#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
-----------------------------------------------------------
| Rashi is Simple Version 2.0 |
| (C) RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President |
| http://www.RashiYomi.Com |
| PERMISSION to reprint WITH this header if NOT for profit |
------------------------------------------------------------
VERSE: Gn03-03a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn03-03a Gn03-04a Gn03-05b
======================= HOW IT HAPPENS =========================
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
------------------
Rashi skillfully uses an alignment of GODS COMMAND vs MANS
memory of that command to study how it(sin) happens. The
aligned verses show 3-4*10 differences between them. Rashi
inteprets these differences as showing how sin happens.
For example (a) God said dont EAT from the tree while Eve
said dont EAT/TOUCH the tree. So if she accidentally touched
the tree and didnt die she would have doubt on the commandment
(b)(Not in Rashi)Similarly God allowed Adam/Eve to eat from
ANY other tree; Eve forgot the word ANY--so possibly God is
vindictive and will prohibit more
----------------------------------------
TODAYS RASHI RULE: ALIGNMENT
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE: FURTHER NUANCES
----------------------------------------
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. The standard example will illustrtae this.
STANDARD EXAMPLE
----------------
Recall that the Moabite King BALAK was apprehensive about
Israel journeying throught its territory. It wanted Israel
banished. It hired a professional curse-man, Bilam who would
curse the Jews. Bilam however describes his job SLIGHTLY
differently. Here are the verses.
-----------------------------------------------
BALAK: Nu22-06 I will banish Jews FROM THE LAND
BILAM: Nu22-11 ...... banish Jews -------------
-----------------------------------------------
EXERCISE
--------
To fully appreciate Rashi perform the following 2 exercises
- What is the minor difference between the aligned verses?
- What NUANCE do YOU think this implies?
RASHIS SOLUTION
---------------
BALAK only wanted Jews away from his land; his goals were
political. By contrast, BILAM wanted them DESTROYED. Hence...
BALAK wanted Jews BANISHED FROM THE LAND. But Bilam wanted
them BANISHED PERIOD (That is destroyed).
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
following exercises
-- What are the minor differences between the verses
-- What nuances do they imply
The students can then compare their analysis with that
of Rashis. This leads to greater appreciation of Rashi.
TODAYS EXAMPLE
--------------
We align the two verses--Gods prohibition vs mans The footnotes
show how mans lapsed memory of the prohibition enabled the
snake to cast doubts in man on the original prohibition. Thus
this list affords us a study of how sin happens.
================================================================
VERSE PHRASE1 PHRASE2 PHRASE3
========== ================== ============== ===================
Gn02-16:17 Eat from ANY tree Dont EAT/----- from KNOWLEDGE TREE
Gn03-02:03 Eat from --- tree Dont EAT/TOUCH from CENTER TREES
Differs *1 *2 *3
NOTES
-----
*1 Rashi does not explain this difference but it should be clear
-------------------------------------------------------------
Eve, you have forgotten that God allowed you to eat from
ANY other tree. Good. So, just as God prohibited eating
from this tree so too he might prohibit eating from other
trees. In fact God is jealous of you and doesnt want you
to enjoy yourself
-------------------------------------------------------------
Thus we have the theme of God hating man and therefore giving
him prohibitions (vs the theme that God loves man and gave
him prohibitions to redeem him). This can be used to seduce
people
*2 Rashi explicitly points out that God prohibited ONLY EATING
From the tree while Eve thought TOUCHING the tree was
prohibited (Gn03-03a)
Rashi suggests that the snake utilized this lapse of memory
For example he might have pushed Eve into the tree and said
----------------------------------------------------
See - you touched the tree and didnt die...so too if
you eat from the tree you wont die
----------------------------------------------------
See *11
*3 (Gn03-05b) God only prohibited the TREE OF KNOWLEDGE while
Eve suggested that God prohibited all trees in the center
of the garden (Including the tree of life). So the snake
suggested that if they ate from the tree of life they
would have many children, prolong their name & memory
indefinitely and be like God(Creating a world of people)
Again: The snake used Eves lapse to cast doubt on the original
command.
------------------------ LONGER FOOTNOTES -----------------------
*10 We concentrated on the main differences in the above list.
But there is a further difference in the punishment
----------------------------------------------------------
Gn02-17 FOR ON THE DAY you eat from the tree you will die
Gn03-03 ------------------------------------ you will die
----------------------------------------------------------
Thus God emphasized that they would die ON THAT DAY while
Eve simply said WE WILL DIE. Perhaps then the snake pointed
out that JUST AS THEY DIDNT DIE ON THAT DAY THAT EVE TOUCHED
THE TREE SO TOO SHE WOULD NEVER DIE...RATHER SHE WOULD BECOME
GOD-LIKE AND LIVE FOREVER.
At any rate we can work the above difference into our
general analysis of differences and the theme that sin
comes from people forgetting subtleties and being tempted
by them.
*11 It is not necessary to take this Rashi literally--rather
we should believe that the SNAKE UTILIZED EVES MEMORY LAPSE
TO MAKE HER DOUBT. Other ways of making her doubt also exist
eg. The snake might speak to her a long time and eg she might
at one point say EATING IS PROHIBITED while at another point
say EATING & TOUCHING IS PROHIBITED. Thus the snake would
have opportunity to make her doubt that she remembered.
The important point to emphasize here is that Rashi is
focusing on the alignment (As Rashi himself says). The
details of HOW TO RESOLVE This alignment need not be fixed.
We simply observe that the snake utilized Eves memory lapses
to cause doubt---there are MANY ways this could have happened
Rashi gives just one (Gn03-04a)
=================================================================
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 15
#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
Volume 15 Number 15