And all the earth was of one language and one speech. (From this week’s Torah portion, Noach, Genesis 11:1)
It is impossible not to draw parallels between the opening of the story of the Tower of Babel and the modern global village. Once again, the entire world is of one language and one speech. Everyone is connected to everyone, speaking to everyone and at least in the Western world, everyone is motivated by the same ideas. Ultimately, this uniformity leads to a war against the Creator and to the re-scattering of humanity.
We are at the threshold of a new age. It could be that we are witnessing the waning of the modern nation state. Europe and the US are bankrupt. After an era of swift economic growth accompanied by moral decadence, the unavoidable stage of disintegration is upon us.
And they said, “Let us build for us a city and tower and its top will be in heaven, and we will make for us a name, lest we be scattered on the face of the earth. (Genesis 11:4)
The Tower of Babel was not a temple to G-d. It was a temple to man.
The Western nations that have made man the focal point of existence are morally bankrupt and have lost their founding ethos. As a result, they are also economically bankrupt. Only a small bit of foresight is necessary to understand that the Western economies do not have any real ability to stand on their feet again. It is quite possible that we will also witness their political disintegration. Time and again, entities that are not states defeat the ever-weakening nation-states.
In light of this reality, Israel must develop a long-term strategy that will take into account a completely different world structure than the one to which we have been accustomed in the modern era.
Shabbat Shalom
No comments:
Post a Comment