Exploring Genesis: This week’s Torah Reading
Cain said to his brother Abel… and when they were in the field, Cain set upon his brother Abel and killed him.
— Genesis 4:8 (JPS translation)
In one of the most dramatic moments in the Torah, Cain takes the life of his brother Abel. God just created the world, and is so excited about creating human beings, that God ends that day of creation finding it to be “very good.” And yet, the very first family experiences a killing. Imagine God’s disappointment.
In the Torah verses immediately following Abel’s death, God asks Cain “Where is your brother Abel?” Abel’s reply became among the most well-known verses in the Torah: And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9).
The Torah’s response to Cain is a resounding “yes.” Yes, you are your brother’s keeper. In many ways, the rest of the Torah and much of Judaism are guides toward fulfilling that goal.
— Rabbi David Woznica