Cain and Abel as Gladiators
R. Simeon bar Yoḥai says: It is a difficult thing [even] to say and [almost] impossible for the mouth to speak it explicitly. [The story of Cain and Abel is comparable] to two gladiators who are jousting. If the king wishes, he separates them. If the king does not wish to separate them, one prevails and kills his fellow gladiator. The [dying] fellow says, “Who will demand my judgment from the king [who did not separate us?]—So too the blood of your brother calls to Me from the ground (Genesis 4:10).
Translated by Marc Hirshman.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.
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In this midrash, the rabbis respond to the biblical story of the first murder. They wonder how such a thing could have happened and answer with a parable that holds God responsible for both the murder and its requital.
