Shabbos Parashas Noach - 5775
Shabbos Parashas Noach - 5775
Rabbi Hal Miller
And they said, "Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its
top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we
be dispersed across the whole earth." [Bereishis 11:4]
Our parsha presents two different generations, the one of the Flood, and the one of the Tower of Bavel. Each was the epitomy of evil. Why did G-d destroy one but not the other? The answer is found in our verse. The Mishnah [Sanhedrin 107b] lists groups of people who have no share in the World to Come. Both of these generations, as well as other groups, are in that list. The ultimate penalty is the same, but why was one wiped out from This World, and the other one only scattered across the globe?
As Nachshoni words it, "Why was the Generation of the Flood, which was guilty of theft, destroyed while the Generation of the Separation, which was guilty of heresy, not destroyed?" It would seem that heresy would be the more serious sin. Nachshoni brings Midrash Rabbah: "The Generation of the Separation was saved because of the peace and unity among them. Peace is so great that even when they worshiped avodah zarah, they could not be destroyed,"
What was this 'peace and unity'?
It is often said that the generation of the Tower built it so they could
attack the heavens, for any of a variety of purposes. Sanhedrin [109a]
asks whether this explanation makes any sense. If so, why did they build the tower in a valley? "They should have built atop one of the mountains.
Rather R'Yirmiyah bar Elazar said, they split into three groups (with regard to their objectives). One said, let us ascend and reside there. One said, let us
ascend and worship idols. And one said, let us ascend and wage war. The one that said let us ascend and reside there, G-d dispersed. The one that said let us ascend and wage war became apes and demons. And because of the one
that said let us ascend and worship idols G-d confused the language of the whole earth."
This does not sound like 'peace and unity'. In fact, it sounds like a serious
division. Thus we must look again at this Gemora.
According to R'Yirmiyah bar Elazar, the generation of the Tower was divided by G-d into three, based on their own divisions of objectives. One group was destroyed by being changed from human to other forms, which is like the definition of destruction we use regarding fire. The other two groups were allowed to survive, albeit with different punishments. Why was the "ascend and wage war" group destroyed, and not the other two?
The sins of the generation of the Flood were of a self-gratification nature, theft, sexual immorality, etc. The "ascend and wage war" crowd were looking for power, which is also self-gratification. What about the "ascend and reside"
or the "ascend and worship idols" folks?
Rashi points at the "lest we be dispersed" phrase from our verse. Those wishing to reside in the heavens wanted to avoid losing their social structure.
We see this again in our verse with the phrase "let us build ourselves a city."
The generation of the dispersion explicitly wanted that society, instead of the
self-gratification drive of the people of the Flood. We can apply this difference to both the "ascend and reside" and "ascend and worship" groups--both wish to remain together for the good of the whole, even if their view of what is good might be at variance with G-d's will. This leads to the "peace and unity" comment in the Midrash.
There is no question that both generations failed to live up to G-d's standards.
One was completely destroyed because they had no redeeming qualities. The other was punished, perhaps even severely, but not destroyed. They did have at least some good characteristics, even though they misapplied them.
The lesson is that G-d looks at the whole person when judging. There is always room for improvement, but there is also always room for Him to judge us favorably if we are trying.