(C) July 2006, RashiYomi Incorporated
Lesson 5 of 6
Example 2.5a OTHER VERSES - further details - REVIEW
We continue our review of Rashi methods from
previous lessons. Verse Ex12-21c states
Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, Draw out and take a lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb.
Quite simply Rashi clarifies the meaning of the underlined
phrase according to your families by citing an
other verse which provides further details
Verse Ex12-03 states
Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb,
according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house;
Rashi only cited the last phrase of Ex12-03
a lamb for a house. We have expanded Rashi by citing
the full other verse. Notice how straightforward this
Rashi comment is. Each Rashi method has its own flavor. The
other verse method is characterized by
straightforwardness.
This situation is typical: In verses Ex12-03:04
God commands Moses to command the Jews and then in Ex12-21
Moses carries out this commanded command to the Jews. Such a
situation with a delegated command naturally lends itself to
cross referencing of Other Verses. We shall also apply
this cross referencing idea to the other Rashis on this
verse.
Example 9.5a FORMAT - bullets - REVIEW
We can derive the other two Rashis on this verse
Ex12-21a,b
by using the format-bullet method with further
support from the Other verse method. Ex12-21 states
Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, - Drag and
- take a lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb.
The bulleted list of activities, drag, take
prompts the following Rashi comment:
- Drag Rashi: From your own property
- Take Rashi: Buy in the market place.
To fully explain this Rashi we note that Rashi is
not using the word meaning method. That is, Rashi
is not asserting that drag intrinsically refers
to ones own property. Similarly, Rashi is not asserting
that take intrinsically refers to purchase in the
market place. How then should we understand Rashi? Rashi
is simply observing that a bulleted list suggests
intent by the Author to an exhaustion of mutually exhaustive
and exclusive possibilities. So Rashi takes this intent
and lists the possible ways of acquiring sheep: from
one's own property or by purchase.
In this case further supportive text for Rashi's
bulleted list can be found from the Other Verses
found at Ex12-03:04
Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month
- Every man shall take a lamb, according to the house of their
fathers, a lamb for a house;
- And if the household is too little for the lamb,
let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the souls; according to every man’s eating shall you make your count for the lamb.
The original command also speaks about two possibilities
(a) for one's own family or (b) in partnership with other
families. Rashi supplements these two possibilities with
two further possibilities: The sheep--whether for oneself
or in partnership--can be (a)one's own sheep or (b) purchased
sheep.
Example 6.5 WORD MEANINGS - synonyms - REVIEW
Example 6.5a: We continue our review of methods from previous
lessons by reviewing the synonym sub-method
of the word meaning method. Verse Ex14-10c states
And when Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were very afraid; and the people of Israel screamed out to the Lord.
Rashi paraphrased states
The underlined word screamed means prayer.
Rashi actually states more
The Jews imitated their patriarchs who also prayed
when in danger.
Rashi also states other verses where the patriarchs prayed.
These other verses use other words for prayer.
Rather then cite the full Rashi and analyze each text
we cite the Midrash Rabbah on Dt03-23 which lists
10 specific synonyms for prayer. These synonyms
include pray, cry, scream, supplicate, seek grace, bump into,
and others.
Our goal in explaining this Rashi was to identify the underlying
skill competency,synonyms needed to understand it. The other
points of Rashi---for example, that the Jews when in trouble sought
to follow their role models, the patriarchs, who also prayed
---these points have important moral validity but are not directly
related to the methods and skill competencies needed to understand
Rashi.
Example 6.5b: A standard translation
of verse Ex15-08f states
And with your anger the waters were heaped together , the floods stood upright, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea
The English translation we are using is good---it translates
the Hebrew root Kuph-Pay-Aleph as meaning congealed.
Rashi confirms this translation using the synonym method:
The Hebrew root Kuph-Pay-Aleph which is translated as
congealed only occurs half a dozen times in the
Bible. In Jb10-10,
Have you not poured me out like milk, and curdled me like cheese?
this root means curdled. This suggests the following
translation of Ex15-08
And with your anger the waters were heaped together, the floods stood upright and the depths were curdled in the heart of the sea
Rashi continues on the point of using the translation curdled
or congealed:
The words heap, curdled suggest that the waters, when they
split, hardened like a heap or curdled cheese. Consequently
when the Egyptians were thrown on the water they fell on something hard as a rock and were injured.
Notice here how a knowledge of Hebrew is not necessary to appreciate
this Rashi. A good English translation uses the word congealed.
We can easily look up the English translation of the verse from Job
cited by Rashi and see the translation curdled. We then immediately
see the close relationship between congealed, curdled. If we
can read Hebrew we can also identify the same root kuph-pay-aleph
in both verses.
Example 3.5 WORD MEANINGS - noun-verb - REVIEW
We continue with our review of methods from previous lessons
by reviewing the noun-verb word meaning rules.
A standard translation of
verse Ex15-10b is
You blew with your wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Here the Biblical root Tzade-Lamed-Lamed is translated as Sank.
Rashi comments
The noun form of the root Tzade-Lamed-Lamed is
Mem-Tzade-Vav-Lamed-Hey which means whirlpool.
Hence Rashi would translate Ex15-10 as follows
You blew with your wind, the sea covered them; they whirlpooled down as lead in the mighty waters.
This is an excellent example of the usage of Rashi methods
to provide superior translations.
Example 15.5 WORD MEANINGS - idioms
We introduce a new word meaning sub method today--the
idiom method. An idiom refers to a collection
of words which together, as a whole, have a meaning that is
different and distinct then its individual component words.
Every language has idioms. Linguists tend to think of idioms
as separate entries in the dictionary since a native speaker must
learn each idiom the same way they learn each word.
Example 15.5a: Verse Ex14-27a states
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea,
and the sea returned to his strength
at the turn of morning
and the Egyptians fled towards it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
Rashi comments The underlined phrase
the turn of morning means dawn.
In other words Rashi translates the verse as follows
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea,
and the sea returned to his strength
at dawn
and the Egyptians fled towards it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
When commenting on idioms Rashi will frequently
explain the etymology of the idiom. Here Rashi
paraphrased explains that when you turn a corner
you swiftly begin to appear to people on that side of the corner;
this explains the metaphor turn of morning since it appears
as if the dawn was turning and appearing to us. Such explanations
of idioms are instructive and very often add content. However
the primary goal of Rashi is simply to explain the idiom
meaning. If the student understands the meaning of the idiom then Rashi is understood.
Example 15.5b:
Very often the idiom sub method will combine with
the metonymy method explained above in examples
11.4a-11.4f of lesson 4.
Verse Ex15-08a states
And with the
spirit of your nostrils
the waters were gathered together,
the floods stood upright as a heap,
and the depths were congealed
in the heart of the sea.
Rashi comments
The underlined phrase spirit of nostrils
is an idiom meaning anger.
Consequently Rashi would translate Ex15-08 as follows
And with
your anger
the waters were gathered together,
the floods stood upright as a heap,
and the depths were congealed
in the heart of the sea.
We have not given the entire text of Rashi. Rashi makes
numerous other comments that are extremely important.
First: Rashi points out that this idiom is a metonymy:
When a person gets angry and loses his temper
his breathing becomes heavier. Hence nose activity
is related to anger. Consequently the metonymy
principle--naming by related items--would name anger
using the word nose.
Rashi also deals with the issue of anthropomorphism--the
ascription of physical attributes--such as nose, breathing
-- to God.
However our primary goal in this short monograph is the clear presentation
of Rashi methods--hence we avoid philosophical issues however
interesting.
Finally, Rashi dwells at great length on finding
further support for idioms relating anger to nose.
Although an exhaustive analysis of other verses where
idioms relate nose to anger enriches our
appreciations of the idiom, nevertheless it is not necessary.
To fully understand an idiom it suffices to translate the
phrase just once.
Example 11.5a WORD MEANINGS - metonymy(FFF)
We continue with our review of methods covered in previous
lessons by reviewing the metonymy(FFF) method. We present
below an etymology that names by function.
Ex15-26c states
And said, If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and will do that which is right in his sight, and will give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that heals you.
Rashi comments
The Biblical root for the Biblical word meaning ear is the
same Biblical root of the word meaning scales. Here the ear
is named by its function---to weigh all sides of a matter
and be precise.
Consequently Rashi would translate Ex15-26 as follows
And said, If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and will do that which is right in his sight, and
carefully weigh and be precise about His commandments, and keep all his statutes, then, I will put none of these diseases upon you, which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that heals you.
In passing etymologists amusingly point out that ears
have both the form and function of scales---since the
two ears, hanging as it were, on each side of the head, appear
as a set of balance scales. Such double puns are common in linguistic
analysis and make the subject more enjoyable.
Example 9.5b FORMAT - bullets - REVIEW
We continue our review of previous rules. Verse Ex14-04a states
And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored
- through Pharaoh, and
- through his whole army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so
Here the Rashi comment is obvious and straightforward.
The repeating underlined keyword through creates an
effect of bullets. The bulleted list emphasizes that God
visited punishment on two entities
- on Pharoh, the King, who instigated the slavery
- on his army, who carried out his decrees.
Example 16.5 ALIGNMENT - 2 nuances
We introduce a new method, the alignment - nuance
method which we briefly looked at in example 4.4d.
Recall that the alignment method seeks to align
pairs of clauses with almost
identical language to infer nuances
from the minor differences between these clauses. We briefly
review the example we covered in example 4.4d and then present another example. Every
Rashi method has so to speak a flavor to it. We discuss
the flavor of the alignment - nuance method below.
Example 16.5a: We can align
the clauses in verse
Nu14-01a
as
follows
-
And the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried;
- and the people wept that night.
The above alignment exposes two contrasts
- congregation vs. people
- That night
A simply way of explaining this contrast is that
congregation refers to the structured community,
and hence refers to the judges, leaders etc. By
contrast the people would refer to the masses.
Perhaps we can even see a progression
- First the spies who were the leaders of each tribe
slandered Israel
- Then the congregational leaders cried
- Then at night, after their leaders and judges
had cried, the people also cried.
Example 16.5b:
An alignment of the following two verses discussing
the groups of Egyptians smitten during the plague of the
firstborn shows
one subtle difference in the list of groups smitten.
- Ex11-05a states
And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die,
- from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sits on his throne,
- even to the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the mill;
- and all the firstborn of beasts.
- Ex12-29 states
And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,
- from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne
- to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon;
- and all the firstborn of beasts.
As the underlined words show the three groups smitten were
- firstborn of Pharoh
- firstborn of maidservant, captives
- firstborn of beasts
Rashi (Ex11-05a, Ex11-05b, Ex12-29d) comments on the use of maidservant in Ex11-05
vs. the use of captives in Ex12-29. Rashi points out
that each group smitten had a specific misuse of the Jews that had
to be punished
- Pharoh thought he owned the Jews--hence his firstborn was smitten
- Rashi conjectures that the maidservants were punished because Egypt
had a tiered slave hierarchy--Jews were a level 2 slave while other servants
were level 1 slaves. Hence since the maidservants used the Jews as slaves
they were punished also.
Rashi points out that it would be reasonable that the captives were praying to their own deities to save them
from Egypt. Had their firstborn not been punished they would have ascribed
victory to their deity rather than the Jewish God.
The above analysis shows the flavor of the alignment method.
Something is pointed to--in this case maidservant vs. captive--
but we are not explicitly told why the difference is emphasized.
Consequently Rashi's job is to steer the reader in the
proper direction through reasonable conjectures. Very often other
competing midrashim will comment on the alignment but give
alternate competing explanations which are equally reasonable. So
the flavor of alignment Rashis is typically exploratory.
I have found the following stratagem useful when dealing with
the alignment method: I ask students to come up with reasonable
explanations of why separate emphases are given. Frequently students
come up with explanations highly similar to Rashi. This stratagem
makes Rashi more acceptable to them.
In my article Biblical Formatting to appear in the
Jewish Bible Quarterly at the end of 2006 (or the beginning
of 2007) I have pointed out that the alignment method
despite its exploratory flavor is still the simple intended meaning
of the text. I cite a beautiful analogy of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
who in effect compares alignments to footnotes. If for example
the Biblical text stated the firstborn of the captives were smitten
and the Bible used a footnote on the underlined word captives
indicating that the firstborn of both captives and
maidservants were smitten then in such a case we
would regard the emphasis captives and maidservants as intended
by the author. Indeed, the author explicitly indicated this intended
remark in a footnote. Rav Hirsch's point of view is that the Biblical
Author used alignments of almost identical verses to indicate
footnotes. That is, any place a modern author would use footnotes
the Biblical Author used alignments of repeated verses with
minor differences. Consequently, the two aligned verses
with the aligned words captive, maidservant point to an intentional
footnote by the author.
As we have frequently pointed out above we emphasize that
knowledge of Hebrew is not necessary to understand a
Rashi alignment.
Example 12.5 GRAMMAR - root conjugation - REVIEW
We continue our review of Rashi methods. Recall that
Rashi's goal in the GRAMMAR - root conjugation rule is
to explain the various ways of conjugating verbs. Let us illustrate
with an elementary example. Hebrew grammar is based on three
letter roots. So for example the root Shin-Mem-Resh
means to watch. Hebrew grammar teaches how to conjugate
this root in various forms each with a different meaning. Thus
Shin-Mem-Resh-Tauv-Yud means I had
watched while Yud-Shin-Mem-Resh means he
will watch. Here the underlined prefix and suffix letters
indicate future or past and first person vs. third person
action, I had watched vs. He will watch.
Very often these conjugation meanings are already embedded
in the translation of the text. In the examples below we
underline the conjugation translations and suffice with pointing
out that Rashi's comment indicates the underlying conjugation.
Prior to presenting the examples we explain the conjugation
issues addressed by Rashi. It is well known that prefixing
the letters Aleph,Tauv,Yud before a verb indicates the
future. An example was given in the preceding paragraph: Prefixing
a Yud before the root to watch created a conjugation
meaning he will watch. Rashi points out that the prefix
Yud besides indicating the future also indicates
the jussive, cohortive, and habitual present. Before
presenting the verses let us carefully illustrate what these
terms mean.
Here are some examples of English sentences illustrating
the above terms.
- I will eat indicates something I definitely will do in
the future.
- I wish to eat or I intend to eat indicates
something I hope to do in the future. Grammarians use fancy terms
and call this the jussive/cohortive. The student need not
learn these terms. It suffices if the students recognize the
difference between will and wish. One method of
indicating this wish conjugation is to place a prefix
Hey at the end of a word. Rashi points out that sometimes
the future conjugation indicates the wish, intend mode.
- I am eating a sandwich indicates the simple present.
- I eat a sandwich every day indicates the habitual present.
That is it is something I am doing both now, in the past and in the
future. Rashi points out that the future conjugation can
also indicate the habitual present.
We now present three Rashi examples illustrating the above. We
again emphasize that no knowledge of Hebrew is necessary. It suffices
if the reader understands the concept in English and can recognize its application
in the underlined phrases in the verse.
- Example 12.5a: Jussive-wish mode:Ex15-01a
Then Moses and the people of Israel wished to sing this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying, I wish to sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea.
- Example 12.5b: Habitual present - ongoing activity
Ex15-06d
Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power; your right hand, O Lord,
always dashes the enemy in pieces.
- Example 12.5c: Habitual present - ongoing activity:
Ex15-07b
And in the greatness of your excellency you
always overthrow those that rose up against you; you sent forth your anger, which consumed them as stubble.
Acknowledgement is given to the older of my two younger sisters
for many dialogues on applications of English grammar to
understanding Rashi.
Example 11.5b WORD MEANINGS - metonymy(FFF)
We continue our review of methods from previous lessons.
Verse Ex14-07a states
And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
Rashi comments on the underlined word chosen:
Chosen has a connotation of one of a kind.
Using the metonymy principle--naming by something related--
and using our knowledge of English synonyms as well as the context
I would suggest the translation elite. Hence I would suggest
the following translation of the verse based on the Rashi comment
And he took six hundred elite chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
Notice that the above Rashi analysis was done in English, not
in Hebrew. Furthermore, Rashi never used the word elite. However
Rashi's comment seemed to seek the nuances of chosen. We therefore
searched for an appropriate semantic model based on our knowledge
of context and English. The resulting translation 600 elite chariots
is punchy, to the point, and fully consistent with Rashi.
The idea of approaching Rashi by seeking an appropriate semantic
model was first advocated in my article Peshat and Derash: A New
Intuitive Analytic Approach which appeared in Tradition and may
be found on the world wide web at
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rashi.pdf.
Example 2.5b OTHER VERSES - further details
We continue our review of methods learned in previous lessons.
The example we present below is controversial. We shall attempt
to understand it by apply 4 Rashi methods. These attempts show
the type of give and take necessary when understanding a difficult
Rashi.
Verse Ex14-10b states
And when Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, Egypt marched after them; and they were very afraid; and the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.
Rashi comments on the underlined word Egypt:
Egypt refers to the guardian Angel of Egypt
(The Jews saw not just Egypt, but the guardian angel of Egypt
fighting for them and therefore they were very afraid.)
We offer 3 possible explanations to this Rashi. We present
each explanation and then indicate why we reject it.
- Explanation 1: Rashi used the Grammar method.
Notice that the underlined word Egypt is singular. Hence it
could not refer to the Egyptian people. Instead it must
refer to something singular--the guardian Angel of Egypt.
We reject this explanation since use of the singular
to refer to a nation is common in military operations--
The singular in military operations connotes
a unified army approach.
- Explanation 2: Rashi used the Spreadsheet
principle. This principle allows Rashi to infer consequences
and causes to verse statements. Since the verse states that
the Jews were very afraid Rashi explains that they had nightmares
and flashbacks in which they saw the Egyptian deity. (Part of slavery
is intimidation and arousal of fear). We reject this explanation
since it is not needed. The Jews were very afraid because they
had just left Egypt and now Egypt was pursuing them. We need not
find any extra reasons.
- Explanation 3: Rashi could be using the special
connective word principle. The verse says that the Jews were
very afraid. Hence Rashi suggests that besides seeing Egypt
they also saw the Egyptian deity. Again
we reject this explanation because it is
not necessary. The word very could indicate that besides
being afraid of death they were also afraid of being re-enslaved.
It is not necessary to seek other explanations.
Explanation 4: My suggestion of Rashi is to use
the other verse method. Verse Ex14-19 states
And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them;
I follow the Rambam's position on angel visions that they are seen
in dreams. Consequently if the angel of God moved they must have
seen this move in a dream vision. Thus this other verse sheds light
and gives further details---the Jews were not only viewing physical
events they also had visions and flashbacks. If they dreamt of angels
of God then their dreams probably had fights between the angel
of God and the guardian angel of the Egyptians.
In expounding the above explanation I have not really used anything
from Ex14-10. And indeed the other verse method makes its
derivations from other verses. I have however utilized the reasonable
supposition that slaves frequently had flashbacks and dreams or pursuit
from the guardian angels of their masters.
We can summarize as follows:Ex14-10 says the Jews were very
afraid because Egypt was pursuing them. This is understandable by itself.
However because an other verse Ex14-19 speaks about vision dreams
of the guardian angle of the Jews, it is therefore reasonable that
the Jews had flashbacks and dreams of the guardian angel of the Egyptians.
Such flashbacks and dreams were probably typically used by masters to
instill fear in their slaves.
One of the students in my class picked up my assertion that
the statement that the angel moved from the front to the back of the camp
is a statement about a dream vision. That is, the verse means that they
dreamt simultaneously that the angel moved from the front of the camp
to the back.
What ensued is a lively discussion about angel dreams. I first cited
the Rambam's position that such incidents as Bilam's donkey talking to an
angel happened in a dream. But then I retracted. The Rambam didn't simply
have a position. Rather that position emanated from analysis of verses.
The technical Rashi rule used is databases.
So I asked my students to come up with verses supporting that angels
communicate via dreams. I present below the list of examples they came up
with. Such side-discussions on Rashis are common. It is important in my
opinion to be able to deal with such issues by making appropriate
database queries. Such an approach greatly enriches our understanding
of Rashi and enables us to
successfully deal with difficulties when they arise.
We list visions to Angels that happened in dreams.
In the following examples the Bible explicitly identifies
the communication as happening in a dream. (In the last
case the communication is identified as happening at night,
before morning).This database list justifies the Rambam's
position that all communications involving angels happen in dreams.
Here is the list, of angel visions which the
Bible explicitly says happened in dreams, that my students came up with:
-
Avimelech
Gn20-03
-
Laban
Gn30-24
-
Yaakov
Gn31-10
-
Daniel
Dn07-01:28
-
Bilam
Nu22-09:13
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