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  |      Rashi is Simple Version 2.0                         |
  |      (C) Dr Hendel, Summer 2000                          |
  |       http://www.RashiYomi.Com                           |
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VERSE: Gn29-32a

THE VERSE
=========
Gn29-32 >And she (Leah) called his name REUVEN, because she said:
        God has seen my affliction for now my hubby will love me<


THE ETYMOLOGY
=============
The Hebrew word >REUVEN< is composed of the words >REU< and
>BEN<. The word >REU< means >SEE<. The word >BEN< primarily
means >INBETWEEN< and is frequently used to denote >JUDGING
BETWEEN TWO THINGS< as the following LIST shows.



{LIST}
Verses showing that >BETWEEN< is frequently used to
indicate >JUDGING between two things< *1
========================================================
VERSE    TYPICAL VERSE WITH THE WORD *BETWEEN*
======== ===============================================
Jud11-27 May God Judge BETWEEN The Jews and the Amonites
Gn16-05  May God judge BETWEEN me(Sarah) & you(Abraham)
1Sm24-12 May God Judge BETWEEN me(David) and you(Saul)
Gn31-53  May the God of Abraham ..judge BETWEEN us
Jud09-23 God sent a bad mood BETWEEN Avimelech & Schem
Isa5-3   Judge BETWEEN Me(God) and my Vineyard

NOTES
=====
*1 Of course the word BETWEEN can also denote things
   other than strife as in
   1Sam7-14 There was peace BETWEEN the Jews and
   the Emorites
{END OF LIST}


SUMMARY
=======
The simple meaning of >REUVEN< is >MAY GOD SEE/JUDGE BETWEEN ME
and MY SISTER<. This theme of >JUDGING BETWEEN THE TWO SISTERS<
is common in the naming of several tribes as can be shown in
the following LIST


{LIST}
Names of tribes which reflect JUDGING between the two rival
sisters
===========================================================
VERSE   TRIBE NAME       REASON
=====   ===============  ==================================
Gn29-06 DAN              DAN means to JUDGE
Gn29-08 NAFTALI          NAFTALI means the sisters WRESTLED
Gn30-21 DINA             DINA means to be JUDGED

NOTES
=====
Almost all the other names of the tribes reflect this rivalry
For example >SHIMON< is named because >GOD HEARD I WAS HATED<
{END OF LIST}


RASHIS STATEMENT
================
This is simple enough. And indeed Rashi does start his
explanation with this idea. Here is what he says

>The word REUVEN means SEE/JUDGE what a DIFFERENCE there is<


But now all of a sudden Rashi seems to become fanciful. He
departs from the simple meaning of the chapter which is
talking about the rivalry of the two sisters. Instead Rashi
explains the name REUVEN by continueing as follows:

--------------------------------------------------------------
See the difference between me and Esauv. For Esauv first
sold his birthright to Jacob and turned around and tried
to kill him when he obtained the Elder blessings.

By contrast in Jacobs children there was not only no stealing
of the birthright, but even when the birthright was taken
away from this newly born child >REUVEN< and given to Joseph
not only did Reuven not try and kill Joseph, but on the
contrary, when the brothers tried to kill Joseph, Reuven arose
to try and save him from the brothers(Gn37-22).

Thus he is called >REUVEN< because his birthright was stolen but
he tried to save Joseph to whom the birthright was given. By
contrast, Esauv willfully sold his birthright and tried to kill
Jacob when he took the elder blessings. So indeed we >SEE THE
DIFFERENCE< between Esauv and Reuven.
----------------------------------------------------------------

It would appear that Rashi avoided the simple explanation above
and used a fanciful explanation based on prophecy and future
events.


RASHIS METHOD IN WRITING EXPLANATIONS
=====================================
But the truth is that Rashi actually believed the original
explanation we gave. What therefore has to be explained is
Rashis method in presenting explanations.

Rashi will frequently NOT express abstract ideas. His method
of pedagogy was to use >EXAGGERATION< and >NUMEROLOGY< as
a vehicle of >PRESENTATION<.

Although all Rashi explanations are based on Database queries
and are solidly backed by grammar, Rashi will frequently
avoid technical explanations and instead use methods of
EXAGGERATION. My opinion, is that he did this because he lived
before the printing press and wanted to make sure that his
commentary was remembered; the best way to remember something
is to use >EXAGGERATION and COINCIDENCE<

Let us give one or two examples of this method of Rashi



EXAMPLE 1:
---------
REUVEN was named because Leah said >MAY GOD JUDGE/SEE
the DIFFERNECE between me and my sister<.

Rashi expressed this using exaggeration. Rashi instead emphasized
>See the difference between REUVEN and ESAUV<


EXAMPLE 2:
---------
Gn45-14 says that >Benjamin mourned for the years of
life that Joseph had lost because he had the BACKBONE to stand
up to his owners wifes seductions<

Rashi however applies the mourning to the destruction of the
temple at Shiloh which was destroyed.

Thus Rashi used EXAGGERATION and COINCIDENCE. The Temple of
Shiloh was a HOLY PLACE which corresponded to Josephs HOLINESS
in avoiding his masters wifes overtures.


EXAMPLE 3:
---------
Gn32-04 >I(Jacob) have STAYED OVER by Laban for 20
years< (Implying he felt uncomfortable there because of his
more religious life style).

Rashi makes his derivation because of the nuances of the
word >STAYED OVER<

Rashi however uses NUMEROLOGY and says that the phrases
>OBSERVE THE COMMANDMENTS< and >STAYED OVER< used the same
letters.

Thus in summary Rashi would agree that our verse should
be >EXPLAINED< using the phrase >May GOD JUDGE BETWEEN US<
But Rashi used techniques of exaggeration and coincidence
to >PRESENT< the explanation.

REFERENCE
=========
This idea on the difference between how Rashi >EXPLAINS<
ideas vs how he >PRESENTS< ideas may be found in URL
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h1n14.htm


RASHI RULE USED: WORD MEANINGS
---------------------------------------------------
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 8 Number 12


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