When Unity Becomes Dangerous | 10@9 | 2026.10.14

We all want unity. We want to belong to families, communities, and societies where people share our values and work together. So why does the Torah tell us that the extraordinary unity and cooperation of the builders of the Tower of Babel ended in disaster?
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch offers a disturbing insight. Their unity demanded uniformity. Everyone had to speak the same language and think the same way, leaving no room for genuine differences. What appeared to be an ideal society was actually a dangerous form of tribalism. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. describes the downward path that can follow - from a failure to communicate and understand one another, to fear, hatred, and ultimately violence.
There is nothing wrong with loving our families, strengthening our communities, and feeling a special bond with those who share our values. But the real test of our unity is how we see and treat those who are different from us. Can we respect them, listen to them, and recognize their dignity, even when we disagree? Or does our loyalty to our own group lead us to look down on others? The Tower of Babel offers an urgent warning for our deeply divided world.
Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship.
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