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EXTRA · Noach 11:5 · unit 1

Parashas Noach · Tower · Passuk 11:5

The Complete Passuk

וַיֵּ֣רֶד יְהֹוָ֔ה לִרְאֹ֥ת אֶת־הָעִ֖יר וְאֶת־הַמִּגְדָּ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּנ֖וּ בְּנֵ֥י הָאָדָֽם׃

And Hashem came down to see the city and the tower that the children of man had built.

Chabad.org — 11:5

Source Citation

Rashi (from midrash) — teaching judges not to condemn until they “see.”

Rashi on Genesis 11:5

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וַיֵּרֶד ה׳ לִרְאֹת — לֹא הֻצְרַךְ לְכָךְ, אֶלָּא לִלְמֹד לַדַּיָּנִים שֶׁלֹּא יִרְשְׁמוּ אֶת הָאָדָם עַד שֶׁיִּרְאוּ.

English: “And Hashem came down to see” — He did not need to do so; rather, [the Torah writes this] to teach judges that they should not register a verdict against a person until they have seen [the matter].

In context: The anthropomorphic “descent” is a pedagogical model for human courts: thorough investigation before judgment.

Type of Learning

Custom (judicial ethics derived from the divine “descent”).

What Is Learned

Judges must examine a case carefully before deciding; the Torah models this by depicting God “coming down to see.”