"Va'Yomer Kayin El Hevel". What did Kayin say to Hevel?
Rashi: He entered into an argument with him, looking for an excuse to murder him. 1
Ramban #1 (citing the Ibn Ezra): Kayin told Hevel how Hashem had rebuked him. 2
Ramban #2: He persuaded him to go into the field with him, so that he could kill him secretly (where his parents would not see).
Radak: He told him how angry he was at him.
Da'as Zekenim and Hadar Zekenim: Kayin told him that Hashem was no longer angry at him. After that, Hevel ceased worrying lest Kayin try to kill him, and did not refrain from going with him.
Targum Yonasan, Moshav Zekenim: Kayin said that there is no reward and punishment, and Hevel disagreed.
Moshav Zekenim: They were arguing about who would marry the extra twin sister born with Hevel.
Peninm mi'Shulchan ha'G'ra: He said 'Achi' - Knowing that Hevel was stronger than him, and that, had he attacked him openly, Hevel would easily have overpowered him, he made a point of constantly calling him his brother, 3 in order to catch him off-guard and kill him in a surprise attack, when he was in the field, far away from their father and mother.
Hadar Zekenim: Initially he said, 'You take the animals, and I will take the land', followed by 'Get off my land', and then entered into a quarrel.
Da'as Zekenim: Hevel was happy to hear Hashem's rebuke of Kayin; therefore he killed him.
Peninim mi'Shulchan ha'G'ra: As the Pasuk writes, "Dovrei Emes im Re'eihem, ve'Ra'ah bi'Levavam" (Tehilim 28:3).
Why did Kayin kill Hevel?
Ramban #1: He hoped that the world would then descend from him.
Ramban #2: Based on the fact that his brother's Korban was accepted and his wasn't, he was worried that the world would descend mainly from his brother.
Seforno: He killed him despite the fact that they had had no prior argument. 1
Targum Yonasan: He killed him following a major dispute about reward and punishment.
Seforno: As implied by the word "va'Yakam" - as in Parshas Shoftim, "Ve'Arav Lo, v'Kam Alav" (Devarim 19:11).
How did Kayin kill Hevel?
Targum Yonasan: He killed him by striking him with a stone on his forehead.
What is the significance of the fact that Kayin killed Hevel when they were in the field?
Oznayim la'Torah #1: It was to the credit of Kayin, that he did not kill Hevel while they were still in the vicinity of the location where they brought their Korban - due the sanctity of the place. 1
Oznayim la'Torah #2: To ensure that there was nobody (Adam or Chavah)around to stop him from carrying out his intention. 2
Oznayim la'Torah #3: He did so because he believed that out in the field, even Hashem would not know that he murdered him, 3 as opposed to killing him in the vicinity where he brought the Korban, where the Shechinah would have known.
In deference to his parents, he did not kill him in the house, or because it would have been more difficult to hide the body.
See Oznayim la'Torah, DH 'Vay'hi bi'Heyosam ba'Sadeh'.
Refer also to 4:8:0.1:8* .
See Oznayim la'Torah, DH 'ba'Sadeh'.
Why was Hevel punished? Why didn't the merit of his Korban protect him?
Gur Aryeh (to 4:3): Hevel also had personal motivations behind his Korban; he wanted to withhold all blessing from his brother Kayin. Refer to 4:3:3:2* .
Why does it say "va'Yakam"?
Hadar Zekenim: This connotes that he was down. Hevel had knocked Kayin down, and Kayin begged for brotherly mercy. Hevel agreed, and Kayin rose and killed him.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "'Kayin said to Hevel' - ... He instigated a quarrel... There are also Midrashim...." What were Kayin and Hevel fighting about? Three opinions are cited in the Midrash; they were fighting, (a) over possession of land and clothing; (b) over the site of the Beis ha'Mikdash; (c) over the extra sister born with Hevel. How can these Midrashim be explained?
Gur Aryeh: Kayin and Hevel were polar opposites. As long as two opposites stand apart, there can be peace between them. Trouble only begins when they overlap in some common aspect that becomes a point of contention. (a) Hevel needed Kayin's ground to stand on, and Kayin needed Hevel's woolen clothing. (b) The Beis Ha'Mikdash would stand at the center of Creation, adjacent to both their territories. Only in the Beis ha'Mikdash can Hevel's wool and Kayin's linen be worn together (in the Bigdei Kehunah). (c) The extra sister represents Shabbos, 1 which relates equally to all other days. These are all aspects of their dispute, in the realms of Mamon, Nefesh and Guf respectively.
