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TORAH FOR THE TIMES
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Torah Reading: Bereishit (Genesis 1:1 - 6:8)
Haftorah: Isaiah 42:5- 21
Shabbat Candle Lighting: 5:38 PM
Shabbat Ends: 6:37 PM
Shabbat Mevarchim - We bless the new Month of MarCheshvan
Rosh Chodesh MarCheshvan is Tuesday and Wednesday, November 1 & 2
Molad for the New Moon: Monday, 10/31, 3:24 & 5/18 AM
BEREISHIS
THE LETTER OF TRUTH AND PEACE
The Mark of Cain
The parsha of Bereishis discusses humanity’s first murder and the punishment meted out to the murderer. After Cain kills his brother Abel, G‑d curses him and Cain responds with the plea:
“Is my sin too great to bear? You have banished me this day from the face of the earth – can I be hidden from Your presence?” I must become a vagrant and a wanderer on earth; whoever meets me will kill me!”
G‑d responded to Cain:
“Therefore, whoever slays Cain, before seven generations have passed he will be punished.”
The Torah continues:
And G‑d placed a mark upon Cain, so that none that meet him might kill him.
A Letter of G‑d’s Name
What was the mark that G‑d placed on Cain that protected him from predators and potential killers?
Rashi answers it was “a letter of G‑d’s name” that he placed on his forehead.
Rashi does not say which of the three/four letters that make up G‑ds name did He place on Cain’s forehead. It could be a yud, a hei(the first hei or the second hei of G‑d’s name, representing two levels of G‑dly light) or a vav.
The Midrash does, however, state which letter it was; it was the letter vav.
The Letter Vav
What is the significance of this letter?
The letter’s shape is a vertical line. It is therefore referred to in the Zohar as the letter of Emes-truth. The definition of truth is that it remains the same from the top down to the bottom. The very word Emes , the Jerusalem Talmud states comprises the first, middle and last letters of the Hebrew Alphabet. This exemplifies truths consistency.
Some commentators point to the letter vav’s use as a conjunctive letter which means “add.; It joins two words or phrases. Hence, the vav is also indicative of the trait of peace.
Now, our Sages tell us: “G‑d’s seal is truth,” for He is the only true Being, and “G‑d’s name is Shalom-peace,” for He is the ultimate source of peace. Thus, by placing this mark on Cain’s forehead, which represents both G‑dly attributes of truth and peace, Cain had the seal and name of G‑d on him. With such Divine protection no creature could kill him.
The Image of G‑d
Had Cain not sinned, then the human face itself would have deflected any attackers because of the “image of G‑d” imprinted on the face of every human being. This “image of G‑d” explains what G‑d meant when He told Adam that humans would “rule over the animals.” When an animal sees the image of G‑d on a person’s face, it is naturally repelled.
This is how our Sages explain the incident with Daniel in the lions’ den. Despite their hunger they did not approach him, not because of a miracle, but because of his G‑dly appearance.
But when Cain murdered his brother that G‑dly image departed from him and G‑d had to give him a sign, which was G‑d’s own seal, the seal of truth.
G‑d’s Argument with the Angels
We can further clarify G‑d’s use of the letter vav to protect Cain by referring to a famous Midrashic account of G‑d consulting with the angels concerning the creation of humanity. The angels were split: “Truth said, do not create because he is full of lies.” Likewise peace said “do not create him because he is full of discord.” Only the attributes of kindness and charity felt that man is redeemable because of his acts of kindness and charity.
It appears from this Midrash that truth and peace are the most elusive of human traits and that according to the angels that represented these two traits, man’s kindness and charity cannot justify his dishonest, inconsistent and divisive nature.
G‑d obviously overruled the angels and did create Adam.
Arguments Reinforced and Refuted
But when Cain committed the first murder it reinforced the argument of the angels (i.e. forces of truth and peace) who said not to create man. It was now clear that man cannot be trusted. No sooner do two brothers arrive on the scene do they violate the trust and peace.
Thus, when G‑d seeks to overrule the angels of truth and peace, He imprinted the letter vav on Cain’s forehead, to demonstrate that, with all his flaws, man will eventually arrive at truth and peace.
One of the handicaps that angels have is that they cannot comprehend the idea of a process. They were created in a mold that cannot accept anything that does not fit into it. Angels, although totally spiritual, are part of nature and they cannot comprehend the ability we humans possess to override nature. Sometimes we overrule nature by doing things that are foolish and sometimes we transcend nature by transforming ourselves, even from one extreme to another. Angels cannot understand the fluidity of the human condition, nor could they fathom how man is redeemable.
Hooked on Truth
Having explained the significance of the vav imprinted on Cain’s forehead, as a sign that G‑d had attached His seal of truth and name of peace, there is an important caveat.
The letter vav also has meaning; it means a hook. A hook is used to hang objects on a wall. When a person wants to attach something to a wall he can do it in two ways. He can nail or plaster it on the wall so that the object becomes an integral part of the wall. Alternatively, one can place the object on a hook, whereby the object and the wall remain two distinct entities that can be easily separated.
Perhaps, this is what the Midrash means that it was a vav that G‑d placed on Cain, indicating that his seal of G‑dly truth and the Divine name of peace that he carried were not attached to him; it was only hooked on him. He did not become an ambassador and purveyor of truth and peace. Because his repentance was out of fear and not out of conviction and certainly not out of love, G‑d’s seal of truth and imprimatur of peace did not become an integral part of his personality.
This was emblematic of virtually all the good that humanity achieved before the giving of the Torah at Sinai. All the good done could not penetrate their exterior nor could it effect a real change in the nature of the physical world.
For that to happen, humanity had to wait until the Torah would be given at Mount Sinai.
When G‑d uttered the words in the singular form: “I am G‑d your G‑d…” G‑d introduced and inserted His essential name into our consciousness and nature. The name of G‑d which represents Divine truth and peace would now become an inseparable part of who we are. Truth and peace were ingested and digested into our systems and can never be separated from us.
To be sure, we still have free choice to overrule our G‑dly nature, but to change for the good doesn’t require an act of transformation, we just have to return to our true G‑dly selves.
Jacob Appropriates Elijah’s Vav.
There is another Midrash with respect to the letter vav. The name Eliyahu-Elijah, the prophet who heralds the coming of Moshiach, is spelled in the Bible without the letter vav in five places. The name Ya’akov-Jacob, on the other hand, is spelled five times with a superfluous vav. Our Sages explain that Jacob “appropriated” the letter vav from Elijah as collateral that he will bring the Final Redemption.
What does this “usurpation” of the letter vav have to do with Redemption? And why did Jacob feel he had to take it from Elijah?
The answer lies in the foregoing discussion of the letter vav placed on Cain’s forehead. G‑d wanted to convey the message that notwithstanding humanity’s flaws there is hope and confidence that eventually humanity will live in consonance with the Divine seal of truth and peace.
This hope that G‑d harbored at the dawn of humanity was given a big boost with the advent of the Patriarchs, particularly Jacob, who is said to personify the two traits of truth and harmony.
This process received further support with the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The Torah is called both “the Torah of truth” and the Torah of peace.”
This was further reinforced with the arrival of Elijah the prophet who fought against the equivocating behavior and fence-sitters of the Ba’al worshippers.
The prophet Malachi also describes Elijah’s mission is to bring fathers and children together; a mission of peace.
But, nothing will be complete, and G‑d’s creation of humanity will not be vindicated, until the Final Redemption when both truth and peace will reign supreme.
Thus, it was Jacob the paragon of truth and harmony, who wrests the vav from Elijah because he senses how his entire being would not be whole until such time of the Redemption.
Torah: Truth and Peace
The lesson for us is that in the present both truth and peace are so elusive. Just look at the people who are running to be the leader of our country and their fanatical supporters. The entire world could use the “Mark of Cain.” It is our responsibility to do our part to bring ultimate truth and peace to the world by studying the Torah of Truth and Peace.
However, within Torah there is a part that has a more pronounced connection to truth and peace. The mystical and spiritual teachings of Torah contained in Kabbalah and especially Chassidus are called Chochmas Ha’Emes-the Wisdom of Truth. In addition, these teachings are more overtly connected to the ideal of peace inasmuch as they do not contain the argumentation so pervasive in the legal and exoteric teachings of Torah.
By studying these esoteric parts of Torah we get a good dose of the very ideals the world has been waiting for since the day G‑d imprinted the vav on Cain and Jacob took the letter vav from Elijah.
Moshiach Matters:
In the Hagada we read the words, " 'All the days of your life' including the Era of Moshiach." Le'havi translated as "including" literally means "to bring." Thus, this Talmudic passage, quoted in the Hagada, can be interpreted as a directive: All the days of your life should be permeated by a single intention: to bring about the coming of the Era of Moshiach.
