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    7. RASHI METHOD: FORMATTING
    BRIEF EXPLANATION:Inferences from Biblical formatting: #NAME?
    • 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 examples applies to Rashis Gn09-05c Gn09-05d
    URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/example9.htm
    Brief Summary: Five levels of prohibited murder: a) Suicide b) by animal agent c) By human agent, d) without witnesses e) Personally (Death Penalty)

The climax principle asserts that a sequence of similar phrases should be interpreted climactically even if the words and grammatical constructs used do not directly suggest this. That is the fact of the sequence justifies reading into the Biblical text a climactic interpretation even if no other textual source justifies it. For this reason we consider the climax method a distinct and separate method.

    Verses Gn09-05:06 discussing the prohibition of murder states
    1. And surely your blood of your souls will I seek; [ Rashi: Suicide - (I might think that only murder of others is prohibited)]
    2. at the hand of every beast will I require it, and [ Rashi: Killing by animal agent - (I might think that the animal is the murderer not me)]
    3. at the hand of man; [ Rambam: Killing by human agent - (I might think that the agent is the murderer not me)]
    4. at the hand of every manĘs brother will I require the life of man. [ Rashi: Steathily in a private family setting.]
    5. Whoever sheds manĘs blood, by man shall his blood be shed; .... [ Rashi: This refers to personally committed murder which is punishable by a death penalty at the hand of human courts.]
    We have interspersed the Rashi comments inside the Biblical text, and also clarified the climactic development.

Advanced Rashi: Notice how we have interspersed a Rambam comment in the Rashi comments. In fact there are five phrases and Rashi omits commentary on one of them which the Rambam supplies. Such complementation of Rabbinic authorities is exemplary of advanced Rashi.

We again emphasize that the Rashi inferences are not inferred from the underlined words. Rather the fact of five similar phrases - this fact, in and of itself, creates a climax situation which is resolved by reading into the verse a reasonable climactic interpretation.

In academic circles what we have called climax is subsumed under the poetic principle of parallelism. Parallelism simply refers to the tendency of Biblical verses to repeat themselves as for example Hear Israel, (a) God is our Lord, (b) God is one. The two consecutive repeated halves are called parallel. Parallelism is characteristic of Biblical poetry. Different scholars treat parallelism differently. Some scholars are of the opinion that the parallel components indiate a climactic development. Such a climactic approach enriches for example our reading of the Psalms and other poetic parts of the Bible. 


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