In this week’s parshah we read about the very first murder in the history of the world.
Adam’s two sons, Kayin and Hevel, begin to fight. What could they possibly fight about? After all, the entire world belonged to them! They had everything they could possibly desire.
According to the Midrash, the brothers divided up the entire world, but they both wanted to have the Beit Hamikdash on their property. Despite owning literally the entire world—which is more than even Bill Gates and Warren Buffet combined—they fought over the Temple mount.
Kayin killed his brother Hevel so that he could have the Temple mount.
G-d shouted at Kayin, “Where is your brother, Hevel?”
Kayin famously responded, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
“The bloods of your brother are shouting at me from ground,” said G-d.
Why does it use the plural “bloods” rather than just “blood”? Because Kayin did not yet know how to kill. He punched and kicked Hevel all over, drawing blood from every part of his body, until he finally realized that to kill you need to hurt the victim in the head.
So, the very first murder, ever, a bloody and gruesome murder, was over the Land of Israel.
A wave of terror has hit Israel over the past week. The Temple mount is on lockdown. There is blood everywhere. Jewish blood is being spilled in the North, in the South, in central Israel, everywhere. Jews are being stabbed, shot, stoned, etc. The situation is volatile and extremely dangerous. The entire Israel is on the front line of a war.
And the words we read from the Torah reverberate in our minds: “The bloods of your brother are shouting at me from the ground.”
And indeed, the blood of our brothers and sisters in Israel is screaming. The blood of innocent Israeli civilians in the West bank, Petach Tikvah, Tel Aviv, Yehuda and Shomron, is the blood of our brothers. It is the blood of Eitam and Naama Henkin who were butchered in front of their children. It is the blood of Nahmia Lavi and Aaron Bennet who were murdered in the Old City. Their blood, and the blood of all the other victims, is bellowing at us, desperately trying to be heard.
Make no mistake, the violence is in Israel, but the venom and hatred is for Jews worldwide.
Kayin asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The answer is a resounding “yes!” It is our absolute, sacred responsibility to do everything in our power to help our brothers and sisters in Israel.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, taught us how we can help, even from the other side of the world. How? By doing a mitzvah, then another and another. Every single mitzvah we do helps ensure Israel’s security. When we keep kosher, wear tefillin, pray, light Shabbat candles or say a blessing, we are helping Israel.
We may not be able to fight physically, but we can fight spiritually. The very least we can do is some extra mitzvoth for the safety and security of the citizens and soldiers of our homeland. Give some extra money to charity, put up a mezuzah on your door, reach out to someone in need…
Stop whatever you’re doing right now, and do a mitzvah for Israel. We ARE our brothers’ keepers!