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

                     Volume 22 Number 6
          For the WORD QUALITY HTML VERSION click here
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               http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h22n6.htm
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                    Produced June 10-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
Intro FAQ We continue 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: Many people give Rashi rules. What have
you contributed to the process that cant be found
elsewhere.

ANSWER: I emphasize the use of LISTS. The LIST of
comparable examples gives CREDIBILITY to Rashi. It
makes one believe that the Rashi rule is REAL and
NATURAL.

Here is an example. Rashi on Nu14-14a states that
EL can mean ON (It normally means TO). Thus the
Biblical verse THEY WILL SAY *TO* THIS NATION means
THEY WILL SAY *ON/CONCERNING* THIS NATION.

This is not a hard Rashi to understand. However
I present 2 LISTS on this verse. In LIST005O
I show that EL has 5 meanings TO,IN,WITH,FROM,ON
In LIST005p I bring many verses where EL has one
of these 5 meanings.

Furthermore I cite other Rishonim who agree with
Rashi-s basic idea. Finally I classify this as
an example of a SPECIAL WORD. SPECIAL WORDS are
one of the 30 Rashi rules. Rashi in fact gives
multiple meanings not only to EL but also to
other connective words like KI, GAM, ACH etc.

So there you have the RashiYomi approach: We present
lists on 3 levels
- I show that EL not only means ON but has 5 meanings
- I show that EL not only means ON in this verse
but means ON in many verses
- I show that not only EL has multiple meanings but
a variety of words have multiple meanings--I
classify this as the Rashi rule SPECIAL WORDS.

By reviewing these lists the Rashi gains CREDIBILITY
The Rashi is no longer Rashi-s opinion but rather
reflects a universal rule that all Rishonim agree with!!!

Furthermore by reviewing these LISTS the student
acquires SKILL MASTERY. After a while the student
can read verses and Rashi it without looking in Rashi
first--this is because the student has learned the
basic Rashi idea.
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
9 005O EL can mean a) TO b) ON c) IN d) WITH e) FROM--many examples
9 005p EL can mean a) TO b) ON c) IN d) WITH e) FROM--many examples
30 690j Spies travelled from SouthEast of Israel to NE to NorthWest
7 871i PLACE leader, GIVE leader, APPOINT leader, RAISE/MAKE leader
7 871d They are OUR BREAD = Its a PIECE OF CAKE =we-ll defeat them
7 871h Words meaning ALOT:PERSON OF MEASURE=tall;Son of Death....
7 910h YeHoShuA-s name means God (YEH) will save (SHUA)
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
======== =============== =====================================
Nu14-04a WORD MEANINGS IF ONLY;Joshua;Fortress;Big;Elect;...
Nu14-02a WORD MEANINGS IF ONLY;Joshua;Fortress;Big;Elect;...
Nu13-32b WORD MEANINGS IF ONLY;Joshua;Fortress;Big;Elect;...
Nu13-16a WORD MEANINGS IF ONLY;Joshua;Fortress;Big;Elect;...
Nu14-09a WORD MEANINGS IF ONLY;Joshua;Fortress;Big;Elect;...
Nu13-21a SPREADSHEETS Spies went from SouthEast to Nrthwest
Nu14-14a SPECIAL WORDS EL can TO and can mean ON/CONCERNING
Nu13-30b SPECIAL WORDS EL can TO and can mean ON/CONCERNING
--------- ---------------- -------------------------------------
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Nu14-14a
RASHIS COVERED: Nu14-14a Nu13-30b
Nu14-04a
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
One of Rashis 5 main goals is the clarification of meaning
the same way the dictionary clarifies meaning. Rashi will
frequently comment on special connective words such as IF,
BECAUSE, PERHAPS.

EXAMPLE Nu14-14a-- SPECIAL WORDS
--------------------------------
- EL can equally mean TO or ON or CONCERNING
Hence we have the verses
- Caleb quieted the people CONCERNING Moses
- If you destroy the Jews the non-jews will say
CONCERNING them that God couldnt save them
In fact EL can mean TO, ON, IN, WITH, FROM.
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: GRAMMARr
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS SPECIAL WORDS
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #9
SEE BELOW LIST005O
List of meanings of EL = TO, ON, IN, WITH, FROM
----------------------- --------------------------------------
SEE BELOW LIST005p
List of verses with Meanings of EL = TO, ON, IN, WITH, FROM
LIST005O
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of meanings of      EL = TO, ON, IN, WITH, FROM
VERSE MEAN TEXT
Nu01-01 TO God spoke TO Moses
1S04-21 ON She named her son NoHonor ON ACCOUNT of the defeat
1S17-49 ON He smote the Philistine ON his head
Lv18-18 WITH Don't take a woman WITH her sister
Gn23-19 IN They buried them IN the cave
Ez15-29 FROM You prostituted MORE THAN the Canaanites
LIST005p
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of verses with      Meanings of EL = TO, ON, IN, WITH, FROM
VERSE MEAN TEXT WHO
Nu01-01 TO God spoke TO Moses *10
2S21-01 ON*4 The famine happened ON ACCOUNT of Saul R
1S04-21 ON She named her son NoHonor ON ACCOUNT of the defeat R
Gn37-35c ON I'll go down to my grave BECAUSE of Josephs murder R
Ex06-13b ON God commanded Moses CONCERNING the Jews R
Nu14-14a ON And they will say CONCERNING this nation
Nu13-30b ON Calev quieted the nation AGAINST Moses*5 R
1S17-49 ON He smote the Philistine ON his head K
2S02-09 ON He gave him reign on Gilad and Shuri K
1S26-14 ON Who is it that calls ON (ABOUT) the King K
Gn49-29b WITH Bury me WITH (EL) my fathers R K
Lv18-18a WITH Don't take a woman WITH her sister RNK
Jo11-19 WITH They didn't make peace WITH the Jews K
2S18-27 WITH He is a good man and comes WITH good news *4 K
Gn23-19 IN They buried them IN the cave *1 NK
Ex25-21a IN And IN the ark give the Two Tablets NK
1S10-22 IN ..behold, Saul is hidden IN the utensils NK
Gn37-36 IN And the Medanim sold him IN Egypt *3 K
Jo05-03 IN Joshua circumcised them IN the ..valley K
Ez44-30 IN Give .. so you will have blessings IN your house K
Gn41-57a FROM They came to buy food FROM Joseph *2 K
Ez15-29 MORE You prostituted more than the Canaanites K
COMMENTS
*1 'Bury IN the cave' also occurs in Gn49-29
*2 RDK also suggests 'They came TO Joseph to buy food' using
an inversion of the sentence
*3 The verse (in my opinion) could also read
>The Medanim sold him TO the Egyptian (Empire)
*4 RDK points out that the preposition ON can mean both
>ACCOUNT OF / CONCERNING
>PHYSICALLY ON
RDK also gives 3 mores meanings
>ETH
>BECAUSE + ON
>B when it means WITH (But these are all covered here)

*5 In other words he quieted the people by beginning
>Is this the only thing that Moses did to us
At that point they quieted expecting to hear more complaints
He then continued
>He took us out of Egypt
>gave us the Manna
>So he can help us conquer Israel


LONGER FOOTNOTES

*10 This list presents meanings of the word EL.
The SOURCES for these meanings come from the
- Ramban on this verse;
- Rashi on a variety of verses (you have to laboriously
read thru all Rashis);
- RDK in the book of ROOTS.

The last column in the table, entitled, WHO, cross references the     Rishon involved
--R=Rashi,
--N=RambaN,
--K=RadacK--thus "RNK"

Here is an example of our notation:The RNK on
Lv18-18 means that ll 3 Rishonim, Rashi, Radack
and Ramban use Lv18-18 as an example  that EL can mean WITH}
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Nu14-04a
RASHIS COVERED: Nu14-04a Nu13-32b Nu13-16a Nu14-09a
Nu14-04a
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04


SUCCINT SUMMARY
---------------
One of Rashis main goals was the explanation of meaning
the same way a dictionary explains meaning. Rashi had
a variety of vehicles to explain meaning. Rashi frequently
explained IDIOMS.

EXAMPLE Nu14-04a -- IDIOMS
--------------------------
We list 5 idioms for APPOINTING a leader
- PLACE leader,
- GIVE leader,
- APPOINT leader;
- RAISE leader;
- MAKE a leader)

EXAMPLE Nu13-32b Nu14-09a -- GOOD EXAMPLE METHOD
------------------------------------------------
- People of MEASURE = people who measures BIG
- SON of DEATH = will die SOON
- Person of SKILLS = VERY skilled;
- PERSON OF LIPS=smooth talking-effect of his lips is BIG
- Chidren of PROPHETS = VERY knowledgeable of prophecy

The Bible says THEY ARE OUR BREAD. This is equivalant
to the English Metaphor A PIECE OF CAKE. Notice how
BREAD/CAKE are GOOD EXAMPLES of things that are easy
to consume.

Notice how in the above examples we name an item by
a related activity. For example PIECE OF BREAD refers
to EASY TO DESTROY/CONSUME since BREAD is
also EASY to CONSUME. Here EASYNESS TO CONSUME
is named by BREAD which has EASYNESS TO CONSUME
as one of its properties. Such naming by related
items is called METONOMY and SNECHDOCHE.

EXAMPLE Nu13-16a - FOUR LETTER ROOTS
------------------------------------
Joshua = God (YAH) will SAVE YOU (shua)
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: WORD MEANINGS
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS 2-4 Letter roots
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #7
SEE BELOW LIST910h
List of 4 letter roots=sum of 2 letter roots
--------------------- ------------------------------------
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS 8 Methods of Naming
SEE BELOW LIST871d
List of idioms using metonomy(they-re our BREAD=Piece of CAKE)
--------------------- ------------------------------------
SEE BELOW LIST871i
List of words meaning APPOINT A LEADER (Give,place,raise,make)
--------------------- ------------------------------------
SEE BELOW LIST871h
List of words meaning ALOT (son of,person of,student of..)
LIST871h
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of words meaning    ALOT (son of a,person of,student of..)
VERSE Biblical Phrase Meaning of phrase-relation to ALOT
Nu13-32b People of MEASURE People who measures BIG
1S20-31 SON of DEATH will die SOON
Pr31-10 Person of SKILLS VERY skilled;
Jb11-02 PERSON OF LIPS smooth talking effect of lips is BIG
2K02-03 Chidren of PROPHETS VERY knowledgeable of prophecy
LIST871i
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of words meaning    APPOINT A LEADER (Give,place,raise,make)
VERSE Language for APPOINTING a leader
Dt17-14 PLACE leader
Nu14-04a GIVE leader
2K25-23 APPOINT leader
Lv04-22 RAISE leader
JU11-08 BE a leader
LIST871d
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of idioms using     Metonomy (eg Egypt=Egyptians)
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE METONOMY(ITEM means RELATED ITEM)
Nu14-09a Our BREAD Our BREAD=Piece of CAKE(easy to comsume)
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)
LIST910h
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

List of 4 letter roots=sum of 2 letter roots
4 LETTER ROOT MEANING 1st 2 LETTERS LAST 2 LETTERS
YeHoShuA*8 God will Sav God (YAH) Will Save(SHA)
AVRAYCH*1*4 Good leader Father Gentle/soft
MMZR*1 Illegitimate Blemished (From a)Stranger
ARAL Angel Lion (of) God
BLAD Except Without (BLi) Others
BRZL Iron Strong (BRi) Branch (ZLZL)
ZLAF Fright Worthless (and) Fatigued*3
SRAF Branches A Pot (ie nest) (for) Birds *2
PANAYACH Insightful Brings out(POA) The Hidden(NAX)*5
ChachLiL Intoxicating Swirling(LL) the palate(XC)*6
SnaPir Fish fins Shrub like(SN) used to fly*7
COMMENTS
*1 There are two approaches to 4 letter roots. Sometimes we
try and see them as 2 two letter roots and sometimes we try
and see them as a 3 letter root with an extra letter. Thus
ASTR is explained in the Talmud as ASR. Rav Hirsch stuck to
the 3 letter approach even in obvious cases--thus he takes
MMZR from MZR a rare word in Job.

Similarly Rashi cites a controversy on AVRAYCH:
-- A double 2 letter approach would yield:
AVRAYCH=Gentle(Rc) Father(Av)
-- A 3 letter approach would yield:
AVRAYCH=Kneel (Brch) to me (Aleph)


*2 Note the poetic lisence in e.g.
SRAF =  BIRD(AF) POT (SiR)= Something for Bird nests
This type of small poetic lisence is common in etymologies
and makes their study difficult

*3  Note the finer nuances in some translations. For example ZLAF
occurs rarely in TNACH and its meaning is inferred from its
context. The RDQ in his book of ROOTS says its meaning is SOME
TYPE OF FRIGHT....this could go well with the verse cited by
RDK: "fright has overtaken me"

But perhaps a BETTER translation is
feeling worthless and tired So that the verse with
ZLAF would mean WORTHLESSNESS & FATIGUE HAS OVERTAKEN ME
Then again perhaps there is no way to see which translation
is better

*4 Rashi Gn41-43b

*5 Rashi Gn41-45

*6 Rashi Gn49-12a

*7 The following may help:
- PRCh means to FLY; in connection with fish it could
refer to swimming throughout the water

- SN can mean THORNBUSH or BRANCHES (Songs07-09). I
therefore suggest it means SHRUB like.

So SN-PR would refer to SHRUB-LIKE(SN) protrusions by
which a fish FLYES (PR) - SNPR.

*8 Rashi Nu13-16a
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Nu13-21a
Nu13-21a
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04


SUCCINT SUMMARY
---------------
Sometimes Rashi-s goal was to clarify something computationally
complicated. For lack of a better term we call this the
spreadsheet method. The spreadsheet method includes
- using a spreadsheet to illustrate numerical calculations
- clarifying a compilcated geometric design
- reviewing an audit

EXAMPLE Nu13-21a
----------------
Nu13-21 states THE SPIES WENT FROM TZIN...TO CHAMATH
Rashi: (Citing other verses) TZIN is in the SouthEast of
Israel while CHAMATH is in the NORTHWEST. Thus the spies
journey on a map looked like a mirror image of an L
(The went on the bottom of the L from SE to SW and then
went UP the L from SW to NW)
ITEM DETAIL
RASHI RULE CLASS: SPREADSHEETS
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS DIAGRAMS
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #30
SEE BELOW LIST690j
Description of Diagram Of Spy journey thru Israel
LIST690j
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-04

Description of Diagram   Of Spy journey thru Israel
City on Spy Journey(Nu13-21) Where located Proof of location
Tzin Desert SouthEast*1 Nu34-03
Chamath NorthWest*1 Nu34-07:08
COMMENTS
*1 So Spy journey looks like a mirror image of L. First
Spies travel FROM SE corner of Israel to SW corner
along the BOTTOM Of the L

Then spies travel UP from SW corner to NW corner
along leg of L
*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
End of Rashi is Simple Digest
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2004, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#