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44
Friday, November 7, 1986
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
`Babble' Of Language
Hinders Understanding
=Nom
RABBI IRWIN GRONER
Special to The Jewish News
I
n the sidrah Noach, we
read the fascinating
story of the Tower of
Babel. The Bible wants to
explain how mankind came
to speak many languages.
The text relates that for-
merly, all mankind spoke one
tongue. A group of men de-
cided that they could achieve
lasting fame by building a
tower that would reach the
heavens. God was displeased
with their plan, for their in-
tention was to displace Him.
So He confused their lan-
guage; each builder began to
speak a different tongue, forc-
ing them to cease their proj-
ect. The name of the area
was then called Babel, mean-
ing confusion, hence the word
"babble".
The story has fascinated
people of all ages. It focuses
our attention on the com-
plexities and problems of
communication. We wish we
could all speak one language,
but we suffer from a confu-
sion of tongues. Communica-
tion, despite technological
breakthroughs of unprece-
dented magnitude, remains
our most vexing concern. Au-
thentic communication is
hard to achieve, for it needs a
meeting of minds, and an
emotional rapport that re-
quires patience, sensitivity
and empathy.
Consider the family situa-
tion where husband and wife
are communicating on differ-
ent wavelengths. They may
both speak of the importance
of security, but for one, secu-
rity is understood in purely
financial terms, and for the
other, security is an emo-
tional feeling of well-being.
They both claim to love their
children. For one, love means
giving children material
things and creature comforts.
For the other, love is ex-
pressed not so much in mate-
rial possessions as in the gift
of self.
This is an iilustration of a
larger truth recently dis-
closed on the international
scene. We want to know why
the meeting at Reykjavk be-
tween President Reagan and
Secretary Gorbachev did not
resolve the profound dif-
ferences between the- two
superpowers. But how can we
expect nations with different
cultures, different tongues
and different ideologies to
achieve instant agreement,
when the problem of com-
munication, even in the same
language with people in the
same family, is so difficult?
When Americans say "Gov-
ernment of the people, by the
people, for the people," and
refer to the term "democ-
racy," we know what it
Irwin Groner is rabbi at
Cong. Shaarey Zedek.
means. But when the Soviets
call Poland "a people's
democracy," do they mean
the same thing?
And what about religiou,
social and ethnic groups in
our own country? Is the
majority sufficiently aware of
the sensibilities and longings
of minorities so as to be able
to grasp their yearning and
respond to their needs?
When Rev. Jerry Falwell is
challenged for his many
references to "Christian
America," he responds by ex-
plaining that he means
"Judeo-Christian." But is his
understanding of America's
Shabbat Noach:
Genesis
6:9-11:32;
Isaiah 54:1-55:5
freedom of religion and non-
sectarian spirit the same as
ours?
Even the discourse that
takes place between diverse
groups in Jewish life reflects
this "babel" of tongues. Do
we all share the same under-
standing of the most basic of
terms: Judaism, Mitzvah and
Torah?
We can be enriched by the
diversity of interpretations
and by the range of differing
views. But sadly, one often
discovers that communication
breaks down because of a
failure in recognizing the
legitimacy of diversity, the
existence of pluralism and
the different paths of Jewish
belief and practice. We find
that we are speaking differ-
ent languages.
The story of Babel chal-
lenges all of us to create
through trust, humility and
love, a common language of
the human spirit in every as
pect of our shared lives.
Reports Link
Waldheim
Jerusalem (JTA) — Israel
has refrained from any official'
comment on reports pub-
lished last week that
Austrian President Kurt
Waldheim participated in
Nazi atrocities against
Yugoslavian civilians during
World War II.
A Foreign Ministry spokes-
man said that the report,
published in The Washington
Post, would have to be
studied in detail before a
response is made. According
to the report, Waldheim, a
Wehrmacht intelligence of-
ficer in the Balkans at the
time, was directly involved in
the massacre of civilians in
what the Nazis called a
"pacification" operation.
Israel has still not decided
whether to send an Ambas-
sador to Vienna.