זוהר, תצוה ד׳Zohar, Tetzaveh 4

Segment 1א׳

פָּתַח וְאָמַר (בראשית ד׳:ג׳) וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ יָמִים וַיָּבֵא קַיִן מִפְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה מִנְחָה לַיְיָ'. וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ יָמִים, רָזָא אִיהוּ, מִקֵּץ יָמִים, וְלָא מִקֵּץ (קל"ד ע"א) יָמִין, דָּחָה לְקֵּץ יָמִין, וְקָרִיב לְקֵּץ יָמִים. וְהָא אוֹקִימְנָא, דִּכְתִּיב, (דניאל י״ב:י״ג) וְאַתָּה לֵךְ לַקֵּץ. אָמַר קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְדָנִיאֵל וְאַתָּה לֵךְ לַקֵּץ. אָמַר לֵיהּ, לְאָן קֵץ, לְקֵּץ הַיָּמִים אוֹ לְקֵּץ הַיָּמִין, עַד דְּאָמַר לֵיהּ לְקֵּץ הַיָּמִין.

He opened and said: “And at the end of days Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the Lord” (Gen. 4, 3). “And at the end of days” — there is a mystery here: “at the end of days”, and not “at the end of the right hand”. He thrust aside the end of the right hand and drew near to the end of days. And we have explained this, as it is written: “But go your way to the end” (Dan. 12, 13). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Daniel: “But go your way to the end.” He said to Him: ‘To which end — to the end of days or to the end of the right hand?’ until He said to him: ‘To the end of the right hand.’

Segment 2ב׳

וְעַל דָּא דָּחִיל דָּוִד, דִּכְתִּיב, (תהילים ל״ט:ה׳) הוֹדִיעֵנִי יְיָ' קִצִּי. אוֹ לְקֵּץ הַיָּמִים, אוֹ לְקֵּץ הַיָּמִין. וְהָכָא מָה כְּתִיב, וַיְהִי מִקֵּץ יָמִים וְלָא מִקֵּץ יָמִין. וּבְגִינֵי כַּךְ לָא אִתְקַבָּל קָרְבָּנֵיהּ דְּהָא מִסִּטְרָא אַחֲרָא הֲוָה כֹּלָּא.

And therefore David was afraid, as it is written: “Lord, let me know my end” (Ps. 39, 5) — whether to the end of days or to the end of the right hand. And here, what is written? “And at the end of days”, and not “at the end of the right hand”. And for that reason his offering was not accepted, for it was all from the other side.

Segment 3ג׳

תָּא חֲזֵי מָה כְּתִיב, (בראשית ד׳:ד׳) וְהֶבֶל הֵבִיא גַּם הוּא. מַאי גַּם הוּא. לְאַסְגָּאָה כֹּלָּא דָּא בְּדָא. קָרְבָּנָא כֹּלָּא וְעִקָרָא דִּילֵיהּ הֲוָה לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, וְיָהִיב חוּלָקֵיהּ לְסִטְרָא אַחֲרָא, כְּמָה דְאַתְּ אָמֵר וּמֵחֶלְבֵיהֶן. וְקַיִן, עִקָּרָא עָבֵד מִקֵּץ יָמִים, וְיָהַב חוּלָקָא לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, וְעַל דָּא אִתְדָחָא אִיהוּ וְקָרְבָּנֵיהּ.

Observe what is written: “And Abel, he also brought” (Gen. 4, 4). What is “he also”? To include all, this with that. The offering as a whole, and the essence of it, was to the Holy One, blessed be He, and he gave its portion to the other side, as it says, “and of their fat”. But Cain made the essence of it “the end of days”, and gave the portion to the Holy One, blessed be He; and therefore he and his offering were rejected.