BEREISHITH 1989

In the Torah portion Bereshis we learn how Cain and Abel brought an offering to G-d.  G-d turned toward the offering of Hevel but He did not turn to Cain and to his offering.  The rabbis explain that He did not turn to Cain and his offering because Cain did not offer from the best of his crop.  He gave the leftovers.  He also gave it begrudgingly.  He did not want to do it.

When it comes to the offering that Hevel brought, it says, "And Hevel brought G-d also himself from the firstborn of his flock."  He brought it willingly and he really wanted to do it.  Therefore, G-d turned to his sacrifice. What this, of course, means is that when we do a mitzvah we should really want to do the mitzvah.  However, this seems to fly into conflict with the principle of Jewish law which says that a person who is commanded to do something is doing something on a higher level than someone who does something because he wants to do it.  

In a certain sense, it looks like there is a big contradiction here.  However, on further analysis you will see that there is no contradiction, because what the Torah is speaking about in the case of Cain and Abel is that after they have decided to give the sacrifice, Cain should have done it with a good face.  He should have done it pleasantly.  

For example, the rabbis say that if a little old lady comes up to a person and asks for a dollar and the man or woman out of the goodness of their heart reaches in and gives that woman a dollar because they want to do it, it is not as high a mitzvah as if a person did not really want to give that woman a dollar but he remembered his tradition and the teachings of his fathers and he still, in spite of the fact that he does not want to do it, reaches into his pocket and gave that old lady a dollar.  Of course, the old lady did not know anything was happening or what was going on in his mind.  To her his giving of the dollar was on the same level as the first person who did it willing and without hesitation, because they both had done it with a good face.  They both had done it without shaming her.  They had both done it with good grace.

That, of course, is what the Torah is talking about here.  Cain did not give his offering with good grace, and, therefore, in that sense his offering was lower than Hevel's, although, thank goodness, he gave something.  We welcome anything.  We are only talking about levels of mitzvah.  The higher mitzvah here was Hevel's because he gave it with good grace.  

It did not mean that he did not have inner struggles whether to give it or not.  After all, sometimes the hardest thing to do is to take the pen and push it down and write that check for charity.  It is so much easier to write it for a new car or for a baseball or a cookie or cake or something you like.  It is sometimes very difficult to get that pen down to do it, but once you decide to give charity you should do it gracefully and should not do it so as to embarrass the person to whom you are giving it to or to do it in a begrudging fashion.  Of course, if this is the only way you can do it, then so be it. Do it that way, but your mitzvah will be less. On bar mitzvahs it is customary to give a gift from the synagogue to the bar mitzvah boy.  

I am reminded of the story they tell about a synagogue where the custom was always to give an umbrella to the bar mitzvah boy and not to give a chumash or siddur or any book of Jewish thoughts.  They once asked the rabbi why this was so, and he said, "Well, I want to give a present to the boy that I am sure he will open more than once." There are so many thing to learn in the Torah that are beneficial to life. I hope that all those who study will realize this and that they will learn Torah not only because they want to, not only because they are commanded to, but because they realize that it teaches them so many things about how to live.