12 | OCTOBER 6 • 2022 

poem
Our New Tower Of Babel?

By Jeremy Friedman

 A vertical construct
making a line
upward to the sky —
the Tower of Babel —
it was meant
to unite all humanity
 
But before completion
the plan was struck down 

 from above
as different languages 
 emerged
causing people to scatter —
disunity ensued
due to barriers to 
 
 communication
among diverse nations
 
That is the Torah story
of the Tower of Babel
 
Fast forward many centuries

A horizontal construct
encompassing the globe 
 online —
“friends,” “followers,” “likes,”
“news feeds,” all for “free” —
meant to unite all humanity
 
This construct claims to 
bring together
people on our fragmented 

 planet —
allowing communication
without barriers
 
That is today’s story of the 
 genesis
and rise of so-called “social 
 media”

 
Yet just how “social” is this 

 media?
It creates connections 
 sometimes

but does this come at a 
 larger price?

Does it breed self- 
 absorption,
cultivating and reinforcing
a trend to narcissism?
Does it bring unity,
when it spreads views and 
 “news” —
at times covertly targeted at 
 users —
full of partisan political 
 babble,
aimed to polarize and 
 inflame?

What type of community 
 results
when messages express deep 
 
 hostility,
in the hate-filled anonymity
that lurks behind electronic 

 screens?

Does all of this just increase
usage statistics and 
 
 profitability
by getting more clicks —
while society is left more 
 splintered?
Users don’t have to pay bills,
but what do these digital 
 tools truly build?

 
A new Tower of Babel
but this time with a 
 different outcome?
Or will this plan also 
 unravel?

Jeremy Friedman is a Massachusetts-

based lawyer and poet, who 

has previously lived in Detroit. Mr. 

Friedman’s poetry profile is online 

at https://poetlawyerate.blogspot.com.

PURELY COMMENTARY

JARC Dogs & Donuts

Thank you so very much to the JN for 
spotlighting the JARC Dogs & Donuts 
Event in its Sept. 22, 2022, edition. I want 
to spread thank yous to others who made 
this fun event happen on July 27, 2022. 
Thank you to Haley Lipman, Jewish 
Fund Teen Board intern, who reached 
out to me with the idea. She made 
this successful gathering a reality for 
JARC residents. I also have to thank the 
therapy dog teams who brought so much 
enjoyment to everyone at the event. They 
are Michelle Gornbein and Minnie, Sandra 
Flynn and Fiona, George Mazmanov and 
Cody, and my therapy dog, Pearl the Pug. 
Together, we all made a memorable 
evening for 60 people served by JARC.

— Susan Tauber

West Bloomfield

letters
Yiddish Limerick

Sukkot

Ich hob mine succah lib, it’s zayer zayer shein
It’s zayer zayer klein
 Mit nor a table and a chair
 mir kennen essn without a care
Yetzt kum arayn, it starts to rain.

Ich hob mine succah lib: I love my sukkah
zayer zayer shein: very, very beautiful
It’s zayer zayer klein: it’s very, very small
mit nor: with only
mir kennen essn: we can eat
Yetzt kum arayn: now come inside.

By Rachel Kapen

