#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
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| Rashi is Simple Version 2.0 |
| (C) RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President |
| http://www.RashiYomi.Com |
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VERSE: Dt33-28a
RASHIS COVERED: Dt33-28a Dt33-28b Dt33-28c Dt33-28d
=========================== Dt33-28 ISOLATED but SECURE =========
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
------------------
By using ALIGNMENT Rashi infers meaning of the 4 poetic
phrases in Dt33-28. Here is Rashis take on the verse
- The JEWS are isolated (philosophically) but secure(physically)
- ------ like the journeys of JACOB (who was isolated/secure)
- to a land of oil & wheat (Isaacs blessing)
- His heavens are torrented with dew (like ISAACS blessings )
Thus the 4 verse phrases are all saying the same thing:
- The Jews will merit the blessings of their ancestors,
Jacob and Isaac, to live by their beliefs in solitude but
yet have a secure & satisfying land.
----------------------------------
TODAYS RASHI RULE: ALIGNMENT
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE: MEANING
----------------------------------
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF RULE
-------------------------
Many Rashis do NOT focus on an internal analysis of the verse.
There may be nothing bothering Rashi in THAT verse. The words
used may all be normal.
But when the given verse is compared with another verse--that
is, when the two verses are ALIGNED together-- we see blatant
differences.
The ALIGNED verses therefore suggest that these ALIGNED
DIFFERENCES were deliberately placed there to emphasize
certain nuances.
Perhaps the most obvious way of explaining these alignment
differences is to assume that we are dealing with 2 WORDS
FOR THE SAME ITEM. This example is particularly potent in
poetry as the standard example below shows.
STANDARD EXAMPLE
----------------
Gn49-11 describes the great abundance of the Messianic era
----------------------------------------------------
They can wash their clothes in wine
------------- their SUTHO in grape-blood
----------------------------------------------------
STUDENT EXERCISES:
------------------
-- Which word pairs in the aligned verses line up
-- Based on the Rashi alignment principle how would you explain
the words you dont understand
RASHIS SOLUTION
---------------
-- The words CLOTH and the Hebrew word SUTHO line up
The word WINE and the phrase GRAPE-BLOOD line up
-- Hence, we translate SUTHO as CLOTHES
-- Hence we translate GRAPE BLOOD as WINE
STANDARD REFERENCES FOR THIS RULE
---------------------------------
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/align-58.htm
This summary may be a bit too terse. You can browse the
57 postings leading up to by going to
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/align-1.htm
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/align-2.htm etc.
Or you can visit the Rashi Yomi Calendar at
http://www.RashiYomi.com/calendar1.htm
This calendar presents a day by day listing of Rashis.
The ALIGNMENT series occurs between 7-28-01 and 10-10-01.
HOW TO USE THESE LISTS FOR SCHOOL PROJECTS
------------------------------------------
You can use the LISTS referenced above for
school projects. Here is how. If you are a
teacher then you can present the two aligned
verses and ask the students to perform the
2 student exercises listed above.
The students can then compare their analysis with that
of Rashis. This leads to greater appreciation of Rashi.
TODAYS LIST
-----------
We align the 4 verse phrases. We should make it clear
that Rashis contribution here is to USE THE ALIGNMENT
TO INFER MEANING.
How so? The ALIGNMENT suggests a unifying
theme--namely, that the Jews will obtain the blessings
of the patriarchs. Once this unifying theme is established
the rest of the verse falls into place.
Accordingly we present 2 lists. In the First list we
seek the unifying theme from the OBVIOUS phrases in
the verse. In the 2nd list we give the details.
This two stage approach*10 is appropriate in poetry.
Here is the first list where we review the 4 verse
phrases and only seek obvious & unifying themes
================================================================
PHRASE IS ANYTHING CLEAR HERE?
================================ ===============================
Jews dwelled isolated secure NO
The eye*1 of Jacob YES--reference to Jacob
on*3 a land of oil and wheat YES--clear reference to Isaac*2
Even their heavens torrent*4 dew YES--clear reference to Isaac*2
NOTES
-----
*1 Actually the Hebrew root Ayin-Yud-Nun can also mean
SIMILAR (since the EYE beholds SIMILARITY).
However I have deliberately mistranslated the word
so as to emphasize that I am only seeking OBVIOUS
HINTS from the verse
*2 The references to WHEAT OIL & DEW clearly echo
the blessing of the Patriarch Isaac
-----------------------------------------------
Gn27-28 May God Give you from the DEW OF HEAVEN
and from the fatness of the earth
a MULTITUDE OF WHEAT & OIL
-----------------------------------------------
Thus we use the technique of OTHER VERSES...Moses
was clearly referring to this other verse where
Isaac blessed Jacob using the keywords WHEAT OIL
and DEW
The astute reader will probably claim
--------------------------------------------
Surely you joke: The phrases OIL WHEAT & DEW
occur all over the place. You have no right
to pick JUST ONE VERSE and base on an interpretation
on it. Surely this is the height of homily
--------------------------------------------
This is a typical reaction of an unlearned mind to
Rashi--people think Rashi was presenting one opinion
or making coincidental associations.
But Rashi was the King of Databases. We can do a
a simple search on the words DEW WHEAT & OIL
Amazingly the word DEW only occurs 10 times in
the whole Bible. Check it out: The 10 times
are at Dt33-28 Ju06 2Sam1-21 1King17-01
Job38-28 Song05-01 Prv03-20 Ps110-03
Isa26-19 isa18-04
Similarly the phrase WHEAT & OIL only occurs
8 times in the BIble (And all of them are in
connection with the richness of Israel).Check
it out: Gn27-28 Dt28-51 Dt33-28 2King18-32
Isa36-17 Hos07-14 2King31-05 2King32-28
So indeed the only verse which mentions BOTH
DEW, WHEAT & OIL would be Isaacs blessings
Indeed Rashi-is-Simple and is King of Databases
-Praised be Him who chose them and their learning-
*3 Rashi does not make this comment but it is obvious
The Hebrew word EL normally means TO but can also
mean ON. See http://www.RashiYomi.com/words.htm
for examples of the multiple meanings of prepositions
*4 The translation TORRENT DEW comes from our analysis
in http://www.RashiYomi.com/dt32-02b.htm. There we
showed that the root Ayin-Resh-Pay has 3 meanings
- ARF means NECK
- ARF means TO NECK=to slaughter (cut at neck)
- ARF means TO TORRENTIALLY DOWNPOUR since
a neck slaughter results in a gushing of blood
-------------------------- LONGER FOOTNOTES --------------------
*10 The idea of approaching meaning in 2 stages--the first
general and intuitive and the 2nd analytic and detailed
in mentioned by me in my article
Peshat & Derash: A New Intuitive Analytic Approach
TRADITION, Winter 1980
The idea of understanding perception as happening
in stages--first intuitive and then detaild--is
consistent with modern neurological research on how
the eye and brain process information (Technically
neurology has identified 3 stages--but the intuitive-
detailed approach is the same)
=================================================================
======================= Dt33-28 The Detailed Stage ==============
In the first list above we have established that
the 4 phrases of Dt33-28 have a clear unifying theme
of THE JEWS WILL OBTAIN THE BLESSINGS OF JACOB & ISAAC
Recall that this unifying meaning was obtained from
the clear and obvious phrases in the verse.
In this second list we use this unifying theme
to interpret the verses phrases in detail
=================================================================
PHRASE INTERPRET BY UNIFYING THEME
================================ ================================
Jews dwelled isolated secure Isolated religion;secure land*1
Similar of Jacob Jacob was ISOLATED but SECURE*1
on a land of oil and wheat Isaacs blessing;Food security*2
Even their heavens torrent dew Isaacs blessing;Food security*2
NOTES
-----
*1 The word isolated can have either GOOD or BAD connotations
Thus LAMENTATIONS01-01:-How is Israel sitting ALONE
where ALONE denotes a victim of disaster
By contrast, many verses praise ISOLATION as a means
of achieving religious inner strength. Here are some
examples including examples from Jacob
----------------------------------------------
Nu23-09 They are a nation that can dwell ALONE
Nu23-03 & he walked ALONE(to obtain prophecy)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Gn32-04 Jacob was ALONE(sojourned) with Laban
Gn35-05 The journeyed ALONE & no one bothered them
Gn32-24 Jacob wrestled ALONE with angel (& won)
Dt26-05 Only 70 Jews came to Egypt..they became a nation
----------------------------------------------
All of the above verses have a theme of STRENGTH WHILE
ISOLATED OR SMALL (They say it in different ways) But
the point is the same: The Jews can have an inner
strength despite their being isolated and despite
their small number
The last 4 verses all refer to Jacob
*2 Isaacs blessings to Jacob occur in
-----------------------------------------------
Gn27-28 May God Give you from the DEW OF HEAVEN
and from the fatness of the earth
a MULTITUDE OF WHEAT & OIL
-----------------------------------------------
This verse mentions WHEAT OIL & DEW. Only a
handful of verses in the Bible mention these
terms and therefore this link is deliberate
(See the preceding list for lists of verses)
In light of the unifying theme I would say
that the blessings of Isaac which are blessings
of FOOD SECURITY fit into the unifying theme of
the verse of ISOLATED BUT SECURE
=================================================================
RASHI RULE USED: ALIGNMENT
---------------------------------------------------
WARNING: The following additional references may be too wordy
However they frequently contain additional information & lists
The hyperlinks only work on the main website
Volume 15 Number 12
#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
Volume 15 Number 12