FULL-DEFICIENT:3 methods:#3 of 12
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# 10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# May 20, 2000 #
# Rashis 54-55 Of 7800 (0.5%) #
# #
# Reprinted with permission from Rashi-is-Simple, #
# (c) 1999-Present, Dr. Hendel #
# http://www.shamash.org/rashi #
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#Permission to reprint with this header but not for profit#
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# WARNING: READ with COURIER 10 (Fixed width) FONTS #
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In this series we will review all Rashis on
>FULL &
>DEFICIENT SPELLINGS
A person completing this module will be able him or herself to
naturally produce the same interpretations as Rashi and Chazal.
We 1st illustrate the meaning of these terms using simple English
examples. There are two methods
METHOD 1
--------
The word
>SLEEP
can be spelled
>SLEP (deficiently spelled without the extra e)
>SLEEP (fully spelled with all e's)
In METHOD 1 if a verse said
>He tried to get some SLEP
the proper midrashic response would be
>He tried to get a good night SLEP
but
>did not succeed.
The argument would be
>Since the word SLEP is spelled deficiently
>we learn that the sleep itself was deficient.
In other words in METHOD 1 we transfer the
>deficiency in the SPELLING (SLE P)
to a
>deficiency in the OBJECT or ACTIVITY spoken about(Can't sleep)
METHOD 2
--------
The word
>KITE
can be spelled
>KIT (Deficiently--it is missing (deficient) 1 letter e)
or
>KITE (Fully with the E)
In METHOD 2 we interpret the deficiently spelled word as a pun.
We actually give the sentence a double meaning. Thus if a sentence
said
>The father bought his son a KIT to fly in the park
Then since KITE is spelled KIT, we would midrashically interpret
this to mean
>The father bought his son a KITE
>The father also bought his son a KITten!
Rashis position is that this interpretation of FULL vs DEFICIENT is
a grammatical rule and is part of the intended meaning of the
sentence.
In the first few units of this module we illustrated both these
methods: PUNNING and attributing DEFICIENCY. In this and the
next few units we complete the examples where the Bible
deliberately creates a pun.
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EXAMPLE 5: Gn24-39
---------
Abraham had sent his servant Eliezer to another country to try and
get a wife for his son Isaac. While Eliezer is relating his
instructions from Abraham to Betuel and Laban, Eliezer explains
that he asked Abraham, when Abraham told him to get a wife...
>Gn24-39
>But MAYBE the girl won't come back with me
>RASHI
>The Hebrew word
>OLI (MAYBE)
>is spelled deficiently and therefore looks like
>the Hebrew word
>ALI (To me)
>
>This justifies an intended PUN. Eliezer said to
>Abraham
>
>I will go to get the girl but MAYBE she won't come
>
>If so, maybe Isaac will come TO ME (Marry my daughter)
>In other words Eliezer really wanted Abraham to marry
>his daughter rather than go to Rivkah.
---------------------------------------------
|EXERCISE 4: |
|---------- |
|Can you find a support for this pun? What |
|Biblical verse hints at the idea that |
|Eliezer wanted to marry into Abrahams |
|family? Carefully read Gen13 and forward |
|till you find this hint. [Answer give at |
|bottom of page] |
---------------------------------------------
EXAMPLE 6: Gn06-02b
---------
>Gn06-02
>And the Judges saw the girls of (the common) people
>that they were good and they took wives from
>whomever they wanted
>RASHI
>The Hebrew word
>TVoTH (Good)
>is spelled DEFICIENTLY so that it resembles the word
>TV (to fix up with makeup {NOTES *1})
>This suggests a double pun
>
>The Judges picked good looking girls
>
>They picked them at the time they were putting on
>makeup (eg when they were getting married or going
>out seriously).
>
>In other words, they not only kidnapped women, they
>also kidnapped them at the time these women were
>getting serious with someone else.
Such an interpretation intensifies the description of their evil.
-------------------------------------------------
|HomeWork EXERCISE 5: |
|-------------------- |
|Tomorrow we will analyze Gn18-01. The word |
| >Y-Sh-V is |
| >Pronounced fully (SITTING) |
| >Written deficiently (SAT) |
|Can you make a pun on this? How could you be |
|both SITTING and "SAT"? What would be a good |
|scenario illustrating this? Try and come up |
|with some ideas. Tomorrow we will see Rashis |
|solution. |
-------------------------------------------------
-------------------{LISTS and other technicalities}----------------
NOTES
=====
*1 One can get a complete list of all meanings of a word from the
RDK, the book of ROOTS. Looking up the root
>Y-T-V
we see there are two meanings
>Good, Pleasing
>Fix up
Some verse examples of FIX UP are given by RDK
>Ex30-07 ...when he FIXES up the Candellabrah
>2Kings09-30 ...and she FIXED UP her hair
In general an adjective that is written deficiently may depict
a verb. We will have occasion later on in this series to see
another example.
ANSWERS TO EXERCISES:
---------------------
[ANSWER to EXERCISE 4: Gn15-02]
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