#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
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| Rashi is Simple Version 2.0 |
| (C) Dr Hendel, Summer 2000 |
| http://www.RashiYomi.Com |
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VERSE: Ex02-03c
RULE
====
The word >THE< can be used in 4 methods
-->THE< can refer to a PROPER NOUN
e.g. Dt06-16a >Dont test God as you tested him by THE-TEST<
RASHI: THE-TEST is the name of the place mentioned in Ex17-07
-->THE< can refer to something mentioned NEARBY
eg Dt04-32c >Has anyone heard THE GREAT THING-that God ...<
-->THE< can refer to a concept, story or
thing mentioned ELSEWHERE
eg Nu13-33a >We saw there THE Nefilim<
>THE NEFILLIM< nation however is mentioned in Gn06-04
-->THE< can refer to the >BEST< known of a class
eg Dt01-07e >THE Mount< -- This refers to The Kings Mountain
EXAMPLES
========
{LIST}
We continue our examples of Rashis on the word >THE<
In the following verses >THE< refers either to a SPECIAL
item or a WELL KNOWN item. To facilitate readability
explanations are placed in the footnotes
=============================================================
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH >THE< = >SPECIAL/KNOWN<
======== ====================================================
Ex02-03c THE KNOWN (Ship)-Tar and Gravel *1
Ex02-15d & he stopped by THE (KNOWN TOWN) WELL *2
Ex03-01b And Moses came to THE MOUNT OF GOD=Mount Sinai*3
Ex04-06a & he was leprous as THE SNOW-WHITE LEPORS*4
Ex04-20a they rode on THE SPECIAL (DOMESTICATED) DONKEYS*5
Ex07-19f the plague will be in THE WOODERY(ie wood utensils)*6
Ex12-02a This FIRST is the way all Months will begin*7
Ex12-37b Only THE SPECIAL Men (ie warriors) can serve God*8
NOTES
=====
*1 By using the word >THE< the verse indicates that the
reed ship used to Carry Moses was made the KNOWN way
all ships were made--with TAR on the outside (so that
travellers didnt have to smell it) and GRAVEL on the
inside.
Rashi has a moral point. Since they wanted to save
Moses it would have been logical to eg place Tar
on the inside to make him cry so that he should
attract attention. But instead his mother had faith
in God and treated the child nicely.
*2 WELLS (in ancient times) were also focal points
used for social gatherings. They are much like bars,
& restaurants today. For example when Saul wanted to
the >in< on where he could find a Prophet he asked
by the well. Similarly when Jacob wanted the >in<
on who was who in town he dropped by the well. The idea
(on a simple level) is everyone needs water and therefore
there is mutual agreement to tolerate everyone there.
(See Gn29-02:10, 1S09-11 for the references to Saul & Jacob)
The phrase >THE WELL< probably indicates >THE< town well
known not only for its water but also for its social
gatherings.
*3 Rashis point is that by using >THE< we make the phrase
a proper noun. Hence, MOUNT OF GOD refers to the name
of a place. The obvious reference is Mount Sinai where
the Decalogue was given. (In another posting I
suggested that the phrase >THE GOD< always refers to
judicial process---but here we do not have the phrase
>THE GOD< but rather the phrase >THE MOUNT OF GOD<.
Hence the whole phrase >THE MOUNT OF GOD< refers to
a name of a place.(See http://www.RashiYomi.Com/gn06-02a.htm)
*4 Here is Rashis point:
It does not say >He was Leprous AS SNOW<
Rather it says >He was Leprous as THE snow-white lepors<
The word >THE< refers to known Lepor sympatology.
Thus by using the word >THE< there is an emphasis that
Moses did not just LOOK leprous but rather WAS LEPROUS.
That is, he had all the symptoms (and causes) of Leprosy.
But it is well known that Leprosy is CAUSED by slander
(The Bible explicitly says that LEPROSY is not a sickness
but a Divine punishment for slander-- Dt24-08:09).
Hence Rashis conclusion: >Moses had just said in Ex04-01
that THE JEWS WILL NOT BELIEVE ME--this was slanderous
and for this he was punished with SNOW-WHITE leprosy<
To emphasize the derivation, if the verse had just said:
>Moses was leprous like snow< I might have argued that God
caused an abrupt skin change as a miracle. By stating
that Moses had a particular type of Leprosy, namely,
THE SNOW-WHITE-LEPROSY we infer that the miracle
consisted in God swiftly punishing Moses and atoning
for his sin (by making him repent)
*5 In a previous digest in this series I suggested that
the phrase >THE ANIMAL< refers either to special
species of the animal or to the BEST animals. In this
case >THE DONKEY< would probably refer to DONKEYS used
only for domestic purposes (the point being that some
donkeys were used for military purposes also).
Rashi creates a {LIST} showing how certain key Jewish
leaders used only DOMESTIC DONKEYS thus emphasizing
the Jewish value that we achieve accomplishments >not
with armies or strength but rather with the spirit<
The three people using donkeys are
--Abraham when he returned from sacrificing Isaac
--Moses when he returned to Egypt to free the Jews
--The Messiah when he comes to redeem the Jews
Even though redeemers need military means these people
come on THE DONKEY--specially domesticated donkeys--
thus our redemption comes from the spirit not from
strength.
*6 The exact text of the verse is
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Behold I ...bring the plague of blood ..there will be blood
---IN the land of Egypt
---IN THE Wood
---IN THE stones
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In other words it does not say: >there will be blood in Egypt:
in Egypts wood and stones<. Such a verse would view >wood &
stones< as a comment on EGYPT--the blood will be in Egypt--
even in the wood and stones.
But rather it says >there will be blood (1) in Egypt (2) in
THE wood and (3) in the stones<. The parallel word >IN<
creates a bullet like effect and makes EGYPT, WOOD, STONES
3 separate entities.
Furthermore the phrase >THE WOOD< refers to SPECIAL WOOD
ITEMS.
I therefore think the best translation would be >THE
WOODERY<, similar to the English >POTTERY<. Thus >WOODERY<
would denote items (like utensils) make of wood.
Note how Rashi is NOT commenting on the extra words. Rather
Rashi is responding to grammatical cues such as the phrase
>THE WOOD< as well as the repeating KEYWORD, >IN< which
creates a bullet like effect.
For references to the idea that KEYWORDS indicate bullets
see http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ex18-01d.htm or
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/dt30-15a.htm
*7
{LIST}
I am indebted to RADACK, BOOK OF ROOTS for this:
According to RADACK the Hebrew word >Chet-Daleth-Shin<
can equally mean
===============================================================
Hebrew Meaning Verse Text of Verse
======== ============ ======= =================================
ChaDaSh New Ec01-09 There's nothing NEW under the sun
ChaDaySh Renew Ps103-5 Renew your youth
ChoDeSh 1st of Month 1S20-18 Tomorrow is the 1st-Month holiday
ChoDesh The Month 1S20-34 On the 2nd of the Month
{END OF LIST}
In particular we see that >CHODESH< can equally mean
>1st of month< or >The Month<. Using this double meaning
we can interpret Rashi on Ex12-01 as follows
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This First-of-the-Month will be a typical Beginning-Month
It(this month) will be the first of the months of the year
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Thus Moses was told two things:
Moses was told that the FIRST OF THE MONTH was determined
by the New Moon (THIS 1st-MONTH will be your sign for Month
Beginnings); this refers to the Law that the New Moon appearance
helps create the status of the 1st of the month.Moses was also
told that this MONTH (Nissan) would be the first in the sequence
of months (Month 1=Nissan, Month 2=Iyar,...).
The phrase >THIS FIRST-OF-MONTH< refers to the actual day
they were speaking on and hence the word CHODESH could
equally refer to the NEW MOON as well as the MONTH.
(The above explanation harmonizes
--the distinct interpretation of each verse-half
--the halachic interpretation of Rashi(1st of Month,Month #1)
--the simple meaning of the text.
That is, since >ChoDesh< can have a double meaning the halachic
interpretation and simple meaning are one and the same.
*8 Military service started at 20 years. Hence >THE< men
would probably refer to MILITARY MEN who protect the
nation.
{END OF LIST}
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Volume 9 Number 20
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
Volume 9 Number 20