וַיְהִי כׇל־הָאָרֶץ שָׂפָה אֶחָת וּדְבָרִים אֲחָדִים׃ וַיְהִי בְּנׇסְעָם מִקֶּדֶם וַיִּמְצְאוּ בִקְעָה בְּאֶרֶץ שִׁנְעָר וַיֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם׃ וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ הָבָה נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים וְנִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה וַתְּהִי לָהֶם הַלְּבֵנָה לְאָבֶן וְהַחֵמָר הָיָה לָהֶם לַחֹמֶר׃ וַיֹּאמְרוּ הָבָה  נִבְנֶה־לָּנוּ עִיר וּמִגְדָּל וְרֹאשׁוֹ בַשָּׁמַיִם וְנַעֲשֶׂה־לָּנוּ שֵׁם פֶּן־נָפוּץ עַל־פְּנֵי כׇל־הָאָרֶץ׃

Everyone on earth had the same language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard.”—Brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar.—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. (Parshat Noach, 11:1-5)

Rashi comments that in Shinar (which is Babylon) there are no stones for building. So they had to innovate and they figured out how to make bricks and use bitumen as mortar for the walls.

Interesting but what’s its relevance to the episode of the Tower of Babel?

Rabbi Yissocher Frand answers in the name of Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld that producing bricks was a major technological breakthrough. It was the first time that they produced the building materials when the natural materials, i.e. stones, weren’t available. They felt very empowered. And that is what set into motion their intent to build the Tower of Babel to rebel against Hashem. They now felt independent of Him and capable of taking care of themselves. They began to feel what the Torah warns against in Devarim (8:17) , “My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me.” Once a person feels indepent the next step masy be to rebel against Hashem.

The Talmud (Sanhedrin 108b) tells us something similar about the generation that perished in the Flood.

“Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what profit should we have if we pray unto Him” (Job 21:14–15). The members of the generation of the flood said: Do we need Him for anything, even for the drop of rain that He causes to fall? We have rivers and springs from which we take our supply of water; we do not fear Him. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: With the goodness that I bestowed upon them, with that they infuriate Me and with it I will sentence them, as it is stated: “And behold I will bring the flood of water” (Genesis 6:17).

Mankind went and still goes on an ego trip when feeling independent, powerful, and in control of everything in life. This attitude pushes a person to feel free of the Almighty and rebel. This was what brought the downfall of the generation of the Flood and the generation who built the tower of Babel. The world was taught that we are not in control of our lives.

We received this lesson again from the shocking attacks on Southern Israel two weeks ago.No matter how advanced we are, we are not in control of our lives.

We need to remember what the Torah tells us in Devarim 8:18:

וְזָכַרְתָּ אֶת־ה' אֱ-לֹהֶיךָ כִּי הוּא הַנֹּתֵן לְךָ כֹּחַ לַעֲשׂוֹת חָיִל

Remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to get wealth.

Shabbat Shalom,
Yitzchak