Parshas Bereishis: Kayin and Hevel in the 21st Century

I wasn’t going to write as things are still crazy after the chagim…but then I thought, it’s the first parsha of the year! If I want to maintain my commitment to this, I have to write. So, that being said, please forgive this very off-the-cuff, poorly prepared dvar Torah as an exercise in discipline.

 

Parshas Bereishis: Kayin and Hevel in the 21^st Century

 

Dedicated to a refuah shelaima for Chaya Sarah bas Esther Leah, Sharon bas Shoshana, Moshe Aaron ben Necha Itta, and Binyamin ben Simcha.

 

This past Simchas Torah was a chag whose simcha was doubled by the release of the last living hostages from Gaza. Two years ago, our generation of Jews received a devastating shock – we were well and truly part of b’kol dor va’dor, in every generation they stood to destroy us. More so one can say that over the last two years many Jews were equally shocked to realize the truth of Eisev soneh es Yaakov, and Esev hates Yaakov.

 

There are many events in the Torah that we can point to as explanations for what our nation has gone through, but perhaps the root of it is in this very first parsha: jealousy. Kayin and Hevel (Cain and Abel) were the two eldest children of Adam and Chava (Eve). As the first descendants of the most unique creation of the Boreh Olam (Creator of the World), they should have gotten along splendidly; after all, aside from the twin sisters described in the Midrash, who else did they have to hang out with. Instead, their relationship was destroyed by jealousy – and not just any jealousy, but a jealousy related to God’s approval.

 

Kayin and Hevel both sought to praise and thank Hashem in bringing their offerings. When Hevel’s offering was accepted over Kayin’s (for reasons I won’t go into here), Kayin reacted with violence. Inherently, Kayin could not leave room for someone else to hold top rank. Indeed, he could not accept that he might be able to learn something from someone else. (Interestingly, I read somewhere that he was, in fact, the more creative of the two brothers and yet he was the one who could not accept the success of the other.)

 

What does this have to do with the events of the last two years? There are analogies of human nature that offer us a new perspective on the times we are living through. Those who seek to destroy us are descendants of Yishmael, the elder of the two sons of Avraham but also the one who was not chosen to carry on his father’s legacy of bringing a relationship with the Divine into the world. Over and over again, Bnei Yishmael seethes to claim the heritage of Yitzhak, although they do not necessarily express this clearly the way Bnei Eisav wrestles with Bnei Yaakov.

 

Interestingly, the spiritual battle of Eisav and Yaakov is different. It’s in some ways, more refined. Eisav wants to prove itself right; Yishmael wants to prove itself only.

 

Yes, we’ve jumped throughout Sefer Bereishis, but these sibling battles come back to their great-great-etc-uncle. What do you do when Hashem, the Ultimate Father, says that your brother will be the path forward? Kayin’s reaction was violence, but what Bnei Yishmael fails to recognize is that Kayin’s violence was a short-term victory. Ultimately, it was his even younger brother’s descendants who populated the earth (Noah being a descendant of Seth).

 

The Torah shows us, clearly, that life – that history – is full of cycles. Alas, one such cycle is that of jealousy (although that is not really the right word for any of the Biblical rivalries) and violence. Why this is necessary in the world is a question that I would say none of us can truly comprehend, but the facts of history prove that it is. Knowing that these are cycles and that our job, the job of Bnei Yisrael, is to hold strong and cling to Hashem is the essence of Jewish survival, and it’s all there in the sefer we start this week.

 

(And now I must get ready for work!)

Wishing you all a beautiful Shabbas Bereishis!

 

 

 

Parshas Bereishis: In Times Like These

This week’s Parsha is dedicated to the zechus for besoros tovos from Israel. May Hashem protect our soldiers, may He bring a speedy healing to the wounded, and may He let peace reign. Please continue to read in the merit of a refuah shelaima for Chaya Sofya Sara bas Mera, Tova bas Perel, and Binyamin ben Simcha.

If you will pardon my saying it, it seems strange that this week’s parsha is Parshas Beireishis. This is usually a time when we are all still burbling with the excitement of the Yom Tovim or laughingly complaining about the laundry and the cleanup. But we aren’t like that now…not this year. Not in 5784.

Five thousand, seven hundred and eighty-four years and about four weeks ago, Hashem infused the first form of man with His Divine spirit. And for almost a day, it was perfect – until humankind thought they had a better grasp of what was good for them. Perhaps the swallowed seed of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad is that need to feel that we have control, that we are setting the path to our own destinies.

When Hashem calls to Adam after they have eaten the fruit, Adam responds: “And he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I am naked; so I hid” (2:10). He hid…in the garden…from Hashem Who is Omniscient! Adam ate the fruit, and suddenly he thought he understood life and the choices that have to be made in it.

Hashem’s response is interesting as well: “And He said, "Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" (2:11). It is such an obviously rhetorical question. There is no one who could have told Adam such a thing…except Adam himself. Perhaps we can read this as the ultimate rhetorical Divine question: Is anyone really in control of the world except Hashem?

The answer, of course, whether a tragedy is personal or communal, is no. All of this is in Hashem’s control, and all of it has purpose.

This week’s parsha also introduces us to the first acts of violence. Cain struck and killed his brother Abel. It is here also interesting to note because he did this act out of jealousy. Hashem showed favor to Abel’s offering, which was, indeed, superior. Cain believed that he had the ability to control the world enough to remove the obstacle in his way from receiving Divine praise, when, of course, the obstacle was himself (since he chose mediocre items to bring rather than the finest of what he had).

Klal Yisrael’s enemies have long sought to remove us from being an obstacle between them and the status of ultimate Divine favor. Even more so, however, is that like Cain, our enemies have refused to see how assessing and changing their own lives would elevate them.

This is all philosophically lovely and an example of relating the text of the Torah to the world we live in, but what is it that we can take away from these thoughts. So our enemies are jealous – stating that doesn’t make any of the pain diminish (which nothing can, really) or give comfort. It may, however, help us shape our reactions and our focus on what we need to do.

What is it that we need to do? Alas, I am a descendant of one who ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad, and so I will continue totry strive to change the world around me as I see fit. But with the guidance of the Torah, I recognize that the most critical act I can do is to pray and to remember that Hashem is Omnipotent and Omniscient and everything is part of His plan.

Please Hashem, may is be Your will that we only have besoros tovos (good tidings), that our enemies should be stopped, and that we should find strength and come together as a people, and truly see Your glory.

Bereishis: Eizer Knegdo- Let’s All Work Together

(This one is a bit off the cuff and may totally miss the mark. The onslaught of holidays has made parsha a bit of a challenge and my brain is a bit scattered still!)

This week we start the Torah anew, and parshas Bereishis is so full of details and undercurrents that it takes years of study just to understand the nuances. Reviewing the more surface level events, however, one might wonder how much of the “Battle of the Sexes” is rooted in the words of Bereishis. It all begins with one very simple line in the first chapter of the Torah, a line to describe the creation of Adam: “Male and female created He them” (Bereishis 1:27).

 Verse 27, both irregular in its construct and loaded with options for interpretation, offers us the (possibly) comforting thought that the struggle to understand the dynamic of male and female relations has existed since the very outset. Male and female together in the verse means that Adam was both male and female – a complete human being. Perhaps Adam was too complete, impeding Adam’s ability to create a relationship with Hashem (the ultimate goal of humankind) because there was no way of understanding relationships when one is alone. And so, Hashem decided that “It is not good for man to be alone…” Hashem then split Adam to create an eizer knegdo.

 Eizer knegdo is another strange term. The word kneged implies something that stands opposite. Eizer is a helper. The obvious questions is then: how can someone be helpful and in opposition at the same time? Tradition teaches us that the idea of eizer knegdo is that the relationship is meant to spur one on to be the best he can be. Sometimes this requires teamwork and helpfulness, and sometimes it requires pushback and force. This is the concept of eizer knegdo a partner that helps a person grow into their ultimate spiritual potential.

 So what happened? How did the division of Adam with the goal of creating a partnership turn into the “Battle of the sexes”? Interestingly, a midrash pertaining to an earlier piece of creation seems incredibly pertinent. The Midrash relates that when Hashem create the sun and the moon, the moon asked Hashem whether two great luminaries could really rule the heavens. In answer to the implied bid for dominance, the moon was reduced to a reflection of the sun. The way the moon asked the question implied that one had to be dominant over the other, but Hashem created a luminary for the day and a luminary for the night and therefore it was, of course, possible for their greatness to be equal.

 “Male and female created He them.” Hashem made Adam as a unified being and then He divided them. Of course, it was possible for them to succeed on equal footing. Hashem also gave humanity language and comprehension and free will. Adam-alone being the part of Adam-combined that retained the memories of the time that had already passed perhaps saw the distinction Hashem made between the sun and the moon and determined, with his free will and advanced comprehension, that this was the ideal, that Chava needed to be a reflection of him. Perhaps he remembered the term eizer knegdo and focused on the eizer, the helper. He expected to lead and so he added to Hashem’s words and told her that they could neither eat nor touch the Tree of Knowledge.          

 This may sound like a flight of fancy, but centuries of the male-female dynamic are a result of all that occurred in parshas Berieishis. Hashem created Adam as whole, split them, and then Chava, the eizer knegdo, seems to do the opposite of helping Adam. She brings him the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad and they are kicked out of Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden). Within the expulsion is the forthwith dominance of man over woman, when Hashem declares “Yet your urge shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you” (3:17).

 The curse of Chava has been at the heart of interpersonal male-female dynamics since the dawn of time. But the “urge for your husband” and the rule of husband over wife does not indicate that this is the state that is meant to be between all men and women. This comes back to the term eizer knegdo, and the understanding of the term as singularly directed for woman to help man. If that were so, however, would not the term used be eizeres knegdo rather than the eizer, which is masculine and thus general language?

 The division of Adam into Adam and Chava, and the perpetual goal of bringing the two sides together is the material of every Jewish marriage book, and it is the heart of the Jewish perspective on what a relationship should be. But Adam and Chava were far more than individuals. They set the path for all of humanity to come. Perhaps the Battle of the Sexes that we struggle with even in our modern, liberal, enlightened world comes from our inherent lack of understanding of the purpose and the need for the dynamic of eizer knegdo. The world is not about every man for himself, nor every woman for herself. It is not good for man to be alone…In the greater whole of the world, Hashem divided humankind into male and female so that the different dimensions of humankind could be utilized to attain the spiritual connection of humanity and Hashem. Each of us must now use our strengths, our character traits, to help each other build that relationship.

 

Shabbat Shalom

Dedicated to a refuah shelaima for Dovid Chaim HaCohen ben Tzipora

Seeing God (Bereishis #2)

 Bereishis: Seeing Good

When the time came for the Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the World, to make the first human being, the ministering angels made themselves into competing counsels. Some of them said, ‘don’t create humans,’ and the others said, ‘create them.’ The angel of chesed (kindness) said, ‘create them, for they will do acts of loving kindness.’ Then the angel of emes (truth) said, ‘do not create them, for they will be full of lies.’ The angel of tzedek (righteousness) said, ‘create them, for they will establish justice.’ The angel of shalom (peace) said, ‘do not create them, for they will be in constant strife!’ What did the Ribono Shel Olam, do, but grab up emes and hurl it to the earth. Whereupon the ministering angels said before the Ribono Shel Olam, ‘Ruler of all worlds, what have You done? Why have You so chastised the chief of your court? Let emes arise again from the earth’ (Bereshit Rabba, 8:8).

The Zera Shimshon, as recorded by Rabbi Nachman Seltzer, explains that “the Ribono shel Olam listened to what emes was saying. When it was time to create man, He threw emes down to earth, forcing it to play a role in a world whose default setting is one of compromise, and which desperately needs truth to balance the scale so the compromises bring it close to truth and ultimate justice” (page 46).

Truth was cast to earth, and yet we are all aware of how difficult a time humankind has both with sticking to the whole truth and with discerning when people are or are not telling the truth. Indeed, this seems even more so the case in recent times, when rather than participate in conversation, many feel justified in shouting their opinions rather than researching facts. And even when facts are known they are used as justifications for one point of view over another rather than as information upon which a person can use their own free will and critical thinking. Indeed, a little more of that necessary spirit of compromise would be greatly beneficial.

While things feel more desperate today, one could look at history and suggest that this is simply the way of the world. Humanity has always struggled with balance and compromise. God cast truth to the earth, but truth itself was hidden in the world. More importantly, the ability to see absolute truth – to understand the greater picture from all perspectives – remained purely in the hands of the Ribono shel Olam. This is perhaps reflected in the first chapter of Bereishis, when it is written on the first day: “And God saw that the light was good. And God separated between the light and the darkness” (1:4).

We see here, in the very first steps of creation, the seeming necessity of division, of having two sides to contrast against one another. Could there be light if there was not darkness? Rabbi Yonason Eibeschutz, quoted in Sefer Talelei Oros:

Observes that normally good qualities are recognized in contrast to their opposites. For instance, if we see a good person and an evil person we recognize the goodness of the first by contrasting it with the evil of the second. Therefore, the order of the verse should have been reversed. The recognition of the goodness of the light would come as a result of its contrast to darkness. However, this limited vision only applies to human beings. God knows the value of everything in absolute terms.

Humankind can only choose what they believe is good based on what they believe is bad. But being able to look at the integral essence and know something is good is a quality reserved for the Divine. This is how the world needs to be if it is not to be torn apart by division. Free will demands that we have to shape our morality, even within the parameters guided by Torah, just as Free Will necessitates the lack of open miracles so that we might retain the ability to make choices.

It is easy, of course, to sit here and write a reminder to all that humankind’s hold on truth is fluid. We like to make much of being on the right side, of the us versus them, which leads, unfortunately, into a thought pattern of good verses evil. But rather than focusing on the division, or on claiming to be the light – the good and true - perhaps we need to spend more time thinking about how our world thrives on differences.

There is a phrase that has become quite common in the media and in public discourse: “My Truth.” No phrase brings to mind so quickly the fact that humans are incapable of pure objectivity. We always have an agenda of some level or another. And in a world where truth is so heavily influenced by perspective, it is especially important to remember that the ultimate decision of what is good is in the hands of Hashem.

Looking Past the Differences (Bereishis #1)

When talking about twins in the Torah, most peoples’ minds immediately jump many generations to Yaakov and Esav, which makes sense. They are the first identified twins in the Torah and the twins with the most “text.” According to Bereishis Rabbah 22, however, the very first twins in the world were actually Kayin and Hevel (Cain and Abel). In exploring who they were before the tragic fratricide, one might find a subtle but fascinating parallel between these sets of twins.

Their story really starts with their parents. Adam and Chava were, one might say quite literally, two sides of the same person. Adam “knew” Chava, the opposite side of himself, and from that union of two separated halves, Kayin and Hevel were immediately conceived and born on the same day. From the outset, at least according to their names and the information one can gather from their professions, Kayin and Hevel were strikingly different. Kayin, who was to become a farmer, was a man of the earth. Hevel, who was to become a shepherd, was a man of spirit. Each of the sons appears to have been the embodiment of one of the two aspects (earth and spirit) with which Hashem created the united Adam.

How do we see this? There is actually a hint to their natures hidden in their names. Kayin, kuf-yud-nun ihe, has letters that one could say are rooted into the ground. Kayin’s life, in all aspects, was very much rooted in the physical world both before and after the murder of his brother. Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch notes: “Agriculture calls primarily for the expenditure of all one’s bodily strength and energies. … The soil, fertilised with his own sweat, is something which is precious to him, it contains part of his very self, it chains him, he becomes stationary, earthbound.”

Hevel, on the other hand, is composed primarily of “breathy” letters: hey-vet-lamed kcv. This is the same word used by King Solomon in Koheles (Ecclesiastes) when he claims that the pursuits of this world are empty vanity. Rav Hirsch points out that pastoral work is far less physical: “The occupation does not make such a demand on the expenditure of actual strength…and gives the mind opportunity for elevating thoughts of godliness and goodness.”

Had the family of Adam remained in Gan Eden, Kayin and Hevel would have had contrasting strengths that would have drawn them into a wonderful partnership. The Torah makes certain to tell us that “In the course of time,” (Bereshis 4:3) Kayin brought his offering to God from his produce. This happened after they were expelled from Gan Eden. Then Hevel followed suit with “the choicest of the firstlings of the flock. The Lord paid heed to Hevel and his offering, but to Kayin and his offering He paid no heed” (ibid. 4:4-5) … We all know what happened from there! In a world where the perfect balance of creation was misaligned by the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Kayin and Hevel were no longer “simpatico.”

Kayin, the man of the earth, looked around at the things with which he had been blessed and decided to thank God. After a day of rugged work, he chose an offering, perhaps thinking only of the basic desire to express his gratitude. Hevel, the shepherd, who spent his days looking after his sheep, contemplating his flock, contemplating their beauty and worth and the nature of life and creation, followed suit with an offering into which he brought more thought, more contemplation of the spiritual. Kayin could not understand what it was about Hevel’s offering that pleased God more, perhaps like a man of toil who cannot understand the necessity of philosophers and artists who seem not to produce anything tangible. Hevel, on the other hand, looked at the simple act of Kayin and, perhaps, thought that there was a way to bring out a more spiritual angle to this basic act of gratitude. It never occurred to him, with his mind wrapped in his own ways of thinking, that this would take away from Kayin.

Kayin and Hevel both had very definite ways of living in the world, of seeing the world, and of expressing themselves in the world. Had they still been in the Garden or had they worked together, their coordinated offerings might have been richly glorious and there would have been peace between them. In this way they were like Esav and Yaakov, the man of the field and the man of the tent. Both sets of twins brimmed with potential … had they only been able to see past their differences. Perhaps this difficulty in seeing the world from beyond one’s own personal perspective is part of the tragedy of Chava and Adam having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

From the story of Kayin and Hevel, it is possible to find a lesson in working with those whose way of being in the world is different than our own rather than placing them in categories of “other,” of better or worse. This will lead to the ultimate gift that the Jewish people could offer to Hashem right now, the gift of unity.

1.      Hirsch, Rabbi Samsom Raphael. The Pentateuch: Volume V Deuteronomy. Translated by Isaac Levy, Judaica Press, LTD, 1999.