The Unethical Life? Lesson #2: Crime and Punishment?

Just as with regard to a potential murderer the halakha is that if one is being forced to murder someone else, he should allow himself to be killed and not transgress that prohibition, so too, with regard to a betrothed young woman the halakha is that she should allow herself to be killed and not transgress the prohibition of forbidden relations. The Gemara asks: And from where do we derive this halakha with regard to murder itself? The Gemara answers: It is based on logical reasoning that one life is not preferable to another. The Gemara relates an incident to demonstrate this: This is similar to a certain man who came before Rava and said to him: A local official said to me: Go kill so-and-so, and if not I will kill you. Rava said to him: It is preferable that he should kill you and you should not kill. What did you think, that your blood is redder and more precious than his? Perhaps that man’s blood is redder. Apparently, one may not save his own life by taking someone else’s.

I didn't know...am I my brother's keeper: He did not answer, "Am I Abel's guardian?" rather "Am I my brother's guardian?" - meaning, "I didn't know I was my brother's guardian and I am therefore obligated over him to guard him like a brother who will not be harmed nor killed. And I thought I had authority over him and he is like a servant, and I do not have to maintain friendliness to him."

It is a great wonder how Cain could say "I don't know". Did he make a mistake in this [as if] to say [to himself] 'God will not see what is happening here on earth.' If so, why did he make an offering [to God in the first place]? It seems to me Cain definitely did know God asked him about killing his brother, and he answered 'I don't know, am I my brother's keeper?' That is to say, 'I didn't know that this [the murder] was a sin...'I didn't know if I was obliged to protect my brother's head that he should not be killed by my hand.'...God responded, 'How could you not know? It is a logical mitzvah (muskelet) and this is what it means 'your brother's blood cries to me from the ground', the intellect obligates [us] to keep this mitzvah even if it wasn't commanded, for if we were to forgo it, each person and his neighbor would be swallowed up.'

(1) 'ויאמר ה, the reason G’d spoke to him now was only in order to show him that he could not hide his deed from G’d, and that whatever man does, or even plans to do is fully known to Him. Kayin had thought that by burying Hevel he could hide his deed from G’d, just as he had been able to hide it from his father. This is why he had killed Hevel in the field where there had not been any witnesses. The additional reason why G’d addressed him was to inform him of his impending punishment. The reason that G’d phrased His remarks as if He questioned him, saying: אי הבל אחיך, was only an opening line, just as He had asked Adam in 3,9 איכה, “where are you?,” knowing full well where Adam was hiding. He also had asked Moses in Exodus 4,2 מזה בידך, “what is this in your hand?,” knowing full well that Moses held a staff in his hand. There are more such examples of a question by G’d being for purposes other than to obtain information not at His disposal. Seeing, however, that He had not said to Kayin: “why did you kill your brother?” Kayin thought that G’d was not yet aware of Hevel being dead. He denied all knowledge, saying: לא ידעתי, השומר אחי אנכי, claiming that Hevel had gone about his work just as he, Kayin, had gone about his work.. He added, gratuitously, that he could not be expected to know the whereabouts of his brother all the time, seeing he had not been hired to be his keeper. He acted far worse than his father at the time, as Adam had never denied that he had done wrong. He had only made excuses for himself. Adam was well aware that G’d was well informed about all such matters, and that even though He had commenced the conversation with a question, it was not because He had not known the answer.

And the Torah said: If one comes to kill you, kill him first.