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#       12 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE         #
#                  April 11th, 2002                   #
#          Rashis 1343-1345 Of 7800 (17.2%)           #
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AYTZ=WOOD; HAAYTZ=TREE
 


EXAMPLE: Lv14-04e  Cedar AYTZ means a CEDAR BOARD
EXAMPLE: Ex07-19f  AYTZ utensils means WOODEN Utensils
EXAMPLE: Ex31-05a  CHORAYSH AYTZ means WOOD artisanry

----------------------------------------
TODAYS RASHI RULE:         WORD MEANINGS
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE:      SYNONYMS
----------------------------------------

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
---------------
All the databases in the world will still not create intuition
and insight, they can only support it. We therefore give
humble acknowledgement to Malbim for his pioneering and deep
work on synonyms and their nuances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RULE AND SUBRULE
-----------------------------------------
Rashi had 6 major goals in his commentary. See
http://www.RashiYomi.com/rules-01.htm.  One of these
major goals was similar to the goals of a dictionary.
Rashi wished to explain and clarify the meaning of words

However sometimes two words are synonyms. They seem to
mean the same thing. In such a case Rashis subgoal was
to explain the nuances that distinguished these two words.

In my paper PESHAT & DERASH, Tradition Winter 1980 I suggest
that an appropriate vehicle for clarifying word meanings is
use of semantic models from other languages.

STANDARD EXAMPLE
----------------
Perhaps the best or most famous example of word meaning
is the word KI. According to one Talmudic statement the
word KI has 4 meanings. But if you actually count the
meanings you will find 7.

EXERCISE
--------
Here are some sample verses. See if you can find the
right English translation for KI in each verse. That is
try and find one English word that will make the sentence
sound punchy and correct. The answers are provided below
--------------------------------------------------------------
1. Gn18-15a Sarah denied it, KI _______ she was afraid
2. Dt15-08b Dont be miserly. KI _______ Give charity
3. Ex34-09a KI _____ we become obstinate, THEN forgive us
4. Dt32-03a KI _____ I mention Gods name, give praise to God
5. Nu20-29c The nation saw KI _______ Aaron died
6. Ex23-05c KI _____ you will see him and desert him? Help him.
---------------------------------------------------------------

RASHIS SOLUTION
---------------
1. BECAUSE
2. RATHER
3. IF
4. WHEN
5. THAT
6. PERHAPS

STANDARD REFERENCES FOR THIS EXAMPLE
------------------------------------
See http://www.RashiYomi.com/words.htm which hyperlinks
to many more postings.


TODAYS EXAMPLE
--------------
Todays example was inspired by Dt21-22. A general rule of
thumb is that the word AYTZ by itself means WOOD while with
a HEY (HA-AYTZ) it means TREE. This rule of thumb can easily
be overridden by context but is still useful. Some examples
are presented in the list below. *10


VERSE
??AYTZ
MEANING OF PHRASE


Ex07-19f
--AYTZ
Wooden utensils


Ex31-05a
--AYTZ
WOOD Artistry and Stone artistry*1


Lv14-04e
--AYTZ
Erez wood*2


--------
------
------------------------------------------------


Dt21-22
HAAYTZ
Hang him on a WOODEN POLE (vs TREE)*3


Gn18-04
HAAYTZ
Rest under the Tree (HAAYTZ)*4












COMMENTS

*1  Rashi on this verse also explains that CHARASH means
    artisanship. See the main posting for an explanation

*2  That is an EREZ BOARD. It doesnt have to be a branch
    from the tree.

*3 The first verse says HANG HIM ON AYTZ. The next verse
   speaks about his being hung on HAAYTZ.

   Hence the Law (Brought down in Rambam) that
   - it is preferred to hang him on a tree (HAAYTZ)
   - but it is permissable to hang him on a wooden pole(AYTZ)

*4 By contrast without the HEY the verse would mean
   REST UNDER THE WOODED AREA