Noach – The Community and the Individual

By Rabbi Ezra Friedman

Judaism is based on the principle of a united people. A huge emphasis is placed on community. A Jew who truly wants to serve Hashem must understand that he must be connected to the Jewish nation as a whole. This is quite apparent in interpersonal commandments. As Jews, we are obligated to give charity, help the sick, and save the lives of anyone in fatal danger. However, even commandments that are not interpersonal, require a communal aspect. Many Mitzvot can only be accomplished through the participation of others. For example, in order to read from the Torah (on parchment in synagogue) there needs to be a minimum amount of participants. This comes to show that spirituality resides when Jews unite. Judaism, however, does not dismiss the importance of the individual and his needs. In this week’s article, we will explore Judaism’s balance between the nation and the individual.

In Parashat Noach, the Torah teaches us about two unfortunate periods in the history of humanity. The generation of Noach and the generation of the tower of Bavel. We will analyze both periods and understand what occurred.

During the time of Noach, humanity lost their moral code completely, as the verses read (Breishit 6, 11-13):

וַתִּשָּׁחֵ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ לִפְנֵ֣י הָֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַתִּמָּלֵ֥א הָאָ֖רֶץ חָמָֽס… וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֜ים לְנֹ֗חַ קֵ֤ץ כָּל־בָּשָׂר֙ בָּ֣א לְפָנַ֔י כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֥ה הָאָ֛רֶץ חָמָ֖ס מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וְהִנְנִ֥י מַשְׁחִיתָ֖ם אֶת־ הָאָֽרֶץ.

 The earth was corrupt before Hashem, the earth was filled with Chamas.  Hashem said to Noach, “The end of all living beings has come before me, for because of them the earth is filled with Chamas. I will destroy them along with the earth.

The word “Chamas” has many translations. The Sages translate it as stealing with passion, meaning robbery, on a very low moral level. The sages mention that during the time of Noach many more severe sins such as murder and illicit relationships, also took place. However, The Torah cites robbery as the reason that Hashem flooded the earth and wiped out most of humanity. The reason for specifying this sin is because it expresses the source of that generation’s evil. The idea of robbing with passion resides in the fact that there is no right of property for others. Humanity during that time was infused with complete self-centeredness. People felt that everything they saw around them was theirs. They would steal from each other with a passion, as if any piece of property was theirs to begin with. There was no respect for another human being or his property. This evil lifestyle was the catalyst for all the other sins that occurred.

The sin of the tower of Bavel is the exact opposite. The verses read (Breishit 11,1-8):

וַֽיְהִ֥י כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ שָׂפָ֣ה אֶחָ֑ת וּדְבָרִ֖ים אֲחָדִֽים:  וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֗הוּ הָ֚בָה נִלְבְּנָ֣ה לְבֵנִ֔ים וְנִשְׂרְפָ֖ה לִשְׂרֵפָ֑ה וַתְּהִ֨י לָהֶ֤ם הַלְּבֵנָה֙ לְאָ֔בֶן וְהַ֣חֵמָ֔ר הָיָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם לַחֹֽמֶר:  וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ הָ֣בָה׀ נִבְנֶה־לָּ֣נוּ עִ֗יר וּמִגְדָּל֙ וְרֹאשׁ֣וֹ בַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנַֽעֲשֶׂה־לָּ֖נוּ שֵׁ֑ם פֶּן־נָפ֖וּץ עַל־פְּנֵ֥י כָל־הָאָֽרֶץ:  וַיֵּ֣רֶד יְקֹוָ֔ק לִרְאֹ֥ת אֶת־הָעִ֖יר וְאֶת־הַמִּגְדָּ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּנ֖וּ בְּנֵ֥י הָאָדָֽם:  וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְקֹוָ֗ק הֵ֣ן עַ֤ם אֶחָד֙ וְשָׂפָ֤ה אַחַת֙ לְכֻלָּ֔ם וְזֶ֖ה הַחִלָּ֣ם לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת וְעַתָּה֙ לֹֽא־יִבָּצֵ֣ר מֵהֶ֔ם כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָזְמ֖וּ לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת:  הָ֚בָה נֵֽרְדָ֔ה וְנָבְלָ֥ה שָׁ֥ם שְׂפָתָֽם אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁמְע֔וּ אִ֖ישׁ שְׂפַ֥ת רֵעֵֽהוּ:  וַיָּ֨פֶץ יְקֹוָ֥ק אֹתָ֛ם מִשָּׁ֖ם עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כָל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיַּחְדְּל֖וּ לִבְנֹ֥ת הָעִֽיר.:

The whole earth used the same language, and were united…They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them in the fire.” So they had bricks for building-stone and clay for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.” Hashem came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.  Hashem said, “Look, the people are united, they all have a single language, and see what they’re starting to do! At this rate, nothing they set out to accomplish will be impossible for them!  Come, let’s go down and confuse their language, so that they won’t understand each other’s speech.” So from there Hashem scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city.

When reading the verses as written, no sin seems apparent. On the contrary, humanity became united and dedicated to a larger cause! As such, why did Hashem decide to confuse their language, destroy their plan and disperse them amongst the earth? The Sages bring an interesting story about the building of the Tower of Bavel (Pirkei D’rebbe Eliezer, 24):

ואם נפל אדם ומת – לא היו שמים לבם עליו, ואם נפלה לבנה – היו יושבין ובוכין, ואומרין: “מתי תעלה אחרת תחתיה!”.

And if a man fell to his death (during the building of the tower) no one paid attention, they continued to build. If a brick fell from the tower, the people would gather together and cry over the great loss.

We see from this story that even something as idealistic as unity can be dangerous. After such a shocking event like the flood, humanity went to the other extreme. They decided that in order to prevent such anarchy, there was a need for an all-encompassing unity. However, they took the ideal of unity too far. According to this mistaken way of thought, man as an individual has no meaning or significance of his own. All actions must be for the sake of the nation and it’s needs. As such, the world became warped and when building the tower, the individual was of no importance. The individual became so insignificant as compared to the goal of building the tower, which represented the unity of the world.

The Rambam (Maimonides) is famous for coining the term, “the middle path”. Every behavior and ideal has extremes, and in order to create harmony, man must find a balance. There is no doubt that we must educate humanity to be more united. One must also give of himself to his fellow man. At the same time, there needs to be the right balance. An individual’s needs are essential, yet must not be taken to an extreme. When we work hard to create an equilibrium in every aspect of our lives, we can achieve the perfect balance of harmony. Society must work towards meeting the needs of individuals, while not losing sight of a united whole.