#######################################################
# 12 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# Nov 17, 2010 #
# YEAR 11 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) 1999-2010, RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President #
# Permission to reprint with this header PROVIDED #
# it is not printed for profit #
# #
#######################################################
|
#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2010, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
#####
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gen-1.htm.
Today we explore the symbolism in Ex30-34 which reads as follows:
And the Lord said to Moses,
Take to you sweet spices,
- drippy spice (storax), and
- shiny spice (onycha), and
- fatty spice (galbanum);
these sweet spices with pure frankincense.
Rashi explains that
- Storax is called drippy spice because it is typically obtained when it oozes from the tree;
- onycha is called shiny spice because of its shiny appearance; I would therefore extend Rashi's method and explain:
- Galbanum is called fatty spice because it smells bad like putrid fat.
Rashi makes symbolic inferences from the use of a bad smelling fatty spice in the sweet incense:
#####
We can extend Rashi's symbolism as follows:
- The shiny spice obviously symbolically refers to a shiny flashy person who is always conspicuous and showing off;
- We have just seen that the fatty spice symbolizes foul-smelling people, people who are bad. Since you become fat by always indulging perhaps the fatty spice symbolizes indulgers; and
- Finally the drippy spice would refer to a stately person who does things drop by drop (bit by bit) and not hurriedly.
Together, the three spice types listed in Ex30-34--the drippy, fatty, and shiny--would correspond to three basic types of people: the stately, the indulgers and the flashy people. We could say more but the
just-stated explanation gives the flavor of how Rashi's symbolism can be understood and extended in
a natural way.
Taken together the message of the Ketoreth seems to be:
When a person wishes to approach God he must
- Involve stately and regal people
- Involve shiny show off people - these people will welcome the opportunity to get involved
in a project where they can show off
- The fat, over indulgent people - these people cannot break their habits easily; rather we must allow
them in the community so that other people can role model for them until they transition from their
current over-indulgent state.
|
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2010, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
|