align-53


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#       10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE             #
#                 September 26, 2001                      #
#          Rashis 975-979 Of 7800 (12.6%)                 #
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#       http://www.RashiYomi.Com/calendar.htm             #
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#  (c) 1999-2001, RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President     #
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    =============  HOT ITEMS ================================

   HI
   I am writing from Israel where I went for my nephews
   Bar mitzvah. I am actually writing from Ephraim Kings
   computer. So things will be hectic in the next few days
   Here are some details

   - #51 in the Alignment series is identical with #50
     and #49. Recall these were 7 Rashis that lasted
     3 days (2 a day)

   - Normal RASHI YOMI will resume Oct 5th.

   - I took my new laptop along but because I had an advanced
     security check (probably because I was carrying almost
     no luggage) they did not allow it on board. SO..I have
     to live off borrowed computers. Tonight I am using
     Ephraims computer after he went to sleep at midnight.

   - HENCE I AM POSTING 2 RASHI YOMIS today #52 and #53

   - HENCE also these will be TEXT files not HTML. However
     you can peak at the URLS in the Reference section
     to see the whole thing in living color

   - Finally: Ephraim, Rachamim, Hadassah & I spent a very
     nice day together here in Jerusalem. We ate at Sbarros.

   - An EASY FAST and HAPPY HOLIDAY to all. I will try and
     get at least one other posting thru before the 5th.

   - When I get back I will put the professional looking
     version of these postings out on the web at the
     RashiYomi calendar.

   ENGLISH RASHI:       http://www.mnemotrix.com/metsudah
   THE WHITE PAPERS:    http://www.RashiYomi.Com/white.htm
   =========================================================
 GOALS
=====
This module studies the ALIGNMENT method in Rashi. In this
method 2 different verses are found to be ALMOST the same.
The verses are lined up and the minor differences between
them function as footnotes illuminating the text.

TODAYS UNIT
===========
In the next few days we will be aligning
parallel phrases in Dt32-16:20. This set of 4
verses sheds light on a 4 stages process by which
the Jews sinning leads to Gods anger.

REFERENCE:
=========
Todays unit comes from the following postings

http://www.RashiYomi.Com/dt32-16a.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h11n17.htm

#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#


ALIGNMENTS OF COMPONENTS OF Dt32-17
 

EXAMPLE 119: Dt32-17a  No-gods (not used for anything)
EXAMPLE 120: Dt32-17b  New (not well known)
EXAMPLE 121: Dt32-17c  demoned | feared
EXAMPLE 122: Dt32-21a Same Rashi as Dt32-16a *12
EXAMPLE 123: Dt32-21b Same Rashi as Dt32-17a *12

BACKGROUND
----------
Dt32-16:20 discusses how God gets angry at the Jewish
people for deserting Him.

THE TEXT
--------
Dt32-19 They offered to the DEMONS
Dt32-18 (They offered to gods) not GOATED by their fathers

THE RASHI
---------
Notice how DEMONS parallels GOATED. Hence, Rashi infers
that GOATS in this verse SYMBOLIZES DEMONS. The statement
-------------------------------
gODS NOT GOATED BY YOUR FATHERS
-------------------------------
refers to gods worshipped even though they were not
considered to have demonic powers.

THE LIST
--------
Other parallelisms are presented in the LIST below and its
footnotes.
VERSE PHRASE1 PHRASE2 PHRASE3

Dt32-17 They offer to demons (to) no-gods
Dt32-17 ---- ----- -- ------ gods that are not known
Dt32-17 ---- ----- -- ------ new gods, just developed
Dt32-17 ---- ----- -- (gods)not demoned (gods) not feared

Differs *1 *2 *3

COMMENTS

*1 The first word: THEY-OFFER, applies to each of the
   the 4 phrases in the verse but is only written by the
   first one. Such a style (writing a repeated verb once
   even though it applies to many phrases) is characteristic
   of poetry (It is called ellipsis)

*2 I bring your attention to the last phrase in the list (and
   verse). The Hebrew is technical. The root is Shin-Ayin-Resh.
   Rashi brings two interpretations based on 2 possible
   parallelisms

   -- PARALLEL WITH PHRASE2: S-A-R means DEMONS: The verse reads
      ------------------------------------------
      gods that were not DEMONED by your fathers
      ------------------------------------------

   -- PARALLEL WITH PHRASE3: S-A-R means FRIGHT: The verse reads
     --------------------------------------------
     (gods) which your fathers were not AFRAID of
     --------------------------------------------

   For further details and defenses see footnote *10

*3 The 3-4 phrases in the PHRASE3 column form a sequence
   which is interpreted using the CLIMAX principle. The Jews
   are depicted  offering to
   -----------------------------------------------------------
   gods                       what type of god
   ------------------------   --------------------------------
   no-gods                    gods not known to do anything
   gods not known             gods not popular among idolaters
   new gods                   gods that were just made up
   gods that are not feared   worship for the sake of worship
   -----------------------------------------------------------

   For further details see footnote *11

------------------ LONGER FOOTNOTES ----------------------------

*10 The two meanings brought by Rashi arent just 2 translations
    but rather two approaches to applying the PARALLEL STRUCTURE
    PRINCIPLE.

    In other words a superficial reading of Rashi would appear to
    suggest that Rashi found 2 VERSES with the root
    Sin-Ayin-Raish, the same root used in the Dt32-17 verse
    And because of these two verses Rashi inferred two
    dictionary meanings

    But I am suggesting that
    it was the 2 PARALLEL STRUCTURES that motivated Rashis 2
    interpretations. The two verses support the structure. It was
    the structure, not the verse, that was primary.

    Here are the two interpretations
    (The Hebrew root used in the last part
    of the verse is SAAR which can mean GOAT, HAIR etc. As will
    be seen below we can derive new meanings of FRIGHT & DEMONS)

   - PARALLELISM ON PHRASE2
     --------------------------------
     Rashi parallels the last words of the verse with the
     statement THEY OFFER TO DEMONS. HENCE, concludes Rashi, the
     last words of the verse also have this meaning. To cement
     this approach Rashi brings a supporting verse where the
     Hebrew word used (SAIR) has a meaning of DEMONS (Isa13-21).
     Lv17-07 is another example. In these 2 verses SAAR means
     GOATS which refer to DEMONS since GOATS are symbols of
     FRIGHT. Hence, Rashi translates the  verse as follows
     -------------------------------------------------
     they worshipped gods not DEMONED by their fathers
     -------------------------------------------------

   - PARALLELISM ON PHRASE3
     ----------------------------------------------------------
     Rashi parallels the last words of the verse with PHRASE3.
     Hence Rashi interprets the last words as referring to
     worshipping different types of gods. Note that
     the Hebrew root SAAR means HAIR and hence it can refer
     to a FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE (As in the English HAIRY
     EXPERIENCE or in the Hebrew NAIL(SMR) (Job4-15
     MY HAIR WILL BECOME NAIL LIKE(SMR) (ie I will become
     frightened)) referring to the goose pimples some people get
     when frightened) According to this approach Rashi interprets
     the verse as
     -----------------------------------------------------------
     they worship no-gods, unknown gods,
     new gods, GODS THEY DO NOT FEAR
     -----------------------------------------------------------

*11 I again emphasize the fundamental rule of CLIMAX.
    Rashi can infer meaning and nuances either from
    -- special words
    -- special grammar
    -- a style of climax
    For other examples where CLIMAX determines meaning see
    http://www.Rashiyomi.com/example8.htm
    http://www.RashiYomi.Com/example9.htm

    Thus it is the STYLE, not necessarily the words, that motivated
    interpreting this list of idol-gods in a climactic manner:
    -- worthless gods
    -- obscure gods (Few people have heard of them)
    -- newly created gods

    Nevertheless we can also find SUPPORT for this analysis in the
    the words used. The expression NO-GODS is composed of the
    words GOD and NO. There are other idioms in Hebrew using
    NO and a word. For example Job30-08 speaks about NO-NAME
    people

    Just as NO-NAME people, are people who may have names,
    but dont have respectable names, so to, NO-gOD gods, are
    gods that may be idols, but arent known for doing anything
    specific (eg they are not gods you come to for healing,
    love etc).

    Rashi also echoes this on Dt32-21b. The Biblical text states
    ------------------------------
    They angered me with NO-gODS
    ------------------------------
    Rashi sees this as a flashback to Dt32-17 and explains the
    same way
    ------------------------------
    gODS that have no USE:
    ------------------------------
    In other words some gods are USED eg for healing, victory etc
    By contrast the no-gods are not used for anything

*12 The Rashis on Dt32-21a and Dt32-21b are identical to the
    Rashis on  Dt32-16a and Dt32-17a. Hence since there is
    nothing further added in these two Rashis I brought them here


#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#

ALIGNMENTS OF COMPONENTS OF Dt32-17
EXAMPLE 119: Dt32-17a No-gods (not used for anything) EXAMPLE 120: Dt32-17b New (not well known) EXAMPLE 121: Dt32-17c demoned \| feared EXAMPLE 122: Dt32-21a Same Rashi as Dt32-16a 12 EXAMPLE 123: Dt32-21b Same Rashi as Dt32-17a 12 BACKGROUND ---------- Dt32-16:20 discusses how God gets angry at the Jewish people for deserting Him. THE TEXT -------- Dt32-19 They offered to the DEMONS Dt32-18 (They offered to gods) not GOATED by their fathers THE RASHI --------- Notice how DEMONS parallels GOATED. Hence, Rashi infers that GOATS in this verse SYMBOLIZES DEMONS. The statement ------------------------------- gODS NOT GOATED BY YOUR FATHERS ------------------------------- refers to gods worshipped even though they were not considered to have demonic powers. THE LIST -------- Other parallelisms are presented in the LIST below and its footnotes.
VERSE	PHRASE1	PHRASE2	PHRASE3
Dt32-17	They offer to	demons	(to) no-gods
Dt32-17	---- ----- --	------	gods that are not known
Dt32-17	---- ----- --	------	new gods, just developed
Dt32-17	---- ----- --	(gods)not demoned	(gods) not feared

Differs	*1	*2	*3

COMMENTS
1 The first word: THEY-OFFER, applies to each of the the 4 phrases in the verse but is only written by the first one. Such a style (writing a repeated verb once even though it applies to many phrases) is characteristic of poetry (It is called ellipsis) 2 I bring your attention to the last phrase in the list (and verse). The Hebrew is technical. The root is Shin-Ayin-Resh. Rashi brings two interpretations based on 2 possible parallelisms -- PARALLEL WITH PHRASE2: S-A-R means DEMONS: The verse reads ------------------------------------------ gods that were not DEMONED by your fathers ------------------------------------------ -- PARALLEL WITH PHRASE3: S-A-R means FRIGHT: The verse reads -------------------------------------------- (gods) which your fathers were not AFRAID of -------------------------------------------- For further details and defenses see footnote 10 3 The 3-4 phrases in the PHRASE3 column form a sequence which is interpreted using the CLIMAX principle. The Jews are depicted offering to ----------------------------------------------------------- gods what type of god ------------------------ -------------------------------- no-gods gods not known to do anything gods not known gods not popular among idolaters new gods gods that were just made up gods that are not feared worship for the sake of worship ----------------------------------------------------------- For further details see footnote 11 ------------------ LONGER FOOTNOTES ---------------------------- 10 The two meanings brought by Rashi arent just 2 translations but rather two approaches to applying the PARALLEL STRUCTURE PRINCIPLE. In other words a superficial reading of Rashi would appear to suggest that Rashi found 2 VERSES with the root Sin-Ayin-Raish, the same root used in the Dt32-17 verse And because of these two verses Rashi inferred two dictionary meanings But I am suggesting that it was the 2 PARALLEL STRUCTURES that motivated Rashis 2 interpretations. The two verses support the structure. It was the structure, not the verse, that was primary. Here are the two interpretations (The Hebrew root used in the last part of the verse is SAAR which can mean GOAT, HAIR etc. As will be seen below we can derive new meanings of FRIGHT & DEMONS) - PARALLELISM ON PHRASE2 -------------------------------- Rashi parallels the last words of the verse with the statement THEY OFFER TO DEMONS. HENCE, concludes Rashi, the last words of the verse also have this meaning. To cement this approach Rashi brings a supporting verse where the Hebrew word used (SAIR) has a meaning of DEMONS (Isa13-21). Lv17-07 is another example. In these 2 verses SAAR means GOATS which refer to DEMONS since GOATS are symbols of FRIGHT. Hence, Rashi translates the verse as follows ------------------------------------------------- they worshipped gods not DEMONED by their fathers ------------------------------------------------- - PARALLELISM ON PHRASE3 ---------------------------------------------------------- Rashi parallels the last words of the verse with PHRASE3. Hence Rashi interprets the last words as referring to worshipping different types of gods. Note that the Hebrew root SAAR means HAIR and hence it can refer to a FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE (As in the English HAIRY EXPERIENCE or in the Hebrew NAIL(SMR) (Job4-15 MY HAIR WILL BECOME NAIL LIKE(SMR) (ie I will become frightened)) referring to the goose pimples some people get when frightened) According to this approach Rashi interprets the verse as ----------------------------------------------------------- they worship no-gods, unknown gods, new gods, GODS THEY DO NOT FEAR ----------------------------------------------------------- 11 I again emphasize the fundamental rule of CLIMAX. Rashi can infer meaning and nuances either from -- special words -- special grammar -- a style of climax For other examples where CLIMAX determines meaning see http://www.Rashiyomi.com/example8.htm http://www.RashiYomi.Com/example9.htm Thus it is the STYLE, not necessarily the words, that motivated interpreting this list of idol-gods in a climactic manner: -- worthless gods -- obscure gods (Few people have heard of them) -- newly created gods Nevertheless we can also find SUPPORT for this analysis in the the words used. The expression NO-GODS is composed of the words GOD and NO. There are other idioms in Hebrew using NO and a word. For example Job30-08 speaks about NO-NAME people Just as NO-NAME people, are people who may have names, but dont have respectable names, so to, NO-gOD gods, are gods that may be idols, but arent known for doing anything specific (eg they are not gods you come to for healing, love etc). Rashi also echoes this on Dt32-21b. The Biblical text states ------------------------------ They angered me with NO-gODS ------------------------------ Rashi sees this as a flashback to Dt32-17 and explains the same way ------------------------------ gODS that have no USE: ------------------------------ In other words some gods are USED eg for healing, victory etc By contrast the no-gods are not used for anything 12 The Rashis on Dt32-21a and Dt32-21b are identical to the Rashis on Dt32-16a and Dt32-17a. Hence since there is nothing further added in these two Rashis I brought them here