Commento su Genesi 4:14

והיה כל מוצאי יהרגני, the fact that anyone who finds me is legally entitled to kill me makes my punishment much more severe than You, G’d, have told me.

הן גרשת אותי...מעל פני האדמה, a reference to the soil of Eden, near the garden, where his father and mother had taken up residence. This is what the Torah had meant with the words לעבוד את האדמה אשר לקח משם, “to work the soil from which he had originally been taken.” (3,23)

ומפניך אסתר, “and I have to hide from Your countenance.” It is possible to understand the meaning of the word ומפניך, as “from Your presence” i.e. from the place where Your presence is manifest, from Mount Moriah This would prove that Adam lived near Mount Moriah and that his children lived there also. In that event, we would have to understand the words of our verse as follows: הן גרשת אותי היום מעל פני האדמה הקדושה כדי שאסתר מפני“ here You have expelled me this day from the holy site on earth in order that I have to hide from Your presence.” Anyone who has been expelled from the presence of G’d is considered as נסתר, “in hiding,” as he is under the domain of other forces (horoscopes, etc.). David mentioned this in Samuel 26,19 כי גרשוני היום מהסתפח בנחלת ה' לאמר לך עבוד אלוהים אחרים, “for they have driven me out today, so that I cannot have a share in the Lord’s possession but am told: ‘go and worship other gods.’”

'והיה כל מוצאי, וגו, “and anyone who will encounter me (in my exile will feel free to kill me;”) I will not even be able to atone while in exile.

ומפנך אסתר, “and I have to hide from You, seeing that You are angry at me and have hidden Your face from me. I am in a position where everybody will be entitled to kill me, seeing You have withdrawn Your protection from me. Even the wild beasts will be entitled to kill me as I am forced to roam around a fugitive on earth.” In Bereshit Rabbah 22,11 Kayin’s complaint is “yesterday You expelled my father, and now You expel me. Am I supposed to hide from You, how could I?”

Another way of explaining the above words by Kayin is this: “seeing You have decreed upon me that You hide Your face from me when You told me “be a vagrant and a wanderer on earth,” this mean that exile of either an individual or a nation is an indication that G‘d has turned His countenance away from such an individual or such a nation. It means that such an individual or nation is no longer under the supervision of the Creator. Kayin’s anguished outcry was: “if this is so, what hope is there left for me? I am now at the mercy of every single creature!”

והיה כל מוצאי יהרגני, “and anyone who will find me will feel free to kill me.” Kayin was terrified of G’d’s curse and he was aware that those who praise the Lord would inherit the earth whereas those that curse Him would be cut off. This is why he was afraid for his own life both regarding any obstacles that he might encounter or regarding a plague that might strike him. He was also afraid that even animals would kill him.