Rabbi Eleazar said in the name of Rabbi Hanina : The disciples of the Sages increase peace in the world , as it is said , ‘ All your children shall be taught of the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children [ banayikh ]’. Read not banayikh , your children , but bonayikh , your builders .
If we , as citizens of a collective free nation , see ourselves as co-creators , and the leaders of the world see themselves as builders , we can create change , togetherness and genuine unity between the different cultures . We must make it our priority to focus on what we can build together as opposed to what we build against each other . When building a wall , are we doing it together for a combined goal , or are we doing it and making them pay ?
One of the fascinating juxtapositions in the Torah is the story of Noach and the story of the Tower of Babel . In the beginning of the parsha , we are told about a man , ‘ a tzaddik in his generation ’, amid a world of murderers and thieves . With evil spread across the world , G-d decides that enough is enough , this behaviour cannot continue . In 40 years ’ time , there will be a flood that will wipe out all of humanity . Hence G-d commands Noach to build an ark and save himself and his family . One can ’ t even begin to imagine how bad the state of the world was in order to provoke such a reaction . Nonetheless , we see change was necessary and indeed , that ’ s what happened .
Further on in the parsha , we learn about the building of the Tower of Babel . A united generation of humanity migrated east . Together they agreed to build a city and a tower ‘ tall enough to reach heaven ’ with the intention to defy G-d . Through their incredible architecture and skill , motivated by their unity , they felt a message needed to be sent . That together , with the same language and ideology , they have the power to defeat G-d .
At face value , one would assume that to maintain order , it ’ s better to be different . Noach was in it alone , he had no one else to influence him badly or lead him down the wrong path . There was no peer pressure . Only he and his family left to serve G-d in their way , while the rest of the generation continued with their murderous culture . Later on we see that when everyone worked together and spoke the same language , it all went wrong . With the sense of unity among them , they took on G-d and lost . Similar to Roman and Greek culture , with power of numbers came the ambition to rule the world . It seems that , ironically , unity leads to destruction . Yet , in these stories lies an important element in helping to find a solution to the challenge of an inclusive society .
It is fair to assume that Noach , who had just undertaken the mission of his life , had gone through a traumatic experience . Facing the murderous nature of his generation while watching his family being threatened and witnessing an entire population of the world perish through a flood can surely leave a serious mark on one ’ s mind . Yet ,
GOOD FENCES
even after all this , he is tasked with the responsibility to re-establish and repopulate the world , essentially transforming Noach into a new ‘ Adam Ha ’ Rishon ’.
Having seen the fate of the previous generations , scarred with the behaviour of the past , Noach and his family are determined to ensure the new generation will be one of peace , tranquillity and respect . The antithesis of the prior generation . It is therefore not surprising that we see the Torah describing the new world ‘ as one language and common words ’, a complete united entity . Man had finally reached the right conclusions . Noach had achieved what he had set out to . What could be better ?
Unfortunately , this was not the case . Noach ’ s new and improved united society decided to take on G-d . As Karl Marx put it : ‘ Workers of the world unite ; you have nothing to lose but your chains ’. They attempted to fight G-d . Inevitably , it all went wrong . Rashi tells us what happened : While building the tower of Babel , one man asked for a brick , and his fellow craftsman mistakenly handed him clay . The first man then stood up and broke his partner ’ s skull .
Why would a people so united react in this way over a simple miscommunication ? No doubt , we have all experienced situations in which we misunderstand each other ; nevertheless , I would like to think it would not result in a cracked skull .
Answers Rav Milstone , Rosh Yeshiva of Midreshet Harova , in his book on Bereishit , The Three Pillars , the unity of the post-flood generation was put to the test , and the failures were immediate . “ These people believed that by speaking the same , doing the same and living the same , they could automatically create a united society . However , as soon as a problem arose , the so-called unity disappears and people reverted to their real nature ; petty misunderstandings ultimately leading to brutal murder .”
Consequently , Hashem disperses the people , giving each nation a different language and a different country . Real unity can reach across oceans ; it can communicate through any language barrier . Hashem is illustrating to us exactly what unity is not . Unity is not when we all share a temporary common goal , when we all speak the same language , or when communication is the vested interest of those involved . We are being shown here that difference is good , debate is good , diversity is good .
We are defined by our commonalities and our differences . If we were completely different , we would not be able to communicate . If we were all the same , we would not have anything to say to each other . Thus , we strive to find our common humanity and then celebrate our differences . When we embrace someone with a different culture , our world is enlarged . As it says in Pirkei Avot : “ Eizeh hu Gibor – who is a hero ? Not one who defeats his enemies , but rather turns an enemy into a friend .” ■
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