October 22, 2011 | 24 Tishrei 5772 | Genesis 1:1-6:8

Several years ago on Yom Kippur afternoon someone on the bimah made a mistake during the Mincha service.  Half-jokingly, he turned to me and said, “Does that one count for this year or next?”  Of course, his hope was that his “sin” counted for this year so that when the holiday ended soon thereafter, his “slate” would be wiped clean, and he could begin the post-Yom Kippur day absolutely blameless.

That sentiment captures a feeling all of us hope to feel at the end of this long and tiring fast day.  As Yom Kippur concludes we want to feel that we are starting anew, our personal “slates” having been wiped clean.  As the following two weeks unfold, with the holidays of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah in their midst, we continue to feel that “holiday glow” free of any burden of wrongdoing.

Ironically, while we are still feeling free of sin, our opening parasha of the post- holiday period, Bereisheet, shares a story of terrible wrongdoing with us.  In a fit of anger, Cain commits the first murder in the Torah by killing his brother, Abel. Commentators are particularly intrigued by Chapter 4, verse 8:

Cain said to his brother Abel…and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him.

But what did Cain say to his brother?  Whatever Cain said, did Abel respond in a manner to provoke his violent reaction?  Our commentators offer many possibilities. I share one of them as it appears in Bereisheet Rabbah 22:16:

Cain said to Abel his brother…and when they were in the field…” – What were they arguing about?  They said: Come let us divide the world. One took the lands and the other took the movables.  One said: The land on which you are standing is mine.  The other replied: The clothes you are wearing are mine.  One said: Take off [the clothes]!  The other said: Get off [the land]!  In the course of this argument Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him!  

Up to this point in our parasha, as best we know, both Cain and Abel have “clean slates.”  Suddenly, they begin, according to this midrash, to have an absurd disagreement.  Did they really think they could divide the world between them?!  Could they not share their moveable possessions?!  Doesn’t this sound like a ridiculous argument?!

Perhaps the Torah and our commentators are trying to share a thought with us. We have just completed what many would suggest is the most spiritually-charged time of our Jewish year.  We have acted to “clean the slate” and then celebrate times of great joy as we express gratitude to God for the harvest bounty that is ours.

And what immediately follows this time of spiritual uplift?  A Torah Portion that shares an absurd disagreement leading to egregious wrong-doing.  

No, we are not “Cains.”  But is something of the woeful Cain in each of us?  Is there something in our nature that allows us each year to experience the relief of “wiping our personal slates clean” and then almost immediately dirtying them with our acts of wrongdoing?  If so, can we change the pattern?