*1 Over the next year or so we will be writing modules for
   the 2-4 dozen basic Rashi skill competencies needed for
   learning Rashi. These modules will then be gathered into
   a workbook which can be used at home or in schools In
   the meantime each of these modules is usable in actual
   schools or home-schooling situations.

*2 We have identified 5 methods of resolving contradictions.

*3 Posting Dt07-07a shows a clear good example where
   - SIMPLE MEANING means the verse understood BY ITSELF
   - HOMILETIC MEANING means the verse understoody in CONTEXT

*10 We make three points here.

    FIRST POINT
    -----------
    The verse never says that the Jews are strong. Rather the
    verse states
    -----------------------------------------
    you will conquer nations GREATER than you
    -----------------------------------------

    Rashi however points out
    -----------------------------------------------
    What is the point of saying GREATER THAN YOU
    unless the Jews were themselves GREAT (so
    that other nations might be GREATER). You
    would not praise a great nation as being
    GREATER THAN SOME WEAK NATION
    -----------------------------------------------

    Thus Rashi points out that we may legitimately infer
    that the JEwS ARE GREAT from the phrase CONQUER
    NATIONS GREATER THAN YOU

    SECOND POINT
    ------------
    The next point deals with the difference between
    PSHAT and DERASH (SIMPLY MEANING vs HOMILETIC MEANING)

    Dt07-07 states
    -----------------------------------------------
    Not from your BIGNESS from all nations did God chose you
    Because you are the SMALLEST of all nations
    -----------------------------------------------

    The SIMPLE MEANING of this VERSE BY ITSELF is that
    - the JEWS are SMALL IN SIZE
    - God therefore did not chose them because of BIGNESS

    The reason Rashi deviates from the simple meaning of
    the text is because THERE IS ANOTHER VERSE which
    thru contradiction DEMANDS that the simple meaning
    (by itself) be overridden.

    Dt09-01 and Dt11-23 both speak about
    ------------------------------------------------------
    the Jews conquering nations GREATER & STRONGER THAN THEM
    -------------------------------------------------------

    Rashi points out that the phrase STRONGER THAN YOU
    implies that the Jews themselves must have STRENGTH
    (Otherwise why compare great nations to weaklings).

    THis other verse creates a CONTEXT---the CONTEXT of
    the Torah states that Jews are STRONG. Therefore
    -- Jews are not SMALL in STRENGTH
    -- Jews may be small in NUMBERS but since they are
       great in strength there is no real reason to
       point this out

    Now we understand Rashi. In context
    -- SMALL in NUMBERS
    -- SMALL in strength
    have no relevance.
    So Rashi selects a meaning of SMALL that is consistent with
    context
    -- SMALL in SELF EVALUATION --humble.

    I think the above analysis clearly shows the difference
    between meaning BY ITSELF and meaning IN CONTEXT. I also
    think it shows that the meaning in context is the INTENDED
    meaning of the text.

    THE THIRD POINT
    ---------------
    I have defended the Rashis on Dt07-07a using Rabbi Ishmaels
    contradiction methods. Rashi finds further support for
    his interpretation of Dt07-07a using the method of
    SUPPORTIVE VERSES I can also find support using the method
    of similar words.

    SUPPORTIVE VERSES: Rashi presents the following list
    showing lack of humility among non-jews vs humility
    in Jews
    -------------------------------------------------------
    VERSE       TEXT OF VERSE SHOWING LACK OF HUMILITY
    ----------- -------------------------------------------
    Gn18-27     I am dust and ashes (Abraham)
    Ex16-08     Who are we (Moses and AAron)
    ----------- -------------------------------------------
    Isa14-14    I am like a God (Nevuchadnesar)
    Isa36-20    What god can defeat me (Sancheriv)
    ----------- -------------------------------------------

    SIMILAR WORDS: We give below words which simultaneously
    denote PHYSICAL vs SPIRITUAL bigness. The point here
    is not that small DOES mean humble but rather that
    small CAN mean humble (and hence the method of
    contradictory verses may require a non-standard
    translation)


    --------------------------------------------------------
    WORD       PHYSICAL MEANING         NON-PHYSICAL MEANING
    ---------- ------------------------ --------------------
    SMALL      LITTLE                   HUMBLE
    BIG        eg. TALL                 POLITICALLY IMPORTANT
    SMALLEST   LITTLE                   IMMATURE(Gn09-24a)
    --------------------------------------------------------

*1
   Dt02-15 And when the sinners died
   Dt02-16 God spoke to me

   For further details see footnote *10

*2 We have here 6 verses forming one sentence.

   ---Dt10-02 And you should know today that it was not
   - your children who saw Gods rebuke, his greatness,
   - his big Hand and outstretched Arm,
   ---Dt10-03 his miracles, and great deeds that he did
   - to Egypt, and to Pharoh their king and, to his nation
   -----Dt10-04 AND THAT which He did to the Egyptian Army..
   -----Dt10-05 AND THAT which He did for you in the Desert
   -----Dt10-06 AND THAT which He did in the Korach rebellion
   -Dt10-07 RATHER it is you yourself which have seen
   these things

   For translation of the Hebrew KI as RATHER in Dt10-07
   and for treating the repeating keyword THAT like a
   foonote see footnote *11


*3
  ---Dt04-09 Watch yourself  and watch your soul alot lest
  you forget the things you (yourself saw) and lest you
  forget your whole life; and you will tell them to
  your children and to your grandchildren --
  ---Dt04-10 the day that you stood before God your Lord
  in the desert when God said to me (Moses) gather
  the congregation and I will tell them my words(the
  decalogue/10 commandments) in order that they learn
  to revere me all the days which they are alive on the
  land; and they will also teach their children


*4
  Nu32-34 The Gadites
  ----------------------built:
  ----------------------------------Divon
  ----------------------------------Ataroth
  ----------------------------------Aroayr
  --Nu32-35-------------------------Atroth Shofan
  ----------------------------------Yazayr
  ----------------------------------Yagbehah
  --Nu32-36-------------------------Bayth Nimrah
  ----------------------------------Bayth Haran
  -----------------------[built for] fortification & grazing

  For a further defense of this perspective see *12


*5
    Gn01-29 And God said
    --------I(God) give
    ----------------To you
    -----------------------------------all seed bearing grass
    -----------------------------------& all fruit bearing trees
    ----------------To you to eat
    Gn01-30---------To animals
    ----------------To birds
    ----------------To living insects-
    -----------------------------------all grass

*6
   Gn01-27 AND HE SAID: SEE:
   -----------------------My sons scent is like a field
   Gn01-28----------------& (so) will God give you[r fields]:
   ----------------------------from heavenly dew &
   ----------------------------from rich earth:
   ----------------------------abundant grain and wine


   Note the introductory phrase AND GOD SAID: SEE
   in verse Gn01-27: This gives credibility to this
   interpretation that everything is one long blessing

   For further elaboration see *13


*7
   Dt01-30 & I(Moses) said: God will fight for you
   ------- the same way He did
   ---------------IN Egypt, in front of your sight
   Dt01-31--------& IN the Desert, which you saw
   ------- that God bore you like a parent does his child

   The keyword IN helps link the two verses together.

*8 --Dt11-10 For the land which you are coming to is not like
   Egypt where your agriculture depended on canals from the Nile
   --Dt11-11 The land you are coming to is mountainous...you
   obtain water from rain
   --Dt11-13 It is a land that God constantly watches; Gods Eyes
   are on it the whole year
   --Dt11-14 and this (obtaining rain) will happen when you
   listen to Gods commandments which I command you this day
   to love God and to serve him with all your heart and soul
   --Dt11-15 (It is only) THEN that God will give you rain in
   its season

   For other comments on these verses see footnote *14


*9
   Dt02-26 ---And Moses requested from the Sichonites
   Dt02-27 -------------Allow me to use your roads
   Dt02-28 ---------------------allow me to buy food/water
   Dt02-29 ---------------------the way [Edom sold me food]
   ---------------------until I pass your land

   For further elaboration see footnote *15

*10 There are two Rashis on these verses.
    Dt02-16a comments on the fact that the two verses form
    one sentence

    Dt02-17a comments on the fact that it uses the verb
    SPOKE vs CITE.

    We have only dealt with Dt02-16a in this posting. The
    other Rashi will be dealt with at another time.

*11 Take note of 2 items in our translation:

   RASHI USES REPEATING KEYWORDS AS BULLETS
   ----------------------------------------
   First note how the repeating keyword THAT
   functions as a BULLET facilitating
   the reading of this long sentence.

   For a posting showing many examples of REPEATING
   KEYWORDS functioning as BULLETS see
   http://www.RashiYomi.Com/18-01d.htm)

   RASHI TRANSLATES THE HEBREW WORD, KI, as RATHER
   -----------------------------------------------
   Also note that Rashi translated the Hebrew word KI in
   Dt10-07 as RATHER. In fact the Hebrew word KI has
   7 meanings.

   For the 7 meanings of KI see the posting
   http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ki-11.htm

*12
 The whole chapter Nu32-16:42 revolves around a deal
 that the Gadites made with Mosheh
 ---the Gadites would inherit the transjordan
 ---the Gadites would build cities for fortification/grazing
 ---the Gadite herds/children would remain in these cities
 ---the Gadites would fight for Israel with everyone else

 This 4 fold contract is repeated in the following verses
 * Nu32-16:19 Initial Offer by the Gadites
 * Nu32-20:24 Initial Acceptance by Moses
 * Nu32-25:27 Confirmation of deal by Gadites
 * Nu32-28:42 Confirmation of deal in presence of Elders

 So we see that our interpretation of Nu32-34:36 as referring
 to creation of fortifications/grazing is consistent with
 the whole chapter.

 Indeed, we can go further and break up Nu32-28:42 which deals
 with the finalizing of the deal as follows:

 Nu32-28:30 Moses says: The Gadites promised to fight for Israel
 Nu32-31:32 Gadites respond: We agree
 Nu32-33    Moses gives them the land they were promised
 Nu32-34:36 The Gadites build cities for their families/grazing

 In conclusion this Rashi is an excellent example of the
 neglected principle of OVERALL structure.


*13 We have interpreted the verses as follows

   Gn01-27 AND HE SAID: SEE:
   -----------------------My sons scent is like a field
   Gn01-28----------------& (so) will God give you[r fields]:
   ----------------------------from heavenly dew &
   ----------------------------from rich earth &
   ----------------------------abundant grain and wine

  Chazal see a cycle here:
  --First Jews behave nicely (They smell like fresh fields)
  --then God gives them fresh fields
  --and then they are well to do & they smell like fresh fields
  --and then God gives them fresh fields etc

  Note how this observation of cyclicity is not SOMETHING
  separate from the simple meaning of the text but rather
  is a LOGICAL CONSEQUENCE of the simple meaning. This is
  the true way to learn Midrash--the Midrash is ONE with
  the simple meaning of the text.


*14 NOTE: Dt10-13 does not begin IF you will listen then...
   Rather ot begins: AND THIS (The above) will happen
   WHEN you listen. It is the Hebrew word VHAYAH (and
   this will happen) which prompts Rashi to connect the
   verses.

   Thus Dt10-12, Dt10-13, Dt10-14 form
   a GENERAL-PARTICULAR-GENERAL form stating that God
   gives rain WHEN you observe commandments; it is THEN
   that God gives rain.

   For further examples of the
   GENERAL PARTICULAR GENERAL Style, one of the 13 style
   rules of Rabbi Ishmael see
   http://www.RashiYomi.Com/exampe7.htm


*15 The Sifsay Chachamim, a commentary on Rashi makes the
    following points
    --It explicitly says in Nu20-14 that Moses requested
      permission from Edom, THE BROTHER OF ISRAEL, to
      pass thru the land.

      & Edom is explicitly identified with Esauv the Brother
      of Jacob in Gn36-01

      Thus the Nu20 story links to the Dt02 story.

   --But it explicitly says in Nu20 that
     * the Jews offered to BUY food (Nu20-19)
     * the Jews also requested use of roads (Nu20-19)
     * Edom refused to allow ROAD USE(Nu20-20 & Nu20-21)

   --If we couple this with the statement here (Dt02-29)
     ------------------------------------------------
     LET ME PASS AND BUY FOOD LIKE EDOM DID FOR ME
     ------------------------------------------------

   --then we conclude (based on the two sets of explicit
     verses) that
     * Edom did sell water & food
     * Edom did not allow Road use
   This uses the Rabbi Ishmael rule of resolving
   contradictory verses.


   We see that Rashi is also using the technique
   of OTHER VERSES. The two Rashis in Dt02-26:29 are
   based on the OTHER VERSES in Numbers 20 Here is how
   the Dt02 verses would read. Notice the alignment
   -------------------------------------------------
   Dt02-26 ---And Moses requested from the Sichonites
   Dt02-27 -------------Allow me to use your roads
   Dt02-28 ---------------------allow me to buy food/water
   Dt02-29 ---------------------the way [Edom sold me food]
   ---------------------until I pass your land
   --------------------------------------------------

   In conclusion Rashi(Dt02-29b) says that
   * Dt02-27 and Dt02-29 are linked
     ------------------------------------------
     Let me use your roads till I pass thru the land
     ------------------------------------------

   * Rashi (Dt02-29a) similarly says
     Dt02-28 and Dt02-29 are linked
     --------------------------------------------
     Allow me to buy food water like Edom sold me
     --------------------------------------------

   Rashi bases his interpretation
   on the OTHER VERSES and the
   RESOLUTION OF CONTRADICTIONS

*16 We can find support for Rashi by bringing many verses
    where Gods Protection is made conditional on our
    observance of the law
 ---------------------------------------------------------------
 VERSE   TEXT OF VERSE-IF we observe GOD will help
 ------- -------------------------------------------------------
 Dt11-22 IF you watch Gods law, HE will conquer the nations
 dt19-08 09 God will widen your land if you will watch his laws
 Dt28-09 God will make you great IF you WATCH his laws
 1K08-25 Davidid Kingdom will not cease PROVIDED law is observed
 2K21-08 I will not destroy Israel PROVIDED they watch my laws
 ---------------------------------------------------------------

    We can also support Rashi by focusing on the rare
    phrase KI IM which typically can mean PROVIDED or ONLY IF
    Several of the verses in the LIST above           also
    exhibit this phrase.

    However the rules governing KI IM seem complex.
    The interested reader is invited to browse

    http://www.RashiYOmi.com/h12n11.htm

    for a delightful discussion of the difference between
    Rashi and Oonkeloos on this matter.