but on Kayin and his offering, He did not look favorably. Kayin was very angry and his face fell. Hashem said to Kayin, "Why are you angry and why has your face fallen? If you improve, will you not be uplifted? But if you do not improve, sin is lying at the entrance; for you it lusts, but you may rule over it."
Anger is a sign of arrogance, and a fallen face is a sign of a person’s humility and lack of self-esteem. Kayin had both traits. First, he held himself greater than his brother with the fact that he was the first to bring Korbanos to Hashem. But when Hashem did not accept his Korban, his face fell and he felt denigrated.
But the Ohr Hachaim offers a deeper explanation. When a person gets angry, the Zohar teaches, he loses his Tzelem Elokim – his G-dly form. A person was created in Hashem’s form, but when he allows himself to get angry, he is disconnected from it. The possuk now means - דֹאְמ ןִׁיַקְל רַח יַו – and Kayin grew exceedingly angry – and as a result - ויָנָפ וּלְפ יַו – his face fell. His true face, which is his Tzelem Elokim, fell away from him.
Hashem asked him, why did he get angry. What was not obvious about his anger? Kayin suffered the ultimate ignominy, when Hashem Himself rejected his offering. Why would he not be angry? Additionally, what was Hashem’s solution to him? If he does Teshuva, he may change the future. But his past embarrassment will not disappear. What was the consolation he was being offered?
The Ohr Hachaim explains that Hashem was telling Kayin that He was well aware of the contradictory feelings that overwhelmed him, as explained above. He told him that the reason for these two feelings was that he had a choice between good and the opposite. If he acts correctly and improves, he will turn over to the good side. Then, all of his actions will be considered good, and will be uplifted by their connection to Kayin. This is the meaning of the possuk If you improve, you will be uplifted. Everything you do will be uplifted. Both his Korban and his face will be uplifted and he will own his own Tzelem Elokim. Both of his complaints will disappear.
But if you do not improve – this means that he does not appreciate the idea that he could be converted to the good side. If he convinces himself that he would not be able to improve himself, he will stay attached to the evil side, and sin is lying at the entrance, hovering over him to keep him trapped in the clutches of the impure forces. He will not be able to uplift himself and he will stay angry, with no Tzelem Elokim.
The Mussar shmuess of Hashem does not end there. He told Kayin that although וְאֵלֶיךָ תְשוּקָתוֹ – the Yetzer Hara lusts after a person to entrap him, a person can still וְאַתָה תִׁמְשׇל בוֹ – rule over it. As long as a person keeps this in mind, he does not need to lose his face, and he does not need to feel broken. His anger will disappear, and his Tzelem Elokim will return. All depends on this mood of his, that is under his control.
