SYMBOLISM
(C) Dr Hendel, Nov-02
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RASHIS COVERED: Gn41-04a DREAM SYMBOLISM
Gn41-30a Gn41-31a
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
Gn41 can be summarized in 5 stages as follows:
-Verses(2-4) Pharohs dream:7 fat ox; 7 thin ox;thin ox eat fat ox
-Verses(18-21) Pharoh tell his OX DREAM to Joseph
-Verses(5-7) Pharoh dreams:7 plump reeds;7 thin reeds;consumption
-Verses(22-24) Pharoh tell his REED dream to Joseph
-Verses(26-31) Joseph SYMBOLICALLY interprets Pharohs dream
-- The 7 Fat/plump ox/plants SYMBOLIZE 7 good years of plenty
-- The 7 thin/emaciated ox/plants SYMBOLIZE 7 bad years of famine
-- 7thin ox consume 7fat ox==The famine erases memory of saiety
-- The Thin ox dont improve==The famine remains without hope
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TODAYS RASHI RULE: SYMBOLISM
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE: SYMBOLISM
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TODAYS RULE AND SUBRULE
One goal of Rashi is to alert readers to symbolic passages.
Rashi will take the Biblical text and item by item translate
the symbols.
STANDARD REFERENCE FOR TODAYS RASHI RULE
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gen-1.htm
This is my article GENESIS 1 TALKS ABOUT THE CREATION OF
PROPHECY NOT THE CREATION OF THE WORLD, published in
BOR HATORAH, Volume 13E
STANDARD EXAMPLE
The subject of symbolism is complex. In todays posting
Rashi illustrates how to interpret dreams. A fundamental
idea in dream interpretation is using axiomatic motifs.
Thus in Pharohs dream Joseph interprets animals and plants
as symbolizing time and years. Hence the 7 fat ox become
7 fat years while the 7 emaciated ox symbolize 7 famine
years etc.
TODAYS LIST
We present the 3-4 verses in Pharohs dream as well as the
symbolism of each verse. Each verse is repeated 5 times
(2 dreams each dreamt & told by Pharoh and the interpretation
by Joseph) The footnotes all indicate this.
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TEXT OF VERSES
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VERSES IN Gn41
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SYMBOLISM OF VERSE TEXT
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7 fat ox/plump reeds
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2 18 5 22 26*1
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7 good years of plenty*2
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7 thin ox/thin reeds
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3 19 6 23 27*1
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7 bad years of famine*2
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thin consumes the fat
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4 20 7 24 30*1
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7 bad erase memory of good*3
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but thin still thin
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- 21 - -- 31*1
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Famine is irreversible *3
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COMMENTS
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*1 Each VERSE TEXT and SYMBOLISM is associated with 5 verses
- The 3 verses of the OX dream (2-4)
- Pharohs repetition of the OX dream to Joseph(18-21)
Notice there are 4 verses in the repetition
- The 3 verses of the REED dream (5-7)
- Pharohs repetition of the REED dream to Joseph(22-24)
- Josephs symbolic interpretation of the dreams (26-31)
See the next footnote for examples
*2 Thus verse 26 EXPLICITLY links the 7 FAT OX with the
7 GOOD YEARS OF PLENTY
Similarly verse 27 EXPLICITLY links the 7 thin years
with 7 BAD YEARS OF FAMINE
*3 Joseph interprets the EATING OF THE THIN OX OF THE FAT OX
as THE RUINING OF THE MEMORY OF THE GOOD YEARS BY THE
BAD YEARS. However Joseph does not explicitly LINK the
EATING with the FORGETTING. Rather Joseph simply states
that the SAIETY WILL BE FORGOTTEN.
Hence it is Rashis Job to show how this interpretation
of FORGETTING is LINKED SYMBOLICALLY to the thin ox
EATING the fat ox.
Rashi similarly explicitly links the CONSUMPTION of
the fat reeds by the thin reeds without any effect on
the thin reeds with the FORGETTING of the saiety years
Thus Rashis job here is to EXPLICITLY link the symbols
and the verses
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