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#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2007, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
      9. RASHI METHOD: NonVerse
      BRIEF EXPLANATION: The common denominator of the 3 submethods of the NonVerse method is that inferences are made from non textual material. The 3 submethods are as follows:
      • Spreadsheet: Rashi makes inferences of a numerical nature that can be summarized in a traditional spreadsheet
      • Geometric: Rashi clarifies a Biblical text using descriptions of geometric diagrams
      • Fill-ins: Rashi supplies either real-world background material or indicates real-world inferences from a verse. The emphasis here is on the real-world, non-textual nature of the material.
      This examples applies to Rashis Dt27-17a
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/dt27-17a.htm
      Brief Summary: Don't PUSH BACK your neighbor's boundary so that you have more land.

Verse Dt27-17a states Cursed be he that pushes back his neighbour's boundary. And all the people shall say: Amen.

    The Hebrew root used, Samech-Vav-Gimel, Nun-Samech-Gimel is a rather exotic root with 3 distinct meanings
    • to fall back
    • metal impurities (that fall back during the refining process)
    • to overtake ( To cause someone else to fall back so you can catch up)

Returning to Dt27-17 we are prohibited from overtaking or falling back our neighbor's boundary. Rashi illustrates this with a clarifying diagram as shown below

BEFORE
-----------------------
| me   | neighbor     |
|      |              |
|      |              |
-----------------------


AFTER
-----------------------
|    me    | neighbor |
|          |          |
|          |          |
-----------------------

    The picture shows that I have extended the boundary so that I have more land. We can describe this using either the meanings of overtake or fall back:
      Rashi: Don't push back your neighbor's boundary ( The boundary looks as if it had fallen back) Radack: Don't overtake your neighbor's boundary ( The boundary looks as if it is performing an act of overtaking)

Advanced Rashi: I will not go further into the grammar motivating this Rashi-Radack controversy except to say that overtake is typically associated with the causative hifil mode which is used in Dt27-17. This justifies the Radack. However Rashi observes that fall back is a more fitting meaning.

I bring one more point on the meaning of the Hebrew roots Samech-Vav-Gimel, Nun-Samech-Gimel: Some also say that this root can mean boundary as in So07-03, your belly is like a heap of wheat bounded with lilies. But I would interpret this verse as follows: your belly is wheat-textured; your belly impurities are lily-white. In other words her belly has good color (wheat textured) and even those portions of her belly without good color nevertheless have the white stillness of lilies. 


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