Brother, where art thou?

My brother recommended I read a study on Cain and Abel by Rabbi David Fohrman. I don't know much about the Rabbi other than he is a scholar who worked as an editor for the Schottenstien Edition of the Talmud and is currently at the Hoffberger Foundation for Torah Studies, Inc. The first three lessons of the study have been quiet good. Rabbi Fohrman asks difficult questions and challenges us to join him.

He begins by asking an unfair question in his mind. "What kind of parent is God when he doesn't accept his child's gift? If your two children brought you a picture each had drawn, would you as a parent say little Debbie's picture was so much better than little Bobby's? Is the Cain and Abel story different some how?" It reminds me of a story RVL tells.

A friend of his walked into a photographer's shop in Safed. "Which picture is your favorite?" she asked. He said, "Are you married?" She said, "Yes, why?". "Do you have children?" "Yes, why?" "Which one is your favorite?"

We all love our children in a unique way. How could God reject not only the gift of his child but also the child himself? "But on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor".

In part II, Rabbi Fohrman says the fallacy in this question is the comparison. With your two children's pictures, you don't compare relative value. Each picture has value in and of itself without an external standard apart from the author. The text clearly states that Abel brought the best of his flock, while Cain just brought something. It's very interesting to note though that Cain brought his offering first! He was the first to offer a gift. And it wasn't his best. Why? For insight into this, the rabbi encourages us to look at the context of the story. Why does the Cain and Abel story appear in this section of the text? (Go do this before continuing...very interesting it is.)

In part III, Rabbi Fohrman highlights the similarities between eating the forbidden fruit and the murder of Abel. God asks "Where are you?". He uses the word "ayeh" for "where" which says something more like "Why are you not here, what is wrong?" In both stories fear is expressed when God arrives. Both Adam and Cain suffer exile. Both will experience difficult farming. But there is a growing intensity with Cain. The results are much more severe. Somehow, the text is connecting the questions faced by Cain--"What offering should I bring?" and "Should I take my brother for a walk in the field?"--back to the garden.

In light of Jesus, I can't help but think of the sermon on the mount and his discussion about murder:

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."

Is there background to the story we don't have? God seems to think so when he tells Cain to "master it", that is the sin that is crouching at his door. Is Jesus is referring to this text? Did Abel have something against Cain? Should Cain have reconciled himself with Abel before coming to God?

Another thing I find strange is the meaning of "Abel". In Hebrew it is pronounced "Hevel" and according to Strong's Dictionary means "vain". I would have expected it to mean something like "pure" or "innocent". Is Abel's name signifcant here?