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      3. RASHI METHOD: GRAMMAR
      BRIEF EXPLANATION: Rashi explains verses using grammar principles, that is, rules which relate reproducable word form to word meaning. Grammatical rules neatly fall into 3 categories
      • (a) the rules governing conjugation of individual words,Biblical roots,
      • (b) the rules governing collections of words,clauses, sentences
      • (c) miscellaneous grammatical, or form-meaning, rules.
      This examples applies to Rashis Gn24-67a
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1314.htm
      Brief Summary: And he brought her to the tent - Mother Sarah.

Today Hebrew grammar is well understood and there are many books on it. Rashi, however, lived before the age of grammar books. A major Rashi method is therefore the teaching of basic grammar.

Many students belittle this aspect of Rashi. They erroneously think that because of modern methods we know more. However Rashi will frequently focus on rare grammatical points not covered in conventional textbooks.

    There are many classical aspects to grammar whether in Hebrew or other languages. They include
  • The rules for conjugating verbs. These rules govern how you differentiate person, plurality, tense, mode, gender, mood, and designation of the objects and indirect objects of the verb. For example how do you conjugate, in any language, I sang, we will sing, we wish to sing, she sang it.
  • Rules of agreement. For example agreement of subject and verb, of noun and adjective; whether agreement in gender or plurality.
  • Rules of Pronoun reference.
  • Rules of word sequence. This is a beautiful topic which is not always covered in classical grammatical textbooks.

Today we illustrate a powerful but little understood rule common to all languages - apposition. Very roughly apposition consists of breaking up a phrase mid-sentence. Instead of stating the whole phrase you instead break it up - tersely stating the main idea and then later on in the sentence filling in details. Such a technique, although sounding strange, has a very powerful effect on the reader who is forced to focus and concentrate more fully.

A classical example is Is63-07, I will recount the kindness of God, the things we praise him on. The author in beautiful poetic style converts this verse with apposition. The actual reading is as follows: The kindness of God I will recount, the things we praise God on. By breaking the phrase kindness of God, the things we praise him on into two phrases placed at different points of the verse the author achieves powerful poetic effect forcing the reader and listener to focus with more attention.

Verse Gn24-67a wishes to state Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah but instead through the use of apposition states ##### 


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