This week’s parsha contains the famous quarrel between Kayin and Hevel. They each brought offerings to Hashem. Kayin’s offering was rejected and Hevel’s was accepted. Kayin, out of jealousy, approached Hevel and killed him. This is the simple narration.
Chazal teach that Hevel was the stronger of the two brothers. When Kayin attacked him, Hevel defended himself and was about to kill Kayin in self-defense. Kayin looked up at his brother, who was then on top of him and said, “Hevel, how can you kill me? It is going to destroy our father. Have mercy upon me; have mercy upon him.” Hevel agreed. He released Kayin. Kayin then arose and killed Hevel.
This Medrashic elaboration of the story certainly magnifies Kayin’s crime. It is bad enough to kill one’s brother, but to do so after he found himself at his brother’s mercy and his brother allowed him to escape is worse than murder. It is perfidy. It is a traitorous act which greatly compounds the crime of killing one’s brother.
Chazal further tell us that Hevel (who was a shepherd) had a dog. Following Kayin’s murder of his brother, the Almighty told Kayin to take his dead brother’s sheep dog and have it accompany him wherever he went. It was as if to say that G-d told Kayin: “I want you to learn from a dog.” As the popular saying goes, a dog is a man’s best friend. Dogs exhibit tremendous loyalty to their masters. A dog understands “An ox knows his owner and a donkey his master’s trough...” (Yeshaya 1:3 That is why people have dogs.
Sometimes, a person will turn against their spouse. Sometimes a child will turn against their own parent. But a dog always remains loyal. He will never turn on his owner. A person can come home from the office and find the children and wife all complaining, but the dog is always happy to see you! Dogs provide unconditional loyalty.
This is what Hashem told Kayin. ‘What you did was so treacherous! Killing your brother after you played to his heartstrings and he released you from his grip! This is inexcusable! I want you to learn proper loyalty etiquette from the dog.’
Bob Woodward was CEO of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia for some 30 years. He had no children, but he had a dog. When the dog died, Mr. Woodward put up a tombstone for his dog with the epitaph, “Loyal to the end.”
Regarding how many people can it be written on their tombstone “Loyal to the end?” This is the lesson that the Almighty wanted Kayin to hear: The dog is loyal. You are not loyal. Hashem rewards loyalty. He detests disloyalty. That is why Kayin had to walk around for the rest of his life with Hevel’s dog. (R’ Frand)
