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               Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel

                     Volume 10 Number 9
                    Produced May 30, 2001

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VERSE: Ex27-19b


RASHIS COVERED: Ex27-19b Ex35-18a Ex35-18b Nu03-26a Nu04-32a

The hebrew word YaThaYD in Hebrew has two meanings:
* It can refer to a TENT PEG--something pointed that you
hammer into the ground
* It can refer to a weaving PEG (on which the loom is set up)

Ex25 thru Ex27 describes the Mishkan including its many skin
coverings Hence it would make sense that PEGS refer to TENT
PEGS. This in fact is consistent with calling the Mishkan the
MEETING TENT(eg Lv01-01)

But the Hebrew word for PEG, YaThaD also can mean a weaving
PEG.*1 Perhaps, then, the tent pegs were simply HEAVY OBJECTS
whose weight prevented the tent-skins from flopping in the
wind.

Rashi answers his own question by bringing supporting verses
showing that whenever PEG is used with a TENT it refers to a
HAMMERED-IN-PEG*2

RADACK in his book roots also explains YaThayD as a tent peg
that is hammered in. However unlike Rashi Radack simply states
this as fact. Radack does not suggest any other possibility*3

By bringing in the other meaning of YaThayD (Weaving Peg) we
enrich our understanding of Rashi. Hence Rashi-is-Simple:
There are 2 meanings to YaThayD so indeed both interpretations
are possible.However by examining verses were see that YaThaYD
when used with tents means a a tent-peg that is hammered in.*4

Rashi here is analyzing meaning based on its usage in other
verses This corresponds to the Rabbi Ishmael rule of
GENERALIZATION FROM MANY VERSES.

The usage of the tent pegs is summarized in the footnotes is
summarized in further tables

*1 e.g. Ju16-14

*2 Rashi only brings Isa33-20. But the other verses that I have
   brought in the above list are consistent with this theme.

*3 To be fair Radack does bring BOTH meanings of Yathayd and
   includes the verse mentioned in footnote #1. However Radack
   does not mention the possibility that the Yathayd in the
   Mishkan refers to the weaving peg. Rashi does mention this
   possibility and then resolves it by looking more closely at
   verses.

*4 Rashis language APPEARS less definite. Rashi states
   ----------------------------------------------------------
   I dont know if Yathayd refers to a tent peg or weaving peg
   ----------------------------------------------------------

   Rashi concludes
   --------------------------------------------------------
   These verses (brought in the list) help SUPPORT me
   --------------------------------------------------------

   My opinion however is that Rashi conclusively believed that
   Yathayd means tent peg. I in fact once heard from Rav Shalom
   Kaminetsky that everytime the Rambam says IT APPEARS TO ME
   it doesnt mean that Rambam had doubts--rather Rambam was
   certain of the law but he had no explicit tradition and
   source for the law. So too I would suggest that Rashi here
   is certain but has no explicit source for his interpretation.

Rashi on Ex35-18b says that YTR means a CORD

How do we know that the Hebrew word YTR means CORD?
There are 2 approaches to explaining this meaning.
We present both approaches and then show which one
is preferable.

First we use the technique of UNIFIED MEANINGS. RADACK
presents a LIST of meanings of YTR in his book ROOTS.
The unified meaning is LEFTOVER in the sense of SLACK

Notice how the following list leaves a person with a
an empty unsatisfied feeling. We havent really proven
our point. Indeed, the LIST appears homiletic.

*1 That is, the FINGER OF THE LIVER (Gall bladder?)
   looks like a protrusion, a SLACK or LEFT OVER
   protrusion from the LIVER

*2 Bow strings arent just strings---they function
   by providing slack to shoot

*3 A tent cord is not just any cord but rather a
   cord that provides slack by which to hold
   tight the tent

Rashi on Ex35-18b says that YTR means a CORD

How do we know that the Hebrew word YTR means CORD?
There are 2 approaches to explaining this meaning.
We present both approaches and then show which one
is preferable.

We use the method of INFERRING MEANING FROM USAGE
IN VERSES. Notice the punchiness of this derivation.
Notice our feeling of certainty after reviewing this
list. *4 *5

*1 The phrase THEIR PEGS AND CORDS occurs almost identically
   in several other verses such as Nu03-37, Nu04-32.
   We might also mention the parallel phrase of PEGS AND ROPES
   of a tent in Isa33-20 where the Hebrew word for ROPE
   is CHEVEL not YTR

*2 In this verse YTR refers to a BowString not to a tent string
   but the idea of string is the same

*3 This verse uses the Hebrew YeTeR without the prefix MEM
   as in MaYThaR. Both mean slack-cord.

*4 MYTR only occurs 9 times in the Bible; 6 referring to the
   temple

*5 In conclusion: The method of INFERRING MEANING BY USAGE
   IN VERSES is seen as superior---this corresponds to the
   Rabbi Ishmael rule of GENERALIZATION FROM SEVERAL VERSES.

   The method of UNIFIED MEANING can however supplement
   this method by making us aware of nuances. In this case
   we became aware that YTR refers not to any cord but rather
   to SLACK CORD.

Two purposes are presented for the tent pegs

*1 Ex27-19b

This is a delightful exercise in exegesis. The
verses at first glance are very confusing and 3
approaches -- Rashi Sifsay Chachamim
and Ramban -- arise on who carried the pegs and
ropes when the Jews journeyed.

I am following a simple but insightful commentary in
the Silberstein translation of Rashi which resolves
the issues brought up by Sifsay chachamim and Ramban
and settles them grammatically.

First recall the Biblical phrase THE PEGS & CORDS
OF THE TEMPLE & THE COURTYARD (e.g. Ex35-18, Ex38-20
Nu04-32 etc). In fact there were curtains in the
TEMPLE proper as well as in the COURTYARD. These
curtains required pegs and cords to hold them down.

Rashi suggests that the pegs and cords served 2
purposes
--to hold down the tent skins to prevent flapping
--to support poles from which curtains hung
We shall see the proof of these functions below

This LIST compactly displays who carried each
peg and cord

*1 The following is a translation of Nu03-25:26
---------------------------------------------
The Gayrshonites watched (a,b) the temple-tent
(skins) (c,d) their skin coverings (e) the skin
door of the temple (f) the courtyard curtains
(g) the courtyard door (h) and ITS cords
---------------------------------------------

Note the phrase ITS CORDS (vs THEIR CORDS).
Silberstein brilliantly points out that the
Hebrew phrase ITS CORDS has a singular referent
not a plural referent. Hence, concludes
Silberstein, the phrase could NOT refer to the
courtyard curtains (which are plural). We are
FORCED (By the grammar) to refer the phrase
ITS CORDS back to the TEMPLE-TENT unit.

We conclude, says Silberstein, that Nu03-25:26
says that Gayrshonites only carried the cords
of the temple-tent BUT NOT the cords of the
courtyard poles. This is exactly what Rashi
says: THE CORDS OF THE TEMPLE-TENT BUT NOT
THE COURTYARD. Now please read footnote
#2 as it occurs in the above list.


*2 Using Silbersteins principle of PLURAL
   SINGULAR we translate Nu04-25:26 as follows
   ----------------------------------------
   (Gayrshon) Carried (a) Temple skins (b)
   tent (Skins) (c) its covering (d) its
   Tachash covering (e) Tent curtain door
   (f) the courtyard curtains (g) the
   courtyard door (h) and THEIR CORDS
   ----------------------------------------
   Notice the plural THEIR CORDS referring
   to the plural COURTYARD CURTAINS.

   Thus we are forced to admit that Gayrshon
   carried cords of the COURTYARD CURTAINS
   also.


*3 My opinion is that the simplest approach
   to this is to assume that there is NO
   verse for who carried the Temple Pegs!!!!
   Instead we use an approach of logic!!

   It is clear from Nu03-26 & Nu04-26
   that Gayrshon carried all non-hard items
   such as skins and cords. By contrast
   Nu04-31:32 makes it clear that Merrari
   carried all hard items such as poles,
   sidebars and pegs.

   Hence using the method of Generalization
   we infer that Merrari also carried the
   temple pegs(Which were hard items)

   I think this approach, deriving it from
   logic rather than by twisting a verse
   is simple and straightforward

   This approach(Of a unified theme--Gayrshon
   carried soft objects while Merrari carried
   hard objects) also justifies the assumption
   that the courtyard pegs were solely carried
   by Merrari.

   This is explicitly stated
   in Nu04-32 as well as by the observation
   of the Rambam that throughout, the Bible uses
   the phrase PEGS AND CORDS except in Nu03-26,
   Nu04-26 where it just uses the phrase CORDS hinting
   that Gayrshon ONLY carried cords and not pegs

*4 As is clear from Footnotes #1 #2 Gayrshon
   carried the cords of the courtyard.

   Assuming the reasonable assumption that
   no two Levite tribes had different
   tasks (justified by many verses) it
   follows that Merrari must have carried
   a peg that was neither for the Temple
   nor for the courtyard curtains.

   Rashi therefore explains that Merrari
   carried the cords that supported
   the poles from which the curtains
   hang.

   Silverstein explains that the cords
   attached to these pegs formed one
   unit with the pegs since the FUNCTION
   was to suspend the pole from which
   the curtains hung. Hence, says
   Silberstein, Merrari carried the
   PEG-CORD unit (even though, the cord
   was not hard).

   I believe this approach answers the
   Rambans objection: BUT WE FIND NO
   EXPLICIT SOURCE THAT THE POLES HAD
   PEGS.

   True enough. But we know that the
   curtains had to hang from something
   and that hanging pole had to be
   supported, presumably by pegs and
   cords. Again we have an inference
   by logic rather than textual

RASHI RULE USED: WORD MEANINGS


#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#

VERSE: Ex14-28a

RASHIS COVERED: Ex14-28a Gn31-13a Gn36-24a Lv07-16b Ex16-06c

To understand how this LIST is constructed we use Gn36-24a
as an example. The verse Gn36-24 LITERALLY translates as
----------------------------------------------
These are the children of Tzivon AND Aya & Ana
----------------------------------------------

Notice how the CAPPED word, AND, appears totally out of
place and distorts the cohesiveness of the verse.

Rashi suggests as a remedy that we simply regard
this word, AND, as extra. Hence the sentence translates
---------------------------------------------------
These are the children of Tzivon: #Aya & Ana
---------------------------------------------------

The pound sign (#) indicates the place of the missing
word AND (Note how in Hebrew the word AND is represented
by a single letter)

A similar approach applies to the other verses

RASHI RULE USED: The Sentence

#*#*#*# (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

#*#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi, 2001 Inc. Dr. Hendel President #*#*#*#*#