•,,o4............/........• ■ •••• ■•■ ••••...M......0.004 .1%.
•
EA
'31('I f
•
edycO k6)11-,
E
42 Friday, October 18, 1985
FEI1V3.111);1r:1(1
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Zionist Organization of America
- Zionist Cultural Center
.
,, fINSTEIN LUNCHEON FORUM
TORAH PORTION
present
ROGER F. KAPLAN, Editorial Writer & Op-Ed Editor,
The Detroit News.
Subject: "Is the Press Unfair to Israel, or Is It
Just Being Its Normal Self?"
Tuesday noon, October 22
Hamilton Place, 30333 Southfield Road
Reservations: 569-1515
BE A WINNER, PLAY
THE CLASSIFIEDS
The Space Shuttle: A
1980s Tower Of Babel?
BY RABBI MORTON F. YOLKUT
Special to The Jewish News
Call The Jewish News
Today
354-6060
From Acapulco, Mexico -
ACA
IRW11
is HERE!
To Serve You with Their
Fall/Winter Line. 100% Cottons and Wools.
Summer Cruisewear Available All Year!
227 S. Woodward • Birmingham
313-258-2880
How 8w
It I8!
A beautiful way to say
I Love You is with
silk flowers and plants!
A lasting gift that's perfect for
home or office. Our
professional staff will be
haPpy to assist you with' an
arrangement or choose from
our fabulous selection of
gift items they will
always treasure.
Complimentary gift wrapping.
Don't forget Sweetest Day
Saturday, October 19th
Tel-Twelve Mall • 12 Mlle.& Telegrdph, Southfield
Daily 10-9, Sunday 12-5 • 354-9060
Fine Furniture &-Accessories, ,Always 20%
f
Noah's ark, as seen by a Turkish artist, represented the chance for a
new start.
This week's Sidrah speaks of
powerful events which shook
and shaped the world. Two fate-
ful generations march through
its pages into violent oblivion.
First, we read of the Dor
Hamabul, the generation of the
flood. After its destruction, we
read the less apocalyptic but no
less destructive story of the Dor,
Haflagah, the generation which
built the famous Tower of Babel.
This second generation which
survived the cataclysmic flood in
the days of Noah sought to
make a new start. The Torah
tells us that • it was an era of
peace. "And the whole world
was of one language and of one
speech" (Genesis 11:1). They
lived in the plain of Shinar and
they said: "Come let us build
ourselves a city, and a tower,
the top of which may reach to
the heaven; and let us make for
ourselves a name, lest we be
scattered abroad upoti the face
of the whole earth (11:4). God
was displeased. He said: "Let us
go down and confound their lan-
guage, that they might not
understand one another's
speech" (11:7).
Although the sin of the Dor
Haflagah is not spelled out in
the biblical text, our Rabbinic
tradition presents an illuminat-
ing insight into the nature of
the people: "If a man would fall
down and die during the build-
ing of the tower, no one would
pay any attention to him. But if
a brick would be lost, they
would sit and weep. It was a,
materialistic society which ig-
nored the value of human life.
Their punishment was a "confu,
sion of languages," so that they
were not able to understand
each other's speech.
There is a striking parallel
between the ancient story of the
Dor Haflagah and our own
times. We, too, have chosen a
materialistic. way of life with
towers and launch pads and
spacecraft to reach to the
heavens "to make for ourselves
a name." These towers have lit,
tie human or moral purpose, di-
verting resources and energies
from projects which could im-
prove man's condition on this
earth.
We live in a time in which we
value machines more than
human life, a generation in
which we could look with
equanimity upon the destruction
of six million human beings and
continue with "business as
usual." And what is our real
concern? That we be able to
stockpile more weapons and
build more sophisticated arms,
so that we are able to kill and
overkill more millions of people.
Where is our concern for human
life today?
In the story of the Tower of
Babel; God said "Come let us go
,
,
Noah: Genesis
6:9-11:32. Isaiah
54:1-55:5
down and confound their lan-
guage, that they might not
understand one another's
speech." This is also the great
punishment inflicted upon our
generation: a lack of communi-
cation between man and his
neighbor, between nation and
nation. Fear, distrust, suspicion,
hatred have become the
hallmarks of modern times. We
speak the same words but we do
not understand them. There is a
confusion and a confounding of
langnage. The Western world
speaks of "peace;" so do the
communists. But one does not
understand the other. We use
"human rights," they use "hu-
man rights," but the worlds
have different meanings. We
speak .of "freedom," they speak
of "freedom," but there is a con-
fusion of language.
The biblical story of the
Tower of. Babel ends tragically.
The peace and harmony, which
initially united these people,
was replaced by strife and con-
tention. They ceased to under-
stand each other and they were
scattered all over the earth.
If we are to avoid a disastrous
repetition of history, our genera-
,