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               (C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2003
               Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel

                     Volume 19 Number 14
          For the WORD QUALITY HTML VERSION click here
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               http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h19n14.htm
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                    Produced Oct 2nd, 2003

       WARNING: USE FIXED WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc.2003, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#
OVERVIEW OF HILIGHTS IN THIS ISSUE
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03

Whats new and hot in this issue?
ITEM WHATS NEW & HOT IN THIS ISSUE
HAPPY NU YEAR To all who learn Rashi*10
3NEW ARTICLES Three new articles on the Rashi website*1
Real Rashi Peachy example: Rashi comments on X not Y*2
COMMENTS
*1 THE EVILEYE-A RATIONAL APPROACH
http://www.RashiYomi.com/evileye.rtf

RASHI IS SIMPLE in PDF (Volume 19 Number 8)
http://www.RashiYomi.com/h19n8.pdf

PDF EXPANDED VERSION OF THE 30 RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLES #1
http://www.RashiYomi.com/wbook-01.pdf

Much more to follow

*2 This is a classic example of HOW NOT to learn Rashi
- Rashi points on the verse Gn12-14 HE(Abe) CAME TO EGYPT
that it does not say THEY CAME TO EGYPT implying that
Sarah was hidden in a chest!!!! This could NOT be what
was bothering Rashi since almost every verb in the chapter
is singular. Read this Peachy posting to find out how
to really learn Rashi.

LONGER FOOTNOTES

*10
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Russell http://www.RashiYomi.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------
Rashis covered in this issue
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03

VERSE RULE BRIEF DESCRIPTION
======== =============== ========================================
Gn12-08a WORD MEANING Ayin-Tauv-Kuph means UPROOT
Gn13-09b GRAMMARr Rare conjugation of HIFIL (Causative)
Gn12-01e STYLE GENERAL:Leave your land DETAIL:Father
Gn12-05a GRAMMARr PLURAL(They converted);SINGLE(He Went)
Gn12-14a GRAMMARr PLURAL(They converted);SINGLE(He Went)
Gn13-02a WORD MEANINGS SYNECHDOCHE: Abe was heavy=Many Assets
--------- ---------------- -----------------------------------
#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc.2003, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
VERSE: Gn12-05a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn12-05a Gn12-14a
Gn12-05a
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03


SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
One of Rashis 5 main tasks is to teach grammar.
GRAMMAR covers a variety of areas including,
gender, plurality, verb conjugation, use of
connectives etc.

EXAMPLE
-------
In todays digest we review several verses
describing the journeys of Abraham and Sarah.
Some of these verses use the PLURAL (THEY acquired
many followers) while some of these verses use
the SINGULAR (HE came to Egypt). Rashi distinguishes
nuances based on the singular and plural.
- PLURAL indicates a joint effort
- SINGULAR indicates an effort instigated by
Abraham (but followed by the others)

In particular we see that Sarah participated with
Abraham in managing their servants and slaves and
in bringing them closer to God; by contrast Abe
was totally in charge of all journeys--Sarah stayed
behind the lines acting modestly
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: GRAMMAR
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS SINGULAR-PLURAL
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #9
SEE BELOW LIST070f
List of SINGLE-PLURAL in Gn12-04:14
LIST070f
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03

List of verses in Gn12-04:14 with singular-plural
clearly stated
TEXT OF VERSE, Gn12-04:14 Plural? Implication of Plural
Abraham went Single
Abe took Sarah,Lot and Single
took souls they acquired plural Acquired souls together*1
they went to Canaan*1 plural Slaves followed Abe-s religion
they came to Canaan plural
Abe came to Schem single
and built an altar single
He moved his tent single
he built an altar single
he preached single
He journeyed southward single
When he got near to Egypt single Abe initiated journeys*2
When he came to Egypt... single Abe initiated journeys*2
COMMENTS
*1 On a technical point the Hebrew root Ayin-Sin-Hey can
mean MADE, FIXED, or ACQUIRED *10

Note the several plurals
- the souls THAT THEY acquired in Charan
- THEY (Abe,Sarah and servants) left

The use of plural implies a joint effort.
- Hence the emphasis that both Sarah and
Abraham ACQUIRED staff*11

- The emphasis that the STAFF jointly left
with Abraham implying they had adopted his
way of life*11


*2 Rashi is NOT commenting on the singular (HE came to
Egypt vs THEY came to Egypt). Rather Rashi is
commenting on the contrast that

- in the first part of the above list we use the
plural (eg the servants THEY (Abe/Sarah) acquired)

- in the later part of the above list we use the
singular.

This implies that the journeying activities were
initiated by Abraham with Sarah staying behind*12

LONGER FOOTNOTES

*10 Radack gives the following examples
-------------------------------------------
- Dt21-12 she FIXES her nails
- Dt08-17 I ACQUIRED these assets by myself
- Es07-02 Whatever you want shall be DONE
-------------------------------------------
This illustrates 3 distinct meanings of the
root Ayin-Sin-Hey

*11 Rashi appears to say that
--------------------------------------
The SIMPLE meaning of the Biblical text refers to
- THE SOULS(Servants) THEY ACQUIRED

The HOMILETIC meaning of the text refers to
- THE SOULS (Servants) THEY MADE(Converted)
--------------------------------------

But a fundamental principle in this list is that
the simple and homiletic meaning are one and the
same.

How so?

Rashi is really commenting on TWO aspects of the verse!!!!
- The verse speaks about the THE SOULS THEY ACQUIRED
- The repeated use of PLURAL implies that these servants
adopted Abrahams way of life

Since the plural implies that the servants converted
we might as well re-interpret THE SOULS THEY ACQUIRED
as THE SOULS THEY CONVERTED

So when Rashi states THE SIMPLE MEANING he refers
---------------------------------------------------
to the MEANING OF THE PHRASE without reference
to the REST OF THE VERSE.
---------------------------------------------------
However by examining the
rest of the verse (which uses plural--THEY left-
implying that the servants wanted to leave just
like Abraham) we see that the servants adopted
Abrahams way of life

To recap
- the word A-S-H does mean ACQUIRED
- but the repeated plural implies ADOPTION OF RELIGIOUSITY
Hence we can reinterpret A-S-H as ACQUIRED. In other
words the reinterpretation of A-S-H as CONVERTED (vs
ACQUIRED) comes NOT from the meanings of A-S-H but
rather from the repeated use of plural in the verse

Hence Rashi-is-Simple and the simple and homiletic
meaning are one and the same

-- Praise be Him who chose them and their learning --

*12 Rashi literally states
--------------------------------------------
He hid Sarah in a chest--when the custom
officials opened it they saw her and how
beautiful she was
--------------------------------------------

This of course is rediculous (No one hides his
wife in a chest!).

Rather it means that Abraham was in charge of Journeys
and made Sarah the overseer of baggage. As such she
appeared as just another servant (since she looked
after baggage) and therefore no one payed attention
to her. When however the custom officials investigated
the contents of the baggage they had to enter into
conversation with Sarah--it was then obvious that she
was no servant and her beauty (of character, demeanor
and presentation ) became obvious. (It was (ahem)
also obvious why Abraham assigned her this task)
#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc.2003, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
VERSE: Gn13-02a
Gb13-02a
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03


SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
One of Rashis main tasks is to explain meaning the
same way a dictionary explains meaning. Rashi had
a variety of vehicles to explain meaning including
the various figures of speech such as simile, metaphor,
synechdoche and metonomy.

EXAMPLE
-------
Gn13-02 states that ABRAHAM WAS VERY HEAVY. Of course
it is rediculous to interpret this as referring to
Abrahams weight. Rather it refers to ABRAHAMS POSSESSIONS
WHICH WERE VERY HEAVY (that is numerous).

This interpretation (ABRAHAM=ABRAHAMS POSSESSIONS and
HEAVY=NUMEROUS) illustrates the technique of identifying
the WHOLE and PART or of identifying an ITEM with RELATED
ITEMS. Here ABRAHAM is identified with his possessions and
HEAVINESS is identified with LARGENESS. The technical names
of identifying the whole and part or the object and its
relations is METONOMY and SYNECHDOCHE.
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: WORD MEANINGS
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS: 8 METHODS OF NAMING
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #7
SEE BELOW LIST871d
List of words which identify items and related items
LIST871d
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03

List of words which identify items and related items*1
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE METONOMY(ITEM means RELATED ITEM)
Ex30-13c HOLY coins Coins used in HOLY TEMPLE matters
Dt18-01c FIRES of God SACRIFICES offered on temple Fire
Dt29-19a SMOKING anger Anger that makes person HOT
Gn13-02a Abraham HEAVY Abraham-s assets NUMEROUS
Gn13-02a ABRAHAM heavy ABRAHAM-S ASSETS numerous
COMMENTS
*1 Many examples in this list come from previous
list in the metonomy series (LIST871a,
LIST871b, LIST871c)
#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc.2003, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
VERSE: Gn13-09b
Gn13-09b
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03


SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
Everyone is familiar with the idea that Hebrew is
based on triliteral ROOTS. These triliteral roots can
be CONJUGATED in a variety of forms. Each distinct
conjugation gives rise to a distinct meaning. These
conjugations can be looked up in any of several popular
grammar books. Rashi frequently indicates rare forms

EXAMPLE
-------
Using the Ibn Shoshan grammatical tables-#10-we see
that Yud-2-3  roots (Roots whose first letter is Yud)
are conjugated in the causative mode using a CHOLAM
(OH) sound. Rashi on Gn13-09b alerts us to an alternative
conjugation using the TZARAY sound (AY sound)
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: GRAMMARr
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS: VERB CONJUGATIONS
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #9
SEE BELOW LIST703d
Lists of roots with Rare Causative form using Tzaray
LIST703d
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03

Lists of roots with rare Causative
form using Tzaray*1
VERSE RARE CAUSATIVE FORM WITH TZARAY ROOT
Pr02-15 TayTiV Y-T-B
Ex02-09 HayLiChi Y-L-K
Is14-31 HayLiLi Y-L-L
Gn13-09b AyMiNa Y-M-N
Gn21-07 Haynikah Y-N-K
COMMENTS
*1 Normally the causative form applied to roots
beginning with a yud uses a cholam (OH) vs
a Tzaray.*10

LONGER FOOTNOTES

*10 The above list comes from Al Silbermans
Grammatical Form Konkordance. Al classifies
these forms as BIZARE. However since so many
roots (beginning with Yud) illustrate the
form we prefer to classify it as a RARE form
#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc.2003, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
VERSE: Gn12-08a
Gn12-08a
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03


SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
Rashi frequently simply explains the dictionary meaning
of words. Rashi explains meaning by a variety of vehicles
including providing a UNIFYING THEME

EXAMPLE
-------
The root AYIN-TAUV-KUPH means to UPROOT and applies to
- UPROOTING infants from breasts
- UPROOTING mountains from their place
- UPROOTING tents from their pitching
- UPROOTING leaves from trees
- UPROOTING words from a persons thoughts*1
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: WORD MEANINGS
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS UNIFIED MEANING
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #7
SEE BELOW LIST862e
List of verses with Root Ayin-Tauv-Kuph = UPROOT
COMMENTS
*1 The noun form of Ayin-Tauv-Kuph means LOOT/BOOTY
and refers to valuables UPROOTED from their owners
or natural habitat
LIST862e
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03

List of verses with Root Ayin-Tauv-Kuph = UPROOT
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH uprooting
Jb14-18 UPROOTING rocks from their place
Jb09-05 UPROOTS mountains
Is28-09 (infants) UPROOTED from (mothers) breasts
Jb22-16 UPROOTED words from his friends *1
Gn12-08a UPROOTED (his tent)*2
COMMENTS
*1 Note the double pun
- Mem-Lamed-Lamed means both WORD and LEAF
- Ayin-Tauv-Kuph means both WRITE and UPROOT

In each case you are taking some items (words/
leaves) from some source (Trees/Ideas)

LEAF-TREE:WORD-IDEAS::UPROOT:WRITE

*2 The basic idea here is that objects that
are strongly bonded - like rocks, mountains,
infants to breats - are UPROOTED.

Hence the tent which is pitched in the ground
is so to speak UPROOTED

For an alternative approach see footnote *10

LONGER FOOTNOTES

*10 We could use the method of metaphor contrasts

cf The metaphor contrasts
Pitch a tent    =     PLANT a tent
Unpitch a tent  =     UPROOT a tent

The actual word used for PITCHING a tent are
- STRETCHING (Nun-Tet-Hey) the tent (Cf Gn12-08 Gn35-21)

The root for PLANT/BRANCH is Nun-Tet-Ayin
which obviously comes from Nun-Tet-Hey since
a BRANCH is a STRETCHED item.
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2003, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Gn12-01e
Gn12-01e
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03


SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
One of Rashis 5 main goals is to clarify matters of style
In doing this Rashi uses the Rabbi Ishmael style rules.
According to the methods developed in Rashi-is-Simple these
style rules govern whether a verse is interpreted BROADLY
or LITERALLY

EXAMPLE
-------
GENERAL:----- Leave your LAND
DETAIL:------ Leave your FATHERS HOUSE

RASHI
-----
The main command was not one of travelling but
rather of deserting the idolatrous ways of Abrahams
father. As such Abraham had to leave his country which
practiced idol worship--he also had to go far enough
so that there was no idolatry (For only in such an
environment could Abraham preach about a one God)

EXPLANATION
-----------
The GENERAL-DETAIL form indicates a RESTRICTIVE style--the
emphasis is on the details. Hence Rashi emphasizes that
Abrahams goal was to leave idolatry.
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: STYLE
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS RESTRICTIVE
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #24
SEE BELOW LIST490c
GENERAL-DETAIL form of Gn12-01
LIST490c
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03

General detail form of Gn12-01
GEN-DETAIL Text of VERSE Could mean
GENERAL Leave your LAND Travel
GENERAL Leave your BIRTHPLACE Travel
DETAIL Leave your FATHERS HOUSEHOLD Idolatry*1
COMMENTS
*1 So the emphasis was that Abraham should leave
his fathers ways and hence Abraham had to go
far enough away from his country till idolatry
was not a dominant religion/belief
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2003, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
End of Rashi is Simple Digest
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2003, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#