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EXTRA · Noach 11:6 · unit 1

Parashas Noach · Tower · Passuk 11:6

The Complete Passuk

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהֹוָ֗ה הֵ֣ן עַ֤ם אֶחָד֙ וְשָׂפָ֤ה אַחַת֙ לְכֻלָּ֔ם וְזֶ֖ה הַחִלָּ֣ם לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת וְעַתָּה֙ לֹֽא־יִבָּצֵ֣ר מֵהֶ֔ם כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָזְמ֖וּ לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת׃

And Hashem said: “Behold, they are one people and they all have one language, and this is what they have begun to do; and now nothing that they scheme to do will be withheld from them.”

Chabad.org — 11:6

Source Citation

Rashi on Bereishis 11:6, citing Bereishis Rabbah 38:9 for the grammatical point.

Rashi on Genesis 11:6

Core Text of Rashi

הֵן עַם אֶחָד — כָּל טוֹבָה זוֹ יֵשׁ עִמָּהֶן, שֶׁעַם אֶחָד הֵם, וְשָׂפָה אַחַת לְכֻלָּן וְדָבָר זֶה הֵחֵלּוּ לַעֲשׂוֹת. הַחְלָם — כְּמוֹ אָמְרָם, עֲשׂוֹתָם — לְהַתְחִיל הֵם לַעֲשׂוֹת. לֹא יִבָּצֵר מֵהֶם וגו׳ לַעֲשׂוֹת — בִּתְמִיהָ; יִבָּצֵר לְשׁוֹן מְנִיעָה, כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ.

English: “Behold, they are one people” — they have the advantage of being one people with one language, and this is what they have begun to do. “Hachalam” means “they begin to do.” “Nothing will be withheld from them” is phrased as a question: “Shall they not be restrained from doing what they imagine to do?” The word yibatzar denotes restraint, as in the Targum.

In context: Rashi reads the final clause as an interrogative rather than a declaration that the builders are literally unstoppable: the verse asks whether they will not be restrained from carrying out their plan.

Type of Learning

Rashi’s grammatical and contextual explanation.

What Is Learned

Rashi emphasizes both the advantage of a common language and the interrogative force of “לא יבצר”: the verse is asking whether their intended action will go unrestrained.