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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 Ex21-15b
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1207.htm
      Brief Summary: A person who delivers a non-fatal blow to EITHER his father or mother receives a death penalty.

The bulk of traditional Biblical Hebrew grammar deals with the conjugation of verbs and nouns. However Biblical Hebrew grammar also deals with other issues such as a) pronoun reference, b) gender/ plurality agreement, c) adjectives /adverbs / determiners, d) compound nouns/ verbs/ sentences, e) possessives, and f) use of connective words.

Today Rashi deals with the connective Biblical word, Vav. In Biblical Hebrew Vav can be translated as meaning any logical connective such as and, or, but, if, then,...

    To fully understand this Rashi we cite a beautiful Malbim explaining the use of the Hebrew Vav. Malbim suggests three principles:
  • In a simple command Vav means and; For example, Take on the first day of Succoth an ethrog, and lulav, and myrtles and willows (Lv23-40.)
  • In a simple prohibition vav means or; for example, don't abuse [either] a widow or an orphan (Ex22-21)
  • In a conditional statement there is a controversy between Rabbi Oshia and Rabbi Yonathan whether Vav means and or or. Malbim ingeniously cites two dozen Talmudic passages where this controversy occurs. Rashi translates in accordance with the opinion that it means or. For example Rashi translates Ex21-15 as follows: [if] you smite [either] your father or your mother [then] you receive a death penalty. 


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