Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 1999
Http://www.Shamash.Org/Rashi/Index.Htm
Volume 1 Number 20
Prodcued Mar, 21 1999
Topics Discussed in This Issue
------------------------------
v0321 - Administrivia More verses placed on web
v3a1-1 CALL means a)INVITE(KRA ETH), b) SUMMON(KRA L) c) PAGE(KRA EL
v3a6-2 COMMAND used by a)Military, b) Deathbed order, c)Personal
v3a5-24 FIRST can mean the PRICIPLE INVESTMENT vs INTEREST
V3B5-24 Principle is singular; fifth"S" is plural;There can be many
v3a6-3 MIDO=Measured=Taylored; Learnt from extra SENTENCE(not word)
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
v0321 Administrivia
In volume 19 I did the whole Menorah in 1 posting. I am now adding
each separate Rashi on the web site (I will not send this out
as a posting because it is repetitive)
Similarly by the end of next week I hope to add all the ACHS=USUALLY
onto the web site.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v3a1-1 And God Paged (lit. Called)Moses and God spoke to him
------
RASHI TEXT:
----------
* The word CALLED here means PAGED....PAGING before talking denotes
honor and respect. (By PAGING I simply mean that you make an
appointment to talk and then talk rather than just barging in and
talking)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
*
MALBIMS THESIS: MEANING IS A FUNCTION OF ROOT & PREPOSITION
We have explained several times MALBIMS thesis that the unit of
meaning in Hebrew is not the 3 letter ROOT but rather the
COMBINATION of the 3 letter root and the CONNECTING PREPOSITION.
KRA HAS 3 MEANINGS
So in this verse the root KRA, meaning CALLED, is used. In Tnach
CALL occurs with three prepositions {LIST1} & can mean to SUMMON
(KRA ETH) to INVITE (KRH L) or to PAGE (KRA ETH). {LIST2} gives
a representative sample of Hebrew verses justifying these
translations.
HEBREW VS ENGLISH
Note the difference between Hebrew and English. SUMMON, INVITE and
PAGE are 3 distinct activities in English while Hebrew sees them
as related.
MEANING OF V3-1-1
Thus the verse suggests that God announced to Moses that he was
about to be spoken to (ie. he PAGED HIM) and then spoke to him.
COMPARISON TO OTHER PROPHETS
Rashi {LIST3} also compares the speaking to Moses with the speaking
to non-jewish prophets. Non Jewish prophets have prophecy THRUST on
them while Moses was paged. (I have appended to {LIST3} the
interesting verse, 4-12-4 "And God spoke SUDDENLY to Moses, Aaron
and Miriam" to further support Rashi)
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
------------------------
* Rashi, as we know, loves puns. In this case the calling to
Moses (VAYIKRAH) and the calling to non jewish prophets (VAYIKAR)
sound alike.
This type of punning creates easy memorability. I think it was
the presence of this pun that suggested to Rashi to leave out the
explicit verse 4-12-4 (And God spoke SUDDENLY to Moses...).
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
----------------------------------------------------------
* {LIST1} {Patial# list of meanings of KRA }
MEANING PREPOSITION CHARACTERISTICS
------- ----------- ---------------
Naming No preposition You NAME a child, city etc *
Read B Reading a book **
Invite/request ETH You ask a person to participate
in some event (The word INVITE
(vs SUMMON) connotes FREEDOM
of choice on the invitee..he
is free to accept or reject
the offer)
Summon L SUMMON--(not necessarily the
best translation---the idea
is that you ask a person to
participate in some event.
The difference between SUMMON
and INVITE is that SUMMONING
usually happens from an authority
figure who REQURIES you to do it
The distinction between INVITE
SUMMON is sometimes hard to
perceive
PAGE EL The word PAGE is a bit stuffy.
Actually by PAGE we simply mean
that the two parties set up
an appointment to talk. You can
recognize this by the fact that
it usually says "..PAGE & SPOKE"
Also the incidents involved
are the type that you page people
on (E.g. discussions of Peace or
serious matters where you don't
just barge in and talk but you
"page" the person.....)
It is hard to find a good
translation that has a connotation
of notification
NOTES
-----
* Naming can be KRA and KRA ETH. The distinction seems to be
that
KRA (no preposition) NAMING Based on an attribute
or PAST event (e.g. 1-19-22
"He called the city SMALL
because it was small)
KRA ETH NAMING based on a FUTURE hope
(e.g. 1-30-24...and she NAMED
him MORE saying "May GOD give
me MORE children)
** Again there are at least 3 forms of READING:
KRA (no preposition) Probably e.g. browsing a book
or reading a few paragraphs
KRA B Probably reading the whole book
KRA ETH Probably reading with ACCEPTANCE
of the ideas of the book
To fully clarify this consider the statement he READ the Torah. Then
KRA (no preposition) He picked up a Bible and BROWSED it
KRA B He spent a month READING the whole
Torah
KRA ETH He read the Torah with the intent
of ACCEPTING its teaching & idea
#
Ps17-6
Ps99-6 We leave out all verses dealing with Prayer
Presumably there is a difference between PRAYING ETH GOD
and PRAYING TO GOD (actually CALLING) but we are not
presently analyzing it
{LIST2} {Verses with KRA}
VERSE PREPOSITION TEXT (MEANING IS CAPPED)
----- ----------- ------------------------
{The following verses denote NAMING....}
1-1-10 No preposition And he NAMED the water bodies, seas
1-11-9 No preposition therefore they NAMED it Babel
1-19-22 No preposition therefore he NAMED the city, Tzoar
1-35-18 No preposition but his father NAMED him Benjamin
{The following verses denote INVITATION or REQUESTS..they all
involve one person either telling someone else about some event
in which he is allowed/encouraged to come or else metaphorically
requesting events to come..there usually is a nuance of freedom
of choice...the 2nd person or event need not come but is invited to
VERSE PREPOSITION TEXT (MEANING IS CAPPED)
----- ----------- ------------------------
1R1-10 ETH But he did not INVITE Solomon his brother
2R23-16 ETH the prophet who INVITED these incidents
Jer3-12 ETH And INVITE these things (Please repent...)#
Jer7-2 ETH Stand in the gates & INVITE them to repent#
2-2-8 ETH And she INVITED the childs mother (to nurse)
Jer11-6 ETH And God asked me to INVITE you to accept Trh
{The following verses refer to READING a book}
VERSE PREPOSITION TEXT (MEANING IS CAPPED)
----- ----------- ------------------------
2R22-10 No preposition And Shafan READ (the book)before the king
Jos8-35 No preposition Joshua READ the Torah
{The following verses denote READING a book...they all have B
and they all refer to some book}
VERSE PREPOSITION TEXT (MEANING IS CAPPED)
----- ----------- ------------------------
5-17-19 B And he(the king) shall always READ it$
Is36-14 B The megillah which you READ
Jer36-6 B And READ the megillah
{The following verses connote SUMMONING...probably not the
best translation...it means that an authority figure---God,
A Prophet, Judges, Commanders---demands that someone else
do something}
VERSE PREPOSITION TEXT (MEANING IS CAPPED)
----- ----------- ------------------------
2R8-1 L For God SUMMONED a famine and it came
2R9-1 L And Elishah SUMMONED a prophet student
Jud12-1 L And you did not SUMMON us to come with you*
1S3-5 L I am here because you CALLED (SUMMONED) me*
5-25-8 L And the elders will SUMMON him
Jd16-25 L SUMMON Shimon and he shall play before us
1R1-28 L SUMMON Bat Sheva to me
Ju16-25 L ..SUMMON Samson from the prison
{The following verses denote PAGING...i.e. there is a request
to talk followed by actual talking...you can recognize this by
the fact that it usually says KRA EL...AMR}
VERSE PREPOSITION TEXT (MEANING IS CAPPED)
----- ----------- ------------------------
3-1-1 EL And He PAGED Moses and spoke to him..
Is6-3 EL And they PAGE each other & say, "Holy..."
1S26-14 EL & Avner said:Who are you that PAGES the king
5-20-10 EL ....PAGE them to a peace conference**
2R4-22 EL ..& she PAGED her husband & spoke to him..##
2R4-36 EL ..PAGE the mother...& he said "Here..."
NOTES:
-----
$ Jos8-34 Joshua READ (KRH ETH) the Torah. Apparently this is a
reading with the intent to ACCEPT the Torah
* In these two verses SUMMON is a bit strong of a word (But don't
forget that YIFTACH was the military commander so that SUMMON
would make sense...similarly Shmuel was just a child so that SUMMON
would make sense)
** It actually says "When you have a war then you begin by calling
to them to peace"...but legally we know that the beginnig process
of a war was a negotiation with the target nation that they should
accept the noachide laws and pay taxes to the Jewish king (so it
WAS a paging to have a peace conference...the word PAGE vs
INVITATION here denotes probably that they would send messengers
and ask them if they were interested
# The word INVITE may appear strange here coming from a prophet
(Might not SUMMON denoting an order be more appropriate)...but the
idea is that it was a REQUEST for them to repent and said in
a supplicatory manner (Please repent..it is up to you but we
would like you very much to come back to being religious)
## The word PAGE here means e.g. she said to her husband "We have to
talk" and then they sat down and she said "Give me a mule and a
helper and I will travel to the prophet...."
* {LIST3} {Of methods by which God calls prophets}
METHOD VERSE TEXT
------ ----- ----
Paging 3-1-1 And God Paged Moses & then spoke to
Suddenly 4-12-4 And God spoke suddenly to...
By Accident 4-23-4 And God "happened" to Bilam
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
*
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
* Malbim on 3-1-1. This is the famous Malbim in which he expounds
his theory that MEANING is not an attribute of 3 letter roots but
rather an attribute of the COMBINATION of 3 letter roots and their
connecting prepositions.
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
--------------------------------------------------------------
* ROOT+PREPOSITION
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v3a6-2 COMMAND Aaron and his children...re: daily offering
------
RASHI TEXT:
----------
* COMMAND denotes URGING starting NOW and CONTINUING for all
generations
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
* 3 USAGES OF THE VERB COMMAND
As {LIST1} shows COMMAND is either used by a commander (a military
or household commander) or else is used by an ordinary person who is
* giving deathbed orders
* giving personal orders to his children during his lifetime
(such as whom to marry or who should have access to their
property)
In other words although command refers primarily to military
commands it can also refer to any command by any person which
denotes a CONTINUATION of household traditions (thru inheritance
or marriage).
LISTS SUPPORTING THESE USAGES
The verses supporting the meanings in {LIST1} can be reviewed in
{LIST2}
COMMANDMENTS BEGINNING WITH COMMAND
When we come to Torah commands we find that most of them are
introduced with the famous verse "God spoke to Moses....".
Furthermore thruout the Torah the commandments that God gave thru
Moses are called COMMANDMENTS even if they weren't introduced with
the verb COMMAND but introduced with the verb SPEAK or SAY.
Nevertheless there are about dozen commandments that are introduced
with the verb COMMAND. These commandments are listed in {LIST3}.
WHY THE TORAH USED "COMMAND" IN ONLY A DOZEN COMMANDMENTS
Upon examination of them we find that these commandments either
refer to
* territorial commands (for the Jews, Levites, Lepors)
--Hence the usage of command in these territorial commands
corresponds to the usage of command in deathbed orders.--
Or else these commandments introduced with the word COMMAND refer to
* daily sacrificial rites
--Hence the usage of command in these daily commands corresponds to
the usages of commands that govern ones personal life--like a father
telling a son whom he should marry (Because the daily offerings
are symbolic to how we should conduct ourselves in our daily lives.
SUMMARY
In summary the ordinary use of command can refer to TERRITORIAL
matters or to PERSONAL matters (like whom to marry). Similarly
the Biblical use of COMMAND can refer to TERRITORIAL MATTERS
--the boundaries of territory for various groups or to PERSONAL
matters---the daily admonitions in the temple on how we are to
behave.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
------------------------
* This Rashi is an excellent example of HOW NOT TO READ RASHI.
I have seen people dwell on individual words in Rashi...for example
Rashi says "COMMAND DENOTES URGENCY". Similarly I have seen people
dwell on the parenthetical words in
Rashi (which were not put in by him) "Commandments which have
monetary loss (because the Burnt offering had no parts for the
priests).
Such a reading of Rashi is inadequate...for it doesn't explain
anything...for there are many commands with monetary loss (like
the Kashruth laws) and they are not introduced with COMMAND.
Furthermore one has to be URGENT on all commandments.
Rather as I have said many times the proper way to read Rashi is
to first study lists of verses and try and get an approximate
idea of the problem and possible solutions. Only then can
we really appreciate Rashi.
Quite simply the lists show that the ordinary usage of
COMMAND is used on TERRITORIAL and PERSONAL items. Similarly
the BIBLICAL usage of COMMAND is also used on TERRITORIAL
and PERSONAL items. So Rashi Is Simple...the Biblical usage
of COMMAND corresponds to the ordinary use of COMMAND. This
is in fact what rashi says....commandments that are from NOW
to ALL GENERATIONS (and denote continuation).
Rashi also added the word URGENCY/ENCOURAGEMENT. Why?
Because a person on a death bed is leaving his family and perhaps
they will not care about the family traditions. Similarly a son who
is about to marry is starting his own life and perhaps will not
care to continue the family traditions.
So there is a sense of ENCOURAGEMENT and URGING--even though things
might not look good (because the father is dying and because the
son is marrying) nevertheless the father URGES the children to
continue the family tradition.
Rashi was in fact citing the SiFRAH.
The sifrah adds the opinion of Rav Shimon that command is used
"all the more so if there is monetary loss"
But this statement cannot be taken out of context. You cannot say
because the burnt offering is totally offered unlike the shlamim
which is partially offered and the priests eat the rest"
You cannot say that because it totally ignores all lists.
Rather Rav Shimon is ADDING (not offering a different) criteria.
COMMAND is used in commandments that are CONTINUATIONS FOR ALL
GENERATIONS ****AND ***** that also involve monetary loss (because
the children do not mind continuing the family tradition but have
second thoughts if they lose money."
As it is however Rashi rejected Rav Shimon's opinion because as
our lists below show they were not necessary. The main point of
COMMAND is that it denotes CONTINUATION (and the word URGENCY
is a secondary aspect of the usage of COMMAND)
Whoever understands this analysis will profit greatly in the
understanding of Rashi. For it is not to Rashi's honor to add
things that are not there...rather it is to Rashi's honor to
to explain things that have deep application and consistency
thruout tnach.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
----------------------------------------------------------
*
{LIST1} {The meanings/usages of the verb command}
MEANING WHY
------- ---
A command This is the basic meaning
Deathbed order The father orders the CONTINUATION of the household
Personal order The father orders the CONTINUATION of the household
e.g. and family traditions
who to marry
who can have
access to
the property
{LIST2} {Verses justifying the meaning of COMMAND
* continuation of family traditions such as
* inheritance
* personal matters such as marriage
}
VERSE CLASSIFICATION TEXT
----- -------------- ----
{In these verses a father on his DEATHBED commands his sons
to CONTINUE the family traditions}
1-49-29 DeathBed commands Jacob ordering sons when dying
2R20-1 DeathBed commands King Chizkiyahu's orders
5-31-23 DeathBed commands Moses to Joshua(To take over)
2S17-23 DeathBed commands Achithofel before his suicide
1R2-1 DeathBed Commands David to king Solomon
{In these commands although the father is not dying he commands
his sons concerning PERSONAL matters (such as who to marry or
who should have ACCESS to ones property)
since these involve CONTINUING the family tradition}
VERSE CLASSIFICATION TEXT
----- -------------- ----
1-28-6 Personal (marriage) Isaac to Jacob(no Canaanite wife)
1-12-20 Personal (Territory) Pharoh expelled Abraham from Egypt
1-26-11 Personal (marriage) Avimelch orders leaving Rivkah alone
2-1-22 Personal (Territory) Pharoh orders death of Jewish babies
{In these commands the command comes from a COMMANDER--and it
appears that the word command is used in military situations
because the military preserves and continues the territorial
rights of the nation---similar comments could be made on
commands to ones household on what can be used there}
VERSE CLASSIFICATION TEXT
----- -------------- ----
1-42-25 Household command Joseph to his servants
4-32-28 Community commands Moses leaving orders that
the 2 1/2 tribes should inherit
in the transJordan
1R2-46 Kings commands Solomon ordered Benayahu to execute
Est4-5 Queens commands Esther gave orders on Mordechai
{LIST3} {Commandments introduced with the word TZAV}
COMMANDMENT TOPIC VERSE WHY COMMAND IS USED
----------------- ----- -------------------
Assigning Levite cities 4-35-2 Territoriality
Assigining borders 4-34-2 Territoriality
to Israel
Assigning borders to
the lepors 4-5-2 Territoriality
Inheritance rights of
Daughters of Tzlafchad 4-36-5 Territoriality
Daily burnt offering 3-6-2 Personal matters
(Offerings symbolize how God
wants us to behave daily
similar to commands of fathers
on whom to marry_
Daily burnt offering 4-28-2 Personal matters
Daily Menorh lighting 3-24-2 Personal matters
Daily Menorh lighting 2-27-20 Personal matters
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
*
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
*
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
--------------------------------------------------------------
* UNIFIED MEANING
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v3a5-24 And he shall pay its PRINCIPLE and add a fifth
------
RASHI TEXT:
----------
* The words "pay its HEAD" means pay its PRINCIPLE.In other
words the word HEAD means the PRINCIPLE amount owed (in contrast
to the FINE of one fifth)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
* The Bible discusses the case of a person obtaining money
illegally and denying it under oath. The money could come from
* a rental
* loan
* robbery
* witheld wages
* witheld lost articles
The person must then pay the
* original amount - the principle
* a fine of 1/5
The Hebrew language did not have a word for PRINCIPLE INVESTMENT.
The proper procedure when a word is absent is to INVEST NEW MEANING
to an existing word. So the word HEAD was chosen since the HEAD
can mean the BEGINNING investment (in contrast to the interest or
fine which is a SUBSEQUENT investment). {LIST2} reviews all
meanings of the root ROSh.
In passing we note that the method of NAMING a new word.
For example, a SWEATER is named because of all GARMENTS it is the
garment that makes you SWEAT. So the
SWEATER is named because of its PARTICULARITY (makes you
sweat) with NO MENTION in its name of its GENERAL CLASS (Garment)
This eytmology of SWEATER is confusing.For the function of a sweater
is not to make you sweat...the function of a sweater is to
cover you as a garment and make you warm. But nevertheless,
despite this confusion the Hebrew language, like most languages,
names objects by their PARTICULAR ATTRIBUTES (sweating) and does
not mention at all the GENERAL CLASS ( garments)
Similarly BREAKFAST refers to the meal that BREAKS YOUR FAST
(because you haven't eaten all night). So the etymology refers
to the PARTICULAR attributes (BREAK YOUR FAST) with almost no
mention of the GENERAL CLASS (meals).
So the method of NAMING is to NAME PARTICULAR attributes in
some GENERAL class but not necessarily to name the GENERAL CLASS.
{LIST1} below gives a list of words and their etymologies which
follow this rule.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
------------------------
*
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
----------------------------------------------------------
* {LIST1} {The etymologies of words follow their PARTICULAR
attributes, not the GENERAL class to which they
belong}
WORD BELONGS TO SOME TYPICAL ETYMOLOGY FOCUSES
THIS GENERAL OTHER MEMBERS ON PARTICULAR ATTRIBUTES
CLASS & IGNORES THE GENERAL
CLASS
---- ------------ ------------- -------------------------
SWEATER GARMENTS Pants,shirts Sweater makes you sweat
BREAKFAST MEALS Lunch, dinner Breakfast breaks your
fast (didn't eat all
night)
REVOLVER GUNS machine gun,.. The revolver loads
bullets with a revolving
cylinder
LAPTOP COMPUTER PC,Mainframe The laptop is that
computer that you can
hold in your lap
ROCKER SEATS Sofa,chair A rocker is that chair
that rocks when you sit
in it.
* {LIST2} {Of Meanings of ROSh = HEAD}
MEANING HOW IS IT VERSE
RELATED TO HEAD
------- --------------- -----
HEAD Actual meaning 3-1-8
TOP FORM: The head is on the TOP of the body 4-23-9
BEGINNING FORM: The head is the BEGINNING of body Ecc7-8
FIRST FORM: The head is the 1st body organ 4-2-91
LEADERS FUNCTION:Leaders THINK for their tribes 4-13-3
CHOICEST VALUE: The head is the CHOICEST of organs Amos6-6
{The following are NEW meanings}
TRIBUTARIES Each tributary is its own head 1-2-10
PRINCIPLE The principle investment is the 1st 3-5-24
amount while the interest on it is
derivative
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
* 2-25-31 (The whole concept of investing words with NEW MEANINGS
is discussed there)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
*
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
--------------------------------------------------------------
* NEW MEANINGS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v3b5-24 Let him pay the principle and add on its fifthS
------
RASHI TEXT:
----------
* Principle is singular while fifthS are in the plural.
This shows he might have to pay many fifths on one principle.
e.g suppose he stole a $100 object and denied the theft under
oath. Then he must pay the $100 principle and $25 (1/5 of $125=$25)
However if he only pays back $100 and claims he paid the $25 fine
and swears to that effect then he must now pay $25 principle and
$6.25 (1/5 of 31.25 is $6.25).
So he pays back two fifthS( The original $25 fifth and the $6.25
fifth). This process continues until he either stops lying or
the fifths are less than a penny.
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
* Rashi simply uses the well know principle that verses should
either be TOTALLY in the singular or TOTALLY in the plural {LIST1}
Every time this rule is violated it invites literary analysis.
So quite simply Rashi gives an example where ONE PRINCIPLE is
returned but MANY fifths.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
------------------------
* We have two comments. First, the Rambam, in his great code,
Laws of Robbery & Lost Articles--7,12 brings
* the same example as Rashi
* cites the same verse and
* gives the same reason (Plural FIFTHS vs singular PRINCIPLE
However he also gives a 2nd example (7:13).
Someone rented a $40 VCR. He then claims under oath
that the VCR was lost. So he must pay $40 + $10 fine.
If now he again claims the VCR was lost he must pay
another $10. And so forth.
I bring this down because it is fashionable to claim that Rashi
and Rambam are disagreeing.
This is not so. For both Rashi and Rambam AGREE on the supporting
verse and the method of dealing with it (i.e. Many fifths).
So they don't disagree...they merely bring different examples.
The proof of this is that they agree on the verse.
This is the proper way to approach these differences...It is not
to the honor of the early authorities that we be so picky and
claim they were disagreeing. The proper approach is to emphasize
that they were agreeing on verses and principles and merely
gave different examples.
The 2nd point has to do with the whole notion of PSHAT and DERASH
For even though I have defended Rashi it appears strange that the
paragraph was talking about denials under oath and then turns
around and starts talking about way out cases of repeated denials.
Even if we accept the Rashi-Rambam observation on multiple 5th,
even so, is this then PESHAT or SIMPLE MEANING?......... is
it not a violation of the primary emphasis of the paragraph which
is speaking about a single denial? How then can Rashi and Rambam
insist that we are talking about multiple fifth cases.
The answer to this lies deep in the nature of Biblical communication
If we were writing today we might do the following:
If you steal...and the lie under oath
You have to return the principle and 1/5th (Footnote 1)
Footnote 1: Or if you continually deny on the same
principle you have to return many fifths.
But the Bible did not have the FOOTNOTE method available. So
instead the Bible combines primary text and footnote text into
one cohesive whole. It does this thru blatant violations of
grammar (like singular-plural).
We will have further occasion to examine this in the future.
For the while we simply observe that GIVEN that the Bible uses
a singular prinicple and plural fifth we are justified in
examining cases where one pays many fifths on one principle
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
----------------------------------------------------------
* {LIST1} {Consistent use of the singular and plural}
VERSE WORD1 WORD2 WORD3 SING/PLRAL
----- ----- ----- ----- -----------
3-12-2 A woman Give birth Unclean Sing
3-12-4 she will sit in her purity touch Sing
4-35-2 And give from their lot give Plural
4-35-11 And separate for yourselves Plural
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
*
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
*
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
--------------------------------------------------------------
* GRAMMAR
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v3a6-3 And the priest shall dress in TAYLORED linen
------ with linen pants on his body
RASHI TEXT:
----------
* MDH = Measurement
MDO BD = MEASURED linen = Taylored linen
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
----------------------------------------
*
RASHI IS CLEAR
I think this Rashi is quite clear. The verse explicitly says
And the priest shall dress in measured linen
and he will dress in linen pants on his flesh
2 SENTENCES 2 THEMES
So there are two sentence:
SENTENCE 1: He shall dress in measured linen
SENTENCE 2: He shall dress in linen pants
SENTENCE SAYS EXPICITLY LINEN SHOULD BE MEASURED
Clearly the intent of sentence 1 is to inform us that the linen
must be MEASURED.
MEASURED = TAYLORED--A NEW MEANING
This invests a NEW MEANING to measured...for
the attribute of dressing that has to do with measurement is
TAYLORED (because a taylor measures garments and fits them for
the person.)
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
------------------------
*
Rashi derives the obligation of tayloring the linen NOT from the
extra WORD ('measured') but rather from the extra SENTENCE.
This is important in learning Rashi. We are not being picky on one
word but rather inferring a lesson from a whole sentence.
Also note that the reason of Tayloring the garments is for modesty
and that this MODESTY theme is consistent with other teachings:
For example 2-20-23 prohibits making the altar ramp with steps
...so that your nakedness should not be uncovered
(since going up by steps exposes your nakedness to the
steps below).
Thus the modesty theme is well established in the temple and
this verses requirement of TAYLORING fits in.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
----------------------------------------------------------
* {LIST1} {LIST of SENTENCES in the VERSE}
SENTENCE
--------
And the Priest shall dress in measured linen
And the Priest shall dress linen pants on his body
CROSS REFERENCES:
----------------
*
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
----------------
*
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
--------------------------------------------------------------
* EXTRA SENTENCE | NEW MEANING
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
COMMUNICATIONS
--------------
Send via email SUBMISSIONS/responses/contributions to
rashi-is-simple@shamash.org
If you want your communication published anonomously (without
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they can be published as is or with editing)
NOTATIONAL CONVENTIONS
----------------------
e.g. v5b2-1 means as follows:
The "v" means verse
The "5" means Deuteronomy--the 5th book
The "2" means The 2nd chapter
The "1" means The 1st verse
The "b" means The second rashi on that
verse ("we rounded mount
Seir)
Similarly v5-2-1 would mean Dt 2:1 and probably refer to all
Rashis. (These conventions start with issue 14---beforehand
the notation is similar and will be updated retroactively
in the future)
Asterisks (*,#) in a list usually refer to footnotes that follow it
Parenthesis with the word List and a number--[LIST3] refers to
LISTS in the LIST section of each posting.
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OUR GOALS
---------
RASHI-IS-SIMPLE
* will provide logical explanations to all 8,000 Rashis on Chumash.
* the preferred vehicle of explanation is thru list of verses and exceptions
* These postings will be archived in Shamash in Quartuplet
-- By Volume and Number
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-- By Grammatical Rule
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* Although this list is orthodox we welcome all logical
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provided they are defended with adequate examples.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
----------------------
For further information on the character of this list
* read your welcome note from Shamash
* read PESHAT and DERASH: TRADITION, Winter 1980 by Russell Hendel
End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*