This sheet on Genesis 11 was written by Zehava Gal-On for 929 and can also be found here
Chapter 11 in Genesis is the last chapter that deals with the creation of the world, man and humanity. The chapter describes a tremendous human enterprise: building a city, or actually building a state. Humans beings, who until this point have not been defined as belonging to a group, join together and unite to create a common identity defined by their aspirations, the values in which they believe and act.
Indeed, the project is underway and progressing successfully, but during the construction the people are forgotten. This is captured in the midrashic work Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer 24: "The tower had seven levels on the eastern side and seven on the western side. The labourers who took up the bricks went up on the eastern ascent, and those who descended went down on the western descent. If a man fell and died they paid no heed to him, but if a brick fell they sat down and wept, and said: ‘Woe is us! When will another one come in its stead?’"
In the course of construction, the ambitious project becomes the be-all and end-all, the state becomes an entity of its own, instead of the people who comprise the state. There is a dangerous reversal: instead of the state protecting its citizens, protecting their rights and placing them as individuals and subjects at the center, the state is the center and people are only a tool, an instrument in its construction.
And the message is clear: the state is not and cannot be the supreme value. Rather, it must be the people living in it. Each man and woman is unique and equal. A state that views its non-productive citizens as mere construction material and deprives them of their rights and their existence as subjects with their own free will has no chance of survival. The building erected by a regime that aspires to create unity around national goals at the expense of individual rights and welfare has no chance of long term survival.
Zehava Gal-On is an Israeli politician, serving as a member of the Knesset from 1999 to 2017.
929 is the number of chapters in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, the formative text of the Jewish heritage. It is also the name of a cutting-edge project dedicated to creating a global Jewish conversation anchored in the Hebrew Bible. 929 English invites Jews everywhere to read and study Tanakh, one chapter a day, Sunday through Thursday together with a website with creative readings and pluralistic interpretations, including audio and video, by a wide range of writers, artists, rabbis, educators, scholars, students and more. As an outgrowth of the web-based platform, 929 English also offers classes, pop-up lectures, events and across North America. We invite you to learn along with us and be part of our dynamic community.
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