Cain’s Prayer

b. Sanhedrin 101b

220–600

Three approached [God] with insidiousness: Cain, Esau, and Manasseh. Cain, as it is written, Is my sin too great to bear? (Genesis 4:13). He said before God:

“Master of the universe!

Is my sin greater than that of the six hundred thousand who are destined to sin before You [with the golden calf]—yet them you will forgive?!”

Translated byRichard S. Sarason.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

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After killing his brother, Abel, and being cursed by God to wander the earth, Cain says that his punishment is too great to bear and that anyone who finds him will kill him (Genesis 4–14). In response, God gives Cain a mark of protection (4:15). In the Babylonian Talmud’s retelling of Cain’s plea, Cain appeals to God’s future forgiveness of Israel after the sin of the golden calf, arguing that his sin cannot be greater than theirs.

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