Cain may have had the world’s best intentions; his may have been a pure vision. But he was wrong to deny, to repudiate, life—even his own.

If only Cain had chosen words rather than violence, if only he had turned to God and spoken to Him thus:

— Master of the Universe, lend me Your ear. You are my witness as I am Yours. You are my judge and I am afraid, I am afraid to judge. Admit though that I have had every reason to cry out to You my anguish and my wrath; I have every means to oppose my injustice to Yours. Admit that I could strike my brother as You yourself punished my father. Admit that I owe it to myself to protest against the ordeals You impose on man. I could drown mankind with my tears and in its blood. I could bring this farce to an end; that may even be what You want, what You are driving me to. But I shall not do it, do You hear me, Master of the Universe, I shall not do it, I shall not destroy, do You hear me, I shall not kill!

Had Cain spoken thus, how different history would have turned out! It would not have been the desperate adventure of two brothers, one of whom asserted himself by killing and the other by letting himself be killed, but the beautiful and passionate, pure and purifying gesture of a noble and fervent mankind.

Had Cain chosen to bear witness rather than to shed blood, his fate would have become our example and our ideal, and not the symbol of our malediction. His name would evoke pride, not fear. Instead of suggesting death, he would have remained our brother.

PARABLES AND
SAYINGS II

It was Passover eve. Adam, who was resting with his family, turned to his two sons and said:

— There will come a day when the children of Israel will devote this night to the celebration of their alliance with God and to commemorating their liberation; they will bring Him offerings and sacrifices. I want you to do now what they will do when that day will come.

Cain and Abel had to obey. The former offered God what he had too much of, whereas the latter parted with the best he possessed.

And God accepted Abel’s gifts and rejected Cain’s.

And Cain spoke to Abel and said:

— It is claimed that the world is ruled by mercy; that is false. It is also claimed that one’s good deeds are taken into account; that too is false. As for me, I am telling you that the Law is distorted, disfigured by flattery, and what is happening to us is irrefutable proof You flatter God and that is why He favors you.

— Don’t say that, replied Abel. God is justice and His justice is unalterable. If God has favored me, it is only because my deeds are better than yours.