*1 Rashi here explains terms
   - (Lv26-30a) BAMAH refers to popular public altars
   - (Lv26-30b) HAMAN refers to Roof altars *10

*2 (LINK OF STARVATION TO LOSS OF RELIGION)
   -----------------------------------------
   If you are starving you might at least go into some
   public worship center (To get food). But these centers
   will all be destroyed.

*3  - (Lv26-30c) Rashi interprets YOUR CADAVERES WILL BE
     PLACED ON YOUR BROKEN IDOLS literally by utilizing an
     example supplied by the Sifray.
     -----------------------------------------------
     e.g. A person is starving and takes out his/her
     pocket idol. The person drops dead and falls on
     the idol. Thus the persons body is on the broken
     idol*11
     ------------------------------------------------

     Similarly (Lv26-30d) Rashi interprets MY(GODS) SOUL
     WILL LOATHE YOU to mean
     -------------------------------------------
     There will be no spiritual communication between
     Me (God) and man (such as by dreams)
     -------------------------------------------

     Thus Rashi is using poetic license on these phrases.
     See the next footnote for the LINK between starvation,
     no religious centers and the above interpretations

*4 LINK OF NO DREAMS IN EXILE STAGES
   ----------------------------------
   Quite simply a person who is starving who cannot get
   food in public religious institutions may still have
   hope because of some dream suggesting a solution to
   his/her problem; OR, the person may have hope because
   of some religious object they hold on to.

   Thus Rashi interprets these phrases as a DESTRUCTION
   OF PERSONAL RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES which might
   inspire hope in the face of starvation

*5 LINK OF STARVATION, NO TEMPLE, EXILE
   ------------------------------------
   So far we have described 3 stages
   - starvation
   - loss of local idol houses where a person might
     obtain food
   - loss of personal religious experiences.

   The person might try to go back to his ancestral religion.
   That is, a return to the religion of his forefathers.
   Such networking would provide him with friends who would
   supply food and jobs.

   Hence Rashi interprets these Biblical phrases as talking
   about the destruction of ancestral religion
   -(Lv26-31a)No metropolitan cities with business flow*12
   -(Lv26-31b)no temple to which people came from all over*13
   -(Lv26-31b) no priests, sacrifices

   Rashi used poetic license and interpreted these phrases
   as describing a new stage: LOSS OF CENTRALIZED ANCESTRAL
   RELIGION

*6 The verse simply states I WILL MAKE DESOLATE THE LAND AND
   YOUR ENEMIES WILL BE DESOLATE ON IT. This phrase occurs
   several time in the Biblical paragraph. Rashi uses poetic
   license to interpret each phrase differently.

   Rashi stretches this using poetic license
   ---------------------------------------
   It is not only that the Jews will
   be exiled. But rather that the land
   they lived on will be UNUSABLE. EVEN
   the ENEMIES will not be able to live there
   ---------------------------------------

   In terms of stages there is a difference between a starving
   person getting thrown out of his house(with the hope
   of getting it back) vs a person whose house has become
   unlivable (Say thru a fire)!

   Thus we might describe this as the HOMELESS stage of exile



*7  The verse BY ITSELF
    would be perceived
    as simply using flowery language
   ---------------------------------------------
   I God will SPRINKLE you among the nations;
   I will SPLASH out the swords
   ---------------------------------------------

   Because of CLIMAX Rashi used poetic license on the
   nuances of SPRINKLE and SPLASH

   -- SPRINKLE denotes a LACK OF UNITY (only droplets
   are sprinkled). SPLASH denotes massive terrorism
   without letup.

   LINK TO THE EXILE STAGES
   ------------------------
   A starving person who lost his house may hope
   to still have friends to support him. Thus the
   Bible describes the STARVING HOMELESS PERSON
   who additionally has no friends.

   Although the nuances of SPRINKLE and SPLASH
   support Rashi, the ultimate proof comes from
   the CLIMAX principle not from the strange words.

*8 The phrase DESOLATE LAND has already occured
   several times in this chapter. Rashi
   interprets each occurence of this phrase
   differently consistent with the CLIMAX
   PRINCIPLE. In this verse Rashi places an
   emphasis on

   ---------------------------------------------
   The land will be KNOWN as desolate. There will
   be no HOPE of coming back
   ----------------------------------------------

   This is the final stage in exile. After all if
   you are exiled (eg from your house because of fire)
   but  believe the government will rebuild it for
   you then it is just a nuisance.

   But if you are exiled WITHOUT hope of return it is
   more serious.

*10 HAMAH means SUN. So a fitting name for a ROOF IDOL would
    be a SUN IDOL or SUN for short. Such idols were
    convenient since they were IN YOUR HOUSE

*11 Rashi interprets
    ---------------------------------------------
    I will place your cadavers on your broken
    idols
    ---------------------------------------------

    to refer to eg

    --------------------------------------------
    a starving person who takes out his pocket
    idol to pray, dies and his dead body falls
    on his broken idol
    --------------------------------------------

    I think it best to regard this Rashi (actually
    a sifrah) as an EXAMPLE of a PERSONAL RELIGIOUS
    EXPERIENCE. The CLIMAX principle gives depth
    to individual phrases by linking them in a
    general paragarph setting

*12 As Rashi himself points out: The verse simply states
    I WILL DESTROY YOUR CITIES. But this phrase occurs
    several times in the chapter. Rashi interprets the
    phrase here to mean I WILL DESTROY YOUR (BUSINESS)
    METROPOLITASES

    Recall that in ancient times everyone came to Jerusalem
    --even non-jews---to see the temple---hence the Temple
    cities became business centers--therefore a person lacking
    food could go and find refuge and help here.

    Thus this stage states that all centralized religion
    will go (cutting off another avenue of hope)

*13 The Sifrah finds a grammatical nuance SUPPORTING this
    interpretation: The Bible uses the word YOUR TEMPLES
    vs TEMPLE or MY(GODS) TEMPLE. This indicates a nuance
    of the SYNAGOGUES which had public prayers at the
    times of the daily temple sacrifices.

    Again however, it is not the grammar which motivates
    Rashi. Rather it the climax principle which shows
    how STARVATION CAN LEAD TO EXILE. First you have
    to remove all hope of getting food--one such hope
    comes from centralized religion.

    Hence Rashi interprets this verse as referring to
    ANY CENTRALIZED STRUCTURE (business centers,
    Temple links or the Temple itself)

*20
    The Bible in Lv26-27 EXPLICITLY states
    ---------------------------------------
    I will bring 7 punishments on you
    ---------------------------------------
    Hence both Rashi and I count 7 stages.

    But the text we have of Rashi appears to stop in the
    middle of the paragraph! I have taken the text naturally
    which starts at verse Lv26-27 and finishes at Lv26-33.

    I therefore list here the 15 verse phrases in Lv26-27:33
    (using one phrase per verse). I then add my classification
    and Rashis classification. I change two words in Rashi
    which makes our two interpretations identical.

    WITHOUT THESE 2 WORD CORRECTIONS RASHI WOULD BE
    STOPPING IN THE MIDDLE OF A PARAGRAPH. Hence I think
    this approach worthwhile. This approach of minor
    word correction was advocated (when necessary by
    the Vilna Gaon).

    --------------------------------------------------------
    VERSE   TEXT OF PHRASE         WHICH STAGE
    ------- ---------------------- -------------------------
    Lv26-29 eat your boy children  Starvation
    Lv26-29 eat your girl children Starvation
    Lv26-30 destroy statutes       No Crutches
    Lv26-30 destroy roof gods      NO Crutches
    Lv26-30 die on statutes        NO Personal visions
    Lv26-30 no visions/dreams      NO Personal visions
    Lv26-31 no metropolitases      No Central Temple*21
    Lv26-31 No Temple Synagogues   No central Temple
    Lv26-31 No Temple sacrifices   No Central temple
    Lv26-32 Exiled from land       Homeless Exile
    Lv26-32 Land uninhabitable     Homeless exile
    Lv26-33 Exile without unity    Troops in SYNAGOGUES*22
    Lv26-33 massive terrorism      Troops in SYNAGOGUES
    Lv26-33 No hope of return      No HOPE for sacrifices*23
    Lv26-33 No hope of cities      No HOPE for sacrifices
    --------------------------------------------------------

*21 Rashi says THE DEPARTURE OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE
    It is therefore tempting to say he was referring to
    the last phrase in Lv26-30 talking about LACK OF VISIONS
    But quite simply I interpret it as referring to the
    DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE (SEAT OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE)

*22 I have changed the word TEMPLE to SYNAGOGUES. That is
    instead of TROOPS (of JEWS) GOING TO TEMPLE we translate
    TROOPS (Of Foreign nations) GOING TO SYNAGOGUES (And
    preventing UNITY. This requires a change of one word

*23 Rashi states NO SCENT OF SACRIFICES which clearly echoes
    Lv26-31. I changed the word SCENT to HOPE. So the
    Rashi text reads NO HOPE FOR SACRIFICES. This is consistent
    with Rashis OWN interpretation of Lv26-33