SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
One of Rashis 5 main goals was the resolution of contradiction
We call this the RASHI RULE OF CONTRADICTION.

Rashi had a variety of methods to resolve contradiction. Very
often the CONTRADICTION could be resolved by viewing the
contradictory properties as applying to TWO CASES. We call
this the Rashi SUBRULE of TWO CASES.

EXAMPLE Lv19-20e vs Lv20-10
---------------------------
Compare the contradiction in the following verses:
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- Lv19-20e Sleeping with engaged maid, NO DEATH
- Lv20-10  Sleeping with married woman, YES DEATH
-------------------------------------------------

Rashi elegantly resolves the contradiction by
citing Lv19-20
----------------------------------------------
The engaged maid adulterers are NOT put to death
because, as the verse says, SHE HAS NOT BEEN FREED
By contrast the adulterers (among free people) are
put to death
-----------------------------------------------

EXAMPLE: Lv19-13c Dt24-15
----------------------------------------------
Compare the apparent contradiction in the following verses
-------------------------------------------------------
- Lv19-13c the wages of a laborer shall not stay OVERNIGHT
- Dt24-15 ..give the laborer his wages by SUNSET
--------------------------------------------------------

Rashi (greatly paraphrased)
------------------------------------------------
There is no supporting verse to suggest the two cases
that resolve this contradiction. We therefore have
to use logic.
- A day laborer should be paid SOMETIME during the night
The owner is given time AFTER COMPLETION OF THE JOB
to seek out money to pay him
- Similarly a NIGHT LABORER should be paid by SUNSET
of the following day: Again, giving time to the owner
to find wages
- The underlying principle is that on short term labor
time is given to the owner to find wages after revuing
the completion of the labor. (For month and week labor
the wages must be given at the end of the period)
- Interestingly, I have pointed out that this is one
of those laws where Rashi is logical and elaborate
while the Rambam in his great code does not give
reasons and is rather terse
--------------------------------------------------

LIST510a below summarizes other cases where Biblical
contradictions are resolved by 2 cases.

List of verses with      Contradiction resolved by 2 cases

SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
One of Rashis 10 main goals is the explanation of
meaning the same way a dictionary explains meaning.
We call this the Rashi method of WORD MEANING.
Today we examine two meaning submethods of Rashi.

EXAMPLE: IDIOMS
---------------
Rashi frequently explains not, word meaning, but rather
phrase meaning. That is each particular word in the phrase
may have a known meaning but the collection of words
together form a NEW IDIOMATIC MEANING.
We call this the NEW MEANING or the IDIOM
SUBMETHOD.

EXAMPLE: Lv19-10b LQ@
---------------------
Lv19-10 states
----------------------------------------
Dont glean the GLEANINGS OF YOUR HARVEST
----------------------------------------

Rashi comments
------------------------------------
The phrase THE GLEANINGS OF YOUR HARVEST
refers to individual shafts of harvest
crop that fall during the gleaning
process---(The Torah prohibits picking
them up since they already fell and
the poor need them)
------------------------------------

Similarly Lv19-09 states
------------------------------------------
Don't glean the ISOLATONS OF YOUR VINEYARD
------------------------------------------

Rashi comments
-------------------------------------
The ISOLATONS OF YOUR VINEYARD is an
idiom referring to individual grapes
that fall during harvest--(The Torah
prohibits picking them up since they
already fell and the poor need them
-------------------------------------

Lv19-20b states
-------------------------------------
If a man sleeps with a woman whose
REDEMPTION IS NOT REDEEMED
-------------------------------------

Rashi comments
-------------------------------------
The phrase REDEMPTION IS NOT REDEEMED
refers to an INCOMPLETE REDEMPTION
-------------------------------------

It is a MISTAKE to look at this logically:
Rashi is NOT being picky on the verse---
he is not stating---THE REDEMPTION [which
had begun] IS NOT REDEEMED [i.e. completed]
Rather, Rashi is simply stating that
REDEMPTION IS NOT REDEEMED is a Hebrew
idiom meaning INCOMPLETE. All idioms should
similarly be taken.

LIST854y below gives further examples of Biblical idioms.

List of Biblical idioms..eg FROM DAYS DAYS=YEARLY
LIST854y continues  LIST854d LIST854y

Lighting summary of Rashis with emphasis on Rashi rules*10