This week’s Parsha discusses the famous “Tower of Babel.” When the people got together and decided to rebel against Hashem by building a tower to the sky, Hashem told His angels, “If they agree to do this, no one can stop them.”
This is a lesson in the great power of unity. When united, people are unstoppable. Division, however, will bring everything crumbling down.
To stop them, Hashem could have scattered them to the ends of the earth, but He didn’t. Instead, he focused on the source of their unity – their words.
The Torah tells us they spoke one language, as Rashi says, “Lashon HaKodesh,” and were of one mind. The language enabled them to communicate and get on the same page.
Therefore, Hashem mixed up their languages so they could not properly convey their thoughts to each other, thus dividing them even if they were in the same room.
The Chofetz Chaim, in his sefer of the same name, says that one who speaks Lashon Hara degrades his “tzelem Elokim.” Perhaps this is because one is supposed to create with his words, not destroy.
Our words can unite us and help us motivate others. That’s why we have them. But if we use them to hurt others and cause division, that’s no longer Lashon “Kodesh,” a “holy” tongue, and we lose the privilege of their power.
Thought of the week:
Life isn’t about “finding” yourself. It’s about creating - and recreating - yourself.
