The WORD – 10/23/08

This past week, Sarah Palin – the Republican nominee for the office of Vice President – said the following: “I know at the end of the day, putting this in God’s hands, the right thing for America will be done at the end of the day on Nov. 4 (Boston Globe 10/23/08).”   All politics aside, I could not disagree with her more on theological grounds.  The truth is that in the Jewish tradition, we believe that God has put the world into OUR hands, not the other way around.

 

In this week’s Torah portion, Breisheet, we are introduced to the very first set of siblings.  Not surprisingly, they each considered the other a rival and as a result, did not get along so well.    There was the first brother, Kayin (a/k/a – Cain), who worked the land; and the second brother Hevel (a/k/a – Abel) who tended flocks.  In order to thank God for their good fortune, they each decided to offer a gift up to God.

 

According to the Torah, Kayin’s gift came “mipri ha’adamah – from among the fruits of the soil (Gen.4:3).”  On the other hand, Hevel’s gift came “mib’chorot tsono – from among the firstborn of his flocks (Gen. 4:4).”  One can immediately sense the difference between the two gifts.   Kayin gave whatever he happened to have on hand, whereas Hevel made an effort to find the best possible gift.

 

In the ensuing verses, we learn that God accepted Hevel’s offering and rejected Kayin’s, exacerbating the quarrel between the two brothers.  Kayin was immediately depressed.  God asked him why he was so distressed over the situation.  God reassured him, saying, “Im teiteev – if you do well, there is uplift.  But if you do not do right, sin couches at the door (Gen 4:7).”  God obviously wanted Kayin to try a little harder in the future.  Unfortunately, we all know how the story ended.  Kayin killed Hevel to relieve himself of his jealousy.  He eliminated the problem. 

 

The ancient rabbis asked an important question:  Why did God allow this to happen?  Why didn’t God step in and stop Kayin?  After all, there weren’t so many people in the world to keep track of – God surely should have been on top of this.  The rabbis answered their own question with a Midrash (rabbinic story) in which they added some dialogue between Kayin and God. 

 

When God confronted Kayin with the words, “Your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground (Gen. 4:10).”  The rabbis imagined that Kayin asked God:  “Isn’t it your fault because you didn’t command me to stop?”  In this Midrash, God answered:  “I made you in My image with a brain and a soul.  Were I to direct your every action, you would be just like a puppet.  You have a will of your own and you are responsible for your actions (Midrash Breisheet Rabbah 22:8).”

 

From the 2^nd generation of humanity until today, those words ring true.  God has given us tremendous gifts – the ability to create, the ability to love among them.  But we also have the capacity to destroy and to hate.  The same God, who gave some humans the ability to fly airplanes into crowded skyscrapers, gave other human beings the ability to sacrifice their lives attempting to rescue people in those very same towers.

 

Which of these paths we choose to take in our lives is up to us.  We know which way Kayin went.

 

RAF.