Parshat Noach 5784
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read at the end of this week’s parsha about the Dor Hapalagah, the generation who attempted to build a tower up to the heavens, the “Tower of Bavel”, and rebel against Hashem. Ultimately, they were punished by being spread out, as the pasuk says (Chapter 11, Pasuk 8), ויפץ ד' אותם על פי כל הארץ. Rashi adds on the words of the next pasuk, ומשם הפיצם ד' על פני כל הארץ, that not only were they spread out in this world, but they lost a portion in the world to come. This is based on the Mishnah in Sanhedrin 107B which teaches both the Dor Hamabul and the Dor Hapalagah did not have a portion in the world to come.
Though this Mishnah links these generations together, Rashi, based on the Medrash Rabbah (38,6), points out that the Dor Hamabul were destroyed from this world while the Dor Hapalagah was not. This was despite the fact that the Dor Hapalagah rebelled directly against Hashem while the generation of the flood did not. Chazal attribute the destruction of the דור המבול to the fact that they stole from each other and lived in great discord and strife while the דור הפלגה lived in love and unity. And Rashi teaches that from here we learn ששנאוי המחלוקת, conflict and argument are despised, וגדול השלום, while peace and harmony are of extreme importance.
Rashi on parshat Ha’azinu teaches a different distinction between these two generations. On the pasuk (Chapter 32, Pasuk 7), זכור ימות עלום בינו שנות דור ודור, Rashi teaches that we need to remember what happens when we sin and that Hashem wiped out the generation of the flood. While the next pasuk, בהנחל עליון גוים בהפרידו בני אדם יצב גבלות עמים למספר בני ישראל, Rashi explains as a reference to the Dor Hapalagah. When He spread them out, בהפרידו בני אדם, He could have wiped them out as well. But instead, יצב גבלות עמים; He kept them alive and didn’t wipe them out. And the reason was למספר בני ישראל; He kept them alive for Bnei Yisrael, למספר referencing the seventy souls of Bnei Yisrael who went down to Egypt.
Rashi teaches that the reason the דור הפלגה remained alive was to enable Bnei Yisrael to eventually follow from Shem, the son of Noach. The Sfas Emes derives from here a fundamental contrast between the Dor Hapalagah and Bnei Yisrael. On the one hand, as we mentioned above, Chazal praise the unity of this generation. Their working together is described as something very positive and, according to one explanation, the reason for their remaining alive.
Yet, there was something very lacking in their unity. They gathered together to build a city and a tower (Chapter 11, Pasuk 4), ונעשה לנו שם; the purpose of the building was to bring themselves honor and to ultimately rebel against Hashem. Their unity was a classic illustration of the words of the Mishnah in Avos (Chapter 4, Mishnah 14), כל כנסיה שאינה לשם שמים אין סופה להתקיים. Any gathering for the wrong purpose will not last.
The tikkun for their failure was Bnei Yisrael, and as Rashi taught above, יצב גבלות עמים למספר בני ישראל. They were kept alive in order that Bnei Yisrael should follow and rectify their misdeed. Building a structure that would connect with the heavens can be a noble task, if it’s for the correct reason. And the ones who unified for the right purpose were Bnei Yisrael when they built the Beis Hamikdash. Their structure was to serve Hashem and get closer to Him. Reaching the heavens was not an expression of rebellion, but rather one of closeness and intimacy.
The pasuk in Tehillim states (Chapter 122, Pasuk 3), ירושלים בבנויה כעיר שחוברה לה יחדו. Yerushalayim is described as a city which is connected between the “lower” city and the “upper” city. And the very next pasuk states, ששם עלו שבטים שבטי קה; this is the place where Bnei Yisrael went up on the festivals. They came up to the Beis Hamikdash in Yerushalayim.
The Alshich, in his commentary on sefer Tehillim, asks why are the tribes of Israel referred to as שבטי קה? What is the point of adding these two additional letters, the “yud” and the “heh” to the word שבטי? He answers that the previous pasuk teaches that Yerushalayim is a city joined between the city in this world and the city in the heavens. But how could this be? How can a person be below and above at the same time? He answers that this can only apply to Bnei Yisrael, the שבטי קה. We read in last week’s parsha (Chapter 2, Pasuk 4), אלה תולדות שמים וארץ בהבראם. Rashi quotes the pasuk in sefer Yeshayahu (Chapter 26, Pasuk 4), בקה ד' צור עולמים. He says that Hashem created this world with a “heh” and Olam Haba with a “yud”. Bnei Yisrael are שבטי קה; only we are capable of living in this world and the world above at the same time. And this was accomplished in the Beis Hamikdash in Yerushalayim which reached up to the heavens.
In parshat Shelach, when Kalev tries to calm Bnei Yisrael, he says (Chapter 13, Pasuk 30), עלה נעלה וירשנו אותה, we will go up to Eretz Yisrael and we will inherit the land. Rashi comments, אפילו בשמים והוא אומר עשו סולמות ועלו שם נצליח בכל דבריו. Kalev tells Bnei Yisrael, even if we need to make ladders and go up to the heavens, if Hashem tells us, we will be successful. We have here another expression of the tikkun of Bnei Yisrael. We will inherit Eretz Yisrael, because when we listen to Hashem, we can even climb up to the heavens. We need to be united to serve Hashem.
We need to be in a state of unity; this is a unique characteristic of Bnei Yisrael. But it can’t be for the wrong reason. We need to be unified to get closer to Hashem; to keep the mitzvos and to inherit the land. And when we reach this level, נצליח בכל דבריו.
Good Shabbos
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