RASHIS COVERED: Dt07-07a Dt07-07b Jews:Small in #;Big in Strength
Dt11-23b Dt09-01a
Dt11-14a Dt11-23a

VERY BRIEF SUMMARY:
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Rashi compares contradition in nuance between Dt07-07,DT07-23
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Dt07-07 God did not chose you because of your BIG POPULATION;
rather the Jews are the SMALLEST among nations
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Dt07-23 God will help you conquer nations MIGHTER than you
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Rashi resolves the contradiction by stretching meaning:
Jews are SMALL in NUMBER but GREAT in STRENGTH/HUMILITY

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TODAYS RASHI RULE:     RABBI ISHMAEL
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE:  MEANING
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RULE and SUBRULE
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Very frequently 2 Biblical verses appear to contradict each
other. There are 5 ways to resolve these conflicts. The resolved
contradictions are considered the meaning of the text. In the
reference below we outline 5 methods of resolving contradiction:
The two verses can be speaking about
-- 2 DIFFERENT ASPECTS of the same item
-- 2 DIFFERENT STAGES of the same process
-- BROAD vs RESTRICTIVE meaning of a word
-- 2 DIFFERENT MODALITIES of the same law(MAY vs MUST)
-- 2 etymologies of the same word
The standard example clearly illustrates this. The method
of contradiction is one of the 13 basic style rules presented
by Rabbi Ishmael


STANDARD EXAMPLE
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Compare the following two verses
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Dt15-17 ...And the slave shall work FOREVER
Lv25-10 ...And the slave shall work till the JUBILEE
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EXERCISES:
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- Can you see the contradiction?
- Can you resolve this contradiction by twisting the
meaning of one of the words

RASHIS SOLUTION
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- The contradiction lies in the CAP words. Does the
slave WORK FOREVER or till the JUBILEE

- Quite simple we can translate FOREVER restrictively
to mean a LONG TIME instead of literally FOREVER.
Then the 2 verses -- requiring working till JUBILEE
and A LONG TIME--complement each other.

STANDARD REFERENCES FOR THIS RULE
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http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ri-14.htm


TODAYS EXAMPLE
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We bring the examples from the above reference where
contradiction is resolved by TWISTING MEANING (BROAD
or RESTRICTIVE). We add at the bottom the verses in
todays posting. Further details are brought in the
footnotes.