What are the implications of the word "ve'Atah, Arur Atah ... "
What are the implications of "Arur Atah min ha'Adamah"?
Rashi: He meant that the ground, which was cursed following the sin of Adam, would now be cursed even more; as the Torah goes on to explain. 1
Ramban and Seforno: It was not the ground that was being cursed here, but Kayin, whose curse regarding the ground would now exceed that of his father, as the Torah explains.
Oznayim la'Torah: It implies that Kayin was no longer able to sustain himself from the ground 2 - which had been his source of occupation until now. 3
See Oznayim la'Torah, who asks why the earth should be punished because Kayin buried Hevel in it.
Oznayim la'Torah: Which would no longer yield its produce for him, though it would for everybody else - as implied by the wording.
Refer to 4:11:0.1:1 .
If it was the ground that opened its mouth to cover Hevel's corpse, why was Kayin cursed?
Ramban and Seforno: The ground did not open its mouth by itself. What Hashem therefore meant was that Kayin murdered his brother and used the ground to hide his blood.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "'You are cursed, from the earth...' - More than [the earth] had already been cursed due to its own sin, it has sinned again [by swallowing the blood of Hevel]... and I shall add a curse upon it...." What is Rashi explaining?
Mizrachi: "Min ha'Adamah" means, "Cursed even more than the earth." 1 (When Adam sinned, the earth was cursed for not having produced edible trees during creation (Rashi to 1:11). Now that the earth absorbed Hevel's blood, it would also no longer yield its strength.)
Gur Aryeh: "Min ha'Adamah" means, "you will find the earth to be accursed [against you]." 2 Rashi asks that the earth had already been cursed, and answers that Kayin will find it cursed to a greater degree.
Rashi writes: "... And I shall add a curse upon it (the earth)." Ramban asks -This was not a curse against the earth, but a curse against Kayin (who would no longer be successful in working the land, and would be forced to wander, as explained in the next verse?
Mizrachi: When the earth was condemned to produce ants and beetles (Rashi to 3:17), it was primarily a punishment to Adam - yet it is still considered a curse against the earth. The same was the case now when Kayin was cursed.
Gur Aryeh: Ramban was troubled that unlike when Adam sinned, and the entire earth changed its nature, this new curse would only be experienced by Kayin, and not by others. Nonetheless, according to Rashi, even this partial curse would not have befallen the earth had it not taken part in the sin.
Rashi writes: "[The earth] added to its sin... by opening its mouth to accept Hevel's blood." But from the Gemara (Sanhedrin 37b), it emerges that this is an example of the ground opening up for a constructive reason?
Mizrachi: Covering Hevel's blood was constructive, notwithstanding that Hashem deemed it a sin.
Gur Aryeh: While it was beneficial for the world to cover the blood and not leave it exposed, the earth's deed still constituted aiding a murderer.
