Healing the Babble — Parshat Noach

ParshaRx: Mental Health Prescriptions from the Weekly Torah Portion

Ever notice that when people talk past each other, we call it babbling? That word actually comes from this week’s Parshat Noach — the story of the Tower of Bavel (Babel) — where God made it so people could no longer understand one another’s speech (Bereishit 11:7), and true connection was lost.

After the Flood, humanity came together with one language and one goal: to build a tower that would reach the heavens. It sounded like unity — but it wasn’t holy unity.

The Midrash teaches:

“If a brick fell, they wept, but if a person fell, they didn’t notice.” (Bereishit Rabbah 38:6) They cared more about progress than people.

So Hashem balal — mixed their speech so they would no longer understand each other (Bereishit 11:7). The Ramban explains this was compassion, not punishment — a Divine act of mercy. And the Sforno adds something powerful: that through differing opinions, truth could emerge.

God didn’t confuse their languages just to scatter them. He did it so that the only thing all humanity could ever fully agree on would be His Oneness. Every other area of life was designed to include differences. Because when we realize we can’t all agree on everything, we’re free to agree on the One thing that matters most: Hashem Echad.

When I first learned this Torah, it lifted such a weight. It took the pressure off needing everyone to think or see things the same way I do. Hashem created the world with differences on purpose — so we could learn to stay connected even when we disagree. That realization became a kind of peace: I don’t have to change anyone’s mind to live in truth — I just have to stay anchored in His.

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