Weekly Message

31 October 2024

Parshat Noah ends with the story of the Tower of Babel, whose builders were unable to complete the project because God confused their speech and scattered them in all directions.

What sin had they committed, for which God punished them? According to Rabbi Shai Held, the builders of the tower had rejected God’s original mandate to humanity – to “fill the world” by spreading out and diversifying themselves. They wanted to stay together in one place, and speak a single language. That was their rebellion against God. That would mean that, by confusing their speech and scattering them, God was not actually punishing them at all, but forcing them to do what they were meant to do in the first place – spread out and create new languages and cultures.

The message of the story, as Rabbi Held interprets it, is that human diversity is not a problem to be overcome, but a blessing to be celebrated and embraced. God is one, but human beings ought to be many different things. We honor our humanity, not by attempting to erase our differences but by learning and growing from them.