Day Forty-Four
(יט) והרי אם קין שב בתשובה ונתקן, הנה זדון אדם הראשון שבו הוליד את קין קינא דמסאבותא, היה נחשב לו לזכות, בסוד ״ברא מזכה אבא.״
(19) Indeed, had Kayin returned in Teshuvah and been rectified, Adam HaRishon’s intentional transgression – through which Kayin was born as a “Nest of Impurity” – would have been transformed for him (Adam) into merit, through the Secret of the Talmudic dictum (Sanhedrin 104a): ‘A son confers merit upon the father.’
A Nest of Impurity
As we noted above (Day Twenty-Eight), Adam acted improperly by having relations with Chava before the onset of Shabbos, which would have purged her of the Serpent’s defilement. As a result, the venom was passed on to her offspring. Kayin was more vulnerable to this toxicity since his soul threaded through Judgment on its descent to “this world.” As a result, he was born as a “Nest of Impurity.” Nevertheless, had he engaged in Teshuvah, Kayin would have attained a “double” rectification: 1) His own defilement would have been transformed to holiness, and 2) The sin of his father Adam would have been converted into a merit.
A Child Confers Merit Upon a Parent
The simple meaning of the tenet, “A child confers merit upon his father,” is that merit accrues to a person’s parents when he performs Mitzvahs, even if they are no longer in “this world.”
The Ramak reveals the secret of the teaching vis a vis the Mitzvah of Teshuvah Elyonah: Not only does it sanctify the penitent, it also uplifts his father. What’s more, even if it was the father’s misdeed that caused the son’s flaw, Teshuvah Elyonah still rectifies both of them.
How sublime is the power of Teshuvah Elyonah! When a child engages in Teshuvah Elyonah in response to a flaw in his nature, it atones both for the misdeed of his parents that precipitated the flaw; as well as the child’s subsequent trespass, with the very flaw transmuting to goodness. Even more, just as the flaw itself is transformed, so is the very misdeed of the parent converted into a meritorious act!
Hence, Adam’s misdeed of having relations with Chava before the onset of Shabbos, resulted in Kayin being born as a Nest of Impurity. Had Kayin heeded HaShem’s advice and performed Teshuvah Elyonah, a series of wonders would have been precipitated based on the tenet, “A son confers merit upon his father.” 1) Kayin would have reversed his status in Heaven from a Nest of Impurity to an Entity of Holiness. 2) Adam’s indiscretion which caused the flaw in his son would have retroactively transmuted the flaw to goodness. 3) Moreover, Adam’s misdeed itself would convert to a Mitzvah! Teshuvah Elyonah has the potency of holiness to facilitate these wonders, even without Adam contemplating on Teshuvah!
