Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gained a male child with the help of the LORD.” She then bore his brother Abel. Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the soil. In the course of time, Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the soil; and Abel, for his part, brought the choicest of the firstlings of his flock. The LORD paid heed to Abel and his offering, but to Cain and his offering He paid no heed. Cain was much distressed and his face fell. And the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you distressed, And why is your face fallen? Surely, if you do right, There is uplift. But if you do not do right Sin couches at the door; Its urge is toward you, Yet you can be its master.” Cain said to his brother Abel … and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him. The LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Then He said, “What have you done? Hark, your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground! Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. If you till the soil, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall become a ceaseless wanderer on earth.” Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is too great to bear! .

(1)And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground (Gen. 4:3). The process of time (lit. “end of days”) may imply either the end of a year, the end of two years, after a certain number of days, or after forty years. Our sages, of blessed memory, said that Cain and Abel were forty years old when Cain brought of the fruit of the ground. What did he bring as his offering? He brought only the leftovers of his meal. However, the rabbis maintained that Cain brought flaxseed, while Abel brought firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof (ibid., v. 4). That is why it is ordained that wool and flax must not be mixed, as it is said: Thou shalt not wear mingled stuff, wool and linen together (Deut. 22:11).³¹The source of the law of shatnez, prohibiting the wearing of wool and linen together. The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: It is not fitting that a sinner’s offering and the sacrifice of a virtuous man should be coupled. Hence it is forbidden to combine them in a garment.

And Cain spoke unto Abel, his brother (Gen. 4:8). What did he say to him? He said: “Let us divide the world between us, but since I am the eldest, I shall take twice as much.” Abel replied: “Perhaps.” “If we do this,” Cain continued, “I want my share to include the place at which your sacrifice was accepted.” Abel replied: “That, you cannot have.” Thereupon, they began to quarrel, as it is said: And it came to pass while they were in the field that Cain arose (ibid.), and it says elsewhere: Zion shall be plowed as a field (Jer. 26:18).

Others contend that Cain told Abel: “Let us divide the world between us,” and Abel replied: “Certainly.” Whereupon Abel took the flocks as his share, and Cain took the land to till. They agreed that neither should take anything belonging to the other. However, after accepting the flock as his share, Abel grazed the flock upon Cain’s land. Cain pursued Abel over hill and vale, until they began wrestling with one another. At first Abel overpowered Cain and threw him to the earth. When Cain realized that he was being defeated, he pleaded: “Abel, my brother, do not harm me.” Because he was a merciful person, Abel released him. As soon as Cain arose he slew Abel, as it is said: Cain arose. The words Cain arose clearly indicate that he must have been hurled to the ground previously.

After killing Abel, he said to himself: “I must flee from my mother and father, for they will ask me where he is, since there are only the two of us.” The Holy One, blessed be He, appeared before him immediately, saying: “You can flee from your parents but not from Me, as it is said: Can any man hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? (Jer. 23:24).” The Holy One asked: Where is Abel, your brother? (Gen. 4:9), and then He continued: “Oy to him that he had mercy on you and did not kill you when you were fell beneath him, and you arose and killed him!"

(8) Cain said to his brother Abel … and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him.(9) The LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”(10) Then He said, “What have you done? Hark, your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!

How did he kill him? He inflicted numerous bruises upon his body with a stone. He smote him over his entire body, from his hands and feet to his throat, for he had no way of knowing from where his soul would depart until he reached the neck.

WHAT IS THE MIDRASH RESPONDING TO IN THE BIBLICAL TEXT?

When the Holy One, blessed be He, asked him: Where is Abel, your brother? he replied: “I know not; am I my brother’s keeper? (Gen. 4:9). You are the guardian of all, yet You seek him from me!” This may be compared to a thief who steals during the night but is not apprehended while committing the crime. When the watchman seizes him the next morning and asks: “Why did you steal those utensils?”, the thief replies: “I am a thief and I did not neglect my profession. Your job is to keep watch at the gate. Why did you neglect your duties? Now you question me?”

So Cain retorted: “True, I slew him, but You created the evil inclination within me. Since You are the guardian of all, why did You permit me to slay him? You who are called the "I" (I am the Lord your God (Exod. 20:2)) killed him, for if You had accepted my sacrifice as You accepted his, I would not have been envious of him.” The Holy One, blessed be He, replied immediately: What have you done? The voice of thy brother’s blood cries unto Me (ibid., v. 10). This verse indicates that he inflicted numerous wounds upon Abel.

(5) How did they admonish witnesses in capital cases? They brought them in and admonished them, [saying], “Perhaps you will say something that is only a supposition or hearsay or secondhand, or even from a trustworthy man. Or perhaps you do not know that we shall check you with examination and inquiry? Know, moreover, that capital cases are not like non-capital cases: in non-capital cases a man may pay money and so make atonement, but in capital cases the witness is answerable for the blood of him [that is wrongfully condemned] and the blood of his descendants [that should have been born to him] to the end of the world.” For so have we found it with Cain that murdered his brother, for it says, “The bloods of your brother cry out” (Gen. 4:10). It doesn’t say, “The blood of your brother”, but rather “The bloods of your brother” meaning his blood and the blood of his descendants. Another saying is, “The bloods of your brother” that his blood was cast over trees and stones. Therefore but a single person was created in the world, to teach that if any man has caused a single life to perish from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had caused a whole world to perish; and anyone who saves a single soul from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had saved a whole world. Again [but a single person was created] for the sake of peace among humankind, that one should not say to another, “My father was greater than your father”. Again, [but a single person was created] against the heretics so they should not say, “There are many ruling powers in heaven”. Again [but a single person was created] to proclaim the greatness of the Holy Blessed One; for humans stamp many coins with one seal and they are all like one another; but the King of kings, the Holy Blessed One, has stamped every human with the seal of the first man, yet not one of them are like another. Therefore everyone must say, “For my sake was the world created.” And if perhaps you [witnesses] would say, “Why should we be involved with this trouble”, was it not said, “He, being a witness, whether he has seen or known, [if he does not speak it, then he shall bear his iniquity] (Lev. 5:1). And if perhaps you [witnesses] would say, “Why should we be guilty of the blood of this man?, was it not said, “When the wicked perish there is rejoicing” (Proverbs 11:10).]

The words Cries unto Me (elai), however, may be interpreted as “Crieth against Me (‘alai).” . See Gen.R. 22:9. For example, if two men are fighting together and one of them is killed while a third person stands by and does not attempt to separate them, against whom does everyone complain? Do they not complain against the third person? Hence Crieth unto Me actually means Crieth against Me. Cain said to Him: “Master of the Universe, never before have I encountered death, nor have I beheld a dead person; how could I possibly know that if I pummeled him with a stone he would die?” The Holy One, blessed be He, answered immediately: Cursed art thou from the ground … when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth (ibid., v. 12).

The words Crieth unto Me (elai), however, may be interpreted as “Crieth against Me (‘alai).”³⁴God shares the blame for not intervening. See Gen.R. 22:9. For example, if two men are fighting together and one of them is killed while a third person stands by and does not attempt to separate them, against whom does everyone complain? Do they not complain against the third person? Hence Crieth unto Me actually means Crieth against Me.