoyada. In order to describe his tremendous strength in both spiritual and physical matters, the passuk tells us, "U' Benayahu Ben Yehoyada ben ish chayil she'hicah es ha'ari be'toch ha'bor be'yom ha'sheleg" "And Benayahu ben Yehoyada was the son of a man of valor who killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day." The Ramchal comments on this passuk that the fact that he accomplished this great feat on a snowy day is irrelevant. Ma HaKesher snowy day?!
The answer that the Ramchal gives us is best understood in the context of a Rashi in the beginning of Sefer Beraishis. Rashi tells us that originally Hashem created the world to run bemiddas hadin - with the trait of judgement. This means that people get only and exactly what they deserve, and nothing more- pure justice! Hashem saw that the world could not be run this way, and decided to change it to middas harachamim. This allows Hashem to do chessed for us and we get more than we deserve and are not punished immediately when we sin.
However, an individual on an extremely high level, (such as Yaakov Avinu - see Seforno passuk tes zayin beginning of parshas Veyetzei) can stand in front of Hashem bemiddas hadin - and survive, because even if he gets exactly what he deserves and Hashem judges him extremely carefully he still will not deserve to be punished.
The Ramchal explains that Binayahu Ben Yehoyada was on this level, and we know that because he was able to kill the lion on a snowy day.
How does a snowy day teach us this?
The Ramchal explains that a snowy day is a day of ultimate justice, a day run on middas hadin. Snow symbolizes middas hadin. Normally something white symbolizes rachamim, but snow is white that is frozen and stiff - din is unyeilding and stiff. The passuk is telling us that not only did Binayahu have the zechuyos to overcome a lion, but he did it on a snowy day! He completely and totally deserved to beat that lion, he had no chat'a'im that would make him undeserving, Hashem did not need to act towards him with chessed in order for him to overcome the lion.
(An interesting point is that in the Torah, snow is used as a metaphor for tzara'as - "Baheres azza ka'sheleg," a strong leprosy like snow." Tzara'as is the one punishment that people used to get immediately, for speaking lashon hara. Today this no longer happens, as on our level people would just be getting tzara'as all the time and we are not zocheh to get such direct hashgacha. But tzara'as is middas hadin in action, as its an immediate, harsh punishment, and it is interestingly compared to snow).
Snow is a nice reminder for us that we can all be striving towards a point where we can go before Hashem and not be in need of so much rachamim.