A thought on פרשת בראשית

This year, I have selected the Torah commentary of Rabbeinu Levi ben Gershon, known as the RalBag. In secular sources he is often referred to as Gersonides which is a way of saying "son of Gershon" (just as the RamBam is called Maimonides, son of Maimon, and the RamBan is callled Nachmanides, son of Nachman.) One problem with this is that some traditional sources cite his father's name as Gershom, which would make his secular title Gershomides. Be that as it may, let's talk about the man himself.

The Ralbag lived in France in the end of the thirteenth century, and died there in 1344. This places him in the same time frame as the Recanati, whose writings we studied last year. He was a contemporary of Rabbeinu Bachya as well. In the secular world, he was known for his expertise in astronomy, and even today, at least two of his inventions are in use and a crater on the moon is named after him. His work on Chumash focuses on a careful analysis of the words used in the Torah, as well as on detecting the themes and lessons implicit within the events described in each passage.

Let us begin this year's study of the Ralbag, and may HaShem guide me in my efforts to put forth some of his words each week, with clarity and understanding.
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"...la'chen kol horeg Kai'in shivasaim yukam...""...therefore anyone who kills Kai'in, punished seven times as much..." (4:15)

Kai'in killed his brother. This was a very new world and there was a single family on Earth, and Kai'in killed his only brother. HaShem engages him in a dialogue and seems to negotiate with him as to the consequence of his misdeed. When He sentences him to a life of wandering, Kai'in worries that whoever finds him will murder him. The Divine response, as translated above, appears puzzling. HaShem responds to Kai'in's worries with what sounds like a vague and dangling threat. The response does not address Kai'in's fear but rather implies that "if anyone kills you, he will get punished." This hardly seems like a fitting response to his worries. How would it console Kai'in to know that in the event that he in fact gets killed that his murderer will get some type of punishment?

The Ralbag puzzles over this, as do a number of the other rishonim. The wording of the verse needs careful analysis. This is the approach of the Ralbag: Kai'in was scared that HaShem's sentencing him to a life of wandering would endanger him. He feared that he would be vulnerable to a murderous attack.

HaShem's response was not one of reconsidering the sentence nor a hollow "reassurance" that in the event of his death that He would avenge his murder. Rather, HaShem "reality tested" by confronting Kai'in with some irony --- "kol horeg Kai'in" means, "the only murderer on earth is Kai'in himself." HaShem observed to him that "there is no one else alive who has ever committed a murder but you. I have sentenced you to permanent exile and in due time, after seven generations have passed, you and your descendants will cease to exist. But meanwhile, you have nothing to fear in the immediate future from other people because, simply said, no one else goes around killing other human beings."

So many times, in our own struggles with people and with rough situations, we are quick to point the finger and contend that we are afraid about what others might think or say or do in reference to us. Much of the time, it is our own insecurity or our own personal conflicts which prompt us to project what someone else might do, when the deeper reality is that the things we claim to fear most about others are in reality the matters which we wrestle with ourselves.

This was the rebuke given by HaShem to Kai'in. He was anxious and preoccupied about someone else's misdeeds when in fact, it was his own shameful secret which he was attributing to others. When we search for whom to blame, the search must start within, and often, the search ends within as well.

Good Shabbos. D Fox