Shabbat Shalom!
This week’s Torah portion is Parashat Noah. It contains the story of the
Flood and the Ark, as well as the story of the Tower of Babel. Given their
proximity, the rabbis of the classical midrash (Bereshit Rabbah) ask, “Why was
the generation of the Flood utterly destroyed, but not the generation of the
Tower? Because the generation of the Flood were consumed by robbery and
violence, while amongst the generation of the Tower, love prevailed.” Yet, we
know that the generation of the Tower were also guilty of some misdeed that
upset God, causing their tower to collapse and their languages to be warped,
and community to be scattered.
Maybe it is worth
asking: what was the love that prevailed in the generation of the Tower? What
was their one tongue saying? I heard another
midrash from a colleague yesterday, though he didn't attribute it, so I'm not
sure where he got it from. He said that while the people of what would become Babel
built up the tower, they were so frenzied about the project, that if a brick
fell from the heights of the tower in process, they would be devastated to have
lost a building tool. But if a person fell, they didn't care, because since
everyone was of one mind, they all knew someone else would step in immediately
and there was no loss to the building project.
If
the generation of the Tower was consumed with love for the Tower, or the
project, or the name they were making for themselves, without regard for the
sanctity of life, then it would explain why they merited the destruction of
their project and the scattering of their community. But if they weren’t
actively violent, pushing each other off the tower, stealing each other’s
building tools, consumed with making a greater name for each self rather than
the collective, then it stands to reason that they could not be considered as
evil as the generation of the Flood, who was said to have acted really cruelly
and to have committed grotesque crimes.
In
theory, the idea of all speaking one language, both literally and figuratively,
being all of one mind for a singular group project, sounds like a great
community. But if that group endeavor leads to individuals being forgotten or
uncared for, to the point where they could slip off the tower and nobody sought
to save them or mourn them, then it is actually quite troubling. It feels
reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode, or any number of great novels. On the
surface of the story, the society is a utopia. Everyone gets along, the greater
good is always considered, and everyone is determined to work together toward a
common goal. But as soon as one character looks a little deeper, or voices
concerns, it turns out that the world in which they live is actually quite dystopian.
Everyone seems as if they are all of one mind, because their minds are being
controlled or because they have simply been made too afraid to speak out. There wouldn’t be so many stories of such
societies across generations and continents if it wasn’t a real concern people
have.
That
concern can manifest in many different ways. It’s not always an oppressive
dystopian governmental body controlling people’s brains that can cause the effect
of a singular language among people who secretly all know something is wrong. While
it’s nice to get along with our neighbors, sometimes it is worth asking
ourselves when the time has come to speak up. Sometimes bad things, especially
hurtful words, are allowed to be perpetuated because it would be too
uncomfortable or considered confrontational to call someone out on their
offensive behavior, and then the person in question continues to behave
oppressively because they think that everyone else in their position or who
shares an identity or experience with them agrees with their offensive stance
on those of a different identity or experience.
Please,
this week as we keep in mind the dangers of being of a singular language,
listen carefully to the language you hear around you, and if you hear things
you know you shouldn’t, call it out. Do not stand idly by bigoted or abusive
words, for words can lead to actions, and actions can lead to much greater
communal fractures than dissent might. Do not wait until God descends to see
the Tower of arrogance and scatters the community completely. Speak out and stand
up, and may your own voice be heard by all. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.
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