ACH means USUALLY:#5 of 6
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# 10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# May 14, 2000 #
# Rashis 42-44 Of 7800 (0.5%) #
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In this series we review the meanings of the Hebrew word
>ACH
This word occurs about 40 times in Chumash.
Its main three meanings are
>ACH = USUALLY
>ACH = MOST OF
>ACH = PROBABLY
A person completing this module will have the skill competencies
necessary to UNDERSTAND and even REPRODUCE standard Talmudic
interpretations of ACH.
In this issue we study unusal uses of
>ACH = MOST OF
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
EXAMPLE 11: Lv27-28a
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>Lv27-28a Every VOW (of property) shall USUALLY go To GOD
>RASHI:
>If a person vows...
>'My property goes to GOD', then it goes to God(the temple)
>'My property goes to the priest', then it goes to the priest
>But there is controversy if the vow is unspecified.
>Some rabbis hold that the property then goes to the temple
>Some rabbis hold that the property then goes to God
Despite the controversy both opinions agree on the meaning of
>ACH = USUALLY
>If a person vows ...then it USUALLY Goes to God
That is
>It usually Goes to GOD, but sometimes it goes to the priest
(As eg if the person vowed to the priest)
EXAMPLE 12: Nu12-02a
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The Bible is discussing how Moses separated from his wife. Aaron
and Miryam speculated that Moses separated from his wife because
Moses was a prophet and he thought that a prophet who frequently
spoke to God had to separate from his wife
>Nu12-02 Is it ONLY with Moses that God FREQUENTLY speaks
Doesn't he speak to us ALSO
>RASHI
>Is Moses argument that he speaks to God FREQUENTLY(ACH)
>But that other prophets may only speak to God once
>or twice (Cf 1King11-9: God only spoke to Solomon twice)
>
>But we (Aaron and Miriam) also speak to God frequently
So Rashi interprets
>ACH = FREQUENTLY
This clearly resembles
>ACH = USUALLY
(Rashi indicates "frequently" by using the word "WITH"
>God is WITH him (Speaks FrequentlY)
EXAMPLE 13: Gn23-13a
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The text is speaking about Abrahams attempt to buy a burial plot
for Sarah. Abraham first offered to buy the plot ABOVE MARKET
VALUE. But Ephron said he would give to Abraham for nothing
So Abraham pleads to at least pay the worth of the field
>Gn23-13a Won't you at least take MOST of my offer
And let me pay Market value
RASHI:
The constructions
IF
MOST (ACH)
Denotes compromise
Abraham said
Please accept MOST of my original offer
I originally offered ABOVE market value
At least accept the market value
So in this example
>ACH = COMPROMISE (IF MOST)
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