Parashat: Noach

Parashat: Noach
Torah Reading: Numbers 28:1–15

“And they said, ‘Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves; else we shall be scattered all over the world.'”

— Genesis 11:4

The Torah portion (Noach) this Shabbat contains the story of the Tower of Babel — certainly less of a focal point when you could otherwise look at the tale of Noah, his family and the animals surviving the great flood. But within this other story is an eternal truth. What was the great sin of the people who built the Tower of Babel? Why does God confound their efforts and instead create the multiplicity of languages that scatter them to all the corners of the world? It is because the focus of their building was in order to “make a name” for themselves — to do something that would get them fame and power and influence. The tower would reach all the way to the heavens just for the sake of being able to build a tall tower. It would have their names in great big letters only for the sake of their own fame. This story comes to teach us that the purpose of building — whether we are building structures, communities or relationships — is to be able to make human connection, to provide for the needs of the powerless, to seek deeper connection with our fellow human beings which will lead us ultimately to deeper connection with God who we see reflected in their faces. Building for the sake of self-aggrandizement will lead to nothing. Building for the sake of connection and holiness will endure any storm.

— Rabbi Craig Axler