But in the second creation, the goal posts are moved. The second creation has the soul blown into man – and like the vegetation, he acquires a higher purpose. Now, he is more than the top of the food chain. But this time, man is judged to be ‘not good alone.’ Now man has a divine soul and in order to satisfy the potential of that soul, he must imitate G-d and both work to create the good and experience timeless rest from that work. This imitation of G-d is the first step in creating a relationship between man and G-d, and that relationship is why we exist. In the garden, Adam is not a creator; and so he is not good alone. To drive Adam to start creating, G-d adds a woman (which often works even today) – but in this case, it fails. So Hashem introduces the snake and the forbidden fruit. The snake shares the same root as copper – it is a utilitarian device. Fundamentally, it is better that we know risk and loss, and thus be driven to create, than live a risk-free existence.
It is through knowledge of evil that we are driven to know good. This is the first cause of evil.
The story continues with Cain. He offers ‘the fruit of the ground.’ Fruit, continually, refers to the gifts of Hashem. We are generally forbidden from offering things called ‘fruit.’ The exception is Shavuot, when we bring offerings that acknowledge the gifts of Hashem. So Cain offers something that reflects Hashem’s contribution more than his own – and his offering doesn’t even contain the first or best of those fruits. It is a poor gift on which to build a relationship, and Hashem fails to turn to him. This makes Cain angry.
In response, Hashem presents a win-win: Cain can be good and lift himself up, or his challenges in being good can give him the ability to conquer the impulse to destroy. The phrasing used to describe sin – that it desires Cain and can thus be ruled by him – is identical to the phrasing used to describe Chava. She will desire her husband and thus be ruled by him. We generally think of ourselves as desiring sin (or acts of destruction), but if sin actually desires us, then it is there not to trip us up, but to give us an opportunity to grow.
This provides us with a second source of evil – our opportunity to conquer it.
Cain chooses neither path, and kills his brother.
Strikingly, Hashem doesn’t punish Cain. He marks him for protection. Hashem seems to be trying to bring out the better nature of Cain. He shows love for the sinner. But Lemech, Cain’s descendent, reads the situation differently. He sees a reward for murder. And while some other descendants of Cain earn their livings through cattle herding, others prefer to take their livings through prostitution, entertainment and violence.
Through the mercy of Hashem, these descendants have discovered a way to experience the good without having to create or even recognize Hashem. The sons of these elohim lack even the strong character of their rapacious and powerful fathers. This describes a society that is disintegrating. The Torah goes further. It doesn’t say the sons of elohim have to rape their wives or force them. They get to choose them. The daughters of men allow themselves to be chosen by the powerful. Their relationship to elohim is not to the one G-d, but to human power. In this society, might makes right, and the relationship to Hashem has disappeared. The sons of elohim have replaced Elohim Himself.