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IDOL WORSHIP PROHIBITION |
RASHIS COVERED: Dt16-21a Cant MANUFACTURE,PURCHASE,OWN,..IDOLS
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
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By aligning the various idol prohibitions in the Torah
we see that the Torah prohibited all aspects of idol involvement.
-- Dont OWN idols (Ex20-03)
-- Dont MAKE idols (Ex20-03)
-- Dont WORSHIP idols (Ex20-03)
-- Dont MANUFACTURE idols (Ex34-19)
-- Dont MAKE idols (For others) (Lv26-01)
Because of this context, when the Torah prohibits making tree
idols Rashi assumes the same comprehensiveness of prohibition
--that is we shouldnt PLANT, OWN, WORSHIP tree idols
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TODAYS RASHI RULE: ALIGNMENT
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE: FURTHER NUANCES
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF RULE
Many Rashis do NOT focus on an internal analysis of the verse.
There may be nothing bothering Rashi in THAT verse. The words
used may all be normal.
But when the given verse is compared with another verse--that
is, when the two verses are ALIGNED together-- we see blatant
differences.
The ALIGNED verses therefore suggest that these ALIGNED
DIFFERENCES were deliberately placed there to emphasize
certain nuances. The standard example will illustrtae this.
STANDARD EXAMPLE
Recall that the Moabite King BALAK was apprehensive about
Israel journeying throught its territory. It wanted Israel
banished. It hired a professional curse-man, Bilam who would
curse the Jews. Bilam however describes his job SLIGHTLY
differently. Here are the verses.
-- BALAK: Nu22-06 I will banish Jews FROM THE LAND
-- BILAM: Nu22-11 ...... banish Jews -------------
EXERCISE
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To fully appreciate Rashi perform the following 2 exercises
- What is the minor difference between the aligned verses?
- What NUANCE do YOU think this implies?
RASHIS SOLUTION
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BALAK only wanted Jews away from his land; his goals were
political. By contrast, BILAM wanted them DESTROYED. Hence...
BALAK wanted Jews BANISHED FROM THE LAND. But Bilam wanted
them BANISHED PERIOD (That is destroyed).
STANDARD REFERENCES FOR THIS RULE
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http://www.Rashiyomi.com/align-58.htm
Or Visit http://www.RashiYomi.com/calendar1.htm
The ALIGNMENT series was presented in Aug-Oct 2001
TODAYS LIST
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We align the verses prohibiting idol worsihp and examine the
nuance of each one. Using this list we see a deeper meaning
to the Rashi comments on the verse of making tree-idols.
|
| VERSE |
NUANCE |
EXACT TEXT OF VERSE |
| Ex20-03a |
OWN |
Thou shall not have idols |
| Ex20-03a |
MANUFACTURE (for self) |
Thou shall not make idols*1 |
| Ex20-03a |
WORSHIP |
Dont bow down to them |
| Lv26-01a |
MANUFACTURE(for others*2 |
..if sold to non-jew;Dont make |
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| Dt16-21a |
all the above |
Dont PLANT*3 idolatrous trees |
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COMMENTS |
*1 Original posting at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/lv19-03b.htm
*2 Cf Ex34-17---Dont make molten gods
Molten objects tend to be made more in manufacturing
*3 In context, Rashi now makes more sense. It is not the nuances
of the word PLANT, but rather, the fact that idolatry
prohibitions (for idols) refer to the whole idolatry process
-- manufacture, purchase, ownership, worship. Hence by
analogy the prohibitions on idolatrous trees also refer to
the whole process. I think the LIST above gives greater depth
to the Rashi.
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