זוהר, בראשית צ״דZohar, Bereshit 94

Section 94 of 102 in Bereshit — 25 segments

Segment 1א׳

אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק, תָּא חֲזֵי, בְּשַׁעֲתָא דְּקָטִיל קַיִן לְהֶבֶל, לָא הֲוָה יָדַע הֵיךְ (נפיק) (ד"א יפיק) נִשְׁמָתֵיהּ מִנֵּיהּ. וְהֲוָה נָשִׁיךְ לֵיהּ בְּשִׁינֵיהּ כְּחִוְיָא. וְהָא אוּקְמוּהָ חַבְרַיָא. בֵּיהּ שַׁעֲתָא לַיְיט לֵיהּ קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא. וְהֲוָה אָזִיל לְכָל סִטְרֵי עָלְמָא, וְלָא הֲוָה אֲתַר דִּמְקַבֵּל לֵיהּ. עַד דְאַטְפַח עַל רֵישֵׁיהּ וְתָב קַמֵּי מָארֵיהּ. וְקַבִּילַת לֵיהּ אַרְעָא בְּמָדוֹרָא לְתַתָּא.

Said R. Isaac: ‘When Cain wanted to kill Abel, he did not know how to make him give up the ghost, and he bit him like a snake, as our colleagues have explained. God then cursed him, and he wandered about the world without being able to find any resting-place until, clapping his hands on his head, he repented before his Master. Then the earth found a place for him in one of its lower levels.’

Segment 2ב׳

רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אָמַר אַרְעָא קַבִּילַת לֵיהּ לְמֵיהַךְ בָּהּ דִּכְתִיב וַיָּשֶׂם יְיָ לְקַיִן אוֹת. רַבִּי יִצְחָק אָמַר לָאו הָכִי. אֶלָּא לְתַתָּא קַבִּילַת לֵיהּ אַרְעָא בְּמָדוֹרָא חָדָא דִתְחוֹתָהּ דִּכְתִיב הֵן גֵּרַשְׁתָּ אוֹתִי הַיּוֹם מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה. מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה גּוֹרָשׁ. אֲבָל לְתַתָּא לָא גוֹרָשׁ.

R. Jose said: ‘The earth allowed him to stay on its surface, as it is written, “And the Lord set upon Cain a sign”.’ R. Isaac said: ‘That is not so. The earth found a place for him in a certain lower level, as it is written, “Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the ground”, implying that he was banished from the surface but not from underground.

Segment 3ג׳

וּבְאָן אֲתַר קַבִּילַת לֵיהּ אַרְעָא, בְּאַרְקָא. וְכָל אִנּוּן דְּדָיְירֵי תַּמָּן עֲלֵיהוֹן כְּתִיב (ירמיהו י׳:י״א) יֵאבַדוּ מֵאַרְעָא וּמִתְּחוֹת שְׁמַיָא אֵלֶּה. וְתַמָּן שַׁוֵּי מְדוֹרֵיהּ. וְהַיְינוּ דִּכְתִיב וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּאֶרֶץ נוֹד קִדְמַת עֵדֶן.

The level on which he found a resting-place was Arka, of the denizens of which it is written, “these shall perish from the earth and from beneath the heavens” (Jer. 10, 11). There was fixed his habitation, and this is what is meant by the words, AND HE DWELT IN THE LAND OF NOD ON THE EAST OF EDEN.

Segment 4ד׳

תּוֹסֶפְתָּא כֵּיוָן דְּאָמַר קַיִן גָּדוֹל עֲוֹנִי מִנְשׂא, מָחַל לֵיהּ קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךָ הוּא פַּלְגוּ מֵעוֹנְשֵׁיהּ. בְּגִין דְּגָזַר עֲלֵיהּ בְּקַדְמִיתָּא ואָמַר לֵיהּ נָע וָנָד תִּהְיֶה בָאָרֶץ וְהַשְׁתָּא אִשְׁתָּאַר בְּנוֹד בִּלְחוֹדוֹי. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִּיב ויֵּצֵּא קַיִן מִלִּפְּנֵי ה, וגו; כְּלוֹמַר דְּכַד נָפַּק מִן קָדָם ה"הֲוָה בְּגִין לְמֶהֱוִי נָד בְּאַרְעָא ולָא נָע.

Tosefta. When Cain said, “My punishment is greater than I can bear”, the Holy One, blessed be He, remitted half his punishment. For at first He had decreed upon him and said to him, “you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth”, and now he was left with “a wanderer” alone. Hence it is written, “And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, etc.” — that is to say, when he went out from before the Lord it was in order to be a wanderer in the earth and not a fugitive.

Segment 5ה׳

ועוֹד אָמְרוּ כַּד נָפַּק קַיִן מִן קָדָם ה"אָמַר לוֹ אָדָם בְּרִי מָה אִתְּעֲבִיד על דִּינָךָ. אָמַר לוֹ קַיִן אַבָּא כְּבָר אִתְּבַּשְׂרִיתּ דִּמְחַל לִי קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךָ הוּא בְּנוֹד בִּלְחוֹדוֹי. אָמַר לוֹ הֵיאַךָ הוּא. אָמַר לוֹ בְּגִין דְּתָּבִיתּ וְאוֹדִיתּ קַמֵּיהּ. אָמַר אָדָם וכִי דֵּין הוּא רַב וְתַּקִּיף חֵילָא דִתְּשׁוּבָה וְאֲנָא לָא יָדִיעַתּ. שְׁרָא לְשַׁבְּחָא לְמָרֵיהּ וּלְאוֹדָאָה לֵיהּ פָּתַּח ואָמַר, (תהילים צ״ב:א׳-ב׳) מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַׁבָּתּ טוֹב לְהוֹדוֹתּ לַה; כְּלוֹמַר טוֹב לְשַׁבָּחָא ולְאֲתָּבָא וּלְאוֹדָאָה קַמֵּיהּ קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךָ הוּא. (עד כאן תוספתא)

They said further: when Cain went out from before the Lord, Adam said to him, ‘My son, what was done concerning your sentence?’ Cain said to him, ‘Father, I have already had the good tidings that the Holy One, blessed be He, remitted it for me, leaving “a wanderer” alone.’ He said to him, ‘How is this?’ He said to him, ‘Because I turned back and confessed before Him.’ Adam said, ‘Is the power of repentance so great and so mighty, and I did not know it?’ He began to praise his Master and to give thanks to Him. He opened and said, “A Psalm, a Song for the sabbath day; it is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord” (Ps. 92, 1-2) — that is to say, it is good to praise, and to turn back, and to give thanks before the Holy One, blessed be He. (End of Tosefta.)

…and 20 more segments in this section.

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Zohar — Vocalized Zohar, Israel 2013, via Sefaria

English: The Zohar — Soncino Press, London 1933 (public domain)

English: rendered from the Aramaic for this app — The Gematria's own rendering program. A rendering of the words, not a commentary; the Zohar is learned with a teacher