Chapter I

כה אמר ה׳ אלקים הנה אני פתח את קברותיכם
והעלתי אתכם מקברותיכם עמי והבאתי אתכם
אל אדמת ישראל

"Thus says the L-rd, G‑d: Behold, My nation, I shall open your graves and lift you out of your graves and bring you to Eretz Yisroel."1

G‑d addresses the last exile through the prophet Yechezkel. His words are directed to those Jews who undergo torments and are afflicted with doubts in the belief of the Redemption. G‑d assures them that He will redeem them.

Not only those living during the latter days will merit redemption through Moshiach; those who have already died will merit redemption as well. This is true not only of those who merited interment in Eretz Yisroel, but also of those who died in the Diaspora. They too shall be revived and brought to Eretz Yisroel.

Let us better understand this matter as it applies to our spiritual service.

Adam and Chava were created by G‑d's own hands.2 The first people to be born were their children: the firstborn son, Kayin, the second son, Hevel, and the third, Sheis.3 Their remaining sons and daughters4 are not mentioned by name. The Torah tells us why Kayin and Sheis were so named, but does not do so regarding Hevel. The name Kayin denotes acquisition "I have acquired a man with [the help of] G‑d."5 Sheis was so named because Sheis means "giving"; G‑d gave Adam and Chava another child in place of Hevel, who was killed by Kayin.6

When the Torah tells about Kayin's naming, G‑d's Ineffable name Havayah is used, while in the section relating why Sheis was so named, mention is made of the Divine name Elokim.

It is common knowledge that the names Havayah and Elokim denote G‑d's attributes of mercy7 and stern justice respectively. That the quality of mercy is denoted by Havayah is alluded to in the verse:8 "Havayah, remember Your mercies and Your kindnesses, for they have existed for all time."

The quality of mercy is even greater than kindness,9 which extends only to those who are deserving. The quality of mercy is extended to all; through it, even the unworthy have their needs provided for.

We must understand why, with regard to the name Kayin, meaning "acquisition," the Divine name Havayah is used, while concerning Sheis, which denotes giving and replacing, the Divine name Elokim is mentioned, indicative of severity and contraction.

In summary: Only three of the many children born to Adam and Chava are mentioned in the Torah by name: Kayin, Hevel and Sheis. The Torah gives the reasons for the names of the first and third children. In the narrative relating the reasons for the names Kayin and Sheis, the Divine names Havayah and Elokim are mentioned respectively.

Chapter II

Commentators10 note that Kayin is symbolic of evil and Hevel is symbolic of good. Accordingly, we must say that with regard to man's spiritual service, Kayin, Hevel and Sheis represent the tzaddik (the righteous person), the rasha (the wicked person), and the baal teshuvah (the penitent).

Kayin was a rasha. He refused to believe in the resurrection of the dead,11 and maintained that only this physical world existed. He refused to acknowledge the existence of the spiritual world of Olam HaBa the World to Come. Kayin had no desire to ponder the true purpose of G‑d's creation of man, and towards what goals man should strive. He immersed himself in physical matters, and devoted his whole being to the pursuit of material affairs. In his eyes, the sole purpose of G‑d's creation was to enable him to gratify his corporeal desires, which he did with great vigor. Living this lifestyle gave rise to Kayin's evil and selfish traits. All was meant for him. He must eat, drink, have clothes, all in great quantity and of the highest quality. When it came to his needs or desires, there was no such thing as the superfluous or the excessive. On the contrary, he was never satisfied with what he had; he never had quite enough.

The natural intellectual and emotional inclinations [of a Kayin are so warped] that the thought of helping another never even enters the mind. Such a person is completely absorbed in devising schemes that will enable him to take things from others. His fellow man is totally superfluous.

Concerning individuals who act in such a manner it is stated:12 "They are likened and similar to animals."

Animals, too, exist only for their physical needs, and are unaware of any higher purpose in life. Animals, too, desire things only for themselves [and live by the law of the jungle] whereby the stronger beats, subdues and takes from the weaker. People possessing such traits are indeed like animals.

Truly, when a person acts in such a manner, he is even worse than an animal. This is because a human being possesses intellect, by which he could overcome his animalistic tendencies if he chose to do so. When intellect is not used for this purpose, but rather to acquiring everything for oneself, then that person is even worse than an animal, for he had a choice while an animal does not.

In summary: Kayin, Hevel and Sheis are spiritually characteristic of the rasha, tzaddik and baal teshuvah. Kayin was a rasha, denying the revival of the dead and believing only in the material world and its pleasures. Verily, we can observe that there are such individuals, who desire everything for themselves and care not at all about others. Such debased characters are even lower than the most brutish beasts.

Chapter III

Hevel, symbolic of goodness, represents the level of tzaddik, as the verse states:13 "Say of a tzaddik that he is good."

Hevel maintained that the most important thing is the Hereafter, this world being but a place where we prepare ourselves for the World to Come. Hevel viewed G‑d's creation in a proper intellectual manner, and realized that G‑d created the world with a purpose. The ultimate goal is the realization of G‑d's will:14 "G‑d passionately desired a dwelling place in the nethermost world." Concerning this statement, the Alter Rebbe15 comments that no conclusive reason can be found for this desire, for all suggestions that have been put forward are deficient. Rather, it is as stated: "G‑d 'passionately' desired," and a passionate desire needs no intellectual justification, inasmuch as it transcends logic.

Since a dwelling place is His desire, it follows that this desire is in and of itself the ultimate goal. Behind this goal there lies a purpose; that man transform the physical into the spiritual.16 How one goes about accomplishing this is to be understood from the statement of the [Alter] Rebbe17 that: "Jewish materiality is spirituality."

"Jewish materiality" alludes to the utilization of physical matter in accordance with the Torah. This includes all physical matters, from the physicality of business and the working place to eating, drinking and other bodily necessities. When these physical acts are done in accordance with the Torah, the person thereby fulfills the Divine purpose and transforms the physical into the spiritual.

Thus it is man who is charged with fulfilling the Divine purpose. The more of the physical which is transformed, the greater will be the fulfillment of the Divine purpose. Through his service the individual too proceeds towards perfection.

This is also the reason why Hevel chose to be a shepherd,18 for it enabled him to lead a tranquil life and devote himself to contemplating G‑d's greatness.

The verse states:19 "How manifold are Your creations, G‑d"; the very multitude of beings points to a Creator, for the ability to create rests only with Him. Such contemplation leads a person to develop truly good character traits.

In summary: Hevel is symbolic of the tzaddik, who views creation in its proper perspective. He realizes that creation's ultimate purpose is accomplished by transforming the physical into the spiritual through the study of Torah, the performance of mitzvos, and the development of refined character traits. Hevel therefore became a shepherd so that he could contemplate the greatness of G‑d without distraction.

Chapter IV

[With regard to good and evil, the verse states:20] "G‑d made one opposite the other." The forces of the yetzer tov (the good inclination), and the yetzer hora (the evil inclination), are engaged in a constant struggle, as it is written:21 "Evil envelopes the righteous" so that the good is required to overpower the evil.

The nature of any battle is that at times one side gains the upper hand and at times the other. Therefore, should the yetzer hora gain ascendancy, a person should not be disheartened, but rather know that he can always repent. Indeed, one of the tactics of the yetzer hora is to so demoralize a person that he will not even try to repent. It is necessary to overcome the obstacles and confusion which the yetzer hora places in the path of repentance, and to rectify every misdeed through teshuvah. (The proper teshuvah for each misdeed is described in various books of sacred literature.) Every individual, in accordance with his essential character, is endowed from Above with the necessary inner strength to repent as well as to serve G‑d. This is true of all people, even those who are on the level of Kayin. [They too are granted the ability to transform evil character traits into good ones.]

That there are individuals who have the inherent disposition of Kayin can be readily observed. There are people who from birth have extremely evil dispositions, possessing vile character traits and cunning minds. But they too have the ability to change completely.

This is why a reason is given for Kayin's name. Although Kayin had a natural inclination toward evil, it was G‑d's will that these traits be changed to good. This is alluded to in the reason for his name: "I have acquired [the quality and traits of] a man, with [the help of the Merciful] G‑d." This is also the reason why the Divine name Havayah, which denotes mercy, is employed.

With regard to the name Sheis, which is symbolic of teshuvah, the Torah uses the Divine name Elokim, which is indicative of strength. This is because the person must strengthen himself so that he can ignore his evil inclination, which tries to keep him from repentance. However, when a person fails to repent on his own, he is reminded from Heaven that he must do teshuvah.

This, then, is the prophecy concerning the last days before Moshiach. At that time, due to a variety of reasons, we will become "dry bones;" without Torah and mitzvos, and immersed in the material world.

At that time: "Thus says the L-rd, G‑d: 'I shall uproot your materialistic graves and uplift you from your graves of corporeality. Then you will repent and merit the complete Redemption through My messenger Moshiach, the Righteous Redeemer, and I shall bring you to Eretz Yisroel.'"

In summary: Hevel and Kayin, denoting good and evil (the tzaddik and the rasha), are constantly at war, each desiring to completely dominate a person. When a person sins, he should not become filled with doubt [about his ability to return] but rather do teshuvah. G‑d gave man the ability to vanquish the most heinous character traits and transform them into good qualities. Through teshuvah we will merit the complete Redemption.