Rabbi's Derasha

Especially toward the beginning of the Chumach, there is a great deal to be learned from “firsts” -- the first time a letter appears in the Torah, or a word.  There is something essential revealed in the first appearance of something in the Torah.  For example, the first time the Chumash says “VaiDaber Hashem” is in this week’s Parasha.  That’s the language of command, as opposed to the word “Amira,” which is a softer form of speech.  What’s the first time Hashem speaks by way of a command, the language that seeks to bend someone’s will?  It is when he orders the people out of the Teva (Ark).  Apparently, they were not in a hurry to leave.  

Another first is when someone speaks for the first time.  What is Adam HaRishon’s first word?  Hint: He does not speak until he is moved by the sight of Chava (Eve).  When did Noach speak first?  He accomplishes a lot but he speaks exactly once.  The Midrash says that he spoke to the people during the building of the Teva.  They would ask what he was doing and he would speak about the possible destruction of the world.  It was a time of warning.  But those words never changed anyone’s mind.  The Chumash does not record words to which no one listens.  Only his words at the end of the episode are recorded.  He prophesied the future of his descendents.  That statement landed, so it is recorded.

What about the second major episode in the Parasha -- what is the first statement there?  Significantly, the generation that built the Tower of Bavel does not even speak in the singular.  It speaks as a collective: “Let’s brick bricks….” [for the creation of bricks they created a new verb].  It’s in the first person plural because they were organized as a collective.  There is a lot of unity but at a severe devaluation of the individual.  

Also, significantly, the first statement is only about the technology.  Commentators say that they made their own bricks because there were not enough stones in Bavel.  Necessity was the mother of this invention.  But others point out that they were looking to create a technology that would be independent of the creation.  It was part of their overall project to be independent of Hashem’s creation.  

I’ll mention that I was in Rome this week at a conference at the Vatican devoted to the threats posed by AI, a potent technology.  One of the other Jews mentioned at one point the coincidence of having such a meeting during the week in which we read this portion.  [The comment went right past most of the participants, who were Catholic, Evangelical, Mormon, or Anglican.]  I hope to share more about the conference in a special class in a few weeks.  

One sees in this first statement that the technology itself is not the issue.  It is their focus, but it alone does not provoke a response from Hashem.  The fact that they mention the technology even before they mention the goal tells us that they are very proud of what they have made.  But the next statement is about the goal -- a city, a tower, and a name.  The Klee Yakar says that it was the making of a name that caught Hashem’s attention.  That is what provokes the reaction that spread the languages all over the globe.  Like most punishments, it was a Chesed.  Hashem knew that the attempt to unify AND to make a name would result in great divisions.  They would not be able to maintain unity while they squabbled over a single name.  But if they were spread out over the globe, there would be the chance for several names.  

Apropos of this, we wish the bride and groom a union in which the goal is not to burnish a name but to create things together which will bring them closer and closer.