| nan | ... The voice of your brother’s bloods [are] screaming to me from [the surface of] the ground” [Gn 4:10]—[this means that] she (the voice of Hevel’s blood) could not go up above/l’ma`lah, for as yet no soul/n’shamah had gone up to there; and below/l’matah she could not stand (i.e., stay or sink into the ground), for as yet no adam had been buried there, and [so] “his blood was cast upon the trees and the stones.", , "And she then bore his brother, Hevel (Gen. 4:2) - this helps Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha, who said: \"Two went up to the bed, and seven came down from it.\" [It is written] 'she then bore', and not 'and she conceived and bore.' Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the soil - there were three who were excited about the land to no benefit: Kayin, tiller of the soil, Noach [and King Uziahu/Uzziah]. [Noach] Noah, the tiller of the soil [was the first to plant a vineyard.](Gen 9:20); Uziahu: [He built towers in the wilderness and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle,] and farmers in the foothills and on the plain, and vine dressers in the mountains and on the fertile lands, for he loved the soil (II Chron. 26:10). ", , "And Adam knew Chava his woman etc. (Gen. 4:1) - \"Remember Your mercies, Ad-nai, and Your lovingkindnesses, because they are for ever\" (Ps. 25:6): not from being judged, rather, from the outset. Said Rabbi Yehoshua bar Nechemiah with them You dealt with the First Human, since You said this to him: \"because in the day that you eat from it, you will certainly die\" (Gen. 2:17) - and had You not given him one of Your days, which is a thousand years, how would he have survived and even have descendants?", , "(7) “And Cain spoke to Abel his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field…” (Genesis 4:8) What were they arguing about? They said: come let’s divide up the world, one will take the land and one will take the moveable property. This one said: the ground you are standing on is mine. The other one said: what you are wearing is mine. This one said: take it off! The other one said: fly! Because of this “…Cain rose against his brother Abel and killed him.” (ibid.) R’ Yehoshua of Sakhnin said in the name of R’ Levi: they both took the land and the moveable property. What were they arguing about? One said: the Holy Temple will be built in my boundary. The other said: the Holy Temple will be built in my boundary. As it says “…when they were in the field…” (ibid.) and the field only refers to the Holy Temple. This is what it says “…Zion shall be plowed as a field…” (Micah 3:12) Because of this “…Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.” Yehudah bar Ami said: they were arguing about the first Eve. R’ Ibo said: the first Eve returned to the dust. Then what were they arguing about? R’ Huna said: an extra twin sister was born with Abel. This one said: I will take her because I am the first born. The other one said: I will take her because she was born with me. Because of this “…Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.”", , "'And Ad-nai paid heed to Hevel and his offering' (Gen. 4:4) - He was pacified because of him. 'And to Kayin and his offering He did not pay heed' - He was not pacified because of him. 'And Kayin was very angry, and his face fell' (Gen. 4:5) - his face became dark/repulsive/like fire. 'And Ad-nai said to Kayin: why are you so angry, and why is your face fallen? (Gen. 4:7) is it not that, when you do good, you rise up [se'et] ? [this is] blessing, just as you say 'and Aharon lift [vayisa'] up his hands to the people and blessed them' (Lev. 9:22). 'And if you don't do good, lift' [this is] curse, as it is written 'and cause them to carry [lift on shoulders] the iniquity of guilt' (Lev. 22:16). Another interpretation: if you do goof I forgive all your sins, and if not, the sin of that same man is heaped to excess. Rabbi Berachia in the name of Rabbi Shime'on the son of Ami said: Of David, a maskil, happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned.' (Ps. 22:1) - Happy is the person who is higher/greater from his sin, and whose sin is not higher/greater than him,as it says 'sin crouches at the door'. It is not written here 'she crouches' [chatat is feminine] but 'he crouches' - in the beginning the sin is weak like a lady, and after it strengthens as a male. Said rabbi Akiva: in the beginning it looks like a thread of a spider, and at the end it becomes like the rope of a boat, since it is written: 'Oy to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and as the ropes of a cart, sin' (Isaiah 5:18). Said Rabbi Itzchak: at first it makes itself a guest, and later becomes the master of the house, since it is written: '[And there came a traveler to the rich man] and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man' - here is the guest - 'that had come to him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that had come to him. '(II Sam. 12:4) - this is the master of the house. Rabbi Tanchum bar Merion said: there are dogs in Rome that know how to insinuate themselves, [the dog] goes and sits in front of a shop, and he pretends to take a nap, and the shopkeeper takes a nap, and the dog lets a bread roll fall near the ground, and and as onlookers are collecting [the scattered pile] the dog gets a bread roll for himself. Said Rabbi Aba: this impulse is similar to robbers, [such as] a person bent over, who was sitting at crossroads who would say to to everyone who passed 'give me what you have!' A smart one passed and saw that there was nothing he could do to rob him, and began to hit him. So too, the impulse for evil [yetzer hara] destroyed a few generations, the generation of Enosh, and the generation of the tower [dor haplagah] and the generation of the flood, when Avraham Avinu stood up and saw that [the yetzer hara] had nothing, began hitting him, since it is written 'And I will beat to pieces his adversaries before him, and smite them that hate him.' (Ps. 89:24). Said Rabbi Ami: The yetzer hara does not walk by the sides, rather, he walks by the middle of the square, and the moment he sees a man rolling his eyes, fixing his hair, and lifting his heel, he says: 'this one is mine!' What is the reason? 'Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? Sin has hope in him' (Prov. 26:12). Said Rabbi Avin: whoever indulges his yetzer [impulse to evil] in his youth, his end will be to be to managed by him. Rabbi Chanina bar Papa said: if your yetzer came to tempt you [lit. to make you desire] send him away with words of Torah, if you do so I rise you up as if you created peace itself, as it says: 'The yetzer near you, go out in battle of perfect peace [shalom shalom]' (Isaiah 26:3) if you do so I rise you up as if you created peace itself since not only peace is written here, but peace, peace. And if you say that it is not in your power to do so, the text says: 'because in you/You He/he trusts' (Isaiah 26:3). And I already told [lit. honored] you through Torah, 'Its urge is toward you, yet you can be its master.' (Gen. 4:7)", , "And Kayin brought from the fruit of the land an offering [mincha] to God (Gen. 4:3) - from the leftovers, [similar to] the evil tenant that eats the first fruits and gives to the owner of the field the stunted ones. \"And Hevel brought, also he, from the first born of his sheep, and their fat\" (Gen. 4:4) - Rabbi Eleazar and Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina. Rabbi Eleazar said: the children of Noach brought peace offerings [shelamim]; and Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina said: they brought burnt-offerings [olot]. Rabbi Eleazar responded to Rabbi Yosi bar Chanina: And behold, it is written \"And Hevel brought, also he, from the first born of his sheep, and their fat\" - this is something with which its fat is offered! How did Rabbbi Yosi understand [work] that verse? He understood it as shemanim [the fat that drips]...", , "Now the man knew his woman Chava, etc. Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yaakov the son of Rabbi Avin, in the name of Rabbi Aba bar Kahana said: Before the man, the creations had never had sexual relations, behold here it is not written \"and he knows\" rather, and it is written \"and he knew\", that is, he made known the way of the land to all. Another interpretation: And Adam knew - he knew from what bliss he was expelled; he knew what Chava did to him. Said Rav Acha: Chivyiah [the snake] is your snake, and you are the snake of Adam. 'And she conceived and gave birth to Kayin' - Said Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryiah three wonders happened on that day:on that day they were created, on that day they had relations, on that day they had children. Said Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha: two went up to the bed and seven descended, Kayin and his female twin, Hevel and his two female twins. 'And she said: I acquired a man with God' - the woman sees herself with a baby and says 'behold the acquiring of my husband [is definitely] in my hand.'Rabbi Ishmael asked Rabbi Akiva: since you have served Nachum Ish Gam Zu for twenty two years, and [he taught that] every 'ach' and every 'rak' make for exclusion and every 'et' and every 'gam' make for inclusion, in this verse what is 'et' doing here? He [Akiva] answered: if it were written 'I acquired a man of God [w/o the 'et']' that would be a difficult thing, rather it says 'I acquired a man with God'. He said to him: 'Because this is not an empty thing for you' (Devarim 32:47), and if it was empty, it is because of you, because you cannot LIDROSH, rather 'with God' [means] that in the past Adam was created from the adamah and Chavah was created from the adam. From here and onward, “in our image as our likeness”—not man without woman and not woman without man, and not both of them without Shekhinah [God’s presence].", , "And after a few days (Gen. 4:3) - Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua. Rabbi Eliezer said: the world was created on Tishrei. Rabbi Yehoshua said: In Nisan the world was created. The one who said the world was created on Tishrei [sees] Hevel, Kayin [happen] from the Festival [Sukkot] until Chanukah. The one who says in Nisan the world was created [sees] Hevel, Kayin [happen] from Pesach until Atzeret. Whether one [accepts] these words, whether one [accepts] those words, everyone agrees that Hevel did not stay in the world more than fifty days." |
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