“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 enabled people for the first time to build without materials available from nature. They produced the building materials. 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 in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 8:17 against feeling when prospering.“My own power and the might of my own hand have won this wealth for me.” Once a person feels independent of Hashem the next step is to rebel against Him.

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 of 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.

This week’s parsha reminds us of what the Torah tells us in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 8:18, “Remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to get wealth.”

COVID-19 has brought this lesson to the fore.

A healthcare professional contributed to the September 19th, 2020 edition of Mishpacha Magazine her thoughts on what she has learned from the pandemic. “It has taught us that despite our piles of textbooks and medical journals, despite our incredible technological capabilities, we are powerless. We are but pawns in the hands of Hakadosh Baruch Hu (the Holy One, blessed be He), and only He is the true Healer.”

She concludes, “May this newfound humility allow us to merit complete healing.”

Amein.

Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak