Volume 50 Number 1



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#       10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE             #
#                  May  15, 2001                          #
#          Rashis 743-743 Of 7800 (9.5%)                  #
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GOALS:
------
In this short module we compare verses on 5 capital crimes.
in each case we will see a pair of verses.

* One verse says there is a DEATH penalty
* One verse says the person is CUT OFF from his nation

The traditional approach says that a DEATH PENALTY happens
if there are witnesses while if there are no witnesses
then there is extinction.

This module will be a bit different in flavor than previous
modules. The punchy proof of Rashi will not occur till the
end of the unit. In other words the proof will come from
the ENTIRE list and not from any PARTICULAR verse


TODAYS UNIT
-----------
In todays unit we enrich our understanding of blasphemy
by citing 3 and comparing 2-3 verses on the subject.
The grand summary will occur tomorrow.


REFERENCE:
----------
This module comes from the following references in the
Rashi-is-Simple series.


http://www.RashiYomi.h10n3.htm





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


EXTINCTION FOR CAPITAL OFFENSES WITHOUT WITNESSES
 
The LIST below gathers 5 crimes
* Each of them has TWO verses associated with it
* with witnesses the punishment for this crime is death
* without witnesses the punishment is extinction

In some cases the EXTINCTION - DEATH distinction is not
explicit in the verse while in other cases it is more
explicit.

Thus the LIST enables us to see an overall pattern -
a rule which should universally applied -- that is,
death penalty applies only with witnesses while
without witnesses we have extinction


This list uses the Rabbi Ishmael rule of GENERALIZATION.
VERSE-1 THE CRIME EXTINCTION VERSE-2 DEATH PENALTY

Gn09-05d Murder I will SEEK blood Gn09-06a Death penalty
Lv20-06 Witchcraft I will CUT him off Lv20-27a Stoned to death
Lv24-15a Blasphemy He BEARS his sin*1 Lv24-16 Stoned to death
Ex31-14b Shabbat He will be CUT off Ex31-14a Death penalty
Lv18-29 Adultery They will be CUT off Lv20-10 Death penalty


COMMENTS

*1 Contrast the punishments to blasphemy
   in the following 2 verses:
     Lv24-15a lists a punishment of BEARING HIS SIN while Nu15-30b
  lists a punishment of BEING CUT OFF. Hence it is reasonable
  to identify the phrase BEAR HIS SIN with the punishment of
  BEING CUT OFF

  Lv24-15, Lv24-16 and Nu15-30 present 3 different words for
  cursing. They give the roots KUF-LAMED-LAMED, NUN-KUF-BETH,
  GIMEL-DALETH-FAY. Rashi on Lv24-16b and Nu15-30b brings
  LISTS of verses confirming that these roots are synonyms
  (that is, different roots with basically the same meaning)








ALIGNMENT OF 2 VERSES ON BLASPHEMY
 
The LIST below aligns Lv24-15 and Lv24-16 by breaking the
2 verses into 4 PHRASES. A comparison of aligned phrases
facilitates inference of the details of blasphemy. The main
laws learned is that
* cursing the ineffable name of God carries a death penalty
* cursing one of the other names of God results in extinction

The differences between the 4 phrases are examined in the 4
footnotes
VERSE PHRASE 1 PHRASE 2 PHRASE3 PHRASE 4

Lv24-15 A person cursing his God will bear his sin
Lv24-16 A person cursing the name of God will die
*1 *2 *3 *4


COMMENTS

*1 There are some subtle differences in the actual Hebrew
   which I have translated over (to get everything in one
   line). Lv24-15 says A MAN A MAN WHEN HE CURSETH..
   while Lv24-16 says WHOSO CURSETH. The Sifrah/Sifray,
   the Midrashic commentary gives no comment on this. I would
   assume that as usual, this language means that  the death
   penalty is extended to both men and women.

*2 Cursing the Ineffable Name of God carries a death penalty
   while cursing one of Gods other names (such as My Lord)
   carries a punishment of extinction.

*3 I would simply say that HIS GOD refers to names of God
   that have a POSSESSIVE element in the word: For example,
   MY LORD, MY GOD. So Lv24-15 explicitly says that cursing
   one of Gods names that have a possesive element, (like
   MY LORD), carries no death penalty, but rather a penalty
   of extinction.

*4 This has been explained above: There are two types of
   blasphemy: A blasphemy that carries a death penalty
   and a blasphemy that carries an extinction penalty.

   Now as pointed out in footnotes *2 and *3, Lv24-16
   dealing with the case of cursing Gods ineffable name,
   carries a death penalty, while Lv24-15 shows that
   cursing Gods other names (like LORD) carry an
   extinction penalty.

   Similarly (by analogy with the other crimes
   in the list above) cursing Gods ineffable Name
   WITHOUT witnesses would also carry a death penalty.

   In other words the primary intention of the
   2 verses, Lv24-15 and Lv24-16,  was to indicate the
   distinction between the INEFFABLE and OTHER NAMES
   of God. But by ANALOGY with other crimes, cursing the
   ineffable name of God without witnesses would also carry
   an EXTINCTION penalty.

   I think this viewpoint, that certain items are learned
   explicitly while other items are learned by analogy
   will facilitate seeing all of Rashi as the Simple
   inference of the text.



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

EXTINCTION FOR CAPITAL OFFENSES WITHOUT WITNESSES
The LIST below gathers 5 crimes * Each of them has TWO verses associated with it * with witnesses the punishment for this crime is death * without witnesses the punishment is extinction In some cases the EXTINCTION - DEATH distinction is not explicit in the verse while in other cases it is more explicit. Thus the LIST enables us to see an overall pattern - a rule which should universally applied -- that is, death penalty applies only with witnesses while without witnesses we have extinction This list uses the Rabbi Ishmael rule of GENERALIZATION.
VERSE-1	THE CRIME	EXTINCTION	VERSE-2	DEATH PENALTY
Gn09-05d	Murder	I will SEEK blood	Gn09-06a	Death penalty
Lv20-06	Witchcraft	I will CUT him off	Lv20-27a	Stoned to death
Lv24-15a	Blasphemy	He BEARS his sin*1	Lv24-16	Stoned to death
Ex31-14b	Shabbat	He will be CUT off	Ex31-14a	Death penalty
Lv18-29	Adultery	They will be CUT off	Lv20-10	Death penalty


COMMENTS
*1 Contrast the punishments to blasphemy in the following 2 verses: Lv24-15a lists a punishment of BEARING HIS SIN while Nu15-30b lists a punishment of BEING CUT OFF. Hence it is reasonable to identify the phrase BEAR HIS SIN with the punishment of BEING CUT OFF Lv24-15, Lv24-16 and Nu15-30 present 3 different words for cursing. They give the roots KUF-LAMED-LAMED, NUN-KUF-BETH, GIMEL-DALETH-FAY. Rashi on Lv24-16b and Nu15-30b brings LISTS of verses confirming that these roots are synonyms (that is, different roots with basically the same meaning)

ALIGNMENT OF 2 VERSES ON BLASPHEMY
The LIST below aligns Lv24-15 and Lv24-16 by breaking the 2 verses into 4 PHRASES. A comparison of aligned phrases facilitates inference of the details of blasphemy. The main laws learned is that * cursing the ineffable name of God carries a death penalty * cursing one of the other names of God results in extinction The differences between the 4 phrases are examined in the 4 footnotes
VERSE	PHRASE 1	PHRASE 2	PHRASE3	PHRASE 4
Lv24-15	A person cursing		his God	will bear his sin
Lv24-16	A person cursing	the name of	God	will die
	*1	*2	*3	*4


COMMENTS
1 There are some subtle differences in the actual Hebrew which I have translated over (to get everything in one line). Lv24-15 says A MAN A MAN WHEN HE CURSETH.. while Lv24-16 says WHOSO CURSETH. The Sifrah/Sifray, the Midrashic commentary gives no comment on this. I would assume that as usual, this language means that the death penalty is extended to both men and women. 2 Cursing the Ineffable Name of God carries a death penalty while cursing one of Gods other names (such as My Lord) carries a punishment of extinction. 3 I would simply say that HIS GOD refers to names of God that have a POSSESSIVE element in the word: For example, MY LORD, MY GOD. So Lv24-15 explicitly says that cursing one of Gods names that have a possesive element, (like MY LORD), carries no death penalty, but rather a penalty of extinction. 4 This has been explained above: There are two types of blasphemy: A blasphemy that carries a death penalty and a blasphemy that carries an extinction penalty. Now as pointed out in footnotes 2 and 3, Lv24-16 dealing with the case of cursing Gods ineffable name, carries a death penalty, while Lv24-15 shows that cursing Gods other names (like LORD) carry an extinction penalty. Similarly (by analogy with the other crimes in the list above) cursing Gods ineffable Name WITHOUT witnesses would also carry a death penalty. In other words the primary intention of the 2 verses, Lv24-15 and Lv24-16, was to indicate the distinction between the INEFFABLE and OTHER NAMES of God. But by ANALOGY with other crimes, cursing the ineffable name of God without witnesses would also carry an EXTINCTION penalty. I think this viewpoint, that certain items are learned explicitly while other items are learned by analogy will facilitate seeing all of Rashi as the Simple inference of the text.