Continuing the Legacy of Rabbi Dovid Winiarz of blessed memory
“And Hashem scattered them from there upon the face of the earth and they ceased building the city.”
The people of Bavel decided to build a city and a tower reaching the sky. They wanted to make a name for themselves lest they be scattered upon the face of the earth, and wished to wage war against G-d with this tower. Hashem, Himself, testified that with their unity of purpose they could not be stopped. He thereupon caused them to speak different languages and not understand each other (hence the word, “babble.”) Then Hashem scattered them and they stopped their project.
It is noteworthy that the verse doesn’t say that Hashem scattered them and prevented them from building it. Rather, after Hashem had scattered them, they stopped building of their own volition. The cessation was not caused by the scattering, but by the people.
Rashi says that when Hashem scattered them, it was a fulfillment of their own fear that they would be scattered. If they were thereby prevented from building the city, why does the posuk not say so? And, if they could have chosen to continue working, why did they not? According to their beliefs, had they come back and worked on the city, they would have been able to prevent G-d from doing it again.
The answer lies in the destructive power of negativity and cynicism. They were afraid that something would separate them, so they started building a city to unify them. They suffered a setback. They could not understand each other and found themselves carried far afield. Had they had real desire, they could have regrouped and continued building. But they did not.
Instead, they gave in to their cynicism and said, “We knew this would happen. What’s the point of trying to prevent it? We’re doomed anyway.” When they lost hope, they figured it was no use and stopped building.
In contrast, this same language is used regarding the Jews in Egypt. When Pharaoh announced they would no longer be given straw to make bricks, they scattered across the land to find their own straw. They were committed to maintain their identities and to survive. Instead of stopping work, they worked harder because they knew there was a future worth living for.
When Adam sinned and brought death to the world, the next posuk tells us that he called the woman Chava, for she was to be the mother of all life. He didn’t dwell on the past; he looked to the future. When the world was doomed, Noach remained and it was his job to repopulate and cultivate the land. Though it was a daunting task, he did it and succeeded.
We can learn from this episode the positive power of will, as Chazal say, “Nothing stands in the way of determination,” and also the destructive power of negativity. If we take this lesson and continue to strive and accomplish then we cannot help but succeed in all we do.
With the war in Israel, and the hatred and atrocities showered upon our people, thankfully, many of our brothers and sisters are waking up to the fact that Hashem cares about what we do, and He is the only source of our salvation. No military might, no diplomatic effort, can protect us. Only our Father in Heaven can do this, and He wants to. He’s just waiting for us to look to Him for salvation.
We have seen an amazing amount of people keeping more mitzvos, lighting candles, wearing tzitzis, and doing good things for the merit of our soldiers and those in trouble, and it is very heart-warming. In fact, this is the proper thing to do, as the following story illustrates.
R’ Chatzkel Abramsky, z”l, was once riding in an Israeli cab and the driver told him a story.
“After our IDF military service was over,” said the cabbie, “some friends and I went on a hiking and camping trip. In the middle of the night, we heard shouts and awoke to find a large snake wrapped around one of my friends. It was squeezing him so hard he could not breathe.”
“We didn’t know what to do, as it slowly killed him, and one of my friends said, “You’re going to die, say ‘Shema Yisrael!’” As he did, the snake uncoiled and slithered away. He was so moved that he became a baal Teshuva, studied Torah, and is completely religious today.”
R’ Chatzkel asked him, “And what about you? Did you become more religious too?”
“Me?” replied the taxi driver, “Why should I have become more religious? The snake wasn’t wrapped around me!”
