NOACH I | נח א
Introduction
Ask people what they are working toward and most answers include some version of security: a steady income, a home, enough set aside for whatever comes. There is nothing wrong with wanting these things. The question is where they sit on the list of priorities.
The Torah’s account of the city and tower built after the Flood addresses exactly this question. The builders’ plan seemed entirely reasonable. They were survivors of a global catastrophe, afraid of being scattered, and they wanted a place to live together, with a tower to protect them against danger. Yet the Torah describes at length G-d’s displeasure and how He intervened to halt the project. Why? What was so wrong with it?
The Rebbe finds the answer not in what the builders constructed, but in their priorities – what they placed ahead of everything else. And their error forces us to examine ourselves: When we plan our days, our finances, our future, what do we place ahead of everything else? What are our primary goals?
The Rebbe spoke the sichah that follows not even fifteen years after the Holocaust, when a decimated people was rebuilding itself and the instinct to ensure security was as understandable as it was strong. His message, however, extends beyond that moment and applies to every generation – and to each of us. What do we put first?
Adapted from a sichah delivered to the supporters of the Lubavitcher Yeshivah, Tomchei Temimim, Cheshvan 4, 5720 (1959)
What Should They Have Done?
1. As is customary at such gatherings, our starting point is the weekly Torah reading, for the Torah and its directives are eternal, applicable for every generation, at all times, and in all places.
The fact that we study a different parshah every week indicates that each reading alludes to and contains lessons applicable to the events which take place during that week.
The conclusion of Parshas Noach relates that the people who lived shortly after the Flood built a city with a tower because they were afraid – in their words, “lest we be dispersed throughout the earth.” But G-d was displeased with their intent to build the city and tower and thwarted their efforts.
On the surface, it is difficult to understand why the Torah relates this story at such great length. What can we learn from it at present? And yet, the fact that the Torah relates this story – and does so in detail, while mentioning many laws with only a brief allusion – compels us to say that this episode contains a deep lesson for all time: for our parents in the previous generations, for ourselves in the present generation, and for our children and grandchildren in the coming generations.
Contemplating when and under which circumstances this event occurred clarifies the lesson for our present generation: The Tower of Bavel was built shortly after the Flood from which only a small portion of mankind was saved. After the “flood” of the Holocaust from which only a portion of the Jewish people were saved, the similarity to our present generation is obvious and this leads to a lesson for our time.
The “flood” that occurred only several years ago wiped out millions of Jews. Those who endured must learn from those who survived the first Flood and take care not to repeat their error. In this way, they will avoid the negative consequences that resulted from the conduct of those survivors.
Building a High Tower with Narrow Sights
2. When we look casually at what happened to the dor haflagah (the generation which lived after the Flood and was dispersed after building the Tower of Bavel), their sin in building a city with a tower is not readily apparent. Obviously, the building was so contrary to G-d’s will that it evoked special Divine intervention to abort the endeavor, but why the city and tower were undesirable is not explicitly stated.
The Torah tells us that the intent of the builders was to “make for [themselves] a name.” True, these people feared that they would be dispersed throughout the world, and so they desired to build a city in which they could all live together. Additionally, they wanted to build a high tower. As the commentaries explain, the purpose of the tower was that a) even from a distance, it would be noticeable that a city exists in this place; and b) watchmen would be posted there to see that no enemies would be able to enter the city.
On the surface, these activities are not sinful. What then was the problem?
The error of the people was that they gathered together to build a city with the sole purpose of perpetuating their reputation for all time as indicated by the phrase, “Let us make for ourselves a name.” They had no higher motive. Herein lies their fundamental mistake: Their essential flaw was that they were thinking only of themselves, without seeking a higher purpose in life. Moreover, when a person’s own welfare and reputation becomes his only purpose in life, he is not concerned with the means he employs to achieve these ends and may even use means that are not just or fair.
The error inherent in such behavior was particularly severe after the Flood. Noach told the people of his generation beforehand that the Flood would come about because of their undesirable conduct. Therefore, the first and highest priority of the Flood’s survivors should have been to correct their spiritual state and introduce a loftier purpose into their lives.
But this was not on their minds at all. Instead, the intent of the survivors was to engrave their names in the annals of history forever. This was their sin, and for this reason, G-d was displeased with their conduct.
Building Requires More than Wood and Stones
3. The lesson is obvious. When a person is saved from a catastrophe – a Flood – first and foremost, he needs to ensure that the same situation that brought it about does not recur, so that “the tragedy shall not take place a second time.” Merely building a city and tower with no other intent than that it be immensely tall and formidable will not accomplish this purpose. Such an approach will not improve the situation. For the city and the tower to endure, it must serve a higher purpose. This will enable the city to be built successfully and will even transform all the forces hindering the city’s growth to the extent that they will become helpful influences.
The Towers We Should Build
4. The concepts of “city” and “tower” have parallels in the realm of holiness. A city that is called “the city of our G-d” is permeated by a G-dly and holy purpose. Such a city requires a tower, i.e., a synagogue and a house of study, as reflected in the law which requires a synagogue to be higher than all other buildings in the city.
To make this point clearer: In every city, we should build places for prayer and Torah study – synagogues, houses of study, and yeshivos. It is necessary to devote our primary power and energies to making these structures ever greater and more substantial because they are the city’s real tower, a tower concerning which it is stated, “The name of G-d is a tower of strength; the righteous run to it and are strengthened.” Such a tower offers true protection from all enemies, not only from those foes that are visible, but also from those who are concealed.
Setting priorities in this way brings twofold benefits: Firstly, the builders will receive the primary reward – they will be carrying out G-d’s will and, consequently, they will have great success in building the city and tower of holiness. In addition, they will also receive the secondary reward implied by the phrase, “Let us make for ourselves a name,” for the names of the people active in these endeavors will be immortalized in the annals of Yiddishkeit and Torah, and in the records of righteousness and justice. It will be recorded for eternity that these specific individuals assisted in building the eternal city and tower.
A Promise of Divine Reciprocation
5. The imperative for our generation is to build yeshivos in which children are trained to study Torah and spread Torah throughout the world. The yeshivos are the tower of a city; they must be made larger and more substantial so that they can open new divisions and accept more students. As mentioned previously, lending a shoulder to the task of building the towers of holiness will bring a twofold reward: a) the primary reward – carrying out G-d’s will, and b) a secondary reward, the success in one’s personal affairs to which these efforts will lead. Beyond these rewards, one will earn an eternal place in the history of Yiddishkeit, a history that is truly eternal.
May G-d grant you success in building and expanding yeshivos, increasing their number and capacity in a manifold manner. And thus, at our next gathering we will not think merely of covering the deficit, but of raising the towers of Torah even higher. May G-d grant you success in this task, and also in your personal affairs.
