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               (C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2004
               Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel

                     Volume 22 Number 1
          For the WORD QUALITY HTML VERSION click here
               -----------------------------------
               http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h22n1.htm
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                    Produced May 19-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
Paragraphing A beautiful example of Rashi-ing from structure
Intro FAQ We begin a month project on an INTRO FAQ*1
COMMENTS
*1 Several people have asked me for a website FAQ telling
people where to go for various things.

Accordingly I am going to do one Q&A (Question and Answer)
per issue until the FAQ is ready.

IF DURING THIS PROCESS YOU WOULD LIKE A PARTICULAR
ISSUE ADDRESSED (eg How do I...) FEEL FREE TO EMAIL
ME AT rjhendel@Juno.com. (The question will be published
in your name unless you ask me to preserve anonymity)

Todays Q&A may be found in the green footnote section in
footnote *10

LONGER FOOTNOTES

*10 QUESTION: Where can I find the Rashi RULES you use.

ANSWER: On the Rashi website we use 20-30 Rules which
naturally divide into 5-10 classes.

There are at least 5 sources for the Rashi rules.

SOURCE#1: http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rules-01.htm
DESCRIPTION: A compact 6 page summary of the 6 major Rashi
rule classes with numerous examples.
UTILITY: Short; Comprehensive; Complete; Compact
I highly recommend this

SOURCE#2: http://www.Rashiyomi.com/wbook_01.pdf
DESCRIPTION: A set of 30 chapters written in the golden
style of the Rambam explaining the 30 Rashi rules.
UTILITY: Only 5 units have been written. The project
is estimated to take 5 years. Each unit is about 4
pages. The content is excellent--it is clearly and
lucidly explained with worked out exercises that can
be used in classrooms. Other units are located at

http://www.Rashiyomi.com/

The workbook series is in the center left.


SOURCE#3: http://www.RashiYomi.com/rules33.htm
DESCRIPTION: A QUICK reference of 20 Rashi rules with
brief examples and hyperlinks to more thorough discussions

An earlier version of the QUICK reference guide is
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rules22.htm
UTILITY: This is a quick reference. It is good for someone
who already knows the rules; however it is not recommended
to start with this.

SOURCE#4: http://www.Rashiyomi.com/workbook.htm
DESCRIPTION: A list of 30 Rashi rules divided into 10
classes. Each rule is hyperlinked to a more thorough
discussion with one example (A few rules still lack
links)
UTILITY: Reading the entire hyperlinked set is the
equivalant of reading 20-30 pages. But it will give
you a good idea of the rules.

SOURCE#5: http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ris.htm
DESCRIPTION: This allows hyperlinking to all Rashi
digests. Each Rashi digest contains RULE DESCRIPTIONS
in the BROWN section at the top.
UTILITY: Browsing will give you a good idea of the
rules; but they are not comprehensively laid down
compactly in one place and consequently it will
take a while before you digest all the rules.

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
26 106w Kehathite Job:TEMPLE UTENSILS-ark,table,..,altar..HOLY OBJECTS
7 871d The INVITED=The DISTINGUISHED;RAISE/LOWER a building
9 070e Gershon--with the Livni & Shimi families--had 7500 people
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
======== =============== =====================================
Nu04-12a BULLETS HOLY OBJECTS:Ark,table,..altar:HOLY
Nu04-13a BULLETS HOLY OBJECTS:Ark,table,..altar:HOLY
Nu04-15a BULLETS HOLY OBJECTS:Ark,table,..altar:HOLY
Nu04-15b BULLETS HOLY OBJECTS:Ark,table,..altar:HOLY
Nu01-16a WORD MEANINGS INVITED=distinguished;RAISE the bldng
Nu01-51a WORD MEANINGS INVITED=distinguished;RAISE the bldng
Nu03-21a GRAMMARr Gershon--Livni/Shimi familities-7500
--------- ---------------- -------------------------------------
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2003, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Nu03-21a
Nu03-21a
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04


VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
------------------
One of Rashis 6 main goals is to explain
Grammar the same way modern Grammar books do.
Grammar deals with many topics In this posting
we deal with the grammatical rules governing
sentences. Most Biblical verses are complete
sentences. However in certain rare cases TWO
Verses form ONE sentence.

EXAMPLE: Nu03-21:22
-------------------
- As for Gayrshon
- ---------who had the Livni/Shimi subfamilies
- (This is all of Gayrshon;)
- Their (total) census
- (of all males at least one month)
- was 7500 people

In other words Rashi sees this as a complex
sentence with several parenthetical clauses
The main theme is that Gayrshon had 7500
people; a subtheme is that the 7500 people
were grouped into the Livni and Shimi
subfamilies.
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: GRAMMAR
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS MULTI-VERSE SENTENCES
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #9
SEE BELOW LIST070e
List of clauses in Nu03-21:22
LIST070e
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of clauses in       Nu03-21:22
VERSE TEXT
Nu03-21 GAYRSHON had
Nu03-21 The Livni,Shimi families
Nu03-21 (This is GAYRSHON;)
Nu03-22 and their total census
Nu03-22 (of all males at least 1 month)
Nu03-22 was 7500 people
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Nu04-12a
RASHIS COVERED: Nu04-12a Nu04-13a Nu04-15a Nu04-15b
Nu04-12a
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04


SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
The BULLET method refers both to
- use of PARAGRAPH structure to indicate content
- use of BOLD, ITALICS, UNDERLINE etc to indicate meaning

A paragraph with a THEME followed by a BULLETED list of
DETAILS invites Rashi comments that explain the distinctness
of each detail as well as the groupings of the bulleted items
into subgroups.


EXAMPLE 1 -- Nu04
-----------------
Nu04-04    Kehathites are tasked with the TEMPLE OBJECTS
Nu04-05:06 ---- The Ark and curtain
Nu04-07:08 ---- The Table and utensils
Nu04-09:10 ---- The Candellabrah and utensils
Nu04-11:12 ---- The Golden altar and utensils
Nu04-13:14 ---- The Copper Altar and utensils
Nu04-15    Kehathites tasked with the HOLY and its UTENSILS

Rashi
-----
The bulleted list clearly suggests that ALTAR in Nu04-13:14
refers to the COPPER altar. The bulleted list also suggests that
the utensils mentioned in Nu04-12 are the Golden altar
utensils. the bulleted list so suggests because we assume
all items distinct. Similarly the bulleted list suggests
that HOLY refers to eg the ARK and ALTARS while UTENSILS
refers to the TABLE and CANDELLABRAH. Again all this is
inferred from the THEME-BULLETS-THEME structure of the list.
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: BULLETS
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS EMPHASIS METHODS
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #26
SEE BELOW LIST106w
List of items in Nu04 -- The Holy Temple Objects
LIST106w
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of items in         Nu04 -- The Holy Temple Objects
VERSE PARAGRAPH Text of item in verse
Nu04-04 GENERAL Kehathites are tasked with the TEMPLE OBJECTS
Nu04-05:06 BULLET ---- The Ark and curtain
Nu04-07:08 BULLET ---- The Table and utensils
Nu04-09:10 BULLET ---- The Candellabrah and utensils
Nu04-11:12 BULLET ---- The Golden altar and utensils*1
Nu04-13:14 BULLET ---- The Copper Altar and utensils*2
Nu04-15 GENERAL Kehathites tasked with the HOLY*3 and UTENSILS*3
COMMENTS
*1 The structure implies that UTENSILS refers to the utensils
of the Golden altar  (Rashi: Nu04-12a)


*2 The assumed distinctness of the bullets suggests that
ALTAR refers to the OTHER (non-golden, copper) altar.
(Rashi Nu04-13a)

*3 The verse classifies the 5 bulleted items as HOLY vs UTENSILS
One reasonable classification scheme would be
- HOLY = Ark and Altars (Rashi: Nu04-15a)
- UTENSILS = Table and Candellabrah (Rashi: Nu04-15b)
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Nu01-16a
RASHIS COVERED: Nu01-51a Nu01-16a
Nu01-16a
(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.

Example 1 Nu01-51a
------------------
LOWERING the Temple would mean TAKING IT DOWN (English
metaphor) (Similarly RAISING the temple would mean BUILDING it)

Example 2 Nu01-16a
------------------
The INVITED people means the DISTINGUISHED people (Since
you typically INVITE distinguished people to affairs). Here
we name DISTINGUISHED by a RELATED property (frequent
INVITATION). This technique of naming is called METONOMY
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 (e.g. LOWER=take apart)
LIST871d
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of idioms using     Metonomy (eg Egypt=Egyptians)
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE METONOMY(ITEM means RELATED ITEM)
Nu01-51a LOWER Temple TAKE IT DOWN (analogy;RAISE it=BUILD it)
Nu01-16a The INVITED The DISTINGUISHED(you always invite them
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
Lv26-10b *9 Sign of PLENTY(have to remove old for nu
Lv26-04a *9 Sign of PLENTY-threshing seasn in HARVST
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.

*9 The exact verse text is
--------------------------------------------------
You will have to remove the old grain for the new
--------------------------------------------------
This means
---------------------
You will have plenty
---------------------

In other words removal of the OLD for the NEW
is simply something RELATED to PLENTY. The main
theme is plenty.

Similarly the Biblical text
------------------------------------------------------
The threshing season will bump into the harvest season
------------------------------------------------------
means
--------------------
you will have plenty
--------------------
Again the fact that we are STILL threshing when the
harvest comes is something RELATED to having plenty.
The main point is that there is PLENTY.

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 #*#*#*#*#
End of Rashi is Simple Digest
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#