#######################################################
#       12 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE         #
#                    Jun 13, 2009                     #
#                    YEAR 10 of 12                     #
#                                                     #
#           VISIT THE RASHI YOMI ARCHIVES             #
#           -----------------------------             #
#         HOME   http://www.RashiYomi.Com             #
# WEEKLY RASHI   http://www.RashiYomi.Com/rule.htm    #
#  DAILY RASHI   http://www.RashiYomi.Com/calendar.htm#
#                                                     #
#  Reprinted with permission from WEEKLY RASHI,       #
#  (c) 1999-2009, RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President #
#   Permission to reprint with this header PROVIDED   #
#          it is not printed for profit               #
#                                                     #
#######################################################


#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2009, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
    7. RASHI METHOD: FORMATTING
    BRIEF EXPLANATION:Inferences from Biblical formatting: --bold,italics, and paragraph structure.
    • Use of repetition to indicate formatting effects: bold,italics,...;
    • use of repeated keywords to indicate a bullet effect;
    • rules governing use and interpretation of climactic sequence;
    • rules governing paragraph development and discourse
    This example applies to Rashis Ex21-33a Ex21-33b
    URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1207.htm
    Brief Summary: Damages are paid whether you a) OPEN (dig or remove a cover from) a pit or b) DIG (Deeper) a pit.

We have explained in our article Biblical Formatting located on the world wide web at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/biblicalformatting.pdf, that the Biblical Author indicated bullets by using repeating keywords.

That is, if a modern author wanted to get a point across using bullets - a list of similar but contrastive items - then the Biblical Author would use repeating keywords. Today's verse illustrates this principle.

    Verse(s) Ex21-33 discussing the obligation to pay damages caused by a pit states
    • When a person opens a pit, or
    • When a person digs a pit.... [Then] the pit owner must pay.....
    The repeated underlined phrase when creates a bullet effect. The bullet effect in turn creates an emphasis on the distinctness of all enumerated items. Rashi interprets the distinctness as follows A person is liable for payment on pit damage whether
    • he opens the pit (that is, removes the cover of a covered pit), or
    • he digs the pit.

Advanced Rashi: Rashi asks a crushing question on the above interpretation: But if removing a cover from a pit causes liability then digging a pit certainly causes liability. We can reformulate this crushing Rashi comment as follows: The word opening a pit could equally refer to removing the cover of a covered pit or to digging/creating a pit. Both removing a cover and digging a pit are examples of opening a pit.

The remedy Rashi gives to this problem derives its driving force from the bullet structure. Bullets indicate distinction and unspecified emphasis. That is the verse by using a bullet structure is indicating that there are two ways to incur liability on pit damage. We aren't told explicitly what those two ways are but we do know that they are described as opening and digging a pit. As just seen, in the last paragraph, the obvious approach -that opening and digging refer to removing covers vs. digging - does not work out since opening could equally refer to removing a cover or digging.

    Rashi therefore offers a second attempt at understanding the distinctness of the bullets: A person is liable for damages from a pit whether the person
    • initiates the pit damage by opening the pit - that is, removing the cover or digging, as well as by
    • extending the pit damage by digging the pit deeper.
    Both these methods - (1) removing covers/digging which initiates pit damage and (2) extending the pit by digging deeper - require monetary liability.

We again emphasize that the driving force behind the Rashi derivation is not some vague Talmudic pilpul but rather the bulleted structure indicated by the repeating keyword, when. This bulleted structure requires an interpretation of and indicates an unspecified emphasis and distinctness in each bulleted item.


#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2009, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#