Many commentators have had difficulties understanding the sin
of the generation of Migdal Bovel, since the Torah did
not state it explicitly. We wish to offer an explanation,
based on the Kli Yokor, with some amendments.
The Mishna says in Pirkei Ovos that an assembly of the
wicked is bad for them and bad for the world, and their
dispersion is good for them and good for the world. With the
righteous it is the opposite. The Mishna does not state why.
The evil inherent in a meeting of the wicked stems from the
conflict of aims between them: each participant wants to
fulfill his base desires and get the maximum that he can out
of this world, be it money or physical pleasure. Each
participant only needs his fellow-participant as a means for
achieving these goals, and consequently their coming together
will give expression to everything base and ugly in man's
soul. Hence such an assembly is an evil occasion for the
wicked themselves too, because of all the lies and deceit
that will result from it.
Due to the very nature of the wicked it cannot be otherwise,
for good character traits are founded on self- restraint,
concessions, and humility. One cannot even begin to acquire
them any other way. People with opposing interests do not
give in to each other, because someone who has made it his
aim to get the most that he possibly can out of this world
does not have a concept of renouncing his interests.
An assembly of the righteous, on the other hand, who aim to
lead a spiritual life by promoting the virtues hidden deep
inside the soul underneath heaps of garbage, is fundamentally
different. Such a gathering will reveal man's superior power:
his potential to give in (the fundamental quality), the
characteristics of moderation and restraint, which are among
the foundation stones of the righteous man's character,
modesty, an essential prerequisite for superior behavior in
this world, and so on. We shall not elaborate on these
positive qualities in this context, but they can be witnessed
amongst those superior people who pursue a supreme goal as a
way of life. A gathering of such people is wonderful for them
and wonderful for the world, for the soul's positive features
become revealed both in private and in public. All this is by
way of introduction.
Chazal tell us that the generation of Migdal Bovel
wanted to distance themselves from Hakodosh Boruch Hu.
The brick industry developed by that generation in Bovel was
an expression of the desire to become liberated from the yoke
of their Creator. They wanted to be in a position where they
would no longer require His assistance. They would exploit
materials already existing in the world -- they would make do
without stones, "And they had brick for stone, and slime for
mortar." They did not want to be "dependent" -- that was
their sin in essence.
When the starting point is the drive to become distant from
Hakodosh Boruch Hu, it is a meeting of the wicked in
which everybody is committed to his own interests and
impulses and to achieving the maximum pleasure possible. This
fundamental point is hinted at almost explicitly in the words
of the posuk: "And the whole earth was of one language
and of one speech." The only common factor between the
world's inhabitants was a common language, whereas everything
else divided them: they were "of one speech," they spoke one
language but everybody heard something else. Everybody had
his own interests, and perceived another person's words
through the lens of his own interests. It was one language,
but it was understood in contradictory ways.
Societies throughout the world have become Americanized,
leading a life filled with pleasure, lightheartedness, and
shallowness. The one factor uniting the world today is the
English language, because there is actually no American
nation. It is a conglomeration of refugees; a group of people
who want to have a good time. They are willing to work hard
and run around all their lives in order to live in a world of
imagination which has brought many ills upon mankind.
All aspects of life have become synthetic: fruit, bread,
drinks, clothing, shoes, building, coloring, printing, drugs,
not to mention several generations and different shades of
electronic machinery -- all these stem from one valley, from
that modern continent of Shinar, which has dissolved the
family unit and all hierarchical structure, uprooted the
values of man and converted him into a consumer of life's
pleasures.
The concentration of humanity in the Tower of Bovel alludes
to the intentions of that generation. What they had in common
was the tower, the building, and the house. Its astonishing
height is an expression of the almost limitless power which
man is capable of achieving, of his immense intellectual
capacity. He builds with immense intensity, and in the end he
becomes afraid of himself and of his capabilities.
It turned out in hindsight that the enormous concentration of
humanity was to the detriment of civilization. It made an
attack of terrible proportions possible. All technological
developments have been reduced, and it turns out that man has
trampled ahead too much, too quickly and with too much
intensity.
The sin of Bovel lay in the fact that "they did not
understand each other's speech." One person asked for a
hammer, and he got a saw etc. This was a middoh keneged
middoh punishment to demonstrate to them the conflict of
interests between them.
The Nobel Prize is the most prestigious prize in the world:
it expresses the international admiration of the work of the
recipient. The founder of the fund was a chemist called
Alfred Nobel who invented dynamite, thus presenting man with
a destructive and lethal power. Towards the end of his life,
realizing the extent of destruction which his invention had
unleashed upon mankind, he decided to set up a private fund
from his money which would donate funds to scientists whose
research had contributed to the improvement of human life.
This is the Nobel Prize: too quick, too destructive, and the
rectification is too small and limited in view of the tragic
results of man's actions.
It could be that the Ramban is alluding to this point in his
commentary on the Chumash on the words "And Lemech
said to his wives": "It appears to me that Lemech was very
familiar with all crafts and sciences. He taught his oldest
son how to pasture in accordance with the nature of the
animals, he taught his second son the wisdom of music, and
his third son how to sharpen swords, spears, lances and all
weapons of war, and his wives were afraid that he would be
punished for having brought the sword and murder to the
world, and for having followed in the footsteps of his
ancestors for he was a descendant of the first murderer and
invented destructive instruments."
By inventing the sword and the spear he had caused murder to
become widespread. Man will be held responsible and punished
for using his inventive power for destructive purposes.
This is how the Ramban explains Lemech's reply to his wives:
"I did not kill anybody like Kayin and Hashem will not punish
me . . . he claimed that it was not the sword or the spear
that kill a person, but wounds and bruises which cause a more
severe death than the sword. The sword is not the cause of
the murder and its inventor has not sinned."
We see that already at the beginning of human history man
struggled with the issue of the power of his inventiveness
and the extent of his responsibility for it. He himself
invented the destruction which he wrought upon himself. His
wives were afraid that he would be held responsible for his
invention, but he argued that it was not the sword that
killed but the man who uses it.
Following the disaster of the Twin Towers some additional
issues were clarified, which will necessarily restore people
to their real dimensions. Man will have to accept that not
everything that is possible is also permitted, and not
everything that is attainable has to be acted upon.
This is actually one of the most important and fundamental
messages the Torah wants to teach man. The message began to
sink in that there is no need for gigantic bombs to frighten
your enemy and the whole world. You do not need to have
nuclear power or nuclear submarines cruising across the world
-- with just a few envelopes containing real or imaginary
white powder you can manage to sow terror and cause whole
population centers to shut themselves up inside their homes
and be afraid of death even there, worrying about some
unknown bacteria reaching them there.
Many desires have been bridled and buried together with the
massive amount of rubble heaped up in Manhattan, resulting in
a reevaluation of human belief systems. Divine Providence
also wanted this terrible disaster to have lofty effects, by
preparing man's heart to return to and unite with the
Creator.
We say the Shiras Hayam every day and conclude with
the posuk, "For the kingdom is Hashem's and He is
Ruler over the nations. And saviors shall come up . . ." What
is the connection between Shiras Hayam and these
pesukim? They teach us how Hashem "rules over nations"
and how it will become revealed that "the kingdom is
Hashem's," just as it was at krias Yam Suf where the
miracle of the splitting of the sea took place at a time when
the Egyptians were behind them, the sea in front of them, and
the desert on either side of them.
In other words, it was a situation with no possibility of
escaping according to human logic and natural conditions. All
natural avenues of escape which man relies on were shut off.
Then the unexpected happened. Fundamental concepts about the
human condition were smashed into pieces, disintegrating into
the stormy waves of the sea. Gone was the belief that we are
all-powerful and that we can take care of ourselves. This was
the moment when we gained a new insight, when we reached the
inevitable conclusion: "And they believed in Hashem and in
Moshe His servant."
That is also how the pesukim are to be understood:
"And Hashem said to Moshe . . . why are you shouting . . .
(`this is no time for prayer' -- Rashi) . . . speak to the
Bnei Yisroel that they should go forward." This was
not a time for prayer and supplication, because an important
lesson had to be learned: make the Jewish nation go to the
edge of the sea and let them thereby reach the conclusion
that there is no other exit. Then they will merit a miracle
to save them in an unexpected way.
When humanity realizes clearly that there is no other way out
of its troubles, the kingdom will be Hashem's and He will
rule over nations. Basic assumptions about man's unlimited
power will become shattered. Such concepts have taken root
amongst us in recent years with the computerization of our
high-tech society preparing itself for "the world of
tomorrow."
Power, control, domination, a satellite taking images from
space of a pin on the road: all these have created a feeling
of exaggerated security. Based on his inventions man has
formulated a philosophy of control, of being master of his
own fate and so on.
All this is collapsing in front of our very eyes. "And the
idols will be utterly destroyed" -- the divine course will
ensure that no corner in the whole world will remain deprived
of the revelation of kvod Shomayim and the dismantling
of established conventions and opinions, which are the
foundations of avodoh zora in the past as well as
today. For this we prayed on Rosh Hashonoh: "And they shall
all come to serve You . . . inhabitants of distant islands
shall speak of Your righteousness . . . nations that have not
known You shall recognize You, and people shall praise You
from the ends of the earth, and say constantly, `Let Hashem's
power be increased [`Let Hashem rule over us ?'], and they
shall abandon their idols and annihilate their images . . . "
-- the ramified and intricate Divine plan shall take on a
totally unexpected course on the way to the ultimate purpose:
"And people shall praise You from the ends of the earth."
"The foundations of the earth are collapsing." Recent events
have had the very wide-ranging effect of making man
reevaluate his whole outlook, which he has formulated over
the last few decades. More than ten years ago we witnessed
the sudden collapse of the former Soviet Union, an immense
empire with a cruel, authoritarian and unrestrained regime.
Those who were aged 10-12 at the time and are now 20-22 years
old have no idea what this ruthless empire was like, and this
regime terrorized the whole world for more than seventy
years. This atheistic regime was the first one to fall.
As for the West, the motto "In G-d we trust" may be printed
on American bank notes, but its way of life is one of base
immorality. Although America deals very kindly with the Jews,
and even though we do not know the meaning of the terrible
events taking place, they are obviously not happening for
nothing.
The Maharal ztv"l writes that there is a significance
to the location and timing of every event in terms of the
kvod Shomayim revealed by it. He says that even the
timing of the discovery of America (which occurred shortly
before his time) was significant. The Maharal did not explain
why America was discovered when it was, but Rav Moshe
Mordechai Epstein zt"l, the rosh yeshiva of
Slobodka-Chevron, as quoted by Rav Simcha Zissel Broida
zt"l explains that the discovery was deeply
significant coming as it did in the same year as the Jews
were cruelly expelled from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella
ym"sh, despite the fact that Spanish Jewry had made an
important contribution to the economic prosperity of the
great Spanish Empire. One of the great Jewish leaders, Don
Yitzchok Abarbanel, even served as finance minister in this
wicked regime.
That same year Columbus discovered America which brought
further prosperity to Spain because of the new trade
possibilities and the discovery of natural resources on the
new continent. The culmination of this hidden process was
revealed several hundred years later when America served as a
place of refuge for many Jewish refugees. It turned out that
in that very same difficult year for the Jewish people the
Spanish were preparing an anchor for the Jews hundreds of
years later. (It could be that many of the refugees were
descendants of Jews expelled from Spain, and many of them
also benefited from American assistance to Europe after the
World War).
Recent events are not new: similar experiences have occurred
in the past, and the Torah has depicted them for us in a
Divine language, some layers of which have been revealed to
us by Chazal and rabbonim throughout the generations. These
shall serve as our guides and as sources for conclusions
about how to walk in the derech Hashem and the paths
of the Torah. Our gedolim shlita, based on the
traditions they have received, will instruct us how to
interpret the meaning of current events.
