#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
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| Rashi is Simple Version 2.0 |
| (C) RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President |
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VERSE: Gn25-18a
====================== Arab Respect =============================
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
------------------
In Gn16-12 God promises that Ishmael (The Arab people) will be
NOMADIC--they will DWELL all over the place. But in Gn25-18 the
phraseology abruptly changes: We are told that the Arabs DROP
IN all over the place. Gn25-18 was stated after the death of
both Abraham and Ishmael*10. The less respectful term DROP IN
seems to imply that while Abraham & Ishmael lived,Arabs DWELT
(respectfully among everybody); but after Abraham & Ishmaels
death Arabs were less respected (They DROPPED IN vs DWELT)
----------------------------------
TODAYS RASHI RULE: ALIGNMENT
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE: TWO CASES
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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.
A nifty way of explaining the ALIGNED verses is to think
of ALIGNMENT as the vehicle that the Biblical Author uses
to indicate FOOTNOTES. That is, a modern writer might use
FOOTNOTES to indicate details; the Biblical Author instead
used REPEATED ALIGNED VERSES with DIFFERENT DETAILS.
The simplest case of ALIGNMENT is when the differences
CLEARLY and EXPLICITLY show that we are dealing with
two cases each with different details. The STANDARD
example below from the 10 commandments illustrates this
STANDARD EXAMPLE
----------------
Perhaps the simplest example of an alignment revealing
two cases and two laws occurs in the 10 commandments.
Ex01-02:03 states
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Ex20-02 you shall NOT HAVE the gods of others
Ex20-03 you shall NOT MAKE idols
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STUDENT EXERCISES:
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-- What is the SAME in the ALIGNED verses
-- What is DIFFERENT in the ALIGNED verses
-- State the 2 CASES you infer from the aligned differences
RASHIS SOLUTION
---------------
- Both verses begin YOU SHALL NOT. In other words
they are negative prohibitions.
- One verse prohibits HAVING idols while the 2nd verse
prohibits MAKING idols
- THere are 2 separate idolatry prohibitions: MANUFACTURE
(even if you dont keep them) and OWNERSHIP/POSSESION
(even if you dont make them)
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
3 student exercises listed above.
The students can then compare their analysis with that
of Rashis. This leads to greater appreciation of Rashi.
TODAYS EXAMPLE
--------------
We bring 3 verses showing how Arabs are nomadic (and dwell
all over the place). The first verse was mentioned during the
lifetime of Abraham and Ishmael and uses he RESPECTFUL term
DWELLING all over the place. The 3rd verse spoken after the
death of both Abraham and Ishmael*10 uses the lest respectful
term DROPPED IN all over the place (denoting NOMADNESS). The
2nd verse seems to show that there were always two types of
Arabs (those that commanded respect and dwelt and those that
DROPPED IN all over the place)
=================================================================
VERSE PHRASE1 PHRASE2 PHRASE3
========= ======= ========== ====================================
Gn16-12 He will DWELL on all his brothers
Gn25-18a They DWELT from CHAVILA to SHUR...near Syria...
Gn25-18 HE DROPPED IN on all his brothers
Differs *1 *2 *3
NOTES
-----
*1 Unlike our tradtional alignments we have here not 2
contrasting verses but rather 3 contrasting verses:
Note the difference between the 2nd row vs the 1st-3rd
row: The 2nd row is stated in the plural. This contrasting
plural hilights the singular used in the 1st and 3rd row--
for now the ONLY difference between the first and 3rd row
is that one uses the phrase DWELL while the other uses the
phrase DROPPED IN. See footnotes #2 #3 for further details
Why then is the 2nd row stated?
First note that it gives details to the concept that the
Arabs dwell ALL OVER THE PLACE--in fact the Arabs dwelt
from CHAVILA to SHUR...to SYRIA
Second there is a hint here that there are RESPECTED and
NON-RESPECTED Arabs since even after Ishmaels death some
Arabs DWELT everywhere (RESPECTFUL) while others DROPPED
IN everywhere (NOT RESPECTFUL).
*2 The first two rows use the respectful term DWELL while the
3rd row (Spoken after the death of both Abraham and Ishmael)
uses the lest respectful term DROPPED IN*11. This implies that
after Abraham and Ishmael died Arabs were treated with less
respect (They couldnt just DWELL; rather they had to DROP IN)
*3 The first and 3rd rows are IDENTICAL except that one uses
the word DWELL while the other uses the word DROPPED IN*11
The only difference between these verses is that the first
verse was spoken during the lifetime of Abraham and Ishmael
while the 2nd verse was spoken after the lifetime of
Abraham and Ishael.
------------------------- LONGER FOOTNOTES ----------------------
*10 Interestingly Rashi states
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After Abrahams death the Arabs were less respected
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But in fact Gn25-18 occurs in a chapter that mentions
Ishmaels death. Thus it is reasonable to amend Rashi to
reflect both Abrahams and Ishmaels death
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After the death of BOTH Abraham and Ishmael the Arabs
were treated with less respect
-------------------------------------------------------
*11 The Hebrew root used is Nun-Pay-Lamed which literally
means to FALL.
Rashi cites a verse, Ju07-12, showing that this Hebrew root
Nun-Pay-Lamed can also mean to DWELL/LIVE
For our purposes however I think it better to use the
comparable phrase in English: DROP IN. Just as the English
word DROP (which means to FALL) can also mean to LIVE (DROP
IN) so too the Hebrew root Nun-Pay-Lamed can have this
double usage.
Note how citing the English DROP IN emphasizes Rashis point
that Arabs were less respected after Abraham/Ishmaels death
The technique used here--citing Analogies from English--
follows the methods of my article PSHAT & DERASH (TRADITION
WINTER 1980) which emphasizes COMPARABLE EXAMPLES FROM
OTHER CULTURES.
=================================================================
RASHI RULE USED: ALIGNMENT
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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 23
#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
Volume 15 Number 23