Why are words REPEATED REPEATED:#2 of 14
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# 10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# Dec 25 2000 #
# Rashis 480-481 Of 7800 (6.0%) #
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OVERVIEW:
========
This module deals with Rashis which comment on verses with
>REPEATED WORDS<. The basic technique for >REPEATED WORDS<
was succinctly formulated by the MALBIM
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When a word is >REPEATED< unnecessarily then the
sentence with that word refers to >NON-STANDARD NUANCES<
The examples will illustrate how this is implemented
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TODAYS UNIT
===========
We explore half a dozen verses where the phrase >A MAN A MAN<
occurs. The basic method of interpreting this repeated phrase
is to assume that it is referring to a non-standard meaning
of >man< This unit will take two days.
Also in todays unit we explore a fundamental difference
between Dr Hendel and Dr Boncheck in their approach to
Rashi.
REFERENCE:
=========
Material in this module comes from a variety of postings.
Please check
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h4n23.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h4n19.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h4n13.htm Discusses Hendel vs Boncheck
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/dn.htm
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
RULE
====
>REPETITION< changes the meaning of the sentence to include
>non-standard nuances< This is the fundamental idea behind
all >REPETITION<
EXAMPLE 5: Gn37-15a
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BACKGROUND
----------
The Bible is discussing how Joseph went to join his brothers
who hated him. The text says about Josephs journey
THE VERSE
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And a >MAN< found him: Behold he was wandering in the field
And the >MAN< asked him: What are you looking for
And Joseph answered: I am looking for my brothers
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RASHI
-----
If the verse had only said >And a MAN found him wandering
in the field and HE asked him: What are you looking for<
then it would simply mean that some PERSON found him and
gave directions.
But the verse deliberately repeated the word >MAN<: >And
a MAN found him wandering in the field and the MAN asked
him what are you looking for<.
Using our rule about repetition, we infer that the
repeated word >MAN< has a non-standard meaning. Thus the
verse should be translated >And an ANGEL found him
wandering in the field and he (the angel)asked him what
are you looking for< Thus we translate the word >MAN<
as >ANGEL< (Which is a non-standard but acceptable nuance
of the word >man<)
COMMENT 1
---------
Notice that we have NOT explained why we picked this
particular non-standard translation. ALL we have proved
is that the verse SHOULD have a non-standard translation.
In fact this is the correct approach. It would be equally
valid to translate the verse >And a PROPHET found Joseph
wandering in the field and he(the PROPHET) asked him what
are you looking for< That is we could translated >MAN<
as refering to >PROPHET<
COMMENT 2
---------
This verse is in fact brought by Dr Boncheck in his
introduction to his excellent book WHAT IS BOTHERING
RASHI, VOLUME 2 (EXODUS). Dr Boncheck suggests that
in this verse >it was bothering Rashi that the Bible
should bother chit-chatting about someone finding him
and giving him directions<. To resolve this problem
Rashi gives the verse significant meaning by referring
it to an angel.
The approach of this email list differs. There is one
and only one way to justify Rashis: The use of Database
queries with LISTS of comparable examples. Thus this
RashiYomi module brings half a dozen verses where the
word >MAN< is repeated. In all of them Rashi and Chazal
interpret >MAN< non-standardly because of the repetition
Nevertheless, there is much merit in Dr Bonchecks book.
For example,our above analysis enriches Dr Bonchecks
comments on Ramban.
EXAMPLE 6: Nu05-12b
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BACKGROUND
----------
The Bible is discussing the procedure for dealing with a
man who suspects his wife of adultery. If a women was caught
misbehaving (eg she was alone with a man after her husband
warned her not to be alone with him) then under certain
circumstances the suspected-wife ceremony applies.The Bible says
THE VERSE
---------
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A >MAN MAN< whose wife is misbehaving
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RASHI
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In the Talmud and in the Number-Rabbah Midrash there are
about half a dozen explanations of this repetition. Rashi
MENTIONS the FIRST EXPLANATION of the Number-Rabbah-Midrash
It was Rashis intention that a good teacher review ALL the
explanations. Rashi does not seem to prefer any one
explanation as >BEST<.
All the explanations have in common that the reference
is to a non-standard nuance of >MAN<. Let us review
several of the explanations. We begin today with one
explanation and finish this unit tomorrow.
EXPLANATION 1
-------------
>When an ABNORMAL MAN--has a misbehaving wife<
In other words, the phrase >MAN MAN< refers to a non-standard
abnormal man--that is, someone who is always jealous or always
proving his masculinity.
I might have thought that the terrifying
suspected-wife ceremony would not apply to jealous husbands
who continually suspected their wives Therefore the Bible
tells us that ALL men have the right to ask that the
ceremony be applied.
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