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Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2002
Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel
Volume 15 Number 24
For the WORD QUALITY HTML VERSION click here
-----------------------------------
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h14n14.htm
Produced Nov 6th, 2002
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
OVERVIEW OF HILIGHTS IN THIS ISSUE |
` Whats new and hot in this issue? |
ITEM | WHATS NEW & HOT IN THIS ISSUE |
WORKBOOK | We are embarking on a Rashi Workbook Project*1 |
1-letter root | A charming posting on 1 letter etymologies |
| |
COMMENTS |
*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.
|
Rashis covered in this issue |
|
VERSE | RULE | BRIEF DESCRIPTION |
======== | =============== | ======================================= |
Gn25-30a | WORD MEANINGS | ARM=Upper class;LAT=Gulp;LUM=Superpower |
Gn25-23c | WORD MEANINGS | ARM=Upper class;LAT=Gulp;LUM=Superpower |
Gn25-20b | WORD MEANINGS | ARM=Upper class;LAT=Gulp;LUM=Superpower |
Gn25-19a | DATABASES | The GENEALOGY chapter style |
Gn25-19b | DATABASES | The GENEALOGY chapter style |
Gn37-02a | DATABASES | The GENEALOGY chapter style |
--------- | ---------------- | --------------------------------------- |
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2002, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Gn25-19a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn25-19a Gn25-19b Gn37-02a
The GENEALOGY Style |
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
------------------
The Bible frequently gives GENEALOGY CHAPTERS. There are 3
styles to GENEALOGY chapters. The NO-INTERRUPT style is eg
- These are the GENEALGIES of Noach:Shyam Cham...: Shaym begat..
The BRIEF-INTERRUPT style gives additional information: eg
- These are the GENEALOGIES of Noach: NOACH WAS RIGTHEOUS....
The LONG INTERRUPT style gives character studies. For example
Gn25-19 INTERRUPTS the genealogy of Isaac having Jacob & Esauv
by describing how PRAYER formed the personalities of Abraham
Isaac & Jacob. Similarly Gn37 thru Gn46 INTERRUPTS the genealogy
of Jacob---the attempted murder of Joseph formed personality
--------------------------------------------------------------
TODAYS RASHI RULE DATABASES
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE DATABASES
--------------------------------------------------------------
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TODAYS RASHI RULE
--------------------------------------
Many Rashis and Midrashim focus on reviews of SIMILAR Biblical
chapters--that is, Biblical chapters that have a COMMON THEME
For example today we review all chapters that have the word
or theme of GENEALOGY. The purpose of this DATABASE review of
common Biblical chapters is to uncover PATTERNS and
CLASSIFICATIONS. Thus in todays example we discovered 3 types
of GENEALOGY CHAPTER STYLES. These patterns in turn help us
to understand what Rashi/Chazals MAIN POINT is.
STANDARD EXAMPLE FOR TODAYS RASHI RULE
--------------------------------------
We use the example below. We review all chapters
that beging
-- These are the GENEALOGIES of...
STUDENT EXERCISES
-----------------
You can use this material to help students in schooling
or homeschooling situations. Here are some simple student
exercises
-- Find all Biblical chapters beginning THESE ARE THE GENEALOGIES
-- Find PATTERNS or CLASSIFY this chapter
RASHIS SOLUTION TO THE ABOVE
----------------------------
- A list of chapters beginning THESE ARE THE GENEALOGIES
are presented in the LIST below.
- Rashi uncovered 3 GENEALOGY styles
--- STRAIGHTFORWARD genealogies -- so & so begat so & so
--- BRIEF-INTERRUPT genealogies -- (give 1 sentence interruptions)
For example: These are the genealogies of Noach--Noach was
righteous
--- LONG-INTERRUPT genealogies -- describe sources of character
For example: These are the GENEALOGIES of ISAAC: The whole
family history was one of prayer and this influenced the
characters of the two children one of whom went to prayer
and one of whom went to a life of hunting
By making the database query one enriches ones understanding
of Rashi and midrashim. One is frequently led to new midrashic
understanding.
TODAYS LIST
-----------
We present a list of GENEALOGY STYLE chapters. |
VERSE | PERSON | INTERRUPTIONS IN CHILDREN? | Genealogy-name link |
Gn10-01 | Noach | NO*1 | |
Gn11-10 | SHAYM | NO*1 | |
Gn11-27 | Terach | NO*1 | |
Gn25-12 | Ishmael | No*1 | Child-name link*2 |
Ru04-18 | Peretz | NO*1 | |
------- | ------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------ |
Nu03-01 | Ahron | spoken on revelation day | |
Gn05-01 | Adam | Male & Female He created... | |
Gn06-09 | Noach | Noach was righteous | |
Gn36-01 | Esauv | These are his wives...*3 | Child-name link*2 |
------- | ------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------ |
Gn37-02 | JACOB | Tells story of Joseph*4 | |
Gn25-19 | Isaac | Tells story of Prayer*5 | |
| | | |
COMMENTS |
*1 These genealogy sections have NO interruptions; they
are straightforward genealogies: eg Noach had SHAYM,
CHAM, YEFETH; CHAM had such and such etc
*2 All the above genealogy chapters begin:
- These are the GENEALOGIES....
Some chapters continue
- These are the NAMES
Ex06-15 gives a comparable style. The chapter starts
- These are the HEADS of the tribes...
And continues at one point with
- These are the NAME
*3 This chapter is most fascinating
- Gn36-01 begins These are the GENEALOGIES
- There are then interruptions describing Esauvs wives
- Then Gn36-09 continues--These are the GENEALOGIES
- Finally a later verse continues--These are the NAMES
*4 In fact the story of Joseph including
- Josephs dreams of being King
- his attempted murder
- the splitup of the brothers over the murder
- his slave youth in Egypt
- the Judah Joseph confrontation
Interrupts this initial statement which is not completed
with genealogies till Gn46-08. Thus we have the rare
case of an interruption lasting several chapters.
But Rashis point is that Gn37 thru Gn46 all form one unit
(From this point of view the multiple explanations in
Rashi are irrelevant. Rashis REAL point is that Gn37 and
Gn46 are connected---the JOSEPH incidents formed the
character/genealogies of the rest of Jacobs family. This
is the main point (which can get obscured by the many details
in Rashi which however all support this main point)
*5 Now we understand the Rashi on this verse.
The portion begins with -- These are the GENEALOGIES
But the two sons of Isaac--Yaakov & Esauv arent mentioned
for a few verses. Instead we are told how
- Abraham begat Isaac (Thru the prayer incidents mentioned
in Gn16 and Gn17)
- Isaac (Similarly) prayed for children
- Yaakov liked the Prayer-tent life while Esauv liked
the life of the hunt
Thus PRAYER helped form the GENEALOGY and CHARACTER of
Isaacs children (Again Rashi goes into many details but
the main REAL point is that the Gn25-19 thru the end
form one unit telling us how a life of prayer formed
the characters of Jacob and Esauv)
|
RASHI RULE USED: DATABASES
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2002, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Gn25-30a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn25-30a Gn25-23c Gn25-20b
ALEPH means PERSONALITY |
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
------------------
Rashi believed that while GRAMMAR is dictated by 3 letter
roots, MEANING is dictated by 2 letter roots. Hence the
meaning of every 3 letter root can be ascertained from
the meaning of the last 2 root letters plus the meaning of
the first root letter.Rashi/Rav Hirsch suggested that ALEPH
means PERSONALITY. I have extended this idea by
assigning meanings to all the letters. Hence ARM,UPPER CLASS,
are PEOPLE (ALEPH)that are HIGH(RAM); LAT,(to gulp), is to
do ALOT (LAMED) of LUNGING (AT) with the tongue; LAM, a
SUPERPOWER denotes ALOT(LAMED) of COUNTRIES (AM).
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TODAYS RASHI RULE WORD MEANINGS
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE 1 LETTER MEANINGS
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TODAYS RASHI RULE
--------------------------------------
Rashi had 6 main goals in his commentary. One of them was
to explain the meaning of words the same way a dictionary
explains words. Rashi had a variety of methods by which
meaning was explained. One of them was the idea that every
letter is assigned a meaning. The meanings of 3 letter roots
are then equated with the meanings of the first root letter
and the last 2 root letters. Although Rashi did not always
state this, and although justification of meaning can sometimes
be accomplished by examining comparable verses with that
meaning, we feel that the 1 letter approach can sometimes be
punchier and justified by lists of 3 letter roots.
STANDARD REFERENCES FOR TODAYS RASHI RULE
-----------------------------------------
The 6 Rashi goals: http://www.RashiYomi.com/rules-01.htm
TODAYS LIST
-----------
The list below gives roots where ALEPH means PEOPLE, PERSON,
or PERSONALITY. The list afterwards shows examples where
LAMED means ALOT. Let us show how this work using the first
entry in the list
- ARM means UPPER CLASS
- The first root letter A, ALEPH, of ARAM means PERSON
- The last 2 root letters, RM, means HIGH
- So the sum of the first and last 2 root letters would be
PEOPLE WHO ARE HIGH UP (upper class)
We hope you enjoy the other examples in the lists |
ROOT | MEANING | =MEANING LAST 2 LETTERS | MEANING OF ALEPH |
ARM | upper class | upper/high ranking | people |
ACL | Eat | Consumption for a | person |
ASHM | Guilt | Desolation of the | personality |
AVD | Lost | Isolated from a | person |
AMN | Nurse | Appoints to the baby a | personality |
LAMED means ALOT OF*1 |
Here is a short list of 3 letter roots where
the meaning of the 3 letter root equals the
meaning of the last two letters + the meaning
of the prefix LAMED which we have interpreted as ALOT*1
Thus the first entry in this list, LAT, means TO GULP,
and means ALOT (LAMED) of LUNGING (AT) with the tongue |
ROOT | MEANING | LAMED*1 | MEANING OF LAST 2 LETTERS |
LAT | Gullp | Alot of | Lunging out(YAT) |
LAM | Superpower | Alot of | Countries (AM) |
LAT | Gentle | Alot of | Littleness (AT) |
LHV | Flaming | Alot of | Give and take(HV) |
LCX | Lick | ALot of | Pallate (CHAYCH) |
| | | |
COMMENTS |
*1 - The one letter root LooL means WINDING STAIRCASE
- In fact the prefix letter LAMED means TO
Hence we would suggest that LAMED means
-- ALL OVER THE PLACE, IN ALL DIRECTIONS, ALOT OF
Thus the real meaning of eg LAT would refer to a
tongue LUNGING OUT (AT), TO, TO, TO (That is the
gulper keeps on gulping up with his tongue).
We have therefore settled on the meaning ALOT of
|
RASHI RULE USED: WORD MEANINGS
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2002, 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 #*#*#*#*#