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               Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel

                     Volume 22 Number 10
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                    Produced June 23-rd, 2004

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#*#*# (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
Intro FAQ We continue a month project on an INTRO FAQ*1
SYMBOLISM SYMBOLISM Of the RED HEIFFER
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: What is CHUMASH? What is RASHI? What does this
website contribute?

ANSWER:
CHUMASH refers to the Pentateuch--the five books of
Moses--also known as the Torah.

RASHI refers to a midieval commentator. Unlike his
predecessors, Rashi was the first commentator to
make comments on Biblical phrases (Rashis predecessors
made comments on whole chapters and themes).

You can buy CHUMASH and RASHI sets in most conventional
book stores. There are many good English translations
of Rashi such as the Sharfman and Silberstein translation.

EXAMPLE OF A RASHI COMMENT
Gn01-03 states that GOD CREATED LIGHT. Rashi comments
-----------------------------------------------------
Even here we need homiletic material to understand
the text. The LIGHT that God created refers to the
hidden light that is kept as a treasure for the
righteous in the next world.
-----------------------------------------------------

WHAT HAS THIS WEBSITE CONTRIBUTED
We have contributed to understanding Rashi
- by restricting ourselves to 30 Rashi principles
- by classifying each Rashi as following some principle
- by showing the intuitiveness and plausibility of each rule
- by presenting lists of comparable examples of each rule.

Thus the above Rashi is classified as using the
SYMBOLIC rule. The literal interpretation of Genesis 1
is chaotic and inconsistent (On the one hand God created
the world while on the other hand the world was already
there and formless and void with water on it). Therefore
we are obligated to interpret Genesis 1 as symbolic.

I have shown in my article GENESIS ONE SPEAKS ABOUT
THE CREATION OF PROPHECY NOT THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
that GENESIS one describes how God created prophecy.

Hence we interpret the Rashi above as follows
-------------------------------------------
We know that Genesis 1 is speaking about the
creation of prophecy not the creation of the world
Hence we are justified in interpreting the creation
of light symbolically. LIGHT here refers to the light
of PROPHECY -- in the future world people will bask
in Gods prophetic light Thus GOD CREATED LIGHT means
God created mans capacity for PROPHETIC REVELATION
----------------------------------------------------

By going to the Rashi website one can find other
examples of symbolic interpretation. Similarly one
can find the "rules of symbolic interpretation" spelled
out in my article which can be found at url
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gen-1.htm
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
29 975L RED HEIFFER ritual symbolically atones for GOLDEN CALF sin
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
======== =============== =====================================
Nu19-02l SYMBOLISM RED HEIFFER atones for GOLD CALF
Nu19-02m SYMBOLISM RED HEIFFER atones for GOLD CALF
Nu19-02n SYMBOLISM RED HEIFFER atones for GOLD CALF
Nu19-03a SYMBOLISM RED HEIFFER atones for GOLD CALF
Nu19-03k SYMBOLISM RED HEIFFER atones for GOLD CALF
Nu19-05k SYMBOLISM RED HEIFFER atones for GOLD CALF
Nu19-06k SYMBOLISM RED HEIFFER atones for GOLD CALF
--------- ---------------- -------------------------------------
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Nu19-02l
RASHIS COVERED:  Nu19-02l Nu19-02m Nu19-02n Nu19-03a Nu19-03k
Nu19-05k Nu19-06k
Nu19-02l
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04


SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
An advanced Rashi method is the use of symbolism to explain
Biblical chapters. The general guidelines for symbolic
interpretation are compactly presented in my essay GENESIS
ONE SPEAKS ABOUT THE CREATION OF PROPHECY NOT THE CREATION
OF THE WORLD which may found at URL
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gen-1.htm

EXAMPLE Nu19-02l*10
-------------------
1st A General introduction might help
------------------------------------------------------
The idolatry prohibition Dt04-16:19 prohibits
- idols of material objects
- idols of animals
- idols of astral objects
- idols of angels and prophetic images (Ex20-20)

Hence the famous saying that the Golden calf idol was a replica
of the OX FIRE vision in Ezekiel 1--in other words the Jews
were worshipping a prophetic image. This is prohibited and
is idolatrous.*10

Very often the WORSHIP of prophetic visions took the form
of sexual mis-interpretation We see this explicitly in the
GOLDEN CALF episode---the people worshipping it took the
idol party as an occasion for FOOLING AROUND (Ex32-06)

The job of the RED HEIFFER was to atone for these erroneous
thoughts.
------------------------------------------------------

Let us now analyze the symbolic items bit by bit.

Note that the Jews made a gold MALE CALF. This symbolized
the sexual misinterpretation aluded to above.
- MALE symbolizes ACTIVITY vs PASSIVITY
- CALF symbolizes the TEENAGE years.
Thus the GOLD CALF symbolized sexual virility.

This is ATONED for by bringing a FEMALE COW.
- COW is an established person--the emphasis in adults
in not on sex but on societal function...here the cow
FUNCTIONS as a coworker to man in the fields So too
we must be coworkers with God in his field of work.

- FEMALE symbolizes passivity and receptivity. We must
not INITIATE our own ideas of what God wants but
rather be RECEPTIVE (Female) to what GOD ORDERS US
TO DO (COW=COworker)

-  In summary: RECEPTIVITY TO GODS REQUEST FOR COWORK (Red
heiffer) atones for MISINTERPRETATION OF SEXUAL VIRILITY
(Gold Calf)

-  GOLD is the color of glitter and showing off (Which is
what many people who sin act like).

RED is the color of sin. We must affirm that the misinterpretation
of prophecy as referring to sexual activity is a sin

-  All sacrifices had to be UNBLEMISHED. This symbolizes
that our being a coworker with God is not just an IDEA
of service but rather a total COMMITTMENT.

-  The RED HEIFFER is one that never had a YOKE. This symbolizes
READINESS FOR THE NEW. We must be ready to do any task that
God orders us whether we are already trained or not.

-  Recall that Aaron made the Golden calf. This was a sin
of establishment. Aaron saw CHUR murdered for protesting
the idol. Aaron reasoned that since he was the establishment
if he died no one would check what was going on. Therefore
Aaron made believe he wanted the calf so as to create checks
against it. This was a sin of ESTABLISHMENT. It is atoned
by having the VICE PRIEST (vs the HIGH PRIEST) perform the
RED HEIFFER ceremony.

-  3000 people died as punishment for worshipping the Golden
calf. These people presumably came from all walks of
life. They could be
- leaders (like the CEDAR tree)
- simple people (like the hyssop)
- groups of people (wool from SHEEP died with WORM blood)
Each group had to atone on what it did. For examples
of CEDAR and HYSSOP symbolizing the spectrum of human
personality see Ju09-06:20)*12
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: SYMBOLISM
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS SYMBOLISM
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #29
SEE BELOW LIST975L
List of symbolism in RED HEIFFER RITUAL (Nu19)
COMMENTS

LONGER FOOTNOTES

*10 A word about notation: Rashi-s notation is a bit different
here.

- For example on verse Nu19-02 there are 4 Rashis.
- We number these Rashis a,b,c,d (Nu19-02a etc)

However after verse 23 Rashi presents a symbolic
interpretation AND STARTS THE NUMBERING CYCLE OVER
WITH VERSE 2.

- For example on the second Nu19-02 (the one after verse
23), Rashi has 4 comments--
- We number these 4 comments k,l,m,n. The idea here is
that we ADD 10 (Since j is the 10th letter of the alphabet
therefore the new Rashi -a- becomes Rashi 10+a or k The
new Rashi -b- becomes Rashi 10+b or -l-. etc.
LIST975L
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of symbolism in     RED HEIFFER RITUAL (Nu19)
GOLD CALF SYMBOLIZES... RED HEIFFR SYMBOLIZES...
male calf Idol worship:sexual virility Female cow service to God*1
Gold Sexual virility=sin of glitter RED color of sin*2
---- ---- NoBlemish Perfect service*3
---- ---- No-work Ready for new*4
Arons sin Establishment sin Elazar Non establishmnt*5
Burn calf Calf isnt god but dust burn cow Function service*6
3000 dead Leaders,simple people groups Hyssop... 3 people types*7
COMMENTS
*1 A General introduction might help
------------------------------------------------------
The idolatry prohibition Dt04-16:19 prohibits
- idols of material objects
- idols of animals
- idols of astral objects
- idols of angels and prophetic images (Ex20-20)

Hence the famous saying that the Golden calf idol was a replica
of the OX FIRE vision in Ezekiel 1--in other words the Jews
were worshipping a prophetic image. This is prohibited and
is idolatrous.*10

Very often the WORSHIP of prophetic visions took the form
of sexual mis-interpretation We see this explicitly in the
GOLDEN CALF episode---the people worshipping it took the
idol party as an occasion for FOOLING AROUND (Ex32-06)

The job of the RED HEIFFER was to atone for these erroneous
thoughts.
------------------------------------------------------

Let us now analyze the symbolic items bit by bit.

Note that the Jews made a gold MALE CALF. This symbolized
the sexual misinterpretation aluded to above.
- MALE symbolizes ACTIVITY vs PASSIVITY
- CALF symbolizes the TEENAGE years.
Thus the GOLD CALF symbolized sexual virility.

This is ATONED for by bringing a FEMALE COW.
- COW is an established person--the emphasis in adults
in not on sex but on societal function...here the cow
FUNCTIONS as a coworker to man in the fields So too
we must be coworkers with God in his field of work.

- FEMALE symbolizes passivity and receptivity. We must
not INITIATE our own ideas of what God wants but
rather be RECEPTIVE (Female) to what GOD ORDERS US
TO DO (COW=COworker)

In summary: RECEPTIVITY TO GODS REQUEST FOR COWORK (Red
heiffer) atones for MISINTERPRETATION OF SEXUAL VIRILITY
(Gold Calf)

*2 GOLD is the color of glitter and showing off (Which is
what many people who sin act like).

RED is the color of sin. We must affirm that the misinterpretation
of prophecy as referring to sexual activity is a sin

*3 All sacrifices had to be UNBLEMISHED. This symbolizes
that our being a coworker with God is not just an IDEA
of service but rather a total COMMITTMENT.

*4 The RED HEIFFER is one that never had a YOKE. This symbolizes
READINESS FOR THE NEW. We must be ready to do any task that
God orders us whether we are already trained or not.

*5 Recall that Aaron made the Golden calf. This was a sin
of establishment. Aaron saw CHUR murdered for protesting
the idol. Aaron reasoned that since he was the establishment
if he died no one would check what was going on. Therefore
Aaron made believe he wanted the calf so as to create checks
against it. This was a sin of ESTABLISHMENT. It is atoned
by having the VICE PRIEST (vs the HIGH PRIEST) perform the
RED HEIFFER ceremony.*11

*6 3000 people died as punishment for worshipping the Golden
calf. These people presumably came from all walks of
life. They could be
- leaders (like the CEDAR tree)
- simple people (like the hyssop)
- groups of people (wool from SHEEP died with WORM blood)
Each group had to atone on what it did. For examples
of CEDAR and HYSSOP symbolizing the spectrum of human
personality see Ju09-06:20)*12

LONGER FOOTNOTES

*10 In passing we note that very often people receiving a
prophetic vision feel as if they have DIED (cf. Dt05-21:23)
Hence the RED HEIFFER atones on death--since prophecy to some
minds is associated with death.

That prophecy has nothing to do with death is explicitly
stated in the Bible (Ju13-22:23). Thus
this point of view associating DEATH and PROPHETIC VISIONS
is a misleading one and is atoned for by the RED HEIFFER

*11 This is an actual law-- The VICE PRIEST not the HIGH
PRIEST performs the RED HEIFFER ritual (Nu19-03a)

*12 I am slightly deviating from Rashis literal language
here. Rashi states
----------------------------------------------------
The 3 items (Hyssop, cedar, worm died wool) correspond
to the 3 thousand people who died The high people
(cedar) must lower themselves like hyssops.
----------------------------------------------------

We however have interpreted the symbolism as follows
----------------------------------------------------
The 3 items correspond to 3 personality types (High=
cedar, low=hyssop, groups = worm died wool). These
3 personality types were present in the 3000 people
who died as punishment for worshipping the gold idol
----------------------------------------------------

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End of Rashi is Simple Digest
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