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The Tower of Babel episode is both strange and compelling. The entire story is contained in 9 verses at the beginning of chapter 11. The following analysis and expansion is based closely on the comments of Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch in his commentary on the Torah. His approach to interpreting this episode has striking similarities to our own society.

וַֽיְהִ֥י כׇל־הָאָ֖רֶץ שָׂפָ֣ה אֶחָ֑ת וּדְבָרִ֖ים אֲחָדִֽים׃

The entire world was one language and one speech.

There was a time in human history, after the flood, when all of humanity shared a common language and common objectives.

וַֽיְהִ֖י בְּנׇסְעָ֣ם מִקֶּ֑דֶם וַֽיִּמְצְא֥וּ בִקְעָ֛ה בְּאֶ֥רֶץ שִׁנְעָ֖ר וַיֵּ֥שְׁבוּ שָֽׁם׃

When they travelled from the East, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and they dwelled there.

They left the methods and mores of the previous society behind and established a new community.

וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֗הוּ הָ֚בָה נִלְבְּנָ֣ה לְבֵנִ֔ים וְנִשְׂרְפָ֖ה לִשְׂרֵפָ֑ה וַתְּהִ֨י לָהֶ֤ם הַלְּבֵנָה֙ לְאָ֔בֶן וְהַ֣חֵמָ֔ר הָיָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם לַחֹֽמֶר׃

They said one to the other, "Come, let us bake bricks and fire them in a furnace." The brick served them as stone and the tar served them as mortar.

They experienced a technological revolution. Previously, the could only build where there was available stone, which they would bond together with mortar. But they discovered that by firing mortar they could make bricks.

Why does the Torah detail the types of bricks they used to construct the building? There were at least two notable outcomes from this new technology. They could now build wherever they pleased, not limited by the natural resources of a particular geography. And the materials used for construction were man-made, the work of their own initiative and ingenuity. Man could surround himself with the work of his hands.

וַיֹּאמְר֞וּ הָ֣בָה׀ נִבְנֶה־לָּ֣נוּ עִ֗יר וּמִגְדָּל֙ וְרֹאשׁ֣וֹ בַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנַֽעֲשֶׂה־לָּ֖נוּ שֵׁ֑ם פֶּן־נָפ֖וּץ עַל־פְּנֵ֥י כׇל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower, with its top in the heavens. And we will make for ourselves a name, lest we disperse over the face of all the earth."

They decided to use these new capabilities to aggrandize the human community. The technological innovations were not inherently bad. But when the only objective was נעשה לנו שם –to “make for ourselves a name,” the impact on society was indeed destructive. They became mesmerized and infatuated with their own technological prowess.

וַיֵּ֣רֶד יְהֹוָ֔ה לִרְאֹ֥ת אֶת־הָעִ֖יר וְאֶת־הַמִּגְדָּ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּנ֖וּ בְּנֵ֥י הָאָדָֽם׃

Hashem went down to see the city and the tower that the people had built.

God went to see, so to speak, before passing judgment. Technology is not bad, but its impact depends on the objective for which it is used. The society’s technical advancement became an ends in itself. If a person was killed, little attention was paid. But if a brick was lost, they mourned the loss in efficiency (Pirkei D’Rebbe Eliezer, 24).

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהֹוָ֗ה הֵ֣ן עַ֤ם אֶחָד֙ וְשָׂפָ֤ה אַחַת֙ לְכֻלָּ֔ם וְזֶ֖ה הַחִלָּ֣ם לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת וְעַתָּה֙ לֹֽא־יִבָּצֵ֣ר מֵהֶ֔ם כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָזְמ֖וּ לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת׃

Hashem said, "Behold, they are one people with one language for all, and this is what they have begun to do! Now, nothing will bar them from all they have plotted to do.

Here they are a collaborative and coordinated society, experiencing a revolution in technology that could improve the lives of individuals, and this is what they use it for? וְהַ֣חֵמָ֔ר הָיָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם לַחֹֽמֶר — the means for them became an ends.

הָ֚בָה נֵֽרְדָ֔ה וְנָבְלָ֥ה שָׁ֖ם שְׂפָתָ֑ם אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁמְע֔וּ אִ֖ישׁ שְׂפַ֥ת רֵעֵֽהוּ׃

Let us go down, and their language will wither away there, such that they will not be able to understand the language of their fellow.

Ibn Ezra and Rav Hirsch explain that God did not need to intervene. The path that this society was taking would naturally lead to divisiveness. A society that represses the uniqueness of the individual will naturally encounter resistance. While they shared a common language in form to begin with, the meanings of phrases would change for different groups. Over time individuals would no longer be able to communicate with one another.

וַיָּ֨פֶץ יְהֹוָ֥ה אֹתָ֛ם מִשָּׁ֖ם עַל־פְּנֵ֣י כׇל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַֽיַּחְדְּל֖וּ לִבְנֹ֥ת הָעִֽיר׃

Hashem dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth and they stopped building the city.

The society was dispersed and the project came to a halt.

עַל־כֵּ֞ן קָרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ בָּבֶ֔ל כִּי־שָׁ֛ם בָּלַ֥ל יְהֹוָ֖ה שְׂפַ֣ת כׇּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וּמִשָּׁם֙ הֱפִיצָ֣ם יְהֹוָ֔ה עַל־פְּנֵ֖י כׇּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

Therefore, it was named Bavel, because there Hashem mixed up the languages of all the earth and from there Hashem dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

This was a critical juncture in the history of man that underscores the differences across humanity to this day. It is not just differences in language. Underlying these are different ways of interpreting and relating to the world. It makes it difficult for us to communicate and collaborate effectively across cultures.

With eerie accuracy, Rav Hirsch predicts elements of our current situation. We have experienced revolutions in technology. These provide us with incredible means to further the development and advancement of individual human beings. But instead of focusing on how technology can be leveraged to benefit the individual, technology is worshipped as an ends in itself. It is harnessed to subjugate the individual to the larger enterprise.

Our modern technology offers incredible opportunities for collaboration and communication. It can provide a profound benefit to humanity when in it is utilized to further individual development. But sadly it can also be used merely to נעשה לנו שם —make a name for ourselves. This undermines and destroys the bonds of human society, instead of furthering connection and leveraging our shared efforts to advance our common goals.

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