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