Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 1999
Http://www.Shamash.Org/Rashi/Index.Htm
Volume 01 Number 11
Produced Feb. 7, 1999
Topics Discussed in This Issue
------------------------------
administrivia0207--Website; Postings;
v5-28-42--YRSH: Kal=Inherit; Piel = Poor; Hifil = Conquer
v2b19-2---Communal activity: Singular when organized (else Plural)
v2-18-27--FOR HIMSELF denotes a personal element to an action
v2q15-20--Question from Chaiim Brown on last weeks posting
v2q14-10--Question from Chaiim Brown on last weeks posting
v2z15-20--Miriam acted as priestess; helped Jews celebrate
v2q15-6---Question from Chaiim Brown on next weeks posting
v2a20-15--Nation means everybody; WHOLE nation=without exceptions
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
Administrivia 0207
* Please check out the website every now and then.
You can see many examples of your favorite principle
You can also download old issues. The website will be updated
either every week or every other week.
* Yasher Coach to Chaiim Brown for his 3 postings. Please, this is
your email list. Feel free to post on your favorite question.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v5a28-42 All.trees..fruits will impoverish the locust(TzLTzL)
------ v5b28-42 All.trees..fruits will impoverish the locust(TzLTzL)
v5c28-42 All.trees..fruits will impoverish the locust(TzLTzL)
RASHI TEXT: Will impoverish the TzLTzL=the locusts will impoverish
---------- the trees from their fruits
YRSH = Impoverish
LOCUST (TzLTzL) = a type of locust
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
-----------------------------------------
The root YRSH can mean one of 3 things:
It can mean INHERIT in the KAL tense;
It can mean POOR in the PIEL tense; or
It can mean CONQUER in the HIFIL tense.
This list of meanings is compactly summarized in {LIST1} and
further illustrated with verses in {LIST2}
Since YYRSH occurs in the HIFIL in this verse, the proper
translation is "..Your fruits will be impoverished by the locust"
Rashi also explains that TZLTZL is a type of Locust. I assume the
double TZL refers either to
a) A Swarm type appearance ("shadows the earth")
b) noisy penetration (See Sifsay Chachamim)
Not knowing anything about locusts I am not pursuing this further
RASHI'S FORM
------------
LISTS:
------
{LIST1} {of the 3 meanings of YRSH. This list is further developed
in {LIST2} which presents verses illustrating these meanings}
MODE MEANING
---- -------
KaL Inherit/Acquire
Piel Impoverish
Hifil Conquer
{LIST2} {Of verses illustrating the meaning of YRSH. A summary of
these meanings is presented in {LIST1}}
MEANING TENSE EXAMPLE VERSE
------- ----- ------- -----
Inherit Kal* he won't inherit with 1-21-10
my son Isaac
Inherit Kal my servant will 1-15-3
inherit me
Become poor Piel Less you become poor 1-45-11
(from the famine)
Become poor Piel Don't love sleep Prv 20,13
less you become poor
Conquered hifil ..& they conquered 4-21-32
the Emori there
Conquered Hifil ..God will conquer 5-11-23
them before you
FOOTNOTES:
=========
Strictly speaking there are Kal occurences which have an element
of conquest (such as 5-1-21; 5-2-24; 5-2-31)
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
The question on YRSh appeared on the email group HebLang
in Jan 99 in response to some questions
on YRSH by a variety of postings.
RULE CLASSIFICATION: ROOT+PREPOSITION
-------------------- WORD MEANING
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2b19-2 ...and the Jewish nation encamped ...
------
RASHI TEXT:
----------They encamped as a national entity
(hence the singular verb)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
If a city does something,when is the singular form of the verb used
and when is the plural used?
a) If all people in the city do something we use a plural verb
b) If the city acts as a unit by letting the city representatives
(e.g. town council, mayor..) do the activity then
a singular verb is used
{LIST3} presents this principle.
The Torah was received in an organized fashion.
* Moses was the leader
* Aaron and sons were his "close counsel"
* The 70 elders were the community representatives
Hence this verse uses the singular verb--the nation encamped.
RASHI'S FORM
------------
* Rashi in his usual way does NOT teach abstract grammar
* He instead states a general conclusion which can be understood
at 3 levels: The SIMPLE level, the INTERMEDIATE level,
and the ADVANCED level.
At the SIMPLE LEVEL we look at all surrounding verbs in THIS
PARTICULAR chapter (2-19). As {LIST1} shows all the verbs are
written in the plural except for THE NATION ENCAMPED. This
then explains the Rashi at the SIMPLE level.
At the INTERMEDIATE level we look at all occurences of the
root ChaNH. As {LIST2} shows this verse is the only verse in
the Bible where ChaNH is in the singular. This then explains
Rashi at the INTERMEDIATE level.
At the ADVANCED level we look at all PLURAL-SINGULAR verb pairs
and ask what the subject was. We find that when all the people
did the activity the PLURAL form of the verb is used while when
the the community acted in an organized manner (e.g. its mayor
or town council acted) then the SINGULAR form of the verb is
used. This then explains Rashi at the ADVANCED level since the
community received the Torah thru its representatives (Moses,
the elders etc).
Note that it is only the last level which
gives a GENERALIZABLE GRAMMATICAL REASON
Community with many = Plural
Community with orginazation = Singular
Rashi in his usual way simply says that the Jews were unified and
leaves to EACH reader to relate this to his/her level.
LISTS:
-----
{LIST1} {Of VERBS in this Torah Portion (2-19)}
VERSE ROOT SINGULAR/PLURAL MEANING
----- ---- --------------- -------
2-19-1 BA Plural They came..
2-19-2 NSA Plural Journeyed
2-19-2 BA Plural Came
2-19-2 CHNH Plural Camped
2-19-2 CHNH Singular Camped
2-19-4 RAH Plural See
2-19-5 SMA Plural Listen
2-19-5 SMR Plural Watch
{LIST2} {Of Occurences of the root CHNAH in Biblical Verses}
VERSE PLURAL/SINGULAR CONTEXT
----- --------------- -------
4-33-5 Plural Israelite Journeys
4-21-10 Plural Israelite Journeys
2-17-1 Plural Camp in Refidim
2-19-2 Singular # Mount Sinai
1Sam11-1 Singular # Saul and Yavesh Gilad
FOOTNOTES:
=========
# The Mount Sinai encampment is the only one with a singular
occurrence in the Bible--see 1S11,1 for a comparable case in
the Prophets. For the reason why the singular is used here
see {LIST3}.
{LIST3} {Short list of plurality of verbs whose subjects are
the community #. This list illustrates the GRAMMATICAL
RULE that something done by all people is said in the
PLURAL while something done by representatives of the
community--such as the mayor, elders etc--is said in
the singular.
It follows that the counting of the Jubilee (done by
the courts, and military encampment (done by military
leaders) use the singular form}
VERSE ROOT MEANING CONJUGATION
----- ---- ------- -----------
3-23-15 SFR Count the Omer Plural ##
3-25-8 SFR Count the Jubilee years Singular $$
FOONOTES:
========
# Other "pairs" of two verses --one singular and
one plural---one by the community and one by the organized
community could be brought...the above will suffice for now]
$$ Jubilee years were counted by the courts-
Sinc the community was organized we use the singular form of
the berb
## Omer was counted by all individuals (no organized community
Hence the plural form of the verb is used
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
RULE CLASSIFICATION: USAGE
--------------------
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2-18-27 And he went FOR HIMSELF to his country
------ v2a25-2 ...and take FOR ME Terumah
v2-25-8 ...and make FOR ME a Temple
v4b13-2 ...send FOR YOURSELF spies..
RASHI TEXT:
----------
FOR HIMSELF denotes a personal reason(To convert his family)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
Rashi states a general grammatical principle that any VERB
which has added to it FOR ME (LI) denotes doing that the
ACTION OF THAT VERB was done for PERSONAL REASONS
{LIST1} presents numerous examples, on all of which Rashi states
this principle
Thus "He went FOR HIMSELF to this country" denotes something
personal. Rashi (following the Mechilta) simply takes the most
logical explanation and suggests that he was converting his
family. This suggestion is further supported by Jethro's own
discovery of God (2-19-11).
RASHI'S FORM
------------
Thus Rashis main point which can be grammatically proven is that
FOR ME denotes something personal. Rashis interpretation of this
PERSONALLNESS as referring to Yithros desire to convert his family
is simply a best guess supported by other verses.
LISTS:
------
{LIST1} {Of verses that have verbs and also "FOR ME" #}
VERSE TRANSLATION
----- -----------
2-18-27 He went FOR HIMSELF to his land
2a25-2 ...and take FOR ME Terumah
2-25-8 ...and make FOR ME a Temple
4b13-2 ...send FOR YOURSELF spies...
FOOTNOTES:
=========
# On all the above verses Rashi says the EXACT SAME THING
FOR YOURSELF = personally
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
RULE CLASSIFICATION: USAGE
--------------------
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2Q15-20
From: Charles Brown
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 10:32:14 -0500
Subject: v2-15-20
Rashi might not be bothered by the
brother/sister relationship taking center
stage to the parental one as much as the
fact that Miryam is described as
Aharon's sister to the exclusion of the
central character of the whole story
- Moshe! Would not it have made more sense,
after Moshe sings shirah, to
say that Miryam, MOSHE's sister,
took up his song? Therefore, Rashi writes
that here the stress is placed on
Aharon because, etc. See below for
another possibility.
I disagree with your point that the
second explanation of Rashi is
sufficient. Rashi is the tersest of
commentators - as much as your point is
taken that he does not would not waste
words on an incomplete explanation,
he surely would not provide redundant
explanations when one would suffice.
The difficulty here is compounded because
Rashi uses a Midrashic citation
when the text seems to be explainable
without it. Rashi himself in many
places says he comes to explain "pshat" -
not collect annecdotal Midrashim
to illuminate the text. In general, when
Rashi cites multiple explanations,
the methodology of most (all perhaps, but
I hedge my bets : - ) commentators
is to discover multiple problems in
the text and weigh Rashi comments
against them: one explanation may succeed
at resolving one difficulty at the
expense of a weakness in resolving another.
The verse begs the question: I understand
the emphasis on Miryam's role as
PROPHETESS - shirah was a prophetic
experience (after all, Chazal say the
maidservent at the sea experienced greater
prophecy then Yechezkel!) - but
why burden us with the unnecessary detail
here that Miryam was Aharon's sister?!
Acc. to the first Midrashic first
explanation the relationship between
Aharon and Miryam before the birth of
Moshe was the start of Miryam's
prophetic charge; the detail of sisterhood
is intrinsically related to that
of prophetess.
According to the second non-Midrashic
explanation the two adjectives of
Prophetess and sister remain unrelated.
The difficulty of why mention
sisterhood here at all is more
difficult to resolve. In defense of this
second explanation we might suggest
that (1) Rashi is reluctant to rely on
Midrash that cannot be corraborated
from the text. (2) As I wrote above, in
the context of the prophetic experience
of shirah, would it not have made
more sense to emphasize Miryam's relationship
to the greatest of prophets
and her male counterpart in singing
shirah, her own brother, Moshe -
therefore, Rashi stresses the link to
Aharon as a foil to Miryam's more
distant relationship to Moshe (note
it was Miryam in BaMidbar who led in the
criticism of Moshe!).
In short - there exists two difficulties:
(1) the emphasis on Miryam being
Aharon's sister to the exclusion of Moshe,
(2) the unnecessary emphasis on
sisterhood in the context of shirah.
The Midrashic explanation deals more
effectively with the second questions,
the pshat explanation more
effectivelty with the first.
I have explicated the Rashi without
resorting to the list method.
[MODERATOR: It is my job as
moderator to supply lists when good
points are made and cannot be adequately defended]
While I am not at all knocking the
effectiveness of your methodology, in this
particular case I think an analysis of
the sister-prophetess description,
esp. in the shirah context, is more
effective. Is the role of your e-mails
to explicate Rashi, or to show the
effectiveness of the 'list' method'?
Perhaps that might be an open
question for the list to ponder?
Kol Tuv,
-Chaim
[MODERATOR: No..no.The list is to show
the power of the LIST method in
explicating Rashi which as Chaiim has
shown I didn't properly do in
this particular case. His question
is answered below. His points are
all well taken]
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2Q14-10
From: C1A1Brown@aol.com
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 18:59:46 EST
Subject: RE V2-14-10
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>CITATION FROM RASHI IS SIMPLE<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
>VERSE: v2-14-10 And Pharoh rushed to reach the Jews
------
>RASHI: KRV in the Hifil = Pushed himself & rushed to get close
-----
>NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
---------------------
>KRV in the KAL mode = got close / near
>KRV in the HIFIL mode = pushed himself (rushed) to get close/near
>
>The astute reader may ask: "Isn't >force himself< a >reflexive<
>action. Isn't the Hitpael tense used for reflexive. Why does
>Rashi interpret the Hifil as reflexive(even if it fits all cases)"
>
>I'm no grammar whiz, but I thought hitpael was the reflexive - e.g.
>hitpallel - to cause oneself to pray.
>Hifil is transitive, not reflexive -
>e.g. hikriv korban (used extensively,
>as you note).
MODERATOR: Yes most people believe this.
But statistically it simply is
not true. I could cite the RaDaQ
but better still take a pencil and paper
and try and count the number of ROOTS
where HIFIL means causative. It is
a useful rule but not 100%.
In this issue for example we have
YRSH in Hifil=Conquer, in KL = inherit
in PIEL=Poor. No rhyme or reason.
A few issues ago we had CHAZAK in KAL
meant OVERPOWER while in HIFIL
could mean HOLD or HUG.
Also "to push oneself" is not really
reflexive (reflexive means doing
the action to oneself not intensifying it...
that is more like Piel!~!!!
>That is precisely the difficulty of
>all the meforshim here - a transitive
>hiphil verb is being used as a reflexive!
>Midrash and Ibn Ezra opt to search for
>an object for the verb - either a
>korban or bringing oneself close to G-d -
>to avoid interpreting the word
>as a grammatical anamoly.
MODERATOR: You are way to kind to the
other mefarshim. The Midrash Rabbah
and Zohar interpret HIKRIV as COME
CLOSE TO GOD (hence the use by
Korbanoth and the use by Pharoh).
The problem with their approach is
that it cannot explain the occurence in Genesis.
Ibn Ezra says HIKRIV means brought
his chariot near. But there are
many military confrontations in Tnach
and they always use KAL. Ibn
Ezra does not explain why Hifil is used here.
Compare the verse "and they did not
get near to each other during
the night..v2-14-20---according to
Ibn Ezra it should use the
Hifil (Their chariots did not come close!!)
>
> -Chaim B.
>
> P.S. The little known rule of the Radak
> at the end was interesting. Care
> to expand?
>
MODERATOR: I will cite it next week
but the point here is not one
of authority. Try and justify
HIFIL=CAUSATIVE and you will see it is
a weak rule.
>END OF CITATION FROM RASHI IS SIMPLE INTESPERSED WITH COMMENTS<<<
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2z15-20 ...Miriam, the sister of Aaron(Revised explanation)
------
RASHI TEXT:
-----------
She is called "sister of Aaron" because she acted like a
big sister to her younger Priest brother and helped the
nation celebrate the military victory by attributing the victory
to God.
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
Rashi is based on the following two points:
#1) Genealogy in the Bible is normally PARENT centered.
Biblical USAGE makes an exception--it uses sibling centered
genealogy and speaks of people as "sisters" when
their "Brothers" have behaved like BIG BROTHERS and
tried to help their "sisters" (or vice versa).
{LIST1} gives several examples of sibling genealogy.
#2) PRIESTS are used in the Bible for celebrations and moral
teachings. They help people think of God. (See {LIST2})
We can now explain Rashi.
--The Jews had just been thru a major victory.
--The Job of the priest is to help people celebrate these victories
--Miriam and Aaron were always Close---here Miriam acts as Aaron's
big sister and helps the woman celebrate the victory.
So the verse simply says that Miriam as Prophetess, who was "big
sister" to Aaron, the Priest..helped the people celebrate the
victory.
(NOte that Prophecy and Priesthood sometimes interchange
(e.g. the priest wore the Urim VTumim which had a propehtic
function; similarl the verse "Moses and Aaron in the Priesthood"
Ps99-6 shows that Prophets were called Priests. So by calling
Miriam Prophetess the verse is in effect saying that Miriam
the "Priestess" helped Aaron the Priest..celebrate the victory)
RASHI'S FORM
------------
a) Note that although Rashi cites the Mechilta Rashi does NOT
cite the 3 examples of the Mechilta. Rashi as we noted many times
does not usually use a scholarly detailed style but rather a terse
mnemonical style.
In this particular example the "Pshat" of the text is as I have
indicated above: There was a victory and Miriam as a prophetess
helped out younger brother Aaron by helping the nation celebrate
and focus on God. This is the plain meaning of the text.
Rashi brings down 2 what appears to be other explanations but
in reality Rashi
--shows that this is not the only time that Miriam acted
as a Priestess. There were other examples where she acted as a
Priestess. For example, she got her parents back together (the type
of thing a priest would do).
---shows that besides Miriam helping Aaron, the reverse,
Aaron helping Miriam also happened (See Nu 12).
Thus after reading the Rashi we come away with a feeling that
the nation was helped celebrate by Miriam who acted like a female
priest. There is only one explanation of the verse!!!
LISTS:
------
{LIST1} {Of sibling genealogy in the Bible
Biblical Genealogy is usually PATERNAL in the Bible
(we could have brought a list
for this but this is well known)
Genealogy is sibling focused when CARING/SACRIFICIAL behavior
has transpired between the siblings (The brothers/sisters helped
each other out or helped marry each other or defend each other}
VERSE SISTER BROTHER ACT OF BROTHER FOR SISTER
----- ------ ------- -------------------------
2-15-20 Miriam Aaron Petitioned for her(Num 12)
1-34-25 Dinah Simon-Levi Waged war for her(Gen 35)
4-25-18 Cazbi Midian-Nation She prostituted for them* #
2-6-23 Elisva Nachson He "married her" to Aaron
1-28-9 Machlth Nevayoth He "married her" to Esauv
1-4-22 Naamah Tuval-Kayin He "married her" to Noach**
1-25-20 Rivkah Laban Helped her recognize criminals***
4-26-59 Miriam Moses-Aaron They both petitioned for her(Num12)
FOOTNOTES:
==========
* Only the first 3 cases are mentioned by the Mechiltah
Nevertheless, when Rashi uses a principle, unless that principle
can be universally applied it has no validity. It would take too
long to go over every case (in this issue) but I did want to bring
them down and show the general idea. To make the list short I only
brought down Biblical examples. Note how CD ROMS would NOT help
us here since the list uses many keywords: SISTER OF, THEIR SISTER,
BROTHERS etc.
# In other words (See 4-31-16 for an explicit statement)--she,
as part of a war effort, deliberately seduced strategic people
so that God should be angry with the Jewish people. Note how
in this case she acted as "big sister" for her nation.
** The preceding 3 examples were NOT brought down by the
Mechiltah. Nevertheless they fit into the general pattern.
Note how Rashi explicitly mentions marriage in 2-6-23 and
1-28-9. Although Rashi does not explicitly say that Tuval-Kayin
married Naamah to Noach it a) is consistent with the other members
of ths list and b) it would seem logical that Noach who built an
ark needed the "father of utensils"--Tuval Kayin--Naamahs brother.
We will go into this in a future issue.
*** See Rashi here. There are numerous references to the fact
that Rivkah learned how to recognize "criminal behavior" in
her fathers-brothers house and this helped her marriage to Isaac.
Again, we will go into this in a future issue
{LIST2} {Of tasks/functions of Priests. As can be seen
Priests are used to help people thru deep emotional incidents:
--Prepare for War
--Prepare for moral behavior
--Celebrate victories #
--They also function like semi prophets(Urim Tumim) }
VERSE FUNCTION OF PRIEST
----- --------------------------
1-14-18 MalkiTzedek helps Abraham celebrate the victory
Mal2-7 The lips of the priest teach moral behavior
Esr2-63 ...priest for the urim and tumim (semi prophetic behavior)
Jos6-16 In preparation for war
Hag2-11 Ask the priests Torah
FOOTNOTES:
==========
The idea that priests "help people celebrate victories"
should be understood that they help connect the victory to God
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
To Chaiim Brown for pointing out the deficiency in this explanation
from last week. Note several things:
1) There are no longer TWO explanations in Rashi...only one. Rashis
point is that Miriam is behaving like a Priest and he gives
several examples
2) Chaiim correctly recognized that there were SEVERAL odd things
in the verse (not just the sibling genealogy). It was my job as
moderator to justify each of item (such as the priest aspect) with
a separate list.
RULE CLASSIFICATION: USAGE
--------------------
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2Q15-6
From: C1A1Brown@aol.com
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 11:39:51 EST
Subject: V2-15-6 V2-15-11
Again. haven't had time to learn in detail,
but thought you could deal with
Rashi on "yemincha Hashem ne-edari bakoach,
yemincha Hashem...". The pasuk
seems to follow the pattern of what we call
Biblical poetry, repeating the
phrase. To take another example later in
the shirah - "Mi kamocha b'eilim
Hashem, mi kamocha..." Rashi himself points
out this pattern, yet first
offers a Midrashic interpretation. Why
offer the derash (which Rashi cites
first, indicating a preferance for it!)
when the pshuto shel mikra is
understandable? (I don't think you have yet
dealt with the relationship
between pshat/derash in Rashi, or cases
where Rashi feels a need to cite
multiple explanations).
-Chaim
[MODERATOR: This posting was received
before I dealt with multiple
explanations on v1-1-1. As usual I will
give a week before answering
this]
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2a20-15 And the WHOLE nation saw...
------
RASHI TEXT:"The WHOLE nation saw"..the word "WHOLE" shows
---------- that no one was blind...
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
A verse uses the word "WHOLE nation" if **EVERY** one did the
activity in question without any exceptions. By contrast, a
verse uses the word "nation" (without the word WHOLE) if most
of the nation did it but there may have been exceptions. {LIST1}
provides some examples of this principle.
Since our verse says that the ***WHOLE*** nation saw the
prophetic experience it follows that ALL JEWS received the
Torah with no one sitting on the side.
RASHI'S FORM
------------
As is his usual custom Rashi prefers something cute & rememberable
to an abstract grammatical statements.
Hence he gathers the verses of Matan Torah and states
* "They ALL SAW" (so no one was blind)
* "They ALL ANSWERED" (So no one was dumb)
....
As indicated above however, Rashi's real point is that
* the word "WHOLE" means there were no exceptions
* ALL Jews received the Torah with no one sitting on the side.
LISTS:
-----
{LIST1} {Of verses with "Nation" or "WHOLE nation". These
verses illustrate the following rule:
If **every** one did it we use the phrase "WHOLE" nation;
if most people did it (but there might be exceptions" we
use the phrase "nation" without the word "whole"}
VERSE WHOLE? CONTEXT LESSON
----- ------ ------- ------
4-11-29 WHOLE Become prophets Moses wanted EVERYONE to become
a prophet
1-19-4 WHOLE Sdom/Gmarrah Shows how wicked city was*
2-4-31 ----- Believe Moses Shows some had doubts
4-11-12 WHOLE Bear WHOLE Jews Shows problem:Bear EVERYbody
2-24-3 WHOLE Answer There were No dumb people
2-32-1 ----- Golden calf Not everyone participated
FOOTNOTES:
==========
* The "LESSON" should be clear. E.g. it doesn't just say
that the people gathered around Lots house..rather it says that
the WHOLE city gathered around lots house...showing how evil
they were. **Every** one gathered..there were no exceptions.
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
RULE CLASSIFICATION: USAGE | WHOLE
--------------------
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RASHI-IS-SIMPLE
* will provide logical explanations to all 10,000 Rashis on Chumash.
* the preferred vehicle of explanation is thru list of verses and exceptions
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provided they are defended with adequate examples.
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End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
Volume 01 Number 11
Produced Feb. 7, 1999
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