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Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2001
Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel
Volume 10 Number 12
Produced June 7, 2001
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
OVERVIEW OF HILIGHTS IN THIS ISSUE |
` Whats new and hot in this issue or on the web?
|
ITEM | WHERE TO FIND IT |
Professional version *1 | http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h10n12.htm |
FOR YOU = Personal | http://www.RashiYomi.Com/nu10-02a.htm |
Rashi Grammar rule | http://www.RashiYomi.Com/nu10-02a.htm |
Rashi text versions | http://www.RashiYomi.Com/nu10-02a.htm |
HEADLINE-STORY form | http://www.RashiYomi.Com/nu10-02a.htm |
Rabbi Ishmael Rules | http://www.RashiYomi.Com/nu10-02d.htm |
KEYWORDS = BULLETS | http://www.RashiYomi.Com/nu10-02e.htm |
| |
| |
COMMENTS |
*1 Professional version has professionally made tables, use of
bold, shading as well as inside-outside technology
Professional version will be available FRIDAY.
|
Rashis covered in this issue |
|
VERSE | RULE | BRIEF DESCRIPTION |
======== | =============== | ======================================= |
Nu10-02a | GRAMMAR | FOR YOU denotes FOR PERSONAL REASONS |
Nu10-02b | GRAMMAR | FOR YOU denotes FOR PERSONAL REASONS |
Nu10-02c | GRAMMAR | FOR YOU denotes FOR PERSONAL REASONS |
Nu13-02b | GRAMMAR | FOR YOU denotes FOR PERSONAL REASONS |
Ex25-08a | GRAMMAR | FOR YOU denotes FOR PERSONAL REASONS |
Ex25-02a | GRAMMAR | FOR YOU denotes FOR PERSONAL REASONS |
Ex18-27a | GRAMMAR | FOR YOU denotes FOR PERSONAL REASONS |
Nu10-02d | EXAMPLE4 | Bible uses a HEADLINE-STORY approach |
Nu10-02e | EXAMPLE4 | Bible uses a HEADLINE-STORY approach |
--------- | ---------------- | --------------------------------------- |
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
MAP OF RASHI-IS-SIMPLE |
|
ITEM | DESCRIPTION |
GOALS: | Defend the 7800 Chumash Rashis |
METHOD USED: | Emphasis on LISTS -- Database methods |
INTENDED AUDIENCE: | Laymen, Academicians, Yeshiva world |
COMMENTS,QUESTIONS: | EMail your questions to address below |
ANONYMITY: | Granted on request |
TO (UN)SUBSCRIBE: | Email addresses below with (UN)SUBSCRIBE |
JOURNAL REFERENCES: | Pshat & Drash,TRADITION, 1980,R Hendel |
NOTATION: | Gn01-02a refers to Rashi A on Genesis 1:2 |
SPECIALS: | on Parshah,Rambam,Pedagogy,Symbolism,Rmbn |
RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RULES | Complete set of rules on bottom |
EMAIL: | RJHendel@Juno.Com, |
EMAIL: | rashi-is-simple@shamash.org |
WEB: | http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ |
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Nu10-02a
RASHI COVERED: Nu10-02a Nu10-02b Nu10-02c Nu13-02b
Ex25-08a Ex25-02a Ex18-27a
COMMENT: Note that there are several viewpoints on HOW
MANY Rashis are on Nu10-01. Some Chumashim count 3
Other chumashim combine two of these Rashis
(in various ways) making 2 Rashis. We even suggest
an approach of combining all 3
THE PHRASE for yourself INDICATES PERSONAL USE |
The 3 Rashis on Nu10-02a deal with the rule of Grammar
mentioned several times by Rashi that
* a Verb with the added phrase FOR YOURSELF indicates
an activity that was done for PERSONAL use
EXAMPLE: SEND SPIES would indicate a direct command,
while SEND FOR YOURSELF SPIES indicates that you
should send spies IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT (Personal reasons)
The Rashis on the verses below all indicate how the
activity was personal.
Note that the statement that the activity was personal
does not have any specificity -- HOW was it personal?
Consequently each Rashi shows a reasonable but shrewd
guess on how the given activity was PERSONAL.
In fact one perspective of Rashi on Nu10-01 is that
Rashi simply gave 3 ways this activity could be personal.
We now present the LIST. Further details are in the
footnotes.
|
VERSE | TEXT OF VERSE | FOR YOU/ME= |
Nu13-02b | Send for YOURSELF spies | if you want |
Ex25-08a | Make for ME a Temple | Dedicated to Me |
Ex25-02a | Take for ME Temple gifts | Dedicated to me |
Ex18-27a | & he went for HIMSELF to his land | For personal reasons*1 |
Nu10-01b | make for YOURSELF to trumpets | Personal use*2 |
| | |
COMMENTS |
*1 BACKGROUND: The previous chapter Ex18 states how much Jethro
admired Gods salvation of the Jews from Egypt. Hence if
the verse states JETHRO RETURNED FOR PERSONAL REASONS
TO HIS COUNTRY, Rashi conjectures that he probably
went to convert his friends and family to Noachidic
belief in God, and founded the SOCIETY OF FRIENDS
OF JETHRO (Jud04-11)
*2 A simple approach to reading Rashi is as follows:
The phrase MAKE FOR YOURSELF implies that there was
SOMETHING PERSONAL about the making of the trumpets.
So Rashi is careful NOT to take sides but simply to
give 3 examples of WHAT could be PERSONAL about them.
--------------------------------------------------------
PERSONAL IN PURPOSE Trumpets blasts honor Moses as King
PERSONAL IN SOURCE Trumpets were made from Moses funds
PERSONAL IN USERS Only Moses (no one else) could blow
--------------------------------------------------------
Thus these 3 Rashis should be read as one continuous
Rashi containing 3 possibilities on MAKE FOR YOURSELF.
An examination of manuscripts shows that some Chumashim
combine 2 of these Rashis into one. Thus our suggestion
seems feasable.
An alternative explanation is presented below.
|
REFERENCES TO ARTISAN PRODUCTIONS |
Were the various holy objects made by PUBLIC or PRIVATE
funds? The LIST below shows a variety of verses discussing
production of holy objects. Some of these verses use
Singular while some use Plural.
There are then two points of view
VIEW 1:
------
* If the SINGULAR is used then the funding was PRIVATE
* If the PLURAL is used then the funding was PUBLIC
As to the production of the ark being in both SINGULAR
and PLURAL: We would simply say that this refers to the
two arks (one for the first tablets and one for the second
VIEW 2
------
* All temple objects were made from Public funds
* But God prefered Moses donation to the nations
The Sifrah/Sifray further explains that e.g. by the ark:
* When they did Gods will, God equally liked all funds
* When they sinned, God preferred Moses contributions
In a nutshell, the SINGULAR PLURAL represents
* REQUIRED funding according to VIEW 1(public vs private)
* PREFERRED funding according to VIEW 2(Moses vs nation)*1
|
VERSE | TEXT-1 | TEXT-2 of VERSE | SINGLE/PLURAL |
Ex25-02 | Let THEM | take for me Temple gifts | PLURAL |
Nu10-02 | YOU, | make horns | SINGULAR |
Dt10-01 | YOU, | make an Ark | SINGULAR |
Dt10-03 | And I, | made an Ark | SINGULAR |
Ex25-10 | Let THEM | make an Ark | PLURAL |
| | | |
COMMENTS |
*1 Rashi, as is his frequent custom, only cites the
BEGINNING OF THE Sifray/Sifray which states
-----------------------------------------------------
MAKE FOR YOURSELF: Rashi:The word YOURSELF means that
the funding was PRIVATE
-----------------------------------------------------
However the rest of the Sifrah/Sifray indicates the
2 views we have mentioned
|
CROSS REFERENCE: http://RashiYomi.Com/ex18-27a.htm
RASHI RULE USED: GRAMMAR
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Nu10-02d
RASHIS COVERED: Nu10-02d Nu10-02e
PURPOSE OF TRUMPET CALLS - STRUCTURE of Nu10 |
Nu10 uses a developmental structure
* Nu10 has a HEADER
-------------------
The opening verses speak about making trumpets in order to
--call the nation
--inform them that a new journey was about to take place
* The HEADER is followed by a more detailed section
---------------------------------------------------
-- One section describes HOW the trumpets were blasted
to call the nation/leaders to attention
-- Another section describes HOW the trumpets were blasted
to advise the nation that they were journeying
The use of a GENERAL-HEADER---DETAILED-SECTION style is
similar to a HEADLINE-STORY approach used in Newspapers.This
style is 1st explicitly mentioned by Rashi on Gn02-08a in
connection with Gn01 & Gn02 (Genesis 1 gives the HEADLINE
that MAN was created while Genesis-2 advises us of the
details). For details on the HEADER-STORY style see the
CROSS REFERENCE: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/example4.htm
The LIST below presents the HEADER and details.
Further comments are made in the footnotes *1, *2
|
CHAPTER HEAD(Nu10-02) | CROSS REFERENCE | VERSE |
TO call the nation | 1 blast means the nation will meet | Nu10-03 |
TO travel | They will blow when they journey | Nu10-06 |
| | |
| | |
COMMENTS |
*1 Another approach to these Rashis is the Rashi rule
that the Bible indicates BULLETS using KEYWORDS. The
purpose of bullets is to indicate a uniqueness to each
bullet. Thus we read Nu10-02 as follows.
-----------------------------------------------
Make ..2 silver trumpets; let them be soldered
and they shall be used by you
* FOR calling the nation
* &FOR the travel of the camps
-----------------------------------------------
The two bullets emphasize 2 distinct purposes. Without
the bullets I might have read the text as one connnected
phrase---CALL THE NATION FOR PURPOSES OF TRAVEL.
By using bullets Rashi reminds us that sometimes the
nation was called for purposes of instruction such as
in Nu20-08, Ex35-01, Lv08-03 etc.
*2 Rashi supplements his comments by compiling a LIST of 3
methods of journeying. Three items could call the Jews
to journey
------------------------------------------------------
* Nu09-17 Gods cloud arising required them to journey
* Nu10-06 The trumpet blasts required them to journey
* Ex14-15 Moses could order them to journey
------------------------------------------------------
Thus Nu10-02 is seen as indicating only one item that
required them to journey.
|
RASHI RULE USED: EXAMPLE4
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
THE 6 RASHI RULE CLASSES(Version 3.2 Dec 15 2001)
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rules-01.htm
Copyright Dec 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President
========================================================
THE DICTIONARY RULE: Rashi can function as a dictionary.
He presents 2-6 meanings of words
REFERENCE: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/words.htm
========================================================
* EXAMPLE 1: AL means ON. AL can also mean
- WITH (Eat Passover WITH matzoh Ex12-09e)
- IN (Place the Matzoh IN the basket Ex29-03)
- TO (The boards shall be even from bottom TO top Ex26-24c)
- NEAR (His borders will be NEAR Tzison Gn49-13b)
- AFTER(Offer Peace offerings AFTER the daily Lv03-05a)
* EXAMPLE 2: KI means IF,PERHAPS,RATHER,BECAUSE,WHEN,THAT
Gn18-15a Gn24-33a
* EXAMPLE 3: YDA means FAMILIAR, not KNOW (eg Dt34-10a)
eg Gn04-01 Adam was FAMILIAR with his wife
* EXAMPLE 4: ON THE FACE OF means DURING THE LIFETIME
Nu03-04a Gn11-28a Ex20-03c Dt05-07a
===========================================================
THE GRAMMAR RULE: Rashi comments on RARE or SIMILAR usages
REFERENCE:http://www.RashiYomi.Com/grammar.htm
===========================================================
* EXAMPLE 1: BA-ah means CAME;ba-AH means COMING(Gn46-26a)
* EXAMPLE 2:THE SENTENCE: 0.2% of Biblical sentences are 2verses
-(Dt11-07:08) It was not your fathers who saw this;rather you
* EXAMPLE 3: Hitpael has different rules if 1st root letter is
Tzade (USE: Ni-Tz-Ta-Dack not Ni-Th-Tza-Dack--Gn44-16a)
================================================================
THE CITATION RULE: Rashi enriches meaning by citing OTHER verses
REFERENCE:http://www.RashiYomi.Com/other-20.htm
================================================================
* EXAMPLE 1: Dt26-05d We went down to Egypt with A FEW PEOPLE
ENRICHED by Gn46-27: We went down with 70 people
* EXAMPLE 2: Lv01-05a Non-priests may SLAUGHTER offerings
This law DERIVED from explicit statement in 2Chr30-17
* EXAMPLE 3:Why does Rashi say that Chur is Miriams son(Ex17-10b)
DERIVED from possible interpretation of 1-Chr18-19
* EXAMPLE 4: Gn35-22a Reuven Slept with Bilhah(Fathers concubine)
Gn49-04 Reuven PLAYED with fathers BEDS
CONCLUSION: Reuven inteferred with fathers personal
life(ruffled bedspreads); Bible condemns Reuven by
exaggeration; he is accused of incest which he didnt do
=================================================================
THE 3 RABBI ISHMAEL RULES: They govern style(broad vs literal)
REFERENCE:http://www.RashiYomi.com/example1.htm thru example9.htm
=================================================================
* EXAMPLE 1: Simple sentences are always GENERALIZED
---------------------------------------
Dt25-04a Dont MUZZLE an OX while it is THRESHING
Rabbi Ishmael: Dont STOP any ANIMAL from eating
while DOING ITS WORK
* EXAMPLE 2: GENERAL-EXAMPLE style always interpreted LITERALLY
--------------------------------------------------
Nu05-12d (GENERAL) If a women DESECRATES her marriage
(EXAMPLE) and commits ADULTERY
Rabbi Ishmael: Nu05 only applies to ADULTERY.
It does not apply to other marriage DESECRATIONS
* EXAMPLE 3: GENERAL-EXAMPLE-GENERAL style intepreted SIMILARLY
--------------------------------------------------
Lv05-21b (GENERAL) If a man DENIES under oath
(EXAMPLE) ..denies a deposit,loan,theft,wages,lost item
(GENERAL) or ANY DENIAL which he denies
RABBI ISHMAEL: These laws apply to any SIMILAR Example
* The law applies to partnerships, movables and monetary objects
* The law does not apply to real-estate or slander
=================================================================
THE CLIMAX RULE: The Bible should be interpreted in such a manner
that it reflects CLIMACTIC development to a goal
REFERENCE: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/example9.htm
=================================================================
EXAMPLE 1: Dt19-11a If a man HATES, SPIES, CONFRONTS & KILLS
RASHI: Bible identifies 4 stages to murder(Capped)
==============================================================
THE FORMATTING PRINCIPLE: Bible had its own method to mimic
bold, bullets, footnotes, paragraphs
==============================================================
* BOLD: Bible REPEATS words to obtain BOLD emphasis effect
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/doubl-14.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------
EXAMPLE 1:(Ex12-09c) COOK COOK it in water (So COOKED is bold)
INFERENCE: Prefered to COOK it in water;
But COOK It at all costs(Even if you dont have water)
* BULLETS: Bible indicates bullets by REPEATING KEYWORDS
--------------------------------------------------------
Who am I
- THAT I should go to Pharaoh
- THAT I should take the Jews out of Egypt (Ex03-11a)
--------------------------------------------------------
RASHI: Repeated word THAT creates BULLET effect
- Pharoh was a difficult king (Bullet one)
- Jews were not yet ready for freedom (Bullet two)
* FOOTNOTES: The Bible indicates FOOTNOTES by ALMOST DUPLICATING
verses but making small minor changes
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/align-58.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------
EXAMPLE: Ex20-03a
VERSE PHRASE #1 PHRASE #2 PHRASE #3
------- --------- --------- ------------------
Ex20-03 Dont POSSESS the gods of others
Ex20-04 Dont MAKE idols
RASHI: So both POSSESSion & MAKING of idols are prohibited
---------------------------------------------------------------
End of Rashi is Simple Digest
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#*#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi, 2001 Inc. Dr. Hendel President #*#*#*#*#