Sunday, March 27, 2011

Migdal Bavel - The Tower of Bavel, Part 1

B"H

The Torah Parasha at the time when a Jew is born has an enormous influence on him. At least this is what many Rabbis claim. For converts to Judaism is may be the Parasha of the week when they either converted or went to the Mikveh. I am not sure about that but I heard a Chabad Rabbi in Zfat claiming this opinion.

I think it was Rabbi Yitzchak Luria who stated that a Jew's birth doesn't prove his goal in life but the moment when he was conceived. That particular time would be his Parasha.

To make a long story short and going according to the majority: My personal Parasha is YITRO, as I was born in Shevat. And, as we all know, Yitro is full of commandments and all kinds of Mitzvot. Now look at my huge Tikkun (soul rectification) in this world. At least accoding to Parashat Yitro. 

My most beloved Parasha is NOACH and not Yitro. The reason is not the amount of Mitzvot but because I grew up with Parashat Noach. In school we heard about Noach and had to draw pictures of the Ark. On TV and in cartoons you always see Noach, the Ark and all the animals inside. I found that great and a really nice "story". Moreover, I have never had any doubt that the Flood really took place. 

Parashat Noach has never left me and I consider it as MY PARASHA because I have dealt with it for years. I took the content apart. From Noach, his times, his generation to the Tower of Bavel (Migdal Bavel). I have been collecting anything on Parashat Noach. Any commentator, any Talmudic remark, anything. Unfortunately, when you google "Tower Bavel" you get to plenty of Christian and satanic sites which have nothing to do with the real meaning. Instead, the real and kabbalistic meaning is mentioned in "Sefer Brit Menucha". An extremely complicated book.

Most people may think that it can't be too complicated taking apart the commentaries on Parashat Noach. This is a big mistake and not many are aware of the huge amount of incidents happening in the Parasha. First of all, Noach's generation consisted of certain reincarnations missing their final Tikun. These souls were reincarnated in the generation of the Tower and later on in the generation of Sodom. 

Where did those souls come from and what is so significant about them ? 
Rabbeinu Bachya states in his commentary on Bereshit that the generation of the Tower (Dor Haflagah) was using G - d's most secret names including the Shem HaMeforash "Y - H - V - H" and this is the reason why they were punished. 

The book "Megaleh Amukot" states that Nimrod's generation was again reincarnated in the people of Sodom and later in Korach. Further commentaries say that those souls were also active in Egypt and later on when Moshe and  the Jews were walking through the desert. 

What was the real purpose of the Tower of Bavel ? The Etz Yosef states that Nimrod wanted to built a tower inside the tower. By using G - d's names, offering a Ketoret (spices) and doing other things, the Dor Haflagah succeeded in confusing some angels and G - d had to react. However, the incident didn't happen with Noach but much much earlier with Adam HaRishon, and neither did everything end with the destruction of the Tower.

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