Genesis 4:1-15: Cain and Abel and Ambrose’s commentary
We have seen in the preceding passages of the book of Genesis, that everything was offered to the human nature, the abundance of divine immortal life, but the human being turned away from it. Now are described the consequences of his actions, represented by the reo sons who are the fruit of our deeds. Here, then, are the attitudes of the human soul and the result of these attitudes represented by the sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel.
The whole of humanity is represented in Adam and Eve, and the consequences of their actions are reflected in the two attitudes of their sons, Cain and Abel. Living the bond of trust in thanksgiving is the attitude of Abel, who welcomes God’s abundant gift into his life. Cain, who does not live in a relationship of gratitude and trust, does not taste the joy of brotherly love. He says that he is not his brother’s keeper and struggles with the work of the land. “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever detaches himself from his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). His relationship with God and with life is a commercial one, without gratuitousness or trust. What he offers to God is given in order to buy his favor; he does not believe in his fatherly benevolence. The name Cain, as the biblical text itself explains, means acquisition. He appropriates life for himself, refusing to share, because there is no sharing for the one who believes he is deprived of the essentials. And yet, as in the parable of the Gospel, the father is the one who says to his son: “You, my child, are always with me, and everything I have is yours” (Luke 15:31). But the one who lives in a commercial relationship with others prefers to buy the lamb himself, with his money and the toil of his labor, in order to celebrate with his friends. (See Luke 15:11-32, The Prodigal Son.)
According to the commentaries of the Church Fathers (see Ambrose’s commentary below), the story of Adam and Eve and their children tells us about the condition of the human soul, its doubt about God, and the consequences of its choices. We also see God’s attitude in front of human errors: he does not abandon human beings, but comes to their aid and protects them. Thus, he sees the hardship that awaits Adam and Eve after they have separated and denounced each other, and he himself sews them garments of skin to hide their shame and bring them back together. Similarly, when Cain killed Abel and was afraid of those who demanded blood money for Abel’s life, God put a mark on him to protect him, waiting for the sinner to return to life.
Thus, God commands the prophet Ezekiel several times to announce to his people (Ezekiel 33:11):
אֱמֹ֨ר אֲלֵיהֶ֜ם חַי־אָ֣נִי ׀ נְאֻ֣ם ׀ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֗ה אִם־אֶחְפֹּץ֙ בְּמֹ֣ות הָרָשָׁ֔ע כִּ֣י אִם־בְּשׁ֥וּב רָשָׁ֛ע מִדַּרְכֹּ֖ו וְחָיָ֑ה שׁ֣וּבוּ שׁ֜וּב
“You shall say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.”
God’s entire work is to lead us to taste the joy of heaven, that is, the joy that comes from the perfect exchange of love. The image that the apostles give of this harmony is that of the human body and its members, all working together for the common good. (See The Kingdom of Heaven, Members of the Same Body.)
And St. Augustine also tells us that God’s work is to lead us to full likeness to him, that is, to that perfect unity in love of which Jesus thus speaks: “Be one, as I and my Father are one.” (See Augustine on image and likeness)
Genesis 4:1-15
וְהָ֣אָדָ֔ם יָדַ֖ע אֶת־חַוָּ֣ה אִשְׁתֹּ֑ו וַתַּ֙הַר֙ וַתֵּ֣לֶד אֶת־קַ֔יִן וַתֹּ֕אמֶר קָנִ֥יתִי אִ֖ישׁ אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃
1 The man knew Eve his woman and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man with the Lord!”
וַתֹּ֣סֶף לָלֶ֔דֶת אֶת־אָחִ֖יו אֶת־הָ֑בֶל וַֽיְהִיהֶ֙בֶל֙ רֹ֣עֵה צֹ֔אן וְקַ֕יִן הָיָ֖ה עֹבֵ֥ד אֲדָמָֽה׃
2 And she added giving birth to his brother Abel, and Abel became a shepherd of sheep, and Cain worker of the soil (adamah).
וַֽיְהִ֖י מִקֵּ֣ץ יָמִ֑ים וַיָּבֵ֨א קַ֜יִן מִפְּרִ֧י הָֽאֲדָמָ֛ה מִנְחָ֖ה לַֽיהוָֽה׃
3 At the end of the days, Cain brought fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.
וְהֶ֨בֶל הֵבִ֥יא גַם־ה֛וּא מִבְּכֹרֹ֥ות צֹאנֹ֖ו וּמֵֽחֶלְבֵהֶ֑ן וַיִּ֣שַׁע יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־הֶ֖בֶל וְאֶל־מִנְחָתֹֽו׃
4 And Abel also brought the firstlings of his flock and of their fat, and the Lord looked upon Abel and his offering,
וְאֶל־קַ֥יִן וְאֶל־מִנְחָתֹ֖ו לֹ֣א שָׁעָ֑ה וַיִּ֤חַר לְקַ֙יִן֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ פָּנָֽיו׃
5 But toward Cain and his offering He did not look, and Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־קָ֑יִן לָ֚מָּה חָ֣רָה לָ֔ךְ וְלָ֖מָּה נָפְל֥וּ פָנֶֽיךָ׃
6 And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
הֲלֹ֤וא אִם־תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת וְאִם֙ לֹ֣א תֵיטִ֔יב לַפֶּ֖תַח חַטָּ֣את רֹבֵ֑ץ וְאֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֹ֔ו וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּמְשָׁל־בֹּֽו׃
7 Is it not that if you do good, you will rise, and if you do not act well, sin is at bottom of the door, and its desire is directed toward you, and you will rule over it?
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר קַ֖יִן אֶל־הֶ֣בֶל אָחִ֑יו וַֽיְהִי֙ בִּהְיֹותָ֣ם בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה וַיָּ֥קָם קַ֛יִן אֶל־הֶ֥בֶל אָחִ֖יו וַיַּהַרְגֵֽהוּ׃
8 And Cain spoke to his brother Abel, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־קַ֔יִן אֵ֖י הֶ֣בֶל אָחִ֑יךָ וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ לֹ֣א יָדַ֔עְתִּי הֲשֹׁמֵ֥ר אָחִ֖י אָנֹֽכִי׃
9 The Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר מֶ֣ה עָשִׂ֑יתָ קֹ֚ול דְּמֵ֣י אָחִ֔יךָ צֹעֲקִ֥ים אֵלַ֖י מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָֽה׃
10 And he said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil.
וְעַתָּ֖ה אָר֣וּר אָ֑תָּה מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר פָּצְתָ֣ה אֶת־פִּ֔יהָ לָקַ֛חַת אֶת־דְּמֵ֥י אָחִ֖יךָ מִיָּדֶֽךָ׃
11 Now be cursed from the soil, which has opened its mouth to take your brother’s blood from your hand.
כִּ֤י תַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה לֹֽא־תֹסֵ֥ף תֵּת־כֹּחָ֖הּ לָ֑ךְ נָ֥ע וָנָ֖ד תִּֽהְיֶ֥ה בָאָֽרֶץ׃
12 For you will work the soil, but it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be unstable and you will wander on the earth.”
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר קַ֖יִן אֶל־יְהוָ֑ה גָּדֹ֥ול עֲוֹנִ֖י מִנְּשֹֽׂא׃
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!
הֵן֩ גֵּרַ֨שְׁתָּ אֹתִ֜י הַיֹּ֗ום מֵעַל֙ פְּנֵ֣י הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה וּמִפָּנֶ֖יךָ אֶסָּתֵ֑ר וְהָיִ֜יתִי נָ֤ע וָנָד֙ בָּאָ֔רֶץ וְהָיָ֥ה כָל־מֹצְאִ֖י יַֽהַרְגֵֽנִי׃
14 Behold, today you have driven me away from the surface of the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face, and I shall be unstable and wandering on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר לֹ֣ו יְהוָ֗ה לָכֵן֙ כָּל־הֹרֵ֣ג קַ֔יִן שִׁבְעָתַ֖יִם יֻקָּ֑ם וַיָּ֨שֶׂם יְהוָ֤ה לְקַ֙יִן֙ אֹ֔ות לְבִלְתִּ֥י הַכֹּות־אֹתֹ֖ו כָּל־מֹצְאֹֽו׃
15 The Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain will be avenged seven times.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain so that whoever found him would not strike him.
Indeed, God commands the prophet Ezekiel several times to announce to his people (Ezekiel 33:11): “You shall say to them: As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn away from their behavior and live.” According to these commentaries by the Church Fathers, the story of Adam and Eve and their children tells us about the condition of the human soul, its doubt about God, and the consequences of its choices. We also see God’s attitude, who, faced with human errors, does not abandon human beings, but comes to their aid and protects them. Thus, he sees the hardship that awaits Adam and Eve after they have separated and denounced each other, and he himself sews them garments of skin to hide their shame and bring them back to each other. Similarly, when Cain killed Abel and was afraid of those who demand the price of blood for Abel’s life, God put a mark on him to protect him, waiting for the sinner to return to life. God’s entire work is to lead us to taste the joy of heaven, that is, the joy that comes from the perfect exchange of love. The image that the apostles give of this harmony is that of the human body and its members, all working together for the common good. (See The Kingdom of Heaven, Members of the Same Body.)
Ambrose of Milan: On Cain and Abel 1:2-4
Adam autem cognouit Euam mulierem suam, quae concepit et peperit Cain et dixit:
Adam, however, knew his wife Eve, who conceived and bore Cain and said:
adquisiui hominem per deum. quae adquirimus ex quo et a quo et per quid adquiramus considerari solet, ex quo tamquam ex materia, a quo quis auctor, per quid tamquam per aliquod instrumentum.
I acquired a man through God. It is customary to consider the origin of what we have acquired: from what, considering the material; from whom, considering the author; and by what, considering the means by which we acquired it.
numquid hic sic dicit: adquisiui hominem per deum, ut deum intellegas instrumentum?
Did she say here: I acquired a man through God, so that you might understand that God was the instrument?
non utique, sed ut intellegas auctorem et operatorem deum.
No, certainly not, but so that you may understand that God was the author who brought this about.
unde deo magis detulit, quia dixit: adquisiui hominem per deum, ut et nos, cum aliquid adquirimus, uel omnes euentus secundos deo magis deferre quam nobis adrogare debemus.
That is why she attributed the greater part to God, since she said: I have acquired a man through God, so that we too, when we have acquired something, or in any fortunate circumstance, should attribute this more to God than to ourselves.
et adiecit parere Abel. cum adicitur aliquid, quod prius erat tollitur. idque colligitur ex arithmeticae portionibus aut animae cogitationibus; addito enim numero fit alius numerus, aboletur superior et cogitatio accedens noua excludit superiorem.
“And she added the birth of Abel” (Genesis 4:2). When something is added, what was there before is removed. This can be concluded from the numbers that are added in arithmetic or from the thoughts of the soul; for when a number is added, another number is obtained, the previous number is erased, and when a new thought arises, the previous one is cast out.
ergo cum adicitur Abel, aufertur Cain. quod nominum interpretatione plenius deprehenditur. Cain etenim dictus est adquisitio, quod omnia sibi adquireret, Abel qui omnia referret ad deum pia deuotus mentis adtentione, nihil sibi adrogans ut superior frater, sed totum tribuens conditori quod accepisset ab eo.
Therefore, when Abel is added, Cain is removed. This can be understood even more fully through the interpretation of the names. As has been said, Cain is acquisition, because he acquires everything for himself. Abel, who , refers everything to God by the attention of his devout mind, attributing nothing to himself, like his brother, but attributing to the creator everything he receives from him.
Duae itaque sectae sunt sub duorum fratrum nomine conpugnantes inuicem et contrariae sibi, una quae totum menti suae deputat tamquam principali et quasi cuidam cogitationis et sensus et motus omnis auctori, hoc est quae omnes inuentiones humano adscribit ingenio, altera quae tamquam operatori et creatori omnium deo defert et eius tamquam parentis atque rectoris subdit omnia gubernaculo.
According to this, under the name of the two brothers, there are two opposing attitudes that fight each other: one that attributes everything to its own mind as the principal author of all thought, meaning, and movement; this is the attitude that attributes everything it finds to the human intellect. The other is the attitude that attributes everything to God as the creator and operator of all things and subjects everything to his governance as to a parent and guide.
illa prior Cain significatur, haec posterior Abel dicitur. has duas sectas anima una parturit et ideo germanae habentur, quod uno fundantur utero, sed contrariae sunt, quia oportet eas, cum quodam animae partu editae fuerint, diuidi ac separari; conpugnantibus enim hospitium esse unum perpetuo non potest.
The first signifies Cain, the second describes Abel. A single soul gave birth to these two attitudes, which are therefore considered to be from the same parent, since they were formed in a single womb, but they are opposites, so they will be divided and separated, even though they were born from a certain birth of the soul; indeed, two who are in conflict cannot have the same dwelling place forever.
denique Rebecca, cum duas naturas humani ingenii parturiret, unam mali alteram boni, easque exilire intra uterum sentiret suum — Esau enim typus erat malitiae, Iacob figuram bonitatis gerebat —, mirata quid illud esset quod discordiam quandam concepti cerneret fetus, consuluit deum, ut passionem proderet, medellam daret.
And so, Rebecca, being about to give birth to the two natures of the human intellect, one of evil and the other of good, which she felt leaping in her womb — for Esau represented malice, Jacob personified the figure of goodness — observing what this kind of discord might be that she discerned in the fetus she had conceived, she consulted God, so that he might reveal the symptom and give a remedy.
itaque precanti est responsum editum : duae gentes in utero tuo sunt et duo populi de uentre tuo exibunt. quod si ad animam referas, eandem generatricem boni et mali intelleges, quia ex quodam fonte animae utrumque demanat, sed hoc sobrii solet esse iudicii, ut repudiato malo uelut enutriat quod bonum est atque confirmet.
Thus a response was given: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will come out from your body” (Genesis 25:23). If you apply this to the soul, you will understand that the same [soul] generates both good and evil, since both descend from the same source of the soul, but this is the characteristic of a clear judgment: to reject evil in order to nourish and strengthen what is good.
prius ergo quam pariat bonum, hoc est reuerentiam deo debitam, ut ipsi totum deferat, sua praefert; cum uero genuerit confessionem, quae defertur deo, deponit sui cordis tumorem. adiciens ergo deus bonum animae dogma Abel abstulit inprobum dogma Cain.
Therefore, before giving birth to good, which consists in venerating God by attributing everything to him, the soul puts forward its own goods; when it has then produced the declaration that all this must be attributed to God, it is then that it abandons the tumor that swelled its heart [with pride]. God, therefore, by adding Abel, who is the good declaration of the soul, removed Cain, who is the blameworthy declaration.
Here are two excerpts from the commentary Kli Yaqar, the precious tool, on the two attitudes represented by Cain and Abel, whose names mean Acquisition and Vanity. The commentator explains the word vanity in the sense in which it is used in the book of Ecclesiastes 1:2, which says that everything is but wind, air, and vanity of vanities. The root of the name Abel means breath of air, emptiness, hence the translation of vanity in the sense of something that has no consistency, which describes Abel’s view of earthly goods that are carried away by the wind and time, without attaching his heart to them because he places his hope in eternal life.
Kli Yakar, a work by Salomon Ephraim de Luntschitz (1550 Łęczyca, Poland – 1619 Prague) on Genesis 4:3.
ויהי מקץ ימים ויבא קין מפרי האדמה מנחה לה’. לא פורש במקרא מהו מקץ ימים ואימתי התחילו אותן הימים אשר עליהם בא הקץ ונראה לומר על צד הרמז כי קין והבל היו חלוקים בשלימות האדם מה הוא. אם העולם הזה והצלחותיו סוף שלימות האדם ואין שלימות אחריו, או אם יש עוד עולם אחר נצחי וכפי הנראה שקין היה אוהב אדמה סבר שאין חשבון בשאול והעולם הזה אינו משאיר אחריו מאומה על כן בחר לו לחלקו כל חמדות העולם הזה והצלחותיו בחשבו כי יתרון ארץ בכל היא. והבל סבר כי יש עוד עולם אחר נצחי אשר בו ישיג האדם התכלית האחרון על כן בחר לו להיות רועה צאן הגורם ההתבודדות כדרך שעשו הרבה נביאים כמשה ודוד וזולתם וכדי להקריב מהם קרבן לה’.
From the limit of the days, Cain brought fruits of the ground as an offering to the Lord. The scripture does not explain what is meant by “from the limit of the days” and when these days, for which there is a limit, began. It seems to say in a symbolic sense that Cain and Abel were divided on what the fulfillment of man is. Either the world and its successes are the end of fulfillment and there is no fulfillment [to be achieved] after this world, or there is yet another eternal world. Apparently, Cain loved the earth and believed that there were no accounts to be gives in the world of the dead and that this world leaves nothing behind. That is why he chose for himself all the pleasures of this world and the successes that come with it, for in all this lies the advantage of the earth. And Abel considered that there is another eternal world in which man achieves the ultimate goal. That is why he chose to be a shepherd, which involves isolation, as did the path followed by many prophets, such as Moses, David, and others, in order to offer [from the livestock] a sacrifice to the Lord.
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כך העושה העה״ז עיקר אין לו ממנו כי אם מלא כף נחת המושג ממלא חפנים עמל ורעות רוח ואינו משתמש בהם כי אם משך זמן גרותו בעה״ז זה שבתו בבית מעט כגר וכאורח נטה ללון ומאומה לא יוליך עמו אל העולם הנצחי כי שם ביתו וזהו דעת קין וחביריו אוהבי קניני הזמן. והבל הוא המהביל כל קניני הזמן כי מוסר הבלים המה, בחר לו במטלטלין וזהו קיום מצות הש״י שהאדם יכול לטלטל עמו מן המקום אשר הוא עומד בו כאורח וכגר אל המקום אשר הוא שם תושב ואזרח כי בית יעשה לו שם.
Thus, for the one who makes this world his essential point, he derives only a handful of pleasure from it, obtained through the labor of his hands and the wickedness of his mind, and he uses it only for the duration of his stay in this world, while he is established for a short time in the house as a stranger and as a passerby who pitches his tent for one night and who will take nothing with him into the eternal world because his home is there. Such is the opinion of Cain and his companions who love temporal acquisitions [qinyan acquisition from the same root as the word Qayin]. And Hevel (Abel) is the one who considers all temporal acquisitions to be vain [mahbil, the one who makes vain, like air; this factitive participle is from the same root as Hevel, air, breath, vanity], which are understood to be vanities [havelim, things that are insubstantial, volatile, like the wind]. He has chosen for himself movable property [that can be taken with him], consisting of the observance of the commandments of the Lord, may He be blessed, which man can take with him from the place where he is as a passer-by and a stranger to the place where he will settle and of which he will be a citizen since he will make his home there.
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וישע ה’ אל הבל ואל מנחתו ר״ל אל הבל כי כוונתו היתה רצויה אליו ית’ ואל מנחתו כי גם המעשה רצוי. ודבר זה מפורש בתחלת הקרבנות שנאמר (ויקרא א ב) אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לה’. כשירצה להקריב קרבן שיהיה מקובל לה’ אז יעשה כמו שעשה הבל שהביא מבכורות צאנו ומחלביהן כן יביא גם הוא מן הבהמה מן הבקר ומן הצאן וגו’ דהיינו בכורות צאנו. ומה שאמר תקריבו את קרבנכם היינו מחלביהן ר״ל החלק המובחר שאתה בוחר לך לצורך מאכלך כי בלי ספק שתבחר לעצמך כל ירק טוב כתף ונתח, זהו נקרא קרבנכם שאתה מקריב אליך וחפץ בו ואותו חלק המובחר תקריב לגבוה.
And the Lord looked upon Abel and his offering. That is, upon Hevel, for his intention was according to his will, and upon his offering, for his act was also according to the will of the Lord. This is explained at the beginning of the passage on sacrifices, as it is said in the Book of Leviticus 1:2: “When any of you brings an offering to the Lord…” that is, when he wants to bring an offering that will be favorably received by the Lord, then he will do as Hevel did, who brought the firstborn of his flock and their fat parts, he too will bring cattle, oxen, and sheep, etc., which are the firstborn of his flock. And when it says, “you shall bring your offering” (Leviticus 1:2), that is, of their fat parts, it means the chosen part, the part that you choose for yourself as necessary for your food, for there is no doubt that you will choose for yourself every good piece of thigh or shoulder; this is what is called “your offering,” what you present to yourself and in which you take pleasure, and it is this same chosen part that you present to the Most High.
Kli Yakar, a work by Salomon Ephraim de Luntschitz (1550 Łęczyca, Poland – 1619 Prague) on Genesis 4:7
דבר אחר לפי שאמרו רז״ל (ברכות ה) לעולם ירגיז אדם יצ״ט על יצה״ר כו’, אי אזיל מוטב אי לא יזכור לו יום המיתה ואז ודאי אזיל. ז״ש אם תטיב לגרש את היצה״ר שאז ישא ה’ את פניך ויקבלך בתשובה. ואם לא תטיב שלא אזיל היצה״ר עוד טומאתו בו אז לפתח חטאת רובץ ר״ל תזכיר לו יום המיתה כאילו פתח קברך פתוח לפניו ואז ירבץ תחת משאו החטאת דהיינו היצה״ר המחטיאך ואע״פ שאליך תשוקתו מ״מ אתה תמשול בו.
Our masters, may the memory of them be for their blessing, also said this (Berakot 5): “Always let man stimulate the good inclination (yetser tov) against the evil inclination (yetser hara‘), etc.” If the evil inclination leaves him, that is preferable; if not, remind him of the day of death, and then he will certainly leave it. This is what is written: “If you do good…” by repelling the evil inclination, then God will lift up your face and welcome you when you return to Him. But if you do not do good and the evil inclination does not leave you with its impurity, then sin is at the bottom of your door, that is, remind him of the day of death, as if the door of your tomb were open before him, then he will be lowered under his burden, sin, that is, the inclination to evil, which causes you to do evil, even if his desire is for you, you will dominate him anyway.
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כאמרו רז״ל (שבת קד.) הבא לטמא פותחין לו ויש גורסין פתחים לו ר״ל פותח פתח אל היצה״ר שימצא מקום ליכנס דרך אותה פרצה ולהרחיבה עד עלות מכתו לאין מרפא. המשל בזה המוצא פתח סגור מכל וכל קשה לו לפותחה והמוצא הפתח קצת פתוחה נקל לו להרחיב הפתיחה עד אשר יעשה כמו שער בנפשו שהכל נכנסין בו בנקל וזה משל צודק על היצה״ר.
As our masters, may the memory of them be for their blessing, said (Shabbat 104): “He who goes toward impurity, it will be open to him,” according to other versions: “doors [are opened] for him.” He who opens the door to evil inclination, that is to say, the evil inclination finds a place to enter through it, a breach, and it will widen it until it strikes its blow and there will be no remedy. An example of this is someone who finds a door closed on all sides, difficult for him to open, while someone who finds the door slightly open finds it easy to widen the opening until it becomes like the door of his soul through which all can easily enter. Such is the true example of evil inclination.
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וזה שאמר לפתח חטאת רובץ. כי היצר הרע שנקרא חטאת במקום שהוא מוצא פתח פתוח לחטאת שם ירבץ ויכנס דרך אותו פתח. ואל תאמר שאין חשקו כי אם אל פתח לבדו אלא אליך תשוקתו שכל תשוקתו לילך מכאן ולהלן אליך ממש להדיחך מעל ה’, אמנם כל זמן היותו בפתח עינים דהיינו בתחילת בואו אליך אתה תמשל בו על דרך שפירשתי למעלה בפסוק הוא ישופך ראש. אבל אם כבר עבר מן הפתח רצה לומר הפרצה הקטנה ועבר כבר אליך ממש להדיח כל עצמותך מעל ה’ ואז יהיה קשה עליך למשול בו לפיכך החכם עיניו בראשו שלא ליתן לו מקום ליכנס כלל וכלל וזה פירוש יקר.
And what he says: Sin stands at the bottom of the door. Since the evil inclination, which is called sin, stands where there is an open door to sin, that is where it stands to enter through that door. And you will not say that his desire is only for the door, but his desire is for you, because his whole desire is to go from there to you in reality to turn you away from the Lord. Although, as long as he is at the entrance of your eyes, that is, at the beginning of his coming to you,, you will dominate him, as I explained above regarding the verse in Genesis 3:15: “He will crush your head.” But if he has already passed through the door, it means that he has passed through the small breach and has already come to you in reality to turn you away entirely from the Lord, and then it will be difficult for you to dominate him , which is why “the wise man has his eyes in his head” so as not to leave him any room to enter in any way, and this explanation is valuable.