#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
  -----------------------------------------------------------
  |      Rashi is Simple Version 2.0                         |
  |      (C) Dr Hendel, Summer 2000                          |
  |       http://www.RashiYomi.Com                           |
  | PERMISSION to reprint WITH this header if NOT for profit |
  ------------------------------------------------------------


VERSE: Ex06-12b

RASHIS COVERED: Ex06-12b Dt12-23a Dt13-07e Dt13-25b


RULE:
----
The Bible uses a style of teaching rules by giving extreme
examples.

Thus Dt21-22 says that a criminal on death
row should be buried quickly. This is interpreted to mean that
       "EVEN a criminal should be buried quickly
        HOW MUCH MORE SO should ordinary people be buried"

This type of argument characterized by the words "EVEN" and
HOW MUCH MORE SO is called the FORTIORI argument (KAL
VACHOMER).

Rashi on Ex06-06b points out that this is a
common Biblical style. The exact verse states
        "EVEN the Jews(my own people) did not listen to me
         HOW MUCH MORE SO that Pharoh will not listen to me"


EXAMPLES
--------
--------------------------------------------------------------
  In the following verses Jewish LAWS are taught by Extremes

  For example:
  EVEN a criminal receives a quick burial. EVEN a slavegirl
  has rights as a wife. A Jew should not hit a fellow Jew
  EVEN if he is evil. You should try and avoid sin--EVEN
  if the sin is disgusting like eating blood. You should put
  to death a person who tried to get you to worship idols
  EVEN if that person was close family. You get reward for
  observing commandments EVEN if those commandments are
  easy to observe (like not eating blood)
------------------------------------------------------------

{LIST1}
                                        HOW MUCH
COMMANDMENT      EVEN TO A..            MORE SO TO A..  VERSE
---------------- ---------------------- --------------- -------
Speedy burial    Even of criminal       Ordinary people Dt21-22
Rights of wife   Even of slavegirl      Ordinary wife   Ex21-10
Dont hit         Even an evil person    Ordinary person Dt25-03
Watch out mitzvt Even from eating blood Ordinary Mtzvt  Dt12-23a
Death to seducer Even if he is family   Stranger        Dt13-07e
Reward for Mtzvt Even not eating blood  Ordinary Mitzvt Dt13-25b


COMMENT
-------
Rashi cites the Midrash Rabbah 92:7 that
        "Rabbi Ishmael taught there are 10 FORTIORIS in the
        Bible"
But as the list below shows there are several dozen fortioris!
Indeed, Rashis whole point is that FORTIORI is a common Biblical
style. There are certainly more than 10!

The proper interpretation of this Midrash Rabbah is as follows
        "Rabbi Ishmael taught: There are 10 linguistic STYLES
        by which the Bible indicates a fortiori argument."
By the word style I refer to KEYWORDS which indicate the
fortiori argument. For example Ex06-12 uses the keywords
BEHOLD and HOW
        "BEHOLD the Jews (my own people) did not listen to me
         HOW then should Pharoh listen to me"
Thus we may speak of the BEHOLD-HOW style for fortiori.
These 10 styles are presented below. Footnotes show that many
more than 10 verses use the fortiori.

In passing this example shows the superiority of Chazalian minds
over modern databases. For modern databases do searches on words
They cannot do searches on MEANING or STYLES. No computer could
tell you the 10 KEYWORDS that indicate FORTIORIS. We instead
need scholars like Rabbi Ishmael to tell us.

{LIST2} {A conjecture on the 10 fortiori styles.
        Footnotes give additional examples showing that there
        are more than 10 Biblical verses using Fortioris
        NOTE: The keywords WILLNOT ISNOT DIDNOT are all the
        same in Hebrew. But if two styles have only ONE
        KEYWORD in common we count them as 2 styles.
        ALSO note that the last two examples have NO
        KEYWORDS or ONLY ONE KEYWORD (The Ester Example
        is NOVEL and comes from the Midrash Rabbah 92:7)}

VERSE   KEYWORD1 KEYWORD2 TEXT
-----   -------- -------- ----
Ex06-06 BEHOLD   HOW *1     BEHOLD Jews(my own nation)dont listen
                            HOW then will Pharoh listen

Dt31-27 BEHOLD*2 SURELY     BEHOLD you rebel now while I am alive
                            SURELY you will rebel after my death

2S4-10  BECAUSE  SURELY     BECAUSE I even killed the newsman
                            SURELY the murderer himself will die

Ps94-09 IF       WILL NOT   IF He created the eye
                            WILL NOT he be able to see

2K5-12  IS NOT   WILL NOT   IS NOT my rivers of better quality
                            WILL NOT my bathing them cure me also

Ju11-07 DID NOT  WHY        DID NOT you hate me and expel me
                            WHY then do you visit me now

Nu24-12 WHY      DIDNT ALSO WHY did you not listen to me?
                            DIDNT I ALSO tell your messengers this?

Nu12-14 WILLNOT  ---------- If her father spit at her
                            WILL NOT she be embarassed 7 days
                            Let her therefore be embarassed 7days
                            from My(Gods) yelling at her for

Es9-12  -------  ---------- In the capital Shushan they kill 500
                            (and certainly more so)in the rest of
                            the country what did they do


2C13-08 YOU      WE         YOU desecrated the priests (but
                                fight for Jerusalem & the temple
                            WE worship God in the temple (and
                                serve in the Temple--and
                                therefore are more deservant
                                to win the war)

NOTES (More examples of the FORTIORI style)
-----
*1 Gn44-08 Ex06-12 2Sam12-18 2K10-04

*2 Dt31-27 Prv11-31 Job04-19
   Job15-15:16 1K08-27 Ez15-05
   1Sam23-03 2Sam16-11


*3  2Sam4-10:11  2C32-15

RULE USED: RabbiIshmael
---------------------------------------------------
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 7 Number 2


#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
Volume 7 Number 2