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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 Ex32-13b
    URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1210.htm
    Brief Summary: Have memories (1) OF Abraham (who endured fire) (2)OF Isaac (who sacrificed himself at the Akaydah), and (3) OF Jacob (who endured exile).

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) Exe32-13b discussing Moses prayer to God that memories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob should sway God from destroying the Jews: states Have memories
    • of Abraham
    • of Isaac and
    • of Jacob
    The repeated underlined word/phrase of 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 Have memories
    • of Abraham [Rashi: who endured a burning furnace rather than worship idols]
    • of Isaac [Rashi: who offered himself to the sword in the binding of the Akaydah] and
    • of Jacob [Rashi: who endured exile with Laban.]

Advanced Rashi: Just to recap - Moses prayed to God that memories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their sacrifices should be sufficient to prevent God from punishing the Jews with burning, sword and exile.

Those who are use to the traditional way to learn Rashi would explain this Rashi by emphasizing the unnecessary repetition of the word of (the extra Hebrew lameds). The verse could have simply said Have memories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.... Such a formulation would have used only one of. Our contribution to this traditional understanding of Rashi, an understanding based on redundant words and letters, is to interpret the extra words/letters as indicating and creating a bullet like effect. It is the bullet effect, not the redundant words, that requires a distinct emphasis on all enumerated items. The conceptual literature refers to this as a method of intermediate concepts since the redundancy is seen not as the final solution but rather as an intermediate variable which in turn indicates a bullet effect.


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