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VERSE: Dt01-28a
RASHIS COVERED: Dt01-28a Dt01-16d
======================= Dt01-28a ===============================
SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
One of Rashis 10 main goals is to explain the meaning
of words the same way the dictionary explains meaning.
Rashi had 10 vehicles to explain meaning. Today we
explore two.
EXAMPLES OF SYNECDOCHE
----------------------
SYNECDOCHE refers to naming a WHOLE by the PART
For example HONEY, one example of SWEETS, can
SYNECDOCHALY refer to any SWEET. Similarly BREAD
can refer to any FOOD. We can alternatively think
of SYNECDOCHE as naming by GOOD EXAMPLE. That is
HONEY is a GOOD EXAMPLE (paradigm) of SWEETS just
as BREAD is a GOOD EXAMPLE of FOOD. A closely
related concept is EXAGGERATION. Thus BREAK-FAST
is the meal when you BREAK the FAST of the night.
(But it is an exaggeration to speak about
ordinary sleep as a FAST from food)
Similarly a SKY-SCRAPER is a tall building (But
it is exaggeration to claim that the building
scrapes the SKY).
EXAMPLE 1: Dt01-28a
----------------
The Biblical text at Dt01-28a refers to
----------------------------------------
cities that are BIG and FORTIFIED to heaven
----------------------------------------
Rashi
----------------------------------------
In other words these cities are SKY-SCRAPERS
or HIGH RISERS
----------------------------------------
Rashis actual language is that
------------------------------------
The Bible uses the technique of EXAGGERATION
------------------------------------
EXAGGERATION and HYPERBOLE are two literary
techniques common to many languages.
LIST817a brings many examples of SYNECDOCHE
and EXAGGERATION.
EXAMPLE 2: Dt01-16d
-------------------
The following is a PEACH of an example on how to learn Rashi
Dt01-16d states
-----------------------------------------------------
...Judge properly between a person and his Gimel Resh
-----------------------------------------------------
Rashi comments on the strange word Gimel-Resh
offering two explanations
-------------------------------------------
EXPLANATION 1: Gimel Resh means co-litigant
--------------
Aleph-Gimel-Resh means to GATHER. The co-litigant
GATHERS material and arguments for the court case
EXPLANATION 2: Gimel-Resh means LANDLORD-TENANT cases
--------------
The root Gimel Resh means SOJOURN
--------------------------------------------
But we can refute each of Rashis explanations!
- The Biblical root is Gimel Resh not Aleph Gimel Resh
Furthermore Aleph Gimel Resh (GATHER) is never used
in a sense of litigation
- The Biblical root Gimel-Resh refers to SOJOURNING
not to landlord-tenants
But we can salvage Rashi's second explanation as follows
----------------------------------------------------
A natural meaning of Gimel-Resh is GRANARY.
A farm-tenant worker would typically word
the GRANARYs and might actually live in them.
Because of the amount of work that farm-tenant
workers do (and differing opinions of fairness)
litigation with such workers is common.
This suggested explanation is consistent with normal
language usage and is consistent with Rashi's comment
-------------------------------------------------
Even judge minor cases such as landlord tenant
-------------------------------------------------
We have slightly amended Rashi to from
LANDLORD-TENANT to LANDLORD-FARMER-TENANT.
The literary technique by which we associate related items
such as AMERICA-AMERICAN, or GRANARY-GRANARY-WORKER is
called METONOMY (which means naming by related items).
LIST871m below gives other examples of METONOMY.
================================================================
ITEM DETAIL
======================== =======================================
RASHI RULE CLASS: WORD MEANINGS
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS 8 METHODS OF NAMING
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #7
SEE BELOW LIST817a
List of words Named by GOOD EXAMPLE/EXAGGERATION
---------------------- ------------------------------
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #7
SEE BELOW LIST871m
List of words which mean related items-METONOMY
================================================================
======================= LIST871m =================================
List of words which mean related items-METONOMY*10
==================================================================
VERSE BIBLICAL PHRASE TRANSLATION NOTES
======== ======================= ===================== ===========
Dt01-16d court case with GRANARY GRANARY-tenant worker *14
Lv26-13c Redeem you STANDING PROUDLY
Lv26-13b break the STICK of yoke break LATCH of yoke
Lv27-02b vow SOUL vow VALUE OF SOUL
Lv27-03a YOUR-VALUE Fee Schedule
Lv27-03b YOUR-VALUE Fee-Schedule
Lv27-08c what his HAND can GRAB what he can AFFORD
Gn49-26d BREASTS Ejaculation
Gn49-26c EJACTULATION and WOMBS Many happy children
Gn30-35c sheep with WHITE WHITE PATCHES
Ex30-07b FLAMES of candellabrah OIL PANS hold flames
Ex27-20a CLEAR OIL OIL without dregs *4
Gn30-39a aroused by STICKS REFLECTION OF STICKS *11
Ex14-07c FIRST-SECOND-THIRD PRES-VicePres-Secrtry
Ex22-02b He has BLOOD Guilty of BLOODSHED
Nu35-27a He doesnt have BLOOD Not a MURDERER
-------- ----------------------- --------------------- ------------
Gn23-04b PLOT OF GRAVE Burial Plot *12
Dt25-09a Spit IN FACE Spit TOWARDS HIM *1
Lv05-04a Swear by lips Verbally(Explicitly) *2
Ex28-08a Belt OF his AYPHOD Belt USED with AYPHOD *3
Ex28-31a the dress OF AYPHD Aypohd USED with DRES *3
NOTES
-----
*1 Cf However Lv15-08a Spit ON Him = Actually spit on him
The rule seems to be that SPIT ON HIM is literal
whereas SPIT ON FACE (use of FACE vs FULL PERSON) means
SPIT TOWARDS HIM
*2 eg If I am angry and mentally curse or if I
am angry and start ranting and raving without
however fully articulating everything on my mind
-- in these two cases I may have sworn IN MY MIND
but I have not sworn WITH MY LIPS (Explicitly)
*3 Contrast Ex20-03a OTHER GODS=GODS OF OTHER PEOPLE
vs Ex21-02a JEWISH SLAVE = SLAVE AND JEWISH
Technically the possessive --OF-- can mean
- OWNED BY (eg OTHER GODS = gODS of OTHERS)
- PROPERTY (eg JEWISH SLAVE=SLAVE who is JEWISH)
- ASSOCIATED WITH (eg BELT OF GARMENT=Belt USED
with Garment)
Note Rashi proves the JEWISH SLAVE=SLAVE WHO
IS JEWISH by citing an other verse Dt15-12 *11
*4 Rashis real point here ('What is bothering Rashi') is
that the METONOMY rule requires that CLEAR OIL could
either mean
- literally clear oil
- oil producing a clear flame
Rashi advises us that here it is literal
Rashi also cites the Talmud Menachoth which
outlines the production process
*5 So
- VALUE = FEE
- YOUR-VALUE = FEE SCHEDULE(Fixed amount for each
gender and age group)*13
-------------------- LONGER FOOTNOTES ----------------
*10 The difference between this list; LIST871m and
the sister list, LIST871d, of IDIOMS BY METONOMY
is that
- LIST871d lists new phrases that have entered
the language as idioms--for example, HOLY COINS
refers to COINS USED/RELATED TO THE HOLY TEMPLE
- LIST871m lists one time usages of metonomy--
for example SHEEP WITH WHITE refers to
SHEEP WITH WHITE PATCHES.
The difference is that HOLY COINS always refer
to TEMPLE-RELATED coins while WHITE does not
always refer to WHITE PATCHES---in other words
it is a one time use of the RELATED MEANING rule.
The metonomy of most of the examples in this list
can be inferred from context.
*11 It is important to emphasize that SHEEP do NOT get
aroused from merely seeing something patched (which
reminds them of sheep of the opposite gender).
Rather JACOB FIXED the STICKS IN THE WATER.
The water in the troughs was FLOWING water. Hence the
reflection of the sticks in the water gave the appearance
of MOVING / PULSATING ITEMS WITH PATCHES.
It is these MOVING / PULSATING items with patches
that aroused the female sheep since the pulsating
bobbing sticks resembled aroused males. Once the females
became aroused the males mated them.
So Jacobs trick was to mimic LIVE MALE PATCHED SHEEP
by using water reflections of PATCHED STICKS.
*12 The Hebrew word A-Chu-Zah by itself can refer to
a plot of land (without any additional words):
------------------------------------------------------
Cf Gn47-11 Gave them a PLOT
Cf Lv25-46 These slaves shall be a PLOT for inheritance
Cf Nu27-04 Give us please a PLOT among our brothers
------------------------------------------------------
*13 Rashi admits that
-----------------------------------------------------
I don't understand (know of a precedent) for the
peculiar grammatical construction: YOUR-VALUE
-----------------------------------------------------
Rashi was NOT stating that he did not know what
YOUR-VALUE vs VALUE means. In fact he says explicitly
-------------------------------------------------
the value was fixed for each gender and age group
-------------------------------------------------
Rather what Rashi did not know was a precedent
for the peculiar grammatical form: YOUR-VALUE
*14 As usual in this list we have brought Rashi's SECOND
explanation (Whenever there are two explanations in
Rashi, we reject the first as wrong and accept the
second as right). I am told that the Lubavitcher Rebbe
may he rest in peace held a different view: There are
problems with each explanation and Rashi therefore brought
both.
We have very slightly modified Rashi to make his
comment consistent with Biblical Hebrew. Rashi actually states
--------------------------------------------------
Judge even minor cases like LANDLORD vs TENANT
--------------------------------------------------
We have modified this as follows
-----------------------------------------------
Judge even minor cases like LANDLORD vs
FARMER-TENANT
-----------------------------------------------
PEOPLE and their PLACES often have same names
(e.g. AMERICA-AMERICAN) The FARMER TENANT is
the person ASSOCIATED with
the GRANARY which in Hebrew is Gimel Resh. It
is for this reason that we have slightly amended
Rashi.
The literal Rashi, TENANT would not make sense
linguistically since Gimel-Resh refers to an ALIEN
not to a TENANT. On the other hand, Gimel-Resh
as meaning GRANARY is common in the Bible.
==========================================================================
====================== LIST817a ========================
List of words Named by GOOD EXAMPLE/EXAGGERATION
========================================================
# WORD STRICT BROAD MEANING
======== ========= ========= ==========================
(101) Day 12 hour 24 hour period
(102) Bread Bread Any Food
(103) Man (ISH) Male Any person
(104) E-L-H-I-M God Any Judge
(105) IN IN AMONG
Ex12-05c Land The Land Inhabitants of land*1
Ex13-05c Lamb Lamb Lamb or Goats*2
Dt18-10d SNAKE SNAKE Jumping to conclusions*3
Dt26-02c Honey Honey Any Fruit Juice*4
------- --------- -------- --------------------------
Dt01-28a SKYSCRAPER Touch sky Tall and High*5
(xxx) BREAKFAST Fast nite 1st meal of day
NOTES
-----
*1 So the famous phrase
------------------------------------------
A LAND flowing with milk and sweet juices
------------------------------------------
really means
------------------------------------------
A LAND WHOSE INHABITANTS (Goats for milk
and Fruit trees for sweet juices) flows
with milk and honey
------------------------------------------
*2 Rashi brings support for his contention that
LAMB can SYNECDOCHICALLY mean any docile
young creature (the same way BREAD means FOOD etc)
See Dt14-04 -- A GOAT-LAMB
*3 See LIST817b*10 for examples. For the while we
point out that because of the snakes characteristic
motion (JUMPING out at a prey),the phrase TO SNAKE
came to mean TO JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS (Just as in
the English Metaphor).
Hence the Rabbis interpret the prohibition of
SNAKING as a prohibition of JUMPING TO
CONCLUSIONS (eg a Snake crossed my path
hence I will have bad luck)
*4 For other Rashis dealing with the HONEY-SWEET
equation see Lv02-11a Ex34-26a Ex16-31b Ex13-05c
Note how Rashi differs in his explanations.
Rashi states both
- HONEY refers to ANY SWEET FRUIT
- HONEY refers to FRUIT JUICE OF the TAMAR fruit
*5 Rashi on this verse explicitly states
-----------------------------------
The Bible uses the tecnique
of EXAGGERATION/HYPERBOLE
-----------------------------------
--------------------------- LONGER FOOTNOTES ---------
*10 LIST817b may be found at
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h19n5.htm
=======================================================
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Volume 26 Number 23
#*#*#*# (C) 2000-2005, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#
Volume 26 Number 23