`          Whats new and hot in this issue?

VERY BRIEF SUMMARY:
-------------------
Ex22-19b states that someone who OFFERS SACRIFICES to idolatry
is put to death. A General principle is that all simply
stated Biblical examples SHOULD BE GENERALIZED. Thus any act
LIKE OFFERING SACRIFICES when done for idolatry should also
carry a death penalty. Some simple examples of acts that
are LIKE OFFERING SACRIFICES are (a) OFFERING INCENSE or
(b) POURING WINE LIBATIONS (All 3 of these acts have the
important properties that they must be done in the Temple
and climaxes of temple services).

------------------------------------------------------
TODAYS RASHI RULE:       THE RABBI ISHMAEL STYLE RULES
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE:    GENERALIZATION STYLE
------------------------------------------------------

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF RULE AND SUBRULE
-------------------------------------
Some Rashis deal with GRAMMAR or MEANING. But other Rashis
deal with STYLE. The Great Talmudic Sage Rabbi Ishmael,
laid down 3 style rule classes which divide into a dozen
or so rules.

Today we deal with the GENERALIZATION style.
When using this style the verse simply states an example
of a prohibition.

The Rabbi Ishmael Style rules then demand that the verse
be interpreted BROADLY as applying to any similar example
This requirement of BROAD interpretation is not because
of grammar or meaning or even because some word in the
verse is extra: Rather, it is a requirement of style.

The standard example below clearly illustrates this


STANDARD EXAMPLE
----------------
The simplest example I could find occurs at Dt25-04
-----------------------------------------------------------
Dont MUZZLE an OX while it is THRESHING
-----------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT EXERCISES:
-----------------
-- Which items in the verse are SPECIFIC?

-- How would you GENERALIZE these examples?


RASHIS SOLUTION
---------------
-- The 3 capped words MUZZLE, OX and THRESHING
refer to SPECIFIC EXAMPLES (That is they are not
abstract concepts but concrete items or procedures)

-- Rashi following the Talmud performs 3 generalizations
a) You shouldnt muzzle ANY ANIMAL (not just an OX)
while it is doing its work

b) You shouldnt do ANY ACTIVITY that present eating
(MUZZLING is just one example of a preventative
activity)

c) You shouldnt muzzle the animal while it is doing
ANY TYPE OF WORK (threshing is just one example)

COMMENT: The above analysis shows why we call this
method the EXAMPLE GENERALIZATION method The Rashi and
Talmud perceive OX, MUZZLE, THRESHING as EXAMPLES
of more GENERAL principles.

STANDARD REFERENCES FOR THIS RULE
---------------------------------
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/example3.htm

You can also revu the whole Rabbi Ishmael style
series at http://www.RashiYomi.com/ishmael.htm

Finally you can visit the Daily Rashi calendar at
http://www.RashiYomi.com/calendar1.htm The Rabbi Ishmael
series occured during August and September 2000.

Finally we refer the reader to the tractate Pesachim
6b where Rashi explicitly states that ANY BIBLICAL
VERSE SHOULD BE GENERALIZED UNLESS IT USES A STYLE
REQUIRING A RESTRICTIVE INTERPRETATION


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 verses with
the general-specific-general style
and ask the students to perform the
2 student exercises listed above.

The students can then compare their analysis with that
of Rashis. This leads to greater appreciation of Rashi.

TODAYS LIST
--------------
Please find below several verses illustrating the above
rule. These examples are taken from the url above.
Ex22-19b (at the bottom of the list is new) The footnotes
provide further details

VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
------------------
The Hebrew root Chet-Resh-Mem has 4 meanings. Its fundamental
meaning is a NET (The etymology of this is that a NET is an
object with ALOT (MEM) of WHOLES (Chet-Resh)*10). From this
fundamental meaning of NET we derive the following other meanings
(b) A person with a SUNKEN NOSE (The 2 nostril holes look like
a net); (c) To CONQUER (To NET the enemy)--the emphasis in CH-R-M
means to render the enemy totally helpless (like Fish in a net);
(d) to DEDICATE SOMETHING TO GOD (that is to NET for God)--the
emphasis here is that the dedicated object is TRAPPED(like a fish
in a net) and CAN ONLY be used for sacred purposes


REFERENCE
---------
http://www.RashiYomi.com/lv21-18b.htm

We show there that 2 of the 4 meanings of Chet-Resh-Mem
emphasize FORM while the other 2 meanings emphasize FUNCTION.

Thus NET and SUNKEN NOSE emphasize a FORM of many holes.

By contrast, CONQUERING and DEDICATING emphasize TOTALLY
TRAPPING SOMETHING FROM ITS NATURAL HABITAT and rendering
it helpless.

The above reference also gives many examples of items named
by FORM or FUNCTION.

TODAYS LIST
-----------
We present below several verses where Rashi comments on
the meaning of Chet-Resh-Mem. The footnotes point out
that Rashi made his comments in Nu21 because 2 distinct
meanings of Chet-Resh-Mem were used in the same verse!

VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
------------------
Moses in Ex32-27a states
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moses stood in the corner of the camp and stated: Whoever
belongs to God come to me and all the Levites gathered.
And Moses said: THUS SAYS GOD..go thru the camp from gate
to gate and kill (those who worshipped the Golden calf
-----------------------------------------------------------
The phrase THUS SAYS GOD cross-references ex22-19b
-----------------------------------------------------------
Those who offer to other gods should be put to death
-----------------------------------------------------------
Rashi simply points out this cross reference.

---------------------------------------
TODAYS RASHI RULE:     OTHER VERSES
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE:  CITATION
---------------------------------------


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE RULE and SUBRULE
-----------------------------------------
The rule of OTHER VERSES simply means that Rashi
is explaining one verse by citing an OTHER VERSE

The Bible in several dozen places QUOTES. Thus a verse might
say SUCH AND SUCH WILL HAPPEN AS IT SAYS. The phrase AS IT
SAYS refers to a CITATION from another verse.

Rashis job is to find this other verse and show how the
Bible is citing it.


STANDARD EXAMPLE
----------------
Dt26-18:19 states
------------------------------------------------------------
God will make you a precious nation today AS HE SAID
..and make you a leading nation and a holy nation AS HE SAID
------------------------------------------------------------


EXERCISE:
---------
Before reading Rashi
-- can you find a verse where God promises to make us PRECIOUS
-- can you find a verse where God promises to make us HOLY


RASHIS SOLUTION
---------------
Rashi cites Ex19-05:06
-----------------------------------------------------
If you (The Jews) listen to Me and watch my convenant
...  then you will become a PRECIOUS NATION to Me
...  and you will become to me a HOLY nation
-----------------------------------------------------
Thus the Bible is cross-referencing itself.

COMMENT:If you found this verse by yourself then you produced
2 Rashi comments, just like Rashi. This should inspire you
that with proper study you can become a Torah Scholar LIKE RASHI


STANDARD REFERENCES FOR THIS RULE
---------------------------------
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/other-20.htm

OR
Navigate to the Rashi calendar at
http://www.RashiYomi.com/calendar1.htm

The OTHER series was presented in November of 2000.
You can directly navigate to
http://www.RashiYomi.com/other-1.htm
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/other-2.htm etc


HOW TO USE THESE LISTS FOR SCHOOL PROJECTS
------------------------------------------
You can use the LIST below for school projects.
Here is how, if you are a teacher then you
can present the verse in the first column
(eg Dt26-05) and the CHAPTER (but not the verse)
in the 3rd column---e.g. Gn46.

The student is then instructed to discover
the verse that is cross referenced. The students solution
can then be compared with Rashis. Very often the student
can do as well as Rashi. This inspires confidence in the
students since they see that Rashis commentary emanates
from scholarship, not from authority.

TODAYS LIST
-----------
We augment the CITATION method from the OTHER VERSE list
by adding the first record in the list below. We add
Ex32-27a which states THUS SAYS GOD...KILL THOSE WHO
WORSHIPED THE GOLDEN CALF. Rashi-Is-Simple--he cites
the verse Ex22-19b where God said THOSE WHO WORSHIP IDOLS
SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH. For further details on this
method revu the URL above.