RASHIS COVERED: TAKE means TAKE, BUY, MARKET, SEDUCE,SMOOTH TALK
Nu16-01b Gn16-03a Ex14-06b
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
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The Hebrew root Lamed-kaph-Cheth means TO TAKE. As in English,
TO TAKE can mean to be TAKEN IN--that is, it can refer to SMOOTH
TALK. Examples of this usage--TAKE=SMOOTH TALK--occur in Pr07-21
--the prostitute made him deviate thru HER SMOOTH TALK. Similarly
Pr04-02 states that God gave us the Torah, which consist of GOOD
SLICK SAYINGS. In general TO TAKE has 2 primary meanings: It can
mean to PHYSICALLY TAKE--booty, tongs--or it can mean to TAKE
NON-PHYSICALLY--death(the taking of the soul), seduction, market,
to buy. It can similarly refer to non-physical transfers--to join
a group(get taken in) or to appoint(Taken to a new position)
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TODAYS RASHI RULE: WORD MEANINGS
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE: UNIFIED MEANING
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BRIED DESCRIPTION OF RULE and SUBRULE
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One of Rashis 6 main goals was to function like a dictionary
and present the meanings of words. Very often a given Hebrew
root can have a dozen or so meanings. Rashis job was to point
to unifying themes. This unifying theme does not contradict
the particular nuances of each meaning and enriches our
understaning of it.
STANDARD EXAMPLE
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A useful way of understanding these Rashis was outlined in
my article PSHAT & DRASH--Tradition, Winter 1980 in which I
suggest finding semantic models or analogies in other
languages.
Consider the word TAKE in ENGLISH. TAKE can mean to
- PHYSICALLY TAKE
- BE SEDUCED/FOOLED (Get TAKEN IN)
- STEAL (Make a TAKE)
Such a rich variety of meanings in English helps us appreciate
a similar rich variety in Hebrew. For indeed Rashi explains
that the Hebrew root Lamed-Kaph-Cheth means TO TAKE, TO MARKET,
TO MAKE SMOOTH TALK, TO BUY, TO DIE, TO GET BOOTY etc. Thus
the English and Hebrew metaphors are the same.
STANDARD REFERENCES FOR THIS RULE
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http://www.Rashiyomi.com/word.htm
PSHAT AND DERASH: A NEW INTUITIVE SPONTANEOUS APPROACH,
Tradition, Winter 1980. This fundamental article introduced
the idea of translating Rashi using analogies.
Here is the first list: Verses/Rashis where TAKE means
SMOOTH TALK, JOIN or APPOINT. Summary lists will be
presented Saturday and Sunday night. More meanings
will be presented tomorrow. Useful exercises for dealing
with Rashis that appear forced will also be presented
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