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 21 Number 24 For the WORD QUALITY HTML VERSION click here ----------------------------------- http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h21n24.htm ----------------------------------- Produced May 13-th, 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 | |
CLIMAX | Several Examples of the CLIMAX TECHNIQUE |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | |||
Lighting summary of Rashis with emphasis on Rashi rules*10 | |||
# | LIST | BRIEF SUMMARY OF RASHI EMPHASIZING USE OF RASHI RULES | |
25 | 450m | The Performance hierarchy: LEARN--SAFEGUARD--PERFORM | |
25 | 450n | Food will EXIST(Grow)--QUANTITY(plenty of)-QUALITY(digestible) | |
25 | 450o | CASUALTIES-abnormal victory-CASUALTIES(eg enemy has accidents) | |
7 | 871d | REMOVE OLD HARVEST FOR NEW indicates PLENTY OF PRODUCE | |
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*10 The explanation of the list should be clear - The first column gives the NUMBER of the RASHI RULE used All Rashi rules may be found with examples at http://wwww.Rashiyomi.com/workbook.htm - The second column gives the LIST ID (eg LIST210z) which contains many examples of a particular Rashi technique and includes the example presented in the third column - The third column gives a lightning summary of the Rashi with particular emphasis on the Rashi rule used. |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | |||
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VERSE | RULE | BRIEF DESCRIPTION | |
======== | =============== | ===================================== | |
Lv26-03a | CLIMAX | LEARN-SAFEGUARD-PERFORM | |
Lv26-03b | CLIMAX | LEARN-SAFEGUARD-PERFORM | |
Lv26-05a | CLIMAX | EXISTENCE of food--QUANTITY--QUALITY | |
Lv26-05b | CLIMAX | EXISTENCE of food--QUANTITY--QUALITY | |
Lv26-07a | STYLE | PURSUAL--abnormal victory-PURSUAL | |
Lv26-08c | STYLE | PURSUAL--abnormal victory-PURSUAL | |
Lv26-10b | WORD MEANING | REMOVE OLD HARVEST FOR NEW=Plenty | |
--------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------- |
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Lv26-07a
RASHIS COVERED: Lv26-07a Lv26-08c
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||
SUCCINCT SUMMARY ---------------- One of Rashis 5 main goals is to indicate paragraph structure. One method of paragraph structure is to use the THEME-DETAIL-THEME style. EXAMPLE Lv26-07:08 ------------------------- Lv26-07:08 has the general theme of DEFEAT OF ENEMIES. This GENERAL theme is developed as follows - GENERAL Your enemies will fall before you - DETAIL ----------------- 5 will pursue 100 - DETAIL ----------------- 100 will pursue 10000 - GENERAL Your enemies will fall before you. Rashis contribution here is to perceive the paragraph as a whole. The GENERAL theme is re-interpreted consistent with the DETAILS of development. Hence we have the following Rashis --------------------------------------------------- - Enemies will fall before you UNEXPECTEDLY - The enemy will have casualties in their own camp --------------------------------------------------- Here, Rashi takes the details--5 will pursue 100, 100 will pursue 10000--and interprets the details as indicating UNEXPECTED ABNORMAL victory. Rashi then gives one example of UNEXPECTED victory---the enemy having casualties by accidents in their own camp. The important point to emphasize here is not the details of the Rashi comment but rather the general approach of reinterpreting the GENERAL THEME in light of the DETAILS | ||
ITEM | DETAIL | |
RASHI RULE CLASS: | STYLE | |
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS | GENERAL-DETAIL-GENERAL | |
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE | #25 | |
SEE BELOW | LIST450O | |
List of clauses in | Lv26-07:08 (Defeat of enemies) |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | |||
List of clauses in Lv26-07:08 (Defeat of enemies) | |||
ITEM | TEXT OF GENERAL THEME | TEXT OF DETAILS | |
GENERAL | Your enemies will fall before you | *1 | |
DETAIL | 5 will pursue 100 | ||
DETAIL | 100 will pursue 10000 | ||
GENERAL | Your enemies will fall before you | *1 | |
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*1 Rashi perceives the paragraph as a whole. Hence Rashi reinterprets ENEMIES WILL FALL BEFORE YOU in light of the details FIVE WILL PURSUE A HUNDRED. Rashi therefore reinterprets: YOUR ENEMIES WILL FALL BEFORE YOU IN AN UNEXPECTED MANNAR Rashi further gives an example of UNEXPECTED VICTORY: For example, if the enemy has casualties within their own camp. |
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Lv26-10b
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||
SUCCINCT SUMMARY ---------------- One of Rashis 5 main goals is the explanation of meaning the same way a dictionary explains meaning. Rashi had a variety of vehicles to explain meaning. Lv26-10b -------- God promises us that WE SHALL HAVE TO REMOVE THE OLD HARVEST IN ORDER TO STORE THE NEW HARVEST. Such a promise does not seem meaningful until we realize that this relates to a situation of PLENTY--when we have PLENTY we might for example remove the OLD for the NEW. Thus the verse is understood as really saying that we will have PLENTY. This is an example of the poetic technique of METONOMY -- indicating meaning by related items. | ||
ITEM | DETAIL | |
RASHI RULE CLASS: | WORD MEANINGS | |
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS | 8 Methods of Naming | |
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE | #7 | |
SEE BELOW | LIST871d | |
List of idioms using | Metonomy (eg Remove old for new=plenty) |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | |||
List of idioms using Metonomy (eg Egypt=Egyptians) | |||
VERSE | TEXT OF VERSE | METONOMY(ITEM means RELATED ITEM) | |
Lv26-10b | old for new | Sign of PLENTY(have to remove old for nu | |
Lv26-04 | thresh->harvst | Sign of PLENTY-threshing seasn in HARVST | |
Gn25-22e | Seek GOD | Seek PROPHETIC ADVICE of God*8 *10 | |
Ex18-15b | Seek GOD | Seek PROPHETIC ADVICE of God*8 *10 | |
Ex18-09a | He SHARPED*11 | Mirth at SHARP word or TWINGED from pain | |
Ex14-24a | MORNING WATCH | Guard Duty at DAWN*7 | |
Ex14-25c | EGYPT-the land | Egyptians-the people*6 | |
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 *6 This is a common metonomy that occurs in English (eg America-Americans etc). Rashi is cute here: He EXPLAINS the metonomy ---------------------------------------------- When the soldiers die at sea their loved ones back in Egypt also suffer and in effect are smitten by God ---------------------------------------------- Rashi does not contradict the metonomy--he simply shows why it is convenient to identify the LAND and PEOPLE. *7 The night was traditionally divided into three times of Guard duty. The GUARD DUTY near dawn was called the MORNING WATCH (Cf Ju07-19 for confirmation that there was a BEGINNING WATCH, MIDDLE WATCH and DAWN WATCH) *8 The phrases SEEK GOD, SEEK IN GOD, occur in several verses and denote SEEKING ADVICE OF GOD. Compare for example (1S09-09, 1K22-08 or even 2K01-03 (Seeking advice of idolatrous gods). For alternate meanings see note *10. | |||
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*10 On Gn25-22e there is a delightful Ramban Rashi controversy Ramban points out that SEEK GOD can mean PRAYER. Rashi holds it means PROPHETIC ADVICE. I brought about a dozen verses which clearly show that - SEEK GOD can and does refer to PRAYER - SEEK GOD can and does refer to PROPHETIC ADVICE - SEEK GOD can and does refer to BOTH Prayer/Prophecy Hence I regard Ramban not as disagreeing with Rashi but rather as complementing him. For further details see http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn25-22d.htm *11 Clearly the Hebrew YeeChad comes from the root CHAD which means SHARP. Rashi brings two opinions - It means HE SHARPED (Mirthed at a SHARP WORD) - It means HE TWINGED (Upset at PAINFUL news) But Radack brings STRONG support that CHAD means mirth. Indeed, in other verses, CHAD does mean MIRTH (As in eg Neh08-10 or P021-07). This controversy between Rashi and Radack can be resolved Grammatically. The grammatical form of VaYeeChad (Chirik, Patach) could come from either - INTENSE MODE of 1-2-Hey roots(Cheth-Daleth-Hey) or - PASSIVE MODE of 1-2-2 roots(Cheth-Daleth-Daleth) In the intense mode CHAD means MIRTH(Radack) But in the PASSIVE MODE it would correspond to RECEIVING (PASSIVE!) a SHARP twinge at hearing bad news. Hence the controversy is on the root and mode of the word. This explanation makes both viewpoints respectable since Rashi would concede that CHEDVAH which definitely comes from Cheth-Daleth-Hey means MIRTH; Rashi could still maintain that Yee-Chad means TWINGED since it comes from a different root Rashi also points out that the translation TWINGED would show that despite Jethros happiness he still felt sorry for the Egyptians thus showing the conflict between his past(non-jew) and future (friend of Jews) |
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VERSE: Lv26-03a
RASHIS COVERED: Lv26-03a Lv26-03b
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||
SUCCINCT SUMMARY ---------------- One of Rashis 5 main goals is to indicate paragraph structure. One method of demonstrating paragraph structure is to use the DETAIL-THEME style. Another method is to CLIMATICALLY build up a theme. EXAMPLE Lv26-03a ---------------- If you - LEARN (Literally WALK in my statutes) - SAFEGUARD (literally WATCH my commandments) - PERFORM (literally DO) Thus the Torah sketches the PERFORMANCE Hierarchy - 1st LEARN, then SAFEGUARD and finally PERFORM. Note: Rashi is NOT asserting that WALK means LEARN and that WATCH means SAFEGUARD. Rather BECAUSE the verse uses three identical phrases Rashi feels justified in using this THREENESS to indicate a HIERARCHY(even if the individual words by themselves dont indicate it). That is, the CLIMAX has intrinsic interpretive value. This is an important aspect of CLIMAX--it creates new meaning by ASSUMING climax. | ||
ITEM | DETAIL | |
RASHI RULE CLASS: | RABBI ISHMAEL STYLE | |
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS | GENERALIZED | |
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE | #25 | |
SEE BELOW | LIST450m | |
CLIMAX-performance | Lv26-03(LEARN-SAFEGUARD-WATCH) |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||
CLIMAX-performance Lv26-03(LEARN-SAFEGUARD-WATCH) | ||
ITEM IN PERFORMANCE HIERARCHY | TEXT OF VERSE | |
LEARN | If you WALK in my law*1 | |
SAFEGUARD | and WATCH it | |
PERFORM | and PERFORM it | |
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*1 Note: Rashi is NOT asserting that WALK means LEARN and that WATCH means SAFEGUARD. Rather BECAUSE the verse uses three identical phrases Rashi feels justified in using this THREENESS to indicate a HIERARCHY(even if the individual words by themselves dont indicate it). That is, the CLIMAX has intrinsic interpretive value. This is an important aspect of CLIMAX--it creates new meaning by ASSUMING climax. |
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Lv26-05a
RASHIS COVERED: Lv26-05a Lv26-05b
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | ||
SUCCINCT SUMMARY ---------------- One of Rashis 5 main goals is to indicate paragraph structure. One method of demonstrating paragraph structure is to use the DETAIL-THEME style. Another method is to CLIMATICALLY build up a theme. EXAMPLE Lv26-05a ---------------- The GENERAL theme of Lv26-04:05 is BLESSING. This GENERAL theme is climactically developed as follows - EXISTENCE: You will HAVE food (Lv26-04) - QUANTITY: You will have PLENTY of food - QUALITY: The food will be of good QUALITY This climax sequence -- EXISTENCE-QUANTITY-QUALITY -- helps us appreciate the individual verse segments Thus the literal Biblical phrase ------------------------------------ The THRESHING-HARVEST-SEEDING will bump into each other ------------------------------------ is interpreted as a SIGN of --------------------------- PLENTY OF PRODUCE AND WORK --------------------------- Similarly the literal Biblical phrase ----------------------- YOU WILL EAT TO SAIETY ----------------------- is interpreted (because of the climax sequence) as --------------------------------- THE FOOD WILL BE OF GOOD QUALITY --------------------------------- | ||
ITEM | DETAIL | |
RASHI RULE CLASS: | RABBI ISHMAEL STYLE | |
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS | GENERALIZED | |
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE | #25 | |
SEE BELOW | LIST450n | |
CLIMAX-Food harvest | Lv26-04:05-FOOD-PLENTY-GOOD QUALITY |
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04 | |||
CLIMAX-Food harvest Lv26-04:05-FOOD-PLENTY-GOOD QUALITY | |||
Interpretation | Literal Biblical text | CLIMAX | |
You will have food | Land gives produce... | EXISTENCE | |
You will have plenty | Threshing bumps into harvest | QUANTITY | |
Food,of good quality | You will eat to saiety*1 | QUALITY*1 | |
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*1 Rashi is NOT asserting that YOU WILL EAT TO SAIETY must mean FOOD OF GOOD QUALITY. Rather Rashi IS asserting that BECAUSE OF THE ASSUMED CLIMACTIC DEVELOPMENT, we therefore re-interpret the verse, to be consistent with this assumed CLIMACTIC DEVELOPMENT. Hence EATING TO SAIETY is reinterpreted to refer to mean GOOD QUALITY--the reason for this minor reinterpretation is desire for consistency with the idea of climactic development. |
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