Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 1999
Http://www.Shamash.Org/Rashi/
Volume 01 Number 14
Produced Feb 28, 1999
Topics Discussed in This Issue
------------------------------
v02-28 Administrivia: ***NEW FORMAT***EASIER TO READ****
v1a32-15 Marital frequency depends on WORKLOAD and LOCATION
v2b20-23 Learn to respect people from command to respect stones
v1-45-14 Cry on=CRY CONCERNING;Neck=Symbol of STEADFASTNESS
v4-11-10 People were crying concerning family matters
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
v02-28 Administrivia
* This issue dedicated to BILL BERNSTEINS FRIEND
------------------------------------------------
I thank Bill for his excellent question which took me a whole issue
to explain!!!! I look forward to receiving other good questions
which take whole issues. (Recall Bill asked why Rashi on the verse
And he (Benjamin) cried on Joseph's neck which seems simple
enough necessitated Rashi to say "He cried on the Temple(MishKan
Shiloh) destroyed in his territory.
* 1% OF ALL RASHIS
------------------
We will soon have completed explanation of 1% of all rashis.
I want to thank everyone for their patience during this initial
stage.
* NEW FORMAT EASER TO READ
-------------------------------------
I deliberately went slow at the beginning to find the BEST format
of readability. Remember this list is for everyone FROM LAYMAN to
RABBIS to ACADEMIC SCHOLARS. Several people have sent me feedback.
The most common complaints are
* it takes too long to read everything but I read some of
it and enjoy what I read
* it is sometimes disconnected
So the new format will eliminate all that.
---Most people read only the first 4 sections
VERSE TEXT
RASHI TEXT
BRIEF EXPLANATION OF RASHI
COMMENTS ON RASHIS FORM
So these have all been put up front at the beginning.
---The LISTS are hard to read and time consuming. Some people
sometimes want to read some of them. SO I PUT ALL LISTS
at the bottom. Furthermore I combined all the hard
sections. So that
LISTS
LIST ANOMALY DISTINCTIONS
have been combined INTO ONE SECTION and at the bottom.
Furthermore this section is headed by the warning
LISTS--FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS OR STUDENTS WHO HAVE ALOT OF
TIME
I have numbered all lists {LIST1} {LIST2} etc.
These lists are REFERENCED in the explanation of Rashi.
So you can read the explanation and then check what you
want, when you want and if you want to.
---Fragmentation has been eliminated. I used to explain Rashi
both before and after the lists and this gave a
fragmented feeling. So I eliminated the 2nd Rashi
explanation.
----The acknowledgements, cross references and principles are
given at the end (The way they use to be).
If people like this new form we can go to TWO ISSUES per week.
Even issues will contain NEW MATERIAL and NEW PRINCIPLES. Odd
issues will contain APPLICATIONS of OLD PRINCIPLES. So you
can read the odd issues quicker. I hope to send one out on
Sunday and one out on Tuesday Wednesday.
Please feel free to send me any comments on form.
WEB SITE UPDATED BEFORE ISSUE IS SENT OUT
-----------------------------------------
Although I said last week I would be updating the web site
weekly several people said they would prefer it be updated
the same day the postings are sent out.
Accordingly the WEB SITE HAS ALREADY BEEN UPDATED. It is
understood that it will be UPDATED prior to my sending out
any postings (even when we go to twice a week).
FOOTER
------
Finally I have rewritten the footer to include information on
notational conventions and the web site
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1a32-15 ..female goats 200,males 20..
---------- female oxen 40, males 10..
RASHI TEXT:
----------
* 200 females to 20 goats = 10 females to every he-goat.
Similarly in all the animals listed in the verse it gives the
male female ratio. And in Berashit Rabbah they derive from here
the minimum requirements of visitation of husbands to wives for
every type of worker:
WORKER FREQUENCY
------ ---------
Wealthy people------------------------once a day,
city workers--------------------------twice a week
city to city transportation workers---once a week
state to state transportation workers-once a month
country to country sea fearers--------once @ 6 months
And I (Rashi) don't see how to derive these human ratios from the
animal ratios of these verses. Therefore I interpret this Midrash
as follows: The **GENERAL IDEA** that male-female frequency
should depend on
a) WORKLOAD (if you work less you have more marital time)
b) LOCATION (if you are away you have less time)
is derived from these verses. These two factors---
WORKLOAD and LOCATION apply equally to animals and humans.
The **DETAILS** of how to apply it depend on human interpretation.
(E.g. OXEN who work alot have a 4:1 ratio vs GOATS who work less
have a 10:1 ratio thus illustrating the WORKLOAD idea. DONKEYS
who travel far have only a 2:1 ratio (illustration the LOCATION
idea---).
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
* Rashi is completely clear. Rashi here introduces what I call the
principle of STAGES: The midrash should be understood in two stages.
There is the PRINCIPLE of he VERSE called the GENERAL STAGE and
there is the DETAILS OF THIS PRINCIPLE called the DETAIL STAGE.
The verse's interpretion has 3 components:
* LITERAL MEANING: female goats,200, he goats 20
* GENERAL STAGE {Principle}: Male female frequency
depends on two factors: WORKLOAD & LOCATION.
The more you work the less your frequency.
The more you are away the less your frequecy.
* DETAIL STAGE: In this stage we APPLY the general
principle to some other area using LOGIC &/or
science. Thus we apply the idea that FREQUENCY
should depend on WORKLOAD and LOCATION to
HUMAN WORKERS based on our knowledge of work
conditions.
Notice how the LITERAL MEANING and GENERAL STAGE are PSHAT the
SIMPLE MEANING OF THE TEXT. The DETAIL STAGE is not really DERASH,
rather it is the APPLICATION of the GENERAL STAGE to some NEW
situation.
To understand Rashi means to UNDERSTAND the LITERAL MEANING of
the verse and the PRINCIPLES underlying it. The APPLICATION of
these principles to other areas is interesting and halachically
important but does not really have anything to do per se with
the verse. Complete understanding of the verse only requires
knowledge of the LITERAL MEANING and GENERAL STAGE.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
------------------------
* Since Rashi gives a new principle here---the principle of
STAGES---the principle that MIDRASH very often is NOT MEANT to
be understood as something DERIVED from the text of the verse
itself but rather something we APPLY from the verse to a NEW
SITUATION---since Rashi gives this new principle here-----he
completely spells it out and illustrates it with examples.
He also shows the difficulty with LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF
THE MIDRASH---you can NOT derive the HUMAN female-male ratios
from the ANIMAL female-male ratios. Hence you have to assume
a new principle, the principle of STAGES.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
----------------------------------------------------------
*
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
*
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
* The above comes DIRECTLY from my article PSHAT and DERASH
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
--------------------------------------------------------------
* STAGES
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2b20-23 ..Use a RAMP not STEPS to go up the alter
---------- in order that you don't uncover your nakedness
RASHI TEXT:
----------
* STEPS (vs a RAMP) necessitates BIGGER STEPS while a RAMP allows
SMALLER STEPS. BIGGER STEPS in turn uncover MORE nakedness per
STEP than smaller steps (so to speak, the stairs or ramp can "see"
more of your nakedness in bigger steps).
Rashi now makes two observations: First he notes that this is all
symbolic since the priests had linen undergarments so that the
stairs never really "saw" their nakedness.
Secondly Rashi learns, in the name of Chazal, a moral lesson:
If you have to be considerate to the "feelings of steps/ramps" and
not show them your nakedness how much more so that you have to be
considerate of the feelings of people(who can really be embarassed)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
* Fully explained in Rashi.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
------------------------
* The Peshat, or simple meaning of the verse is understood---Rashi
simply shows an APPLICATION of this meaning to the sphere of human
feelings.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
----------------------------------------------------------
*
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
*
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
*
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
--------------------------------------------------------------
* MORAL REASONS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1a45-14 And he fell on brother Ben's neck and cried &
----- v1b45-14 Benyamin cried concerning his obstinacy
RASHI TEXT:
----------
* Benjamin cried concerning the Mishcan Shiloh (which was in
Josephs Territory) which would be destroyed
(Similarly Rashi on the first part says
Neck(S) is plural-- Joseph cried on the two temples (all towers
resemble neck like structures) that were destroyed in his portion)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
* As can be seen from {LIST1} NECK is a symbol of freedom.
To subjugate somebody is to "Harness his NECK" while to
be free is to free his NECK. Like the English expression
has a backbone NECK symbolizes obstinacy and freedom.
Furthermore {LIST2} shows that the English word BACKBONE
and the 2 Hebrew words OREF and TZVAR (both meaning neck)
symbolize OBSTINACY and FREEDOM. Thus this symbolic equation
(NECK=FREEDOM) seems well established.
{LIST3} shows that CRYING has 3 distinct meanings: BCH ETH means
CRYING/MOURNING and denotes a crying on death. BCH L means
CRY AT THE SIGHT OF and denotes a state of shock. But BCH AL means
to CRY CONCERNING some event which upset you: As an example the
daughter of YIFTACH cried concerning the fact that she had to
remain a virgin for the rest of her life and couldn't get married
(Jud 11,37).
The previous two paragraphs quite simply state that
CRY ON = CRY CONCERNING
NECK = FREEDOM/OBSTINACY/BACKBONE
So quite simply
BENJAMIN CRIED "on" JOSEPHS "neck" means
BENJAMIN CRIED "concerning" JOSEPHS "obstinacy"
The question immediately arises "WHAT OBSTINACY"--and why did
he cry?
Instead of following Rashi my favorite technique in Chumash classes
is to ask them: "Well where did Joseph show obstinacy and freedom"
The answer here is not that hard and you don't have to be one of the
Talmudic sages: Joseph as a young teenager resisted the advances of
his bosses wife at great risk to himself. Now that is real obstinacy
Quite simply then after the Brothers reunited and exchanged stories
of what had happened to them in the past 20 years they reunited and
kissed and Benjamin cried about the horrible life Joseph had and
how he had to spend time in Prison because he wanted to preserve
his religious freedom. To use an English expression his story was
a real "tear breaker".
As a final note the student might ask "But isn't that Derash?"--
No! Most people are familiar with the English phrase to CRY ON
SOMEONE'S SHOULDER. So they think that Benjamin really cried on
Joseph's neck. But there is no such phrase like this in Hebrew.
Instead CRY ON must be interpreted as CRY CONCERNING and NECK
is usually symbolic of OBSTINACY/FREEDOM---so the verse literally
means BENJAMIN CRIED CONCERNING JOSEPHS OBSTINACY (with Potiperah
and his subsequent being jailed).
But you will ask,"That is not what Rashi said...he spoke about
the destruction of MishKan Shiloh?". See a reasonable explanation
of this in COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM
Finally we mention the first part of the verse.
And he fell "on" the "neck"(S) of Benjamin and wept
As before
ON = AL = CONCERNING
Also as before
NECK= = OBSTINACY
We have one additional element--
neck(S) is in the plural
For otherwise the PSHAT "He fell on his neck and wept" would
be perfectly legitimate (In fact we find a similar expression
in 1-46-29 so it is perfectly legitimate).
How about this PLURAL, NECK(S). Is it that peculiar? Yes
as {LIST5} below shows.
So we have that JOSEPH FELL(or FAINTED) concerning BENJAMINS
OBSTINACY/STUBBORNESS and wept.
That is the PSHAT. We have no right to say that something else
is in the verse. As before I invite my students to try and guess
what this OBSTINACY/STUBBORNESS was. But this time there is
nothing obvious. There certainly is nothing in the Chumash. But
apparently from NACH we can infer certain things (See {LIST6}) &
these are all conjectural.
In my original writing of this posting I was going to elaborate
on my own ideas (that the two obstinacies refers to the fact that
Benjamin never sinned (I believe this verse is the source for that)
and that Benjamin, when his brothers told him about what they
really did to Joseph--which I believe they did---refused to join
them and took Joseph's side (that he would one day be leader). But
I have no ABSOLUTE PROOF and my whole goal here is to tell the
Pshat. So that is what I will do--the Pshat is that Joseph and Ben
cried over the stories of each others obstinacies and assertions
of freedom (even if we don't have such stories for Benjamin)--
the commentators then try and guess what the obstinacy referred
to. This is perfectly
normal in Rashi (See COMMENTS ON RASHIS FORM). To understand
Rashi simply means to understand the 3 items I have mentioned:
CRY ON = CONCERNING
NECK = OBSTINACY/FREEDOM
NECK(S) = Couldn't be literal
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
------------------------
* Recall the principle of stages v1a32-15. The interpretation
of a verse has 3 components:
The LITERAL MEANING Benjamin cried CONCERNING Joseph's
obstinacy
The GENERAL STAGE "Joseph's Obstinacy"= Obstinacy in
religious matters of modesty (i.e.
saying no to Potiperah's wife and
begin jailed)
The DETAIL STAGE Here we APPLY the GENERAL STAGE
IDEA of OBSTINATE in MATTERS OF
MODESTY to some NEW AREA.
Rashi (as is his custom) prefers
picteresque examples to statements
of abstract principles. So he picks
the most picteresque example of
Josephine Modesty--the MishKan
Shiloh which occured in Joseph's
territory
Some comments are in order.
The PESHAT of the verse is the literal interpretation (Cried
concerning his obstinacy) and the General stage (that his
obstinacy referred to his episode with Potiferah's wife).
The DETAIL stage is NEVER part of the meaning of the text but
rather ILLUSTRATES it. In this case Joseph MERITED to have a
temple in his territory because he resisted temptation.
Furthermore just as Joseph's resistance to temptation led to his
being jailed so did MishKan Shiloh end up being destroyed. The
theme is the same: Fighting for freedom and obstinacy usually
encounters resistance and (temporary) setbacks.
In conclusion: The Peshat of the verse is that
Benjamin cried concerning Joseph's obstinacy for modesty--
and a nifty catchy application
of this meaning is what happened to MishKan Shiloh.
Similar comments would be made on the first part of the verse:
Joseph wept on Benjamins OBSTINACY--we don't even know what
that is!! Rashi (by analogy with the first part of the verse)
picks a picturesque example--the two temples that were destroyed
in Benjamins territory (This would also account for the plural)
See {LIST6} below for a list of Biblical hints to Benjamins
obstinacy--my own opinion is that the well known Talmudic dictum
that Benjamin was one of the 4 people who never sinned is
learned from this very verse (Just as Joesph was obstinate in
a matter of Modesty so was Benjamin--the idea of EQUATING
the two obstinacies in the verse was advanced by the MATNOT
KEHUNA on BERASHIT RABBAH (See the CROSS REFERENCES)).
I also believe that the brothers had to tell Benjamin what really
happened to Joseph (Otherwise he might come back). They then asked
Benjamin to join them and deny that Joseph would be leader. But it
is suggested by the names of Benjamins children {LIST6}that Benjamin
believed in Joseph's dream and therefore the 2nd obstinacy may have
been his refusal to join them. Who knows? Anyway the PSHAT is as
I have stated: Benjamin and Joseph wept over the stories of each
others obstinacy--this is all that is required to be believed.
It is the nature of the commentators to research what this
obstinacy was but these SHOULD be regarded as conjectures.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
----------------------------------------------------------
* {LIST1} {Tsvar = neck = obstinacy/freedom}
VERSE TEXT SYMBOLIZING
----- ---- -----------
1-27-40 Remove his yolk from your neck Freedom
5-28-48 And place an iron yolk on your neck Subjugation
Jer30-8 I will destroy his yolk from on your neck Freedom
Isa52-2 Open the knots on your neck Freedom
Js10-24 And place their legs on their necks Subjugation
* {LIST2} {BACKBONE = OBSTINACY & FREEDOM}
WORD MEANING VERSE VERSE WITH SYMBOLIC MEANING OF OBSTINACY
---- ------- ----- ----------------------------------------
BACKBONE Backbone In English it can mean obstinacy
TSVAR NECK 1-27-40 And you shall loosen his yolk from your
neck
OREF NECK 2-32-9 Stiff Necked nation (=stubborn)
* {LIST3} {VERSES WITH BCH=TO CRY}
VERSE PREPOSITION TEXT
----- ----------- ----
1-37-45 ETH And his father MOURNED HIM
1-50-3 ETH And Egypt MOURNED HIM
Jer8-23 ETH And I will mourn the slain of my people
5-21-13 ETH* She will mourn (separation)from her family
1S20-41 ETH* & they mourned separation from each other
Jud11-37 AL Cry concerning my virginity(I can't marry)
Jud14-16 AL** Cry concerning that you hate me
4-11-13 AL Cry concerning "I can't give them meat"
Job30-25 L# I cried at the sight of suffering person
Jer48-12 L# I'll cry at the sight of your destruction
4-11-10 L# Crying at the news of family incest laws
FOOTNOTES:
---------
* These two verses (5-21-13 and 1S20-41) denote mourning on long
term separation not death
** It might appear that Delilah "Cried on Samson"--but a careful
reading of the verse would suggest that she "moped" in a corner
and cried "You hate me and don't love me". To be fair to the
reader I list all verses with AL (1-45-14, Jud 11-37, 1-37-35,
1-45-15, 1-46-29, 1-50-1, 2R13-14, Jud11-38, Jud14-16, Jud14-17,
4-11-13, Jer31-15. Note how we would e.g. have to interpret
1-50-3 not as "JOSEPH CRIED ON HIS FATHERS SHOULDERS" but rather
as "JOSEPH CRIED CONCERNING HIS FATHER"S ALWAYS BEING OBSTINATE
AND STANDING UP FOR HIM". In general this is a difficult list
to PROVE. But I have given what I think is Chazal's opinion with
verses that support as well as verses that do not support. Let the
reader try and find their own patterns.
# There are only 3 verses with L.They appear to mean CRY CONCERNING
I have no way of proving they mean CRY AT THE SIGHT OF--thus the
JOB30-25 verse may be provable as meaning "at the sight of" but it
would require alot of work. The Chazalian interpretation 4-11-10
is famous and falls neatly into our suggested list of meanings
based on ROOT+PREPOSITION. On 2nd thought the interpretation
BCH L = CRY CONCERNING would ALSO be consistent with all listed
verses and ALSO consistent with the Chazalian interpretation on
4-11-10.
* {LIST4} {SUMMARY OF MEANINGS OF BCH}
BCH+PREPOSITION MEANING
--------------- -------
BCH ETH CRYING FOR MOURNING or SEPARATION
BCH L IN a state of SHOCK on seeing something
or becoming aware of something
It would appear tha BCH L might mean the
same as BCH AL=CRY CONCERNING some loss
BCH AL CRYING CONCERNING some loss
FOOTNOTES:
---------
Again it is perfectly OK to interpret BCH L the same way we
interpret BCH AL--cry CONCERNING some matter.
* {LIST5} {Use of the Plural of NECK}
VERSE MODE WHO IT REFERS TO
-------- ---- ----------------
Jos 10,24 Plural The KingS Joshua conquered
Ez 21-34 Plural The necks of the slain wicked
Jud 8-21 Plural The ornaments in the neckS of camels
Jud 8-26 Plural The ornaments in the neckS of camels
Jud 5-30 Plural Colored clothing for the necks of plunderers
Jer 27-12 Plural Bring (the jews)your neckS under the yolk
1-27-16 Singular Placed ornament on Joseph's neck
1-33-4 Singular Fell on his neck and wept(Esauv-Jacob)
1-45-12 Singular Our verse (Benjamin wept concerning..)
1-46-29 Singular Jacob and Joseph
FOOTNOTES
---------
So there are only 6 plural and 4 singular and ALL plural uses
of neck refer to MANY people. Therefore if our verse says
on the neckS of a single person Benjamin it MUST refer
to the metaphoric meaning--obstinacy/freedom
* {LIST6} {CONJECTURAL Hints to Benjamins Obstinacy in Tnach}
EVENT/VERSE DISCUSSION
----------- ----------
The temple It was built (partially) in Benjamin's territory
1-49-27 Benjamin will tear up the wolf: In the MORNING
he will have booty but in the EVENING he will
divide up the spoils.
The phrases MORNING and EVENING refers to
Dan-8-26--And the vision of the EVENING and
MORNING is TRUE: This in turn refers to
Dan-8-14 ..Until the EVENING OF MORNING is 2300
Thus the 3 verses (1-49-27, Dan-8-26 and Dan-8-14)
seem to refer to the reign of the Danielic He-Goat
--presumably Benjamin merited this because he
never sinned and therefore he merited to "tear up
the wolf"
1-46-21 The 10 children of Benjamin. 60% or 6 of these
CLEARLY refer to Joseph and therefore Chazal
conjectured that all 10 refer to Joseph. The 6
children that have obvious meanings are
CHILD'S NAME REFERENCE TO JOSEPH
------------ -------------------
Swallowed Joe, swallowed by animal
First Born Joe=1st born of Rachel
Pleasant (Naman) Pleasant person to be with
Brother (AyChi) My brother
Head Joe's dream he will be head
ARD=GO DOWN reference to Jacob ("I will
GO DOWN to the grave on
Joseph" 1-37-35)
It is clear from these names that Benjamin believed
in Joseph's dream EVEN after his brothers had
gotten rid of him--he in effect asserted "He,Joseph
will rule over you". I would therefore conjecture
that this is one example of his obstinacy.
FOOTNOTES:
---------
I emphasize this is conjectural. The real Pshat of the verse
is given above--Benjamin was obstinate--and we have shown
what Benjamin COULD have been obstinate about. There are only
3 verses--the building of the Temple in his portion, possibly
bcause he didn't sin, the verses on the Danielic-He-Goat again
because he didn't sin and the naming of his 10 children
because he believed in the prophecy.
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
* v1b32-15 The principle of STAGES
See Berashit Rabbah 93:12--commentaries of Rashi, MatNoth KeHunah
I have not spent time on certain "false leads" in the commentaries
So e.g.
TSAVARAUV is a normal SINGULAR form(but we don't have to prove this)
The phrase CRYING ON A SHOULDER occurs a few times in Tnach...thus
unlike the Sifsay Chachamim we can't say that the phrase "on his
shoulder" is a problem. Rather the real point of Rashi is that it
speaks about CRYING ON which always means CRYING CONCERNING. We
must then supplement this with the observation that NECK equals
OBSTINACY.
Regarding this last point I should note that in my article I point
out that it is a mistake to ask WHAT IS THE PROBLEM IN THE VERSE
or WHAT IS BOTHERING RASHI. Nothing is BOTHERING Rashi in this
verse. BCH=CRY has 3 forms---none of them are peculiar---Rashi
is simply telling us what THIS PARTICULAR FORM (BCH AL) means.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
* To Bill Bernstein and his friend for asking the question.
It was a good question--we have clarified many principles.
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
--------------------------------------------------------------
* ROOT+PREPOSITION | STAGES
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v4-11-10 ..the nation crying concerning family matters
----------
RASHI TEXT:
----------
* They were crying concerning family matters..because Moses had
given them the sexual prohibitions and people could no longer
marry forbidden sexual relations.
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
* e.g. The Sifray suggests that people use to
marry their aunts (Indeed,even after the Torah was given uncles
could marry their nieces and it is reasonable that by analogy
they thought they could marry their aunts
As {LIST2} shows "BCH=To Cry" has 3 meanings: BCH ETH=Mourn,
BCH L=Cry at the sight of, BCH AL = Cry concerning some lost.
Verses justifying these 3 meanings are given in {LIST1}.
So the verse EXPLICITLY says that they were CRYING CONCERNING
FAMILY MATTERS.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
------------------------
* Rashi actually gives two explanations. The 2nd explanation
is PSHAT since as the lists below show CRY ON means CRY
CONCERNING (or CRY AT THE SIGHT OF).
By contrast there are NO lists to justify the first of Rashi's
explanations (Each family cried together). Indeed CRY L only
occurs 3 times in Tenach and never refers to WHO was crying
(the families) but rather refers to ON WHAT they were crying
(concerning family matters that they could no longer marry
their aunts).
Why then did Rashi give the first explanation especially since
it is NOT pshat?
My own opinion is that Rashi always preferred a CATCHY NIFTY form
to an abstract principle. It APPEARS as if the verse is saying that
they cried BY families. Furthermore if Rashi says that he can then
mention the Midrash of the Sifray which now appears natural: It
is as if Rashi said:
Oh, by the way...why did the Torah say that they CRIED BY FAMILIES?
Because of the incest laws which prohibited people from marrying
family members!!
Thus we see Rashi's genious! He deliberately chose a superficial
meaning that could not be justified by lists in order to make
more palatable the true pshat which can be justified by lists.
Again: CRY with the L (LAMED) ***NEVER*** means CRYING BY...
and ***NEVER*** refers to WHO is crying but rather always
refers to ON WHAT they were crying. The reader is invited
to examine the lists below to convince himself/herself of this.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
----------------------------------------------------------
* {LIST2} {VERSES WITH BCH=TO CRY}
VERSE PREPOSITION TEXT
----- ----------- ----
1-37-45 ETH And his father MOURNED HIM
1-50-3 ETH And Egypt MOURNED HIM
Jer8-23 ETH And I will mourn the slain of my people
5-21-13 ETH* She will mourn (separation)from her family
1S20-41 ETH* & they mourned separation from each other
Jud11-37 AL Cry concerning my virginity(I can't marry)
Jud14-16 AL** Cry concerning that you hate me
4-11-13 AL Cry concerning "I can't give them meat"
Job30-25 L# I cried at the sight of suffering persons
Jer48-12 L# I'll cry at the sight of your destruction
4-11-10 L# Crying at the news of family incest laws
FOOTNOTES:
* These two verses (5-21-13 and 1S20-41) denote mourning on long
term separation not death
** It might appear that Delilah "Cried on Samson"--but a careful
reading of the verse would suggest that she "moped" in a corner
and cried "You hate me and don't love me". To be fair to the
reader I list all verses with AL (1-45-14, Jud 11-37, 1-37-35,
1-45-15, 1-46-29, 1-50-1, 2R13-14, Jud11-38, Jud14-16, Jud14-17,
4-11-13, Jer31-15. Note how we would e.g. have to interpret
1-50-3 not as "JOSEPH CRIED ON HIS FATHERS SHOULDERS" but rather
as "JOSEPH CRIED CONCERNING HIS FATHER"S ALWAYS BEING OBSTINATE
AND STANDING UP FOR HIM". In general this is a difficult list
to PROVE. But I have given what I think is Chazal's opinion with
verses that support as well as verses that do not support. Let the
reader try and find their own patterns.
# There are only 3 verses with L.They appear to mean CRY CONCERNING
I have no way of proving they mean CRY AT THE SIGHT OF--thus the
JOB30-25 verse may be provable as meaning "at the sight of" but it
would require alot of work. The Chazalian interpretation 4-11-10
is famous and falls neatly into our suggested list of meanings
based on ROOT+PREPOSITION. On 2nd thought the interpretation
BCH L = CRY CONCERNING would ALSO be consistent with all listed
verses and ALSO consistent with the Chazalian interpretation on
4-11-10.
* {LIST1} {SUMMARY OF MEANINGS OF BCH}
BCH+PREPOSITION MEANING
--------------- -------
BCH ETH CRYING FOR MOURNING or SEPARATION
BCH L IN a state of SHOCK on seeing something
or becoming aware of something
It would appear tha BCH L might mean the
same as BCH AL=CRY CONCERNING some loss
BCH AL CRYING CONCERNING some loss
FOOTNOTES:
---------
Again it is perfectly OK to interpret BCH L the same way we
interpret BCH AL--cry CONCERNING some matter.
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
*
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
*
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
--------------------------------------------------------------
* ROOT+PREPOSITION
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