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    9. RASHI METHOD: SPREADSHEETS
    BRIEF EXPLANATION: The common denominator of the 3 submethods of the Spreadsheet method is that inferences are made from non textual material. The 3 submethods are as follows:
    • Spreadsheet: Rashi makes inferences of a numerical nature that can be summarized in a traditional spreadsheet
    • Geometric: Rashi clarifies a Biblical text using descriptions of geometric diagrams
    • Fill-ins: Rashi supplies either real-world background material or indicates real-world inferences from a verse. The emphasis here is on the real-world, non-textual nature of the material.
    This examples applies to Rashis Gn11-03c
    URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w34n15.htm
    Brief Summary: The generation of the tower made BRICKS because STONES, the traditional building material were not found in the Babelonian valley

Verse Gn11-03 discussing the building of the Tower of Babel, states, And they said one to another: 'Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.' And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. Rashi comments: They used bricks to build the tower, because stones the traditional building material were not found in the Babelonia valley. Here Rashi uses real world phenomena to explain a Biblical verse, similar, for example, to using archaelogical data to explain Biblical verses. The use of real-world non-verse material to explain a verse justifies classifying this Rashi as a non-verse method.

Advanced Rashi: But why does the Bible tell us this? Presumably it magnifies their sin. They didn't just use stones lying around to build a tower, they had to go through a laborious process of brick production to build the tower. In other words their activities were truly premeditated. A person who has to work alot to sin is obviously worse than a person who just sins off the cuff. 


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