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               (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
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                    Produced May 13-th, 2004

       WARNING: USE FIXED WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc.2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#
OVERVIEW OF HILIGHTS IN THIS ISSUE
(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
LIGHTNING SUMMARIES
(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
COMMENTS

LONGER FOOTNOTES

*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.
Rashis covered in this issue
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

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
Lv26-07a
(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)
LIST450O
(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
COMMENTS
*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
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)
LIST871d
(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
COMMENTS
*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.

LONGER FOOTNOTES

*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)
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Lv26-03a
RASHIS COVERED: Lv26-03a Lv26-03b
Lv26-03a
(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)
LIST450m
(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
COMMENTS
*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
Lv26-05a
(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
LIST450n
(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
COMMENTS
*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.
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
End of Rashi is Simple Digest
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#