Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List VISIT the RASHI DATABASE archives AT http://www.RashiYomi.com/ Surfing the Talmudic Seas (C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2004 Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel Volume 20 Number 15 For the WORD QUALITY PDF VERSION click here ----------------------------------- http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h20n15.pdf ----------------------------------- Produced Jan 8th, 2004 WARNING: USE FIXED WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10) |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||
Whats new and hot in this issue? | ||
ITEM | WHATS NEW & HOT IN THIS ISSUE | |
Leining | Just received many questions:Rashi vs Leining*1 | |
Poetry | We havent done any poetry verses in a while | |
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*1 LEINING is a YAHOOGROUP. One topic is whether Rashi ever deviates from the Teamim. I suggested no. I received 7 questions--I hope to run a mini series on this. |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | |||
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VERSE | RULE | BRIEF DESCRIPTION | |
======== | =============== | ======================================= | |
Gn49-08a | ALIGNMENT | Sons of MOTHER|FATHER;CURSE<-->BLESS | |
Gn49-08c | ALIGNMENT | Sons of MOTHER|FATHER;CURSE<-->BLESS | |
Gn49-08b | BULLETS | Judah HONEST,Overcame Shimon,Saved Joe | |
Gn49-09a | BULLETS | Judah HONEST,Overcame Shimon,Saved Joe | |
Gn49-09b | BULLETS | Judah HONEST,Overcame Shimon,Saved Joe | |
Gn49-09c | BULLETS | Judah HONEST,Overcame Shimon,Saved Joe | |
--------- | ---------------- | ---------------------------------- |
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Gn49-08a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn49-08a Gn49-08c
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||
SUCCINCT SUMMARY ---------------- Many Rashis derive their punch from comparisons and alignments with other verses EXAMPLE Gn49-08a ---------------- RASHI: Jacob... - CURSED Shimon and Levi's anger - Accused Reuven of DESCERATING his birthright - but PRAISED JUDAH as being ACKNOWLEDGED by his brothers The contrast is obvious EXAMPLE Gn45-08c ---------------- RASHI: - Isaac who had ONE wife blesses that ALL CHILDREN OF THE mother SHOULD BOW TO YOU - Jacob who had FOUR wives blesses that ALL CHILDREN OF THE father SHOULD BOW TO YOU The contrast is again obvious--MOTHERS children in the case of Jacob would not include everybody. | ||
ITEM | DETAIL | |
RASHI RULE CLASS: | ALIGNMENT | |
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS | 2 CASES | |
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE | #10 | |
SEE BELOW | LIST313i | |
Alignment of | blessings of JACOB vs ISAAC | |
---------------------- | ---------------------------------- | |
RASHI RULE CLASS: | ALIGNMENT | |
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS | 2 CASES | |
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE | #10 | |
SEE BELOW | LIST313j | |
Alignment of | blessings to Reuven,Shimon,Judah |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||||
Alignment of blessings of JACOB vs ISAAC | ||||
VERSE | PHRASE1 | PHRASE2 | PHRASE3 | |
Gn49-08c | Jacob blesses Judah | Your FATHERS children | will bow to you | |
Gn27-29 | Isaac blesses Jacob | Your MOTHERS children | will bow to you | |
Differs | *1 | *1 | *2 | |
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*1 Rashi is Simple: Isaac had one wife while Jacob had 4 Hence Isaac speaks about the MOTHERS CHILDREN (since it is unambiguous) while Jacob speaks about the FATHERS CHILDREN so as to include everybody *2 The same in both texts |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | |||
Alignment of blessings to Reuven,Shimon,Judah | |||
VERSE | PERSON BLESSED | TEXT OF BLESSING--BLESSING or CURSE | |
Gn49-04 | Reuven | Then you DESECRATED it | |
Gn49-07 | Shimon | May their anger be CURSED | |
Gn49-08a | Judah | Your brothers will THANK/ACKNOWLEDGE you | |
Differs | *1 | *1 | |
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*1 So quite simply: Reuven and Shimon had aspects of rebuke, curse or reprimand in their blessing while Judah was blessed*10 | |||
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*10 Rashi exaggerates this point by citing a Midrash that Judah got nervous when he heard Jacob reprimanding Reuven and Shimon This midrash need not be regarded - as a tradition or - as a grammatical inference from the text-- Rather - Rashi can conveniently be perceived as a reasonable fill-in of events which makes us appreciate the contrast in the above alignment This does not detract from Rashi. The punch of Rashi lies in reviewing an alignment of two verses. |
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Gn49-08b
RASHIS COVERED: Gn49-06a Gn49-06b Gn49-06e Gn49-06f
Gn49-08b Gn49-09a Gn49-09b Gn49-09c
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||
SUCCINCT SUMMARY ---------------- One of Rashis 5 main goals is to explain overall structure This is particularly true in poetic passages. We have advocated that the best way to understand a poetic passage is to - identify the unifying idea - review the clauses supporting this unifying idea - emphasize nuances in these verses EXAMPLE Gn49-06:09 ------------------ These verses contain the BLESSINGS OF JACOB We believe the simplest way of taking Rashi is the following: - The Patriarch Jacob is commenting in the blessings on PERSONALITY - The primary proof of personality is the PAST (eg Shimon pillages Schem) - But Rashi enriches our understanding by giving FUTURE examples (eg Shimons descendants rebel against Moses in Korach rebellion) In other words Rashi never denies the SIMPLE MEANING of the text which refers to past events like the kidnapping of Joseph. However Rashi sees as his job to AUGMENT our understanding of the blessings by bringing in OTHER EXAMPLES, sometimes from the future. Our contribution here is to deny that Rashi exhausted the meaning of the blessings in these other examples from future events. Rather Rashi believed that the verses did refer to past events which are ALSO indicative of other future events. In Gn49-08:09 Jacob praises Judah for his leadership in the Joseph affair. (a) His brothers listened to him(not to kill Joseph) (b) Judah overcame Shimons attempts to kill Jospeh (c) after a weak beginning Judah took full responsibility and reunited the family (d) Judah was above mere plundering and concentrated on essentials. Rashi points out that all these attributes occured in King David, Judahs descendant. (In passing: In explaining the above passage Rashi notes that the word GO UP can metonomically also mean TO BE REMOVED AND ABOVE something) | ||
ITEM | DETAIL | |
RASHI RULE CLASS: | BULLETS | |
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS | BULLETING | |
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE | #26 | |
SEE BELOW | LIST106n | |
List of | Poetic clauses in Gn49-06:09 | |
---------------------- | -------------------------------- | |
RASHI RULE CLASS: | WORD MEANINGS | |
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS | 8 Methods of Naming | |
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE | #7 | |
SEE BELOW | LIST871d | |
List of idioms using | metonomy(high=removed/above it) | |
---------------------- | -------------------------------- | |
SEE BELOW | LIST871g | |
List of verses where | HIGH means REMOVED FROM/ ABOVE IT |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | |||
List of idioms using metonomy(violent tool=criminal) | |||
VERSE | TEXT OF VERSE | METONOMY(ITEM means RELATED ITEM) | |
Gn49-09c | ABOVE plunder | REMOVED from plundering (Above it)*5 | |
Gn49-05b | VIOLENT TOOLS | Criminal behavior*4 | |
Gn45-18b | FAT of land | BEST of land | |
Gn45-08a | FATHER to Phrh | FRIEND/ADVISOR to Pharoh | |
Gn43-34a | He gave LIFTS | LIFTED THEIR SPIRIT-i.e. gifts | |
Gn41-35b | HAND of Pharoh | DOMAIN of Pharoh*2 | |
Gn24-18a | pitchr on HAND | she lowered pitcher on her ARM | |
Gn37-26b | COVER blood | CONCEAL murder | |
Gn37-26b | cover BLOOD | conceal MURDER | |
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 | |
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*1 Many examples in this list come from previous list in the metonomy series (LIST871a, LIST871b, LIST871c) *2 See LIST871e for 6 Rashis mentioning this HAND=DOMAIN theme *3 See LIST871f for verses where NSA means GIFT *4 Rashi citing the Midrash Rabbah states ------------------------------------- Your violence is something you VIOLATED from Esauv (You are killing like Esauv) ------------------------------------- But I see no reason to see this Midrash as the PRIMARY simple meaning of the verse. The PRIMARY meaning of the verse is that Shimon and Levi were criminals The Midrash is simply adding a pun to this observation. *5 See LIST871g for some examples |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||
List of verses where HIGH means REMOVED FROM/ ABOVE IT | ||
VERSE | TEXT OF VERSE WITH high MEANING removed from/above | |
Nu16-24 | REMOVE yourselves from this congregation*1 | |
Gn17-22 | God REMOVED HIMSELF from Abraham | |
Gn49-09c | You Judah, are REMOVED from plunder | |
Ez19-03 | One cub REMOVED HERSELF(from cubhood)& became lion | |
2S23-02 | The warrior (David) who was raised ABOVE IT | |
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*1 I think there is an added nuance of BE ABOVE IT eg --------------------------------------------------- Moses---REMOVE YOURSELF from arguing with this rebellious congregation---be ABOVE the arguments --------------------------------------------------- This is consistent with Moses' bitterness and argumentation in previous verses. |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||||
List of Poetic clauses in Gn49-06:09 | ||||
VERSE | TEXT OF VERSE | PAST | FUTURE | |
Gn49-06a | My soul will not come in their logic | Schem*1 | Midyan*1 | |
Gn49-06b | My soul: Do not come to their mobs | Schem*2 | Korach*2 | |
Gn49-06e | For they killed people*11 in anger | Schem*3 | Joseph*3 | |
Gn49-06f | For they pillaged/castrated livestock | Schem*4 | Joseph | |
Gn49-08b | You have a grip on your enemies | Shimn*5 | David*5 | |
Gn49-09a | A cub--A Lion--That is Judah | Josph*6 | David*6 | |
Gn49-09b | You are above (mere)plundering | Josph*7 | David*7 | |
Gn49-09c | You are above (mere)plundering | Josph*7 | David*7 | |
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*1 We believe the simplest way of taking Rashi is the following: - The Patriarch Jacob is commenting in the blessings on PERSONALITY - The primary proof of personality is the PAST (eg Shimon pillages Schem) - But Rashi enriches our understanding by giving FUTURE examples (eg Shimons descendants rebel against Moses in Korach rebellion) So in this verse the PAST refers to Gn34-31 Shimon and Levi killed a city because THEY TREATED OUR SISTER LIKE A HARLOT*10 The FUTURE refers to Nu26-05 A high ranking Simonian prince had relations publicly before the whole congregation. The suggestion was that the Simonian prince used the following logic -------------------------------------- If you Moses could marry a Midiyanite why cant we -------------------------------------- *2 We believe the simplest way of taking Rashi is the following: - The Patriarch Jacob is commenting in the blessings on PERSONALITY - The primary proof of personality is the PAST (eg Shimon pillages Schem) - But Rashi enriches our understanding by giving FUTURE examples (eg Shimons descendants rebel against Moses in Korach rebellion) So in this verse For PAST: Gn34-25 Shimon and Levi killed a city For FUTURE: Nu16 -- Shimonites incited a rebellion against Moses *3 We believe the simplest way of taking Rashi is the following: - The Patriarch Jacob is commenting in the blessings on PERSONALITY - The primary proof of personality is the PAST (eg Shimon pillages Schem) - But Rashi enriches our understanding by giving FUTURE examples (eg Shimons descendants rebel against Moses in Korach rebellion) So in this verse For PAST: Gn34-25 Shimon and Levi killed a whole city But another good example is the attempted murder of Joseph See http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn49-05a.htm in the digest (Volume 20 Number 14) It was Shimon who tried to kill Joseph (See Gn37-19) *4 See Gn34-28. It explicitly says that Shimon and Levi PILLAGED THE CITY.*12 *5 We believe the simplest way of taking Rashi is the following: - The Patriarch Jacob is commenting in the blessings on PERSONALITY - The primary proof of personality is the PAST (eg Shimon pillages Schem) - But Rashi enriches our understanding by giving FUTURE examples (eg Shimons descendants rebel against Moses in Korach rebellion) THE PAST: Refers to Judah getting a hand/grip on Shimons attempt to Kill Joseph and preventing it(Gn37-26) THE FUTURE: Refers to King David (From the tribe of Judah) who conquered many nations and brought peace to the Jews (2S05) *6 We believe the simplest way of taking Rashi is the following: - The Patriarch Jacob is commenting in the blessings on PERSONALITY - The primary proof of personality is the PAST (eg Shimon pillages Schem) - But Rashi enriches our understanding by giving FUTURE examples (eg Shimons descendants rebel against Moses in Korach rebellion) THE PAST: Judah started out as a cub or rookie in saving Joseph (Gn37-26). He couldnt prevent his sale to Egypt. But in the end Judah saved the whole family and took full responsibility when Binyamin was kidnapped(Gn43-08) THE FUTURE: King David from the tribe of Judah also started out as a rookie saving Israel and in the end became King (e.g. 2S05-01:03) *7 We believe the simplest way of taking Rashi is the following: - The Patriarch Jacob is commenting in the blessings on PERSONALITY - The primary proof of personality is the PAST (eg Shimon pillages Schem) - But Rashi enriches our understanding by giving FUTURE examples (eg Shimons descendants rebel against Moses in Korach rebellion) THE PAST: Judah was ABOVE (mere) plundering in the sale of Joseph. He convinced his brothers not to murder Joseph if all they wanted to do was get rid of him ANOTHER EXAMPLE: Gn38-26 Judah admitted to being wrong in The Tamar incident (He tied her up--prevented her from being married; she seduced him; when he tried to kill her he admitted he was wrong)*13 | ||||
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*10 The word Samech-Dalet means SECRET can can be used to denote (Twisted) logic. *11 At a simple level Rashi is simply generalizing everything in the verse. That is, not only were Shimon and Levi violent in Schem they were also evil and violent in many other places. However Rashi is also commenting on the use of the singular in the verse. Instead of the verse saying ------------------------------------------ In their anger they killed PEOPLE When they felt like it they castrated OXEN ------------------------------------------ It instead says -------------------------------------------- In their anger they killed a PERSON When they felt like it they castrated the OX -------------------------------------------- Rashi points out that military victories can be described either against a PERSON or against a PEOPLE. However the use of the singular suggests that Shimon and Levi sinned against a single person besides a whole city. *12 Rashi on this verse says CASTRATE AN OX refers to Joseph We have already explained that Rashi takes the verses for granted but enriches our understanding by referring to other events. Since Joseph was the OX that plowed the fields in the 7 years of plenty and provided food for Jacob and his family therefore SHIMON TRIED TO CASTRATE THE OX could refer to his attempt to thwarting Josephs dreams(The dreams of the OX) *13 Rashi states ------------------------------------------ Therefore because of Judahs honesty or avoidance of mere plundering he merited during the time of Solomon universal political respect and achieved peace ------------------------------------------ |
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#