Why are words REPEATED REPEATED:#7 of 14
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#     10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE               #
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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

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




TODAYS UNIT
===========
In today and tomorrows unit we review two unusual cases.
In one of them Rashi only states the interpretation
implicitly instead of explicitly. In the other verse Rashi
uses a non-standard nuance of the Hebrew root.



REFERENCE:
=========
Material in this module comes from a variety of postings.
Please check the following items which might be a bit
more lengthy.

Example 13:     http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h6n4.htm
Example 14:     http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h1n2.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/dn.htm

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EXAMPLE 13: Dt16-20a
==========
The verse, Dt16-20, says >RIGHTEOUSNESS RIGHTEOUSNESS PURSUE<

Rashis treatment of this >REPETITION< is most interesting
On Dt16-20a Rashi simply comments on the Repetition by saying
>MAKE A NICE COURT<

Such a statement is >NON-SPECIFIC< since it doesnt tell us how
to be >NICE<.  However an explicit statement of this >NICENESS<
occurs in Rambam, Sanhedrin Chapter 11, Paragraph 1: Rambam
explicitly gives a law which would nicely follow from the
REPEATED word

----------------------------------------------------------------
If it had just said >PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS< I would interpret
it to mean that we should see to it that courts acquit
>RIGHTEOUS< people. However the repeated word suggests an
interpretation with a NON STANDARD NUANCE of pursueing
rigtheousness--Here is the law: If you accidentally acquit a
guilty person do NOT retry him but rather pursue righteousness
and let the acquital(of the guilty person) be upheld
----------------------------------------------------------------

In summary >RIGHTEOUSNESS RIGHTEOUSNESS PURSUE< means pursue
righteousness even when it happens accidentally(that is even
when you acquit a guilty person by accident). Rashi however
simply says >be a NICE court<. While there are difficulties
with Rashis language I think the above interpretation consistent
with the way we have been treating >REPEATED WORDS<








EXAMPLE 14: Gn39-11b
==========
BACKGROUND
----------
The Bible is discussing the attempted seduction of Joseph by his
masters wife. Gn39-11 says

VERSE
-----
----------------------------------------------------------------
And she grabbed him by his >CLOTHING< saying SLEEP WITH ME and he
left his >CLOTHING< in her hand and ran out
----------------------------------------------------------------

THE REPEATED WORD
-----------------
It could have just said >And he left IT in her hand and ran out<
Indeed, the rules of style REQUIRE that a second repeated noun
be referenced by a pronoun.

NON STANDARD NUANCE
-------------------
The Midrashs way of dealing with the repetition is to give
a NON-STANDARD-TRANSLATION of the Hebrew word >Beth-Gimel-Dalet<
which can mean both GARMENT and DOUBLE-CROSS. Hence the Midrash
translates the verse as follows

----------------------------------------------------------------
And she grabbed him as he was >DOUBLE CROSSING(his religion)<
saying SLEEP WITH ME and he left his >CLOTHING< in her hand and
ran out
----------------------------------------------------------------

In other words there is a strong opinion in the Midrash that
Joseph had actually planned to sin with her (After all he was
a teenager, his brothers had tried to murder him, his brothers
actually sold him into slavery, & his masters wife had been
playing with him---here was his perfect opportunity to advance)
Hence the verse says >And she grabbed him during his time
of DOUBLE CROSSING (Since he had come into the house to sin,
not to work)<

COMMENT
-------
As already indicated this is an unusual application of the rule
of REPEATED WORDS. For we are not broadening the meaning of the
word to include non-standard nuances. Rather we are broadening
the word to include non-standard translations of the underlying
root.



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