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      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 Lv21-03c
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n17.htm
      Brief Summary: Do NOT defile oneself to general dead; but DO defile oneself to relatives

    An important task for any writer is sentence unification within each paragraph and paragraph unification within each chapter. Rashi used three main methods of unification:
    • unification by contrast
    • unification by cause-effect-consequence
    • unification by commonality.
    The unification principle is not cosmetic. It is powerful leading to novelty in meaning and interpretation. Today's example shows this.

    Note the contrast in the following verses:
  • ....Speak to the priests, ...they shall not become ritually impure to dead ...
  • Except for his wife,...mother...sister...for her he should defile himself.

    To fully understand Rashi's point we present the above verses in several forms:
    • ....Speak to the priests, ...they shall not become ritually impure to dead ...
    • Except for his wife,...mother...sister...
    The implication here is: (a) Do not defile to ordinary people; (b) but you may defile to close relatives.

    However the following format: -
    • ....Speak to the priests, ...they shall not become ritually impure to dead ...
    • Except for his wife,...mother...sister...for her he should defile himself
    Rashi focusing on the contrastive nature of the verses - do not vs. he should - states, (a) There is a prohibition of defiling to non close relatives; (b) there is an obligation of defiling to close relatives. In other words the contrastive set of verses creates emphasis - the priest is not only permitted to defile himself to close relatives, he is in fact required. 


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