This is a very interesting article: https://www.theatlantic.com/…/social-media…/629369/.
It was written by Jonathan Haidt, a world-renown psychologist who has a professorship at NYU. His article, which he is developing its thesis into a forthcoming book, ventures to supply an explanation of the profound societal malaise plaguing America. You can read it for yourself and draw your own conclusions, but what fascinated me is that he explains his theory using the story of Babel as a framework. The story of Babel is in the first book of the Torah. The story, which is only 9 verses, is disarmingly simple. Despite its brevity and simplicity, it is a literary and philosophical masterpiece.
The fact that Haidt, a self-proclaimed and passionate atheist, uses the story of Babel to explain the dynamics of a complex, intricate sociological phenomenon, is a testament to the enduring relevance of the Torah. It is a never-ending fountain of insight into life and the human condition. And even though it’s 3300 years old, it hasn’t aged a day.
2022