Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 1999
http://www.shamash.org/rashi/
Volume 2 Number 7
Produced May, 14 1999
Topics Discussed in This Issue
------------------------------
v0514-New book on Rashi | Important posting on Oral Law
v4-1-53 Rashi confirms principle with a Biblical story
v4a1-51 Mishkan journey sequence obtained by viewing several verses
v4-1-50 PKD had 6 meanings. See Rashi at 4 different levels
v3-26-46 Torah means a) BIBLE, b) Chapters, c) Principles
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
v0514
* There is a new book out on Rashi by Esra Sherevsky. If anyone has
seen citations from this book please post them. One book review
claimed that Rashi gave a variety of interpretations on the Bible
but was "logical" in the Talmud. I disagree. Throughout this email
list I have tried to show that Rashi always emphasized the one
Pshat in every verse. At any rate if there are examples out there
feel free to post
* I bring to your attention v3-26-46 which deals with the oral
law. There are many important principles here and the posting shows
how to avoid pitfalls in interpreting Rashi.
***************************
*** READING TIPS ***
***************************
ARE YOU PRESSED FOR TIME?
DO YOU JUST WANT TO BROWSE MAIN IDEAS QUICKLY & go back later?
THEN WE RECOMMEND READING ONLY THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS
* VERSE:
* RASHI TEXT:
* BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
BUT "HOW DO I FIND QUICKLY A SPECIFIC SECTION?"
ANSWER: Use your FIND menu
For example: FIND VERSE:
takes you to the beginning of the next section.
Similarly
FIND NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
takes you to the brief explanation of Rashi.
IS THERE AN EASY WAY TO GO TO EACH VERSE AND POSTING?
Yes. Use your FIND menu.
"FIND #*#*#*#" takes you to the next posting
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v4-1-53
v4-1-53 ..the levites will watch & there will be no ANGER
RASHI TEXT:
The indicated punishment (for Non Levites performing
Levite functions or for Levites performing non Levite
(e.g. Priestly functions) is mentioned explicitly in 4-16:17 in the
Korach incident where the people making the offerings were severely
punished. In fact the same Biblical word for anger --KTzF--is used
(4-17-11).
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
Rashi is simply supporting one Biblical verse from a confirming
story in the Bible itself.
The verse at hand 4-1-53 says that the Levites should watch their
Levitehood so that there should be no anger.
By contrast, 4-16 and 4-17 speak about the Korach uprising where
Levites tried to perform non Levite functions and non Levites
tried to perform Levite functions. God severely punished them.
Thus the Korach story confirms the Biblical law in 4-1-53.
Confirming thru stories is the most elementary type of research
activity. We have already commented in 5-26-5 that the Passover
Haggadah exegites the ARAMI passage in 5-26-5 by continually using
the principle of "confirming thru stories". We also explained there
that this is the most elementary form of "research activity" and is
therefore an appropriate form of research-learning to introduce on
Passover when we want to encourage all students to being active
advanced learning.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
5-26-5
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
OTHER VERSES | CONFIRMATION
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VERSE: v4a5-51
v4a1-51 ..when ..they travel the Levites will disassemble it
v4-10-17 ..& The Mishkan will be dissembled and ...
v4b4-5 ...& when they travel the Priests will come..
RASHI TEXT:
v4a1-51 BRINGING DOWN the Tabernacle means TO DISASSEMBLE IT
v4-10-17
When the cloud of Glory departed they knew they had to travel
The following is the order of events:
0th The Cloud moves signaling the need to journey (4-9-15:23)
1st the Judah camp moved (4-10-14)
2nd Priests disassemble the holy of holies (4-4-5:15)
3rd the Gershonies disassembled the tents etc (4-3-25)
4th-The Merrarites disassembled the building wood & sockets(4-3-36
5th-The Reubenite camp moved (4-10-18)
6th-The Kehathites moved the Tabernacle so they could set it
up (4-10-21, 4-4-15)
v4b4-5 When the clouds moved they(The Jews)knew they had to travel
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
First let us explain why GO DOWN = DISASSEMBLE.
In all languages words of POSITION like UP, DOWN, can take on
a variety of extra meanings. A simple basic idea that unifies
many of these extra meanings is the fact that
--LIVING CREATURES GENERALLY STAND while
--DEAD CREATURES GENERALLY FALL.
This gives rise to a variety of well know metaphors {LIST1}.
--ERECTING a building;
--DISASSEMBLING a building;
--RISING from an illness;
--MISCARRIAGE (FALLEN);
--SMITING AN ENEMY (FALLEN).
So Rashi Is Simple: TO "DOWN" THE MISHKAN = TO DISASSEMBLE IT.
As for the rest of Rashi, Rashi simply contrasts the
verses in 4-10, 4-3 and 4-4. The sequence is quite clear
in 4-10 while the various functions are clearly spelled
out in 4-3 and 4-4. The entire list is reproduced in the
RASHI TEXT and in {LIST2} below.
In passing we note that the use of two texts on the same
matter is called in Rabbi Ishmael's list of literary principles:
TWO TEXTS THAT CONTRADICT EACH OTHER UNTIL THE THIRD TEXT
COMES TO RESOLVE THEM"
We have called this the technique of "other verses." It is not
necessary to have 3 texts nor is it necessary to have a
contradiction. Very often two texts will complement each other.
In our case chapter 4-10 gives an ORDERED SEQUENCE of the
journey while 4-3 gives the FUNCTIONS of various people
I bring attention to some of the cryptic comments of the
Sifsay Chachamim on 4-1-51. The way we have presented it
above using universal metaphors and other verses makes
Rashi straightforward without need of further elaboration.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
Rashi in 4-1 cites the Targum while on 4-10 he simply says
that YRD means disasseble. In either event we have seen many
times that Rashi encourages further research into the translation
of words...in this case the universal metaphors of POSITION
WORDS in all languages lends luster to Rashi.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {List of metaphoric usages of words denoting position;
the basic idea is that LIFE generally stands and
overcomes gravity while DEATH results in a non standing
position *1}
MEANING METAPHOR/ROOT VERSE
======= ============= =====
Erect a building STAND 2-40-18
Disassemble building DOWN 4-1-51
Cure an illness STAND Hos-6-2
Miscarriage FALL Eccl-6-3
Defeat an enemy FALL Ez-6-4
FOOTNOTES
*1 Also to be brought in here is the whole concept of HEAVEN=above
for the spiritual and HELL=Below for the non spiritual.
{LIST2} {Sequence in Israelite Journeys}
ORDER WHO GOES DOES WHAT 4-10 VERSE 4-4 verse
===== ======== ========== ========== =========
0th The Cloud Moves 4-9-15:23
1st Judah Moves 4-10-14
2nd Priests Disassembles 4-4-5:15
Holy of Holies
3rd Gershonies Disassembled 4-3-25
Tents etc
4th Merrarites Disassembled 4-3-36
Beams,pillars
5th Reubenite Moved 4-10-18
6th Kehathites Moved 4-10-21 4-4-15
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
NEW MEANING
OTHER VERSES
OTHER VERSES
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v4-1-50
v4-1-50 And now appoint (PKD)the Levites on the Tabernacle
v4-3-10 And appoint (PKD) Aaron..to..watch the priesthood
RASHI TEXT:
PKD=APPOINT (A comparable usage can be found in Es2-3)
PKD=APPOINT (not count)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
These Rashis can be understood at four levels: The simple,
intermediate, advanced and profound level.
At the simple level Rashi is simply telling us the meaning
of the grammatical root PKD: It means to appoint.
At the intermediate level we look up and see that the grammatical
root PKD has 6 distinct meanings {LIST1} two of which could
apply here:
PKD can mean COUNT and throughout this chapter
there is a great deal of counting...indeed 4-26-64 uses the
word PKD in the sense of COUNT.
On the other hand PKD can mean to APPOINT comparable to the
English phrase: AN APPOINTMENT (referring to a job or
responsibilities).
Hence I might easily mistranslate 4-3-10 as: "And now count the
priests and let them watch their priesthood".
So Rashi Is Simple. PKD means to APPOINT here, not to COUNT
Notice that this simple way of taking Rashi is perfectly
satisfactory without further need of any unified meanings.
Many readers may therefore wish to stop here since a
satisfactory explanation has been found.
At the advanced level we might discover the rule for distinguishing
the meaning of PKD as COUNT vs APPOINT. The rule is based on
context. If the surrounding verses mention a NUMBER then we are
speaking about COUNTING. By contrast if the surrounding verses
are speaking about RESPONSIBILITIES then we are speaking about
APPOINTMENTS. The simplest example of this is the contrast
between PKD in 1-3-34 which refers to COUNTING since the NUMBER 6200
is mentioned versus PKD in 1-3-36 (2 verses later) where PKD means
APPOINT since the verse refers to the RESPONSIBILITIES of taking
care of the wood, pillars and base sockets of the tabernacle.
However at the profound level we can look on all 6 meanings
of PKD as denoting some type of appointment (This is clarified
in the footnotes to {LIST1}). According to this approach
all meanings of PKD as COUNT always denote not so much producing
a number but rather giving an ACCOUNTING of things--that is, give
an acCOUNTing of each item as to where it belongs.
Using this unified meaning approach we can translate 4-3-10 as
And now give an accounting of the Priests---
--which ones can serve (ie were appointed to) in the temple,
--which ones can become high priests,
--which ones can't serve in the temple but can eat Terumah,
--which ones can't even eat Terumah
and let them thereby (by this accounting) watch their priesthood
(so that those who serve in the temple make sure they are fit
for such service while those who can only eat Terumah make sure
they do so with the proper purity).
Notice both the simplicity and elegance of Rashi---by combining
the meanings COUNT APPOINT we obtain a richer insight into the
text. The COUNTING is done for the PURPOSE of APPOINTMENT
which is identical with their WATCHING THEIR PRIESTHOOD.
For a final point we note that someone
can cleverly ask: "But Rashi doesn't
say that; Rashi says PKD = APPOINT NOT COUNT--so how can you
claim that Rashi is saying PKD = APPOINT AND COUNT."
We can answer this using some simple Talmudic type distinctions.
The phrase in Rashi PKD = APPOINT NOT COUNT can be interpreted
two ways:
--#1) PKD **in this verse** means APPOINT NOT COUNT
--#2) PKD **in general** never means COUNT but always has a
connotation of APPOINTMENT.
In other words in the 1st method we assume that PKD really has
two distinct meanings --COUNT and APPOINT --having nothing to do
with each other; in this verse we are told to use the APPOINT
meaning and not the account meaning. By contrast, in the 2nd
method we assume that PKD has only one meaning TO APPOINT which
sometimes can have an EMPHASIS on APPOINT and sometimes on COUNT.
Rashi chose this verse to explain this because the two meanings
coalesce nicely here (acCOUNT the POSSIBLE PRIESTLY APPOINTMENTS).
Note that we can combine the ADVAnCED and PROFOUND methods.
Even though PKD has one meaning it nevertheless has 6 EMPHASII.
If NUMBERS are mentioned then the APPOINTMENTS have an emphasis
on the COUNT of people involved. By contrast if RESPONSIBILITIES
are given we have an emphasis on the APPOINTMENT of the people
invovled.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
* PKD occurs many times in the Torah. Rashi only gave a
translation on these two verses because it was possible to
mistranslate them.
It is an interesting open problem to give the reason why
Rashi chose to give translations on certain verses but not
on others.
On 1-47-6 we have conjectured that Rashi gives translations
on those verses where one can mistranslate. Thus here one
could translate COUNT and on 1-47-6 one can translate as
STRONG (vs skilled). Such an approach is consistent with the
What is the problem or "What is bothering Rashi" approach
to Rashi adopted by several authors (e.g. Leibowitz of
Boncheck). This approach emphasizes that Rashi doesn't say
anything unless there is some problem--something bothering
him. Applying this to translations we see that Rashi only
gives translations where there is a possibility of
mistranslation.
(While we don't believe EVERY Rashi has a problem it is
certainly a good rule of thumb that can profitably help
both the beginning and intermediate students).
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {List of meanings of the root PKD, courtesy of RDK}
{It is suggested but not necessary that the unified
meaning is APPOINT--this is explored in the footnotes}
MEANING VERSE TEXT
======= ===== ====
Remembered *1 1-21-1 God remembered Sarah..she gave birth
Missing *2 4-31-49 And no soldiers were missing
Count *3 2-38-21 the accounting of Temple(resources)
Command *4 2C31-13 ..on the command of King Hizkiyah
Appoint *4 1-40-4 ..he appointed Joseph on his house
A Deposit *5 1-41-36 Deposit food for the famine years
FOOTNOTES:
==========
*1 In these footnotes we explore the idea of a unified meaning
of APPOINT--that is to DESIGNATE FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE
The verses with REMEMBER are not any REMEMBERING
like a nostalgia but rather a REMEMBERING FOR A PURPOSE--
AN APPOINTMENT---e.g. 1-21-1 Remembering Sarah to have a baby;
or Jud15-1, Samson remembering to visit his wife for marital
purposes, or 2-20-5 remembering sins of fathers to punish
children when they continue in their path
*2 In these footnotes we explore the idea of a unified meaning
of APPOINT--that is to DESIGNATE FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE
In the verses using MISSING it is not any MISSING but missing
from an APPOINTED POSITION(1S20-18--David was not at his
appointed place at the Kings table; or 2Sam2-30..so many
soldiers were missing after the battle.
*3 In these footnotes we explore the idea of a unified meaning
of APPOINT--that is to DESIGNATE FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE
Count is always used in the sense of a military count or an
accounting---it denotes not so much producing a number as
producing an account of which items are at their appointed
places.
*4 In these footnotes we explore the idea of a unified meaning
of APPOINT--that is to DESIGNATE FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE
*4 COMMAND and APPOINT are related to APPOINT in the obvious way
*5 In these footnotes we explore the idea of a unified meaning
of APPOINT--that is to DESIGNATE FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE
A DEPOSIT is something DESIGNATED for a specific place or time
Thus the example by Joseph shows APPOINTING A DEPOSIT OF FOOD
for the time of the famine.
{LIST2} {Verses with PKD in 4-1 thru 4-5. These verses illustrate
the following rule:
PKD in a verse resulting in NUMBERS means to COUNT;
PKD in a verse indicating RESPONSIBILITIES means to APPOINT
Note the use of adjacent verse pairs helps to hilight
this distinction}
VERSE PKD MEANS BECAUSE
===== ========= =======
4-3-34 COUNT Numbers are mentioned (6200)
4-3-36 APPOINT Responsibilities are mentioned
Watch the wood, pillars, sockets
4-1-49 COUNT Previous chapter 4-1-44:47 mentions
contrast that while NUMBERS were
produced for other tribes(603,550
total) nevertheless no numbers were
produced for Levite tribe
4-1-50 APPOINT Responsibilities of Levites are
mentioned thruout 4-1-50:54.
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
UNIFIED MEANING
UNIFIED MEANING
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v3-26-46
v3-26-46 These are the statues..and TorahS ..given at Sinai
v5-31-11 Read this Torah to the nation
v5-31-9 Moses wrote this Torah and gave it to..
v5-27-26 Cursed be he who does not keep this Torah
v5-4-44 This is the Torah that Moses gave to the Jews
v3-6-2 This is the TORAH for the OLAH offering
RASHI TEXT:
v3-26-46
"TORAHs" Both written and oral--both were given to Moses at Sinai
v5-31-11
"TORAH" The king reads starting from DEVARIM ...
v5-31-9
"TORAH" ...the WHOLE Torah (beginning to end)
v5-27-26
"TORAH" -- The Jews accepted the WHOLE Torah here with an oath
v5-4-44
"TORAH" refers to the chapters (5-4, 5-5,...) that Moses
presented to them here
v3-6-2
The word TORAH always denotes APPLICABILITY to all situations
Even if the offering was invalid (Many details are given in Rashi
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
The familiar word TORAH occurs 4 dozen times in the Bible. We have
brought above 6 Rashis on the meaning of Torah. Rashi explains the
word Torah in at least 4 distinct ways:
--As referring to the whole TORAH (Genesis thru Deuteronomy)
--As referring to the book of DEVARIM
--As referring to a CHAPTER in the Torah
--As referring to the ORAL and WRITTEN TORAH.
So what does TORAH really mean? To get the answer we review a list
{LIST1} of the word TORAH in the Bible. The easiest way to get a
clear idea is to browse thru Leviticus itself. The word Torah occurs
every few chapters throughout the book. It occurs
-after the discussion of sacrifices(This is the Torah of sacrifices)
-after the discussion of Kashruth (This is the Torah of Kashruth)
-after the discussion of Leprosy (This is the Torah of Leprosy)
etc.
In these verses we suggest that the word TORAH is best
translated as CHAPTER (not to be confused with the English CHAPTERS
on the Torah). The Torah is actually written in Paragraph form.Every
collection of Paragraphs speaking about similar items is called the
CHAPTER(ie TORAH) on that subject. This is true in the rest of the
Bible. The acceptance of this suggested translation TORAH=CHAPTER
can be facilitated by reviewing the many verses where it fits in:
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON the Suspected adulteresses (4-5-29)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON Nazaritism (4-6-13)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON the OLAH offering (3-6-2)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON the MINCHAH offering (3-6-7)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON the SIN offering (3-6-18)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON the ASHAM offering (3-7-1)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON the SHLAMIM offering (3-7-11)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON Offerings in general (3-7-37)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON Kashruth (3-11-46)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON Childbirth (3-12-7)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON Skin Leprosy (3-13-59)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON Leprosy Offerings (3-14-32)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON The ZAV (3-15-32)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON Toomah from dead people (4-19-14)
- THIS IS THE CHAPTER ON Purification of new utensils (4-31-21)
In short,of the 50 verses with TORAH, about 45%, or half, refer to
a CHAPTER on something. Clearly this is one of the primary
meanings of the word.
There are two other meanings to the word TORAH.
TORAH can e.g. refer to the whole TORAH (all the chapters in
the Bible). Again about 40% of all occurences of TORAH refer to
the 5 books of Moses. This translation, (TORAH=BIBLE), is the
most popular meaning of Torah.
The only possible exception to this idea that TORAH = BIBLE occurs
in 5-31-11 where Rashi says that at festival times the King reads
the Book of Deuteronomy. However based on some simple estimates
we show below that based on NORMAL READING ESTIMATES it takes
about 60 hours to read the whole Bible and about 10 hours to read
Deuteronomy. Since the Kings reading was done for both Men, Women
and infants (5-31) it was a reasonable rabbinic enactment to ask
the nation to stand for only 1 day (10 hours); they therefore chose
to read that book -- Deuteronomy-which summarizes most of the Torah
In other words the Rashi on 5-31-11 is not reporting the meaning
of the text but rather a rabbinic enactment which would make the
law implementable for its given audience.
This meaning TORAH = BIBLE occurs 40% of the time.
In the remaining 15% of the verses TORAH seems best translated as
PRINCIPLES. Some simple examples are "You will have one set of
PRINCIPLES for you and the alien" 2-12-49; "They will teach LAWS
to Jacob and PRINCIPLES to Israel" 5-33-1; "According to the
principles that they (The courts) direct you so should you follow"
(5-17-11). Again {LIST1} contains ALL occurences of TORAH=PRINCIPLES
In summary if we were writing a dictionary we would write as
follows:
TORAH: a) The Bible, b) a Chapter on a theme c) Principles
A compact summary of these 3 meanings and their statistical
frequency is presented in {LIST2}. Notice how {LIST2} listing
the 3 meanings of TORAH corresponds EXACTLY to the 6 Rashis
and 3 ways of taking Torah listed above. Torah can refer to
CHAPTERS (Explicitly stated in Rashi on 3-6-2) or the Bible
or to principles (3-26-46).
So Rashi would interpret this verse as: "These are statues laws
and principles (TOROTH) that God commanded Moses at Sinai.
Up till now we have only explained the MEANING of Torah based
on lists. We still have to explain the Rashi on 3-26-46 which
we will do shortly.
First let us justify the proposed dictionary meanings of Torah
with an etymology. Their is a controversy whether Torah comes
from the root YRH or HRH. I would suggest it comes from HRH
to conceive. Then TORAH would mean PRINCIPLES--ideas that
conceive and give birth to other ideas.
This is confirmed by the Master of Nuance, Rabbi Samson Raphael
Hirsch, who translated IF (IM) as coming from MOTHER (AyM). The
HTPOTHESIS is the MOTHER of the CONSEQUENCE. Similarly the
principle is the conceiver of consequences. This is summarized
in {LIST3}.
Since Torah means PRINCIPLE it therefore refers to a chapter
on a theme. "This is the CHAPTER on OLAH" could be also be
translated as "these are the principles of OLAH."
We have left to explain the Rashi on 3-26-46. Why does Rashi
take this verse which is translated as "These are the ..
principles that Moses taught the Jews" to refer to the ORAL
and WRITTEN law?
We have already seen on 3-25-1 "And God
spoke to Moses at Har Sinai" that there is an emphasis that
both general ideas like DON"T STEAL or OBSERVE SHMITAH
as well as their details were stated at Sinai. So for example
SHMITAH was stated generally in 2 verses (2-23-10:11) and then
given in all its details in (3-25). Both were given at Sinai.
I would argue that Rashi perceived the Biblical chapter 3-25 as
ORAL LAW!! How so? Recall that until the Mishnah the ORAL LAW
was given in Midrashic Halachic form---verses were recited and
their nuances were then given over (The Sifrah is one record of
this).These nuances are explicit to a trained ear and
constitute the ORAL LAW. So for example as we look thru 3-25
we see all types of DETAIL of what can and cannot be done on
the SHMITAH year. These details occur in the SIFRAH (and are
cited in summary form by Rashi). They constitute the principles
of law. As we showed last time on 3-25-1 "Just as shmitah had
its general and detailed laws given at Sinai so to did all
laws have their generals and details at Sinai".
In summary:
- The torah can sometimes give laws generally in a few verses
(e.g. Watch Shabbath, Watch Shmitah)
- Or sometimes it can give whole CHAPTERS (TORAH) with many
PRINCIPLES (TORAH). (like 3-25 for shmitah vs 2-23-10). These
principles emanate from the nuances of the verses and are
recorded in forms such as the sifrah. They can be discerned
by a trained ear.
- The Torah emphasizes in both 3-25-1 and 3-26-46 that these
principles or oral laws were given at Sinai. In other words
the Rashi on 3-26-46 is learnt not from the plural of Torah
but rather from the phrase "AT MOUNT SINAI". Rashi's phrase
BOTH WRITTEN AND ORAL LAW refers back to the Rashi
on 3-25-1 and to the translation of TORAH as PRINCIPLES.
One final note on time. Would it be possible timewise to
receive all the Torah and oral law at Sinai?
Yes. Here is a simple calculation. Business studies have shown
that the best speaking speed is 2.1 words a second. Similarly
the Rambam at the end of chapter 1 of Laws of Shma says that
recital of the shma and its blessings takes 6 minutes. When
we divide the number of words in the shma by 6 minutes we get
2.1 words a second.
But there are 100000 words in the Torah. So the torah takes
2.1 * 100000 = 210000 seconds to recite. Dividing this by
the 40 days Moses was up at Har Sinai shows we need about
2 hours of recital at a normal pace per day to recite the
whole Torah. That comfortably gives 7-10 further hours per
day to infer the nuances and principles of the oral law.
Thus Moses could easily have received the whole Torah --both
written and oral in 40 days.
(And it follows that Dt would take 1/6 of the entire Torah time
or 10 hours (1/6 of 210000 seconds = 60 hours) as suggested above
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
I have tried to refrain from attacking scholars on this list but
I feel compelled in this instance.
The "scholarly" approach to this Rashi is as follows:
--TORAH is written plural in 3-26-46
--TORAH is written singular in the Kariite Torahs
--Rashi SEEMS to say "PLURAL TORAH=WRITTEN and ORAL LAW"
--So it is the PLURAL word TORAH that teaches us that the ORAL law
was given at Sinai.
But this is unfounded by LISTS. The word TORAH here means PRINCIPLES
It refers back to all the many principles given in Leviticus.
Furthermore the emphasis on the verse is "..principles
..GIVEN AT SINAI". Since the principles were given at Sinai it
covers the oral law. The reference to oral law comes from the fact
that when detailed Biblical texts of principles are given we can
infer oral law from their nuances.
This is the simple meaning of Rashi.
The reason I am criticizing modern scholars is because they make
the understanding of the Torah INACCESSIBLE to non scholars.
According to scholars you would have to have seen KARIITE torahs
to fully appreciate this Rashi.
This contradicts a fundamental principle that the Torah is
STRONGLY ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYBODY (5-30-11:14). As we have
shown above every one can create LISTS and infer the simple
meanings of the text and Rashi WITHOUT having to critically
examine other texts. This is of the utmost importance and
is one of the principle reasons why I developed this email list.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {A review of verses with the word TORAH. As seen the
word Torah has 3 meanings. All occurences where it
means principles are given at the end. For further
details see {LIST2} which summarizes these meanings}
VERSE MEANING TEXT
===== ======= ====
4-5-29 CHAPTER This is Chapter on the Sotah laws
4-6-13 CHAPTER This is chapter on Nazrite laws
3-6-2 CHAPTER This is chapter on Olah laws
3-7-37 CHAPTER This is chapter on offerings
3-11-46 CHAPTER This is chapter on Kashruth
3-12-7 ChAPTER This is chapter on Childbirth
3-13-59 CHAPTER This is chapter on Leprosy
3-15-32 CHAPTER This is chapter on ZAV laws
4-31-21 CHAPTER This is chapter on utensil purifications
5-33-4 BIBLE Moses taught us the Bible
5-31-9 BIBLE And Moses wrote the Bible & gave it to..
2-12-49 Principles One set of principles for you and the alien
3-7-7 Principles One set of principles for ASHAM & CHATATH
4-15-16 Principles One set of principles will you have
4-15-29 Principles One set of principles will you have
5-17-11 Principles Act according to the principles of the court
2-13-9 Principles Torah principles will be on tip of your tongue
3-26-46 PRinciples These are the principles Moses taught us..
5-33-10 Principles They'll teach laws and principles to the Jews
{LIST2} {Summary of meanings and statistics of the word TORAH}
{See {LIST1} for a review of verses with Torah}
SUPPORTIVE
MEANING TYPICAL VERSE NUMBER OF OCCURENCES PERCENT RASHI
======= ============= ==================== ======= =====
BIBLE 5-4-44 21 45% *1 5-31-9
Principle 5-17-11 8 17% *1 3-26-46
Chapter 3-7-37 18 38% *1 3-6-2
FOOTNOTES
*1 Different people may differ in counting. So some may get e.g. 20
verses where it means Bible instead of 21. It is for this
reason that I have rounded off the percentages (45,15,40).
{LIST3} {Words for consequences come from words for birth}
WORD MEANING ETYMOLOGY
==== ======= =========
IM IF AYM=Mother
TORAH PRINCIPLE HRH=CONCEIVE
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
* To Rabbi Hirsch for his etymology of IM
* To Mail Jewish and Torah Forum (email lists) where I published
my accounting of time of recitation.
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
UNIFIED MEANING
UNIFIED MEANING
UNIFIED MEANING
UNIFIED MEANING
UNIFIED MEANING
UNIFIED MEANING
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
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Seir)
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