Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 1999
http://www.shamash.org/rashi
Volume 3 Number 24
Produced Oct, 18 1999
Topics Discussed in This Issue
------------------------------
v1z51-3
Comment from Dr John Loike
v1b12-8
AHLO is WRITTEN with a FEMININE suffix but READ with a
MASCULINE suffix 4 times. In all cases it is interpreted
to mean STAYING OVER WITH ONES WIFE--(a)(b)By
NOACH/YAAKOV it means OVERLY staying over; (c)(d)by
ABRAHAM it means CARING for HER FIRST
v1-12-7
Sentence SEQUENCING in a paragraph indicates
RELATIONSHIP.The paragraph says (a) I'll make you a
great nation (b)& give Israel to your sons (c)& Abraham
built an altar--Hence the Altar(c) was a thank you for
BOTH (a)the great nation &(b)promise of Israel
v1b22-2
(a1)Use CHATTY styles for people you LIKE: eg(i)Take
your son (ii)the one you like (iii)Isaac. (b)Use TERSE
styles when you're COLD:eg To the query 'Do you know
Laban son of Nachor?' the response was (i) 'Known'--just
1 word. (a2) REPETITION=ENDEARMENT
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
***************************
*** READING TIPS ***
***************************
IF YOU ARE IN A HURRY WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS:
* VERSE:
* RASHI TEXT:
* BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
"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: v1z51-3
I enjoyed that last analysis.
I also think Rashi using humor and puns- just
look at parshat balak for excellent examples of humor.
There appears to be many times in this parsha
that Rashi quotes a Targum
that is clearly not Targum Onkelus.
Have you come across any good articles
discussing this issue?
There is also an issue related to where the
term Elo..k im in the verse in
the section of the Nachus "Vehitem Kelo..k..im. "
is holy or non- holy.
Rashi believes it refers to God while Onkelos
clearly states that it refers
rulers. It could also mean angels. Now in that parsha,
the term for God is
mainly but not exclusively
Hashem Elokim yet there are times when just
Elokim is used. Therefore on first
glance there does not appear to be a
pattern whereby one could differentiate
which meaning is correct. Note
ofcourse by the end of the parsha-
both Rashi and ONkelus refer to benei
Elohim as rules or princes. Here is an
excellent situation in which your
list analysis may reveal some insights.
Let me know. John
John Loike
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1b12-8
v1b12-8 And he pitched his tent
[Moderator: The word tent has contradictory
SPELLING and READING. It is read as
>HIS TENT
but is spelled to mean
>HER TENT]
v1a9-21 & he (Noach) drank from the wine & got drunk
& he rolled over in his tent
[Moderator: The word tent has contradictory
SPELLING and READING. It is read as
>HIS TENT
but is spelled to mean
>HER TENT]
v1z35-22 & he (Jacob) pitched his tent
[Moderator: The word tent has contradictory
SPELLING and READING. It is read as
>HIS TENT
but is spelled to mean
>HER TENT]
RASHI TEXT:
v1b12-8 From the contradictory READ-WRITE we infer that
Abraham pitched HER (Sarah's) Tent first (and
hence the READ, >HER TENT<) and only then
pitched HIS (Abraham's) tent (and hence the
WRITE, >HIS TENT<)
v1a9-21 The contradictory READ-WRITE is a HINT to
AHLAH (Ez23-4-44), which was the Prophetic
symbol for the 10 tribes. These 10 tribes
were exiled because of sins that emanated
from overly drinking wine (Am6).
v1z35-22 Reuven did not actually sleep with Bilhah (as
the verse explicitly says). Rather after Rachel's death
Yaakov should have lived with Leah who was a full fledged
wife; instead he lived with BILHAH, Rachel's handmaid.
Reuven thought this was wrong and tried to get his father
to go back to Leah's tent by switching beds (or bedspreads)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
We first explain the Chumash. Comments on Rashis form will then
be found in the COMMENTS ON RASHIS FORM SECTION.
We deal here with a READ and WRITE. In other words the Biblical
text uses the word AHLO which is
>READ as AHLO
>and means HIS TENT
But the text is
>WRITTEN as AHLAH
>meaning HER TENT
Such contradictory READS and WRITES occur frequently in Tnach.
Rashi's approach, following Chazal is to interpret the READ-WRITE
as
>Enhancing and enriching meaning by providing extra nuances
In modern literature this would be done by footnotes. For example
if I wanted to indicate that Abraham was a gentleman I would write
>he pitched his tent (See Footnote)
Then in the Footnotes I would write
>FOOTNOTE:He pitched his wifes tent first
According to Chazal, Rashi and Rav Hirsch the Bible implemented
this FOOTNOTE style by using a READ-WRITE style.
Before continuing I should emphasize that the word
>AHLO=HIS TENT
occurs 14 times in Tnach (there are another 13 occurences with
suffixes B-AHALO etc). Ten of these occurences have a NORMAL
writing. Therefore the 4 deviant occurences with a CONTRADICTORY
READ-WRITE are seen as DELIBERATE. These 4 occurences with the
interpretation of the double READ-WRITE are exhibited in {LIST1}.
Let us now review the meanings of these READ-WRITES.
Examples 1 & 2
--------------
Rashi following the Midrash Rabbah explains that the text is
indicating that Abraham was a gentleman and pitched his wifes'
tent first.(1-12-8, 1-13-2)
Example 3
---------
The verse 1-9-21 reads
>He drank, got drunk and rolled over in his(her) tent
The Midrashic comment that he was mixing wine, woman and excess
is obvious, clear and straightforward (Genesis Rabbah 36:4).
(Rashi expresses this in a different form which we explain in
the COMMENTS ON RASHIS FORM section).
Example 4
---------
First some background. 1-35-22 seems to say that Reuven slept
with his fathers maid. Chazal say that what he really did is
exchange his father's favorite bedspreads and moved them from
the maid's tent to Leah's tent (Leah was a full fledged wife)
Chazal derived this interpretation from the explicit statement
in 1-49-2
>For you(Reuven) played with your father's bedS
The word
>bedS
has a plural S indicted Reuven did not sleep with anybody but
exchanged bedspreads. Furthermore the Biblical word
>ALH
is NEVER used to indicate intimacy. It is however used to denote
>mischeivous playing
Based on these 2 facts we have interpreted the verse 1-49-2
>For you played with your father's bedS
Thus the interpretation of the contradictory READ-WRITE in 1-35-2
is clear. Rachel had died. Jacob should be pitching HIS tent; but
he cannot get Rachel (his favorite wife) out of his mind. So
he pitches tent by Rachel's MAID (by HER tent) to fulfill his need
to preserve his disceased wife's, Rachels, memory.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
Why in 1-9-21 did Rashi ignore the obvious
>Noach mixed women, wine and excess
and instead see the double READ WRITE as
>a hint to the 10 tribes that were called AHLAH(Ez23-4)
To understand this we must cite the whole text of the Genesis
Rabbah 36:4. The Midrash Rabbah 36:4 focuses on the evils that
wine is capable of causing. Several people (besides Noach) had
their downfall from wine {LIST2}.
Furthermore both the midrash rabbah and Gmarrah Sanhedrin 70 take
note of the long narrative description of Noahs drinking
>he planted the vineyard
>he drank from its wine
>he rolled around in his tent
>his children saw this and covered him up etc
The Bible usually doesn't tell stories in great length UNLESS
THEY ARE INDICATIVE OF MODELS FOR BEHAVIOR THAT SHOULD BE FOLLOWED
OR BEHAVIOR THAT SHOULD NOT BE FOLLOWED.
In other words the Bible is showing us HOW IT HAPPENS. It is not
black and white but rather a gradual process. First
> you get involved with vineyards, then
> you drink a little (Without getting drunk),then
> you get drunk occasionally, then
> you start rolling around, then
> your children have to bail you out, then
> you have fights
Such behavior is ARCHETYPICAL of all drunkedness.
In fact the midrash rabbah on the spot applies this drunken
model to the 10 tribes (and the 2 tribes) both of which were
exiled because of sins that started with wine.
In fact the Midrash goes a step further and from the verse
>he rolled around in his tent
concludes that the passive(not active) form
>rolled around
is indicative of how wine drinking causes exile (The exiled people
are passive and helpless). In other words wine drinking is not
a constructive way of solving problems.
We have already seen several times in this list that Rashi will
prefer
>picturesque Gematriahs and simile to
>abstract grammatical principles.
In the verse in question 1-9-21 it is OBVIOUS that
>wine, women and excess
don't go together. So why mention it? Instead Rashi points out
that Noach's personal house squabble is a model for the exiles
that later troubled the Jewish people.
(Also see v1n1, v1-32-5 for my citation from the Rav that Rashi will
use Gematrias even though he really believes the true explanation
to be otherwise. So too here; Rashi believes the real explanation
to be
>wine, women and excess
don't mix but instead focuses on the
>sin model it provides for future Jewish generations.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {The 4 verses where AHLO is READ as
>his tent
but is WRITE as
>Her tent
The contradictory READ-WRITE is used to show involvement
with their wives. Note these are the only 4 verses with
the contradictory READ-WRITE. There are 10 verses where
AHLO is both WRITTEN and READ as
>his tent}
VERSE WHO? HOW THE DOUBLE READ-WRITE (his-her) IS INTERPRETED
====== ======= ==================================================
1-12-8 Abraham He cared for his wife by pitching her tent first
1-13-3 Abraham He cared for his wife by pitching her tent first
1-9-21 Noach His wife controlled him & got him drunk
1-35-22 Jacob He was overly invovled with his disceased wife *1
FOOTNOTES
*1 1-35-22 is stated right after Rachels death. Jacob then
apparently took his principle living abode from Rachel's tent
to Bilhah's tent Rachel's maid. This is because Rachel was his
favorite wife and when she died he had strong memories of her
and pitched tent with her made. Reuven criticized his father
for not pitching tent with Leah who was a full fledged wife
and instead pitching with Bilhah.(Although Reuven was wrong
in taking actions against his father's personal life his
criticism against his father is valid---compare Chazal's
criticism against Jacob for showing favoritism to Joseph over
the other brothers which led to attempted murder (1-37-3))
{LIST2} {People whose downfall is associated with wine *1}
Who? VERSE WHAT HAPPENED
========= ========== ========================================
Noach 1-9-21 Got drunk; became despicable
Lot 1-19-32:35 Got drunk; had incest with his daughters
10 Tribes Am6; Isa5 Wine drinking helped cause exile *2
2 Tribes Isa28-1:8 Wine drinking helped cause exile *2
FOOTNOTES
*1 Of course Wine is also used to celebrate good occasions.
Even the intoxicating effects of wine are good since they
can be used for mourners and other suffering people to help
them forget their suffering Prv31-2:7
*2 These 2 examples are brought by the Genesis Rabbah 36:4
and Sanhedrin 70
CROSS REFERENCES:
v1-35-22, v1n2---Discussion of Reuven's sin with Bilhah
v1-32-5,v1n1---Rashi uses gematrias vs abstact principles
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The interpretation that
>Reuven exchanged his father's favorite bedspread
vs the traditional
>Reuven exchanged beds
was suggested to me by one of my students last year in
my Lower Merion Synagogue Bible Class.
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
USAGE | READ-WRITE
USAGE | READ-WRITE
USAGE | READ-WRITE
SQL {Database query comments for those who know Database theory}:
SELECT word FROM Bible WHERE
word = 'his tent' AND
word.spelling <> word.reading
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1-12-7
v1-12-7 & God appeared to Abraham..& Abraham built an altar
RASHI TEXT:
v1-12-7 Abraham built the altar on the news of
>you will become a great nation
and on the news of
>you will be given Israel
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
To understand Rashi we review the overall Paragraph structure
of 1-12-1:8 {LIST1}. There are 4 main ideas as follows
> Promise by God of being a great nation(1-12-1:5)
> Promise of Israel & ALTAR (1-12-6:7)
> Teaching about God and ALTAR (1-12-8)
> Further journeys (1-12-9)
The building of an ALTAR happened several times. It did not
happen after the promise of
>I will make you into a great nation
but it did happen after the promise of
>I will give you this land, Israel
So Rashi Is Simple.
>The altar was a thanksgiving for BOTH the promise
>of being a great nation and Israel
Notice how Rashi derived this lesson from the overall structure of
the paragraph. Further comments showing the profoundity and depth
of Rashi are presented in the COMMENTS ON RASHIS FORM section.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
To appreciate Rashi's profoundity we compare Rashi with the
actual text of the Midrash Genesis Rabbah 39:15
>>And Abraham came to Schem, ..God said I will give you this
>>land, and Abraham built an altar.
>
>ABRAHAM ONLY BUILT AN ALTAR WHEN HE HEARD ABOUT THE PROMISE
>TO RECEIVE ISRAEL.
But Rashi did not say that. Rashi's position is that Abraham
built the altar NOT only because of the promise to receive
Israel but ALSO because of the promise to become a great nation.
Why did Rashi deviate from the explicit language of the Midrash
Rabbah?
It appears to me that Rashi deviated because, as we have explained
several times, Rashi never just CITED midrashim and Sifrays. Rashi
always went to the underlying reason.
In this case the underlying reason is the OVERALL PARAGRAPH
STRUCTURE. This overall paragraph structure shows that 2 events
preceded the building of the altar
>Promise of being a great nation
>Promise of Israel
Furthermore the Biblical text connects the two promises
>TO YOUR PROGENY will I give Israel
Thus it is clear from the Paragraph structure that Abraham was
thanking God for BOTH the promise of a big nation and the promise
of Israel.
Thus we would interpret the Midrash's statement
>ABRAHAM ONLY BUILT AN ALTAR WHEN HE HEARD ABOUT THE PROMISE
>TO RECEIVE ISRAEL.
to mean
>The promises of God--to become a great nation, have rights of
>blessing, etc--did not in and of themselves cause Abraham to
>build an altar. It wasn't till the PROMISE of Israel that
>Abraham built an altar. It was ONLY at the promise of Israel
>that Abraham thanked God with an altar.
Of course, the Midrash's language is still difficult. All I have
contributed is the realization, as given by Rashi, that all
Midrash must be read IN LIGHT OF ITS UNDERLYING REASON.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {Topics in the paragraph 1-12-1:8}
TEXT VERSE PARAGRAPH TOPIC ALTAR
=============================== ====== ==================== =====
Leave your home 1-12-1 Promise of greatness
I'll make you a great nation 1-12-2
I'll bless you 1-12-3
And Abraham left home 1-12-4
& he took his wife & possesions 1-12-5
& he came to Schem 1-12-6 Promise of Israel
God said 'I'll give you Israel' 1-12-7
& he built an altar 1-12-7 ALTAR
& he journeyed near BethEl 1-12-8 Teaching about God
& he built an altar 1-12-8 ALTAR
& he called in the name of God 1-12-8
& he journeyed south 1-12-9 Further journeys
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
OVERALL STRUCTURE
SQL {Database query comments for those who know Database theory}:
SELECT verse FROM Bible WHERE
'verse between 1-12-1 and 1-12-8'
SORT by
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1b22-2
v1b22-2 & God said take your son, your precious one,
that you love, Isaac
v1f12-1 & God said to Abraham leave your land &
go to the land which I will show you
RASHI TEXT:
v1b22-2 The request is stated in stages
>Take your SON
>Your PRECIOUS ONE
>That you LOVE
>Isaac
The purpose of this is twofold.
>So that Abraham should not have a mental
breakdown from being told the idea (of
the sacrifice of Isaac) all at once
>When you really like somebody you use a
chatty style (because you like spending
time with the person)
v1f12-1 the request is stated in stages
>Leave your land, home, & fathers house
>And go to the land
>That I will show you
Because when you really like somebody you use
a chatty style (Because you like spending
time with the person)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
There are two types of talking style--
>The CHATTY STYLE--where you repeat an idea several ties
and
>The FORMAL style--where you speak tersely.
In general the CHATTY style is used when you like somebody since
you want to spend time with the person so you chat. The FORMAL
style is used when you are cold and formal. So Rashi Is Simple--
if the Bible uses a CHATTY style between God and Abraham then
we associate this with Gods liking Abraham.
{LIST1} shows the difference between a CHATTY and NON CHATTY
conversation.
Example 1
---------
When God spoke to Abraham concerning the sacrifice of Isaac he
did so in stages
>Take your son (but he had two)
>Your precious one
>the one you like
>Isaac
God did not come right out and say
>Take Isaac.
Example 2
---------
Similarly when God wanted Abraham to leave the idol worshiping
town of his father God said
>Leave your land, birthplace and fathers house
>and go to a land
>that I will show you
God did not come right out and say
>Get out of this Idol worshipping place.
Example 3
---------
Frequently when God speaks to a prophet that he likes he will call
his name twice. For example, God said
>Moses Moses
God did not come just say
>Moses
Example 4
---------
The best example of chattiness occurs when you are in love.
The simplest example occurs in the Song of Songs
>Wow you're beautiful, wow you're beautiful
Instead of the cold
>wow youre beautiful
just once.
In fact, chattiness is one possible indicator of being
in love.
Example 5
---------
By contrast the conversation between Jacob and the
shepards shows alot of formality and coldness. For example
when Jacob asks them
>Do you know Lavan, son of Nachor
they simply answer with one word
>Known.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
Rashi mentions a second reason why Chattiness is used.
>If God told Abraham all at once, take Isaac and
>sacrifice him, He could of caused mental damage
>So he told him gradually so that he should be
>prepared
We will develop this 2nd them in a future issue. Right now
we suffice with development of the 1st principle which is
all that is needed for the verses we study here.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {Of chatty phrases between 2 parties that like each
other. Contrast is afforded by giving some cold
formal phrases. As can be seen the chattiness is
used when you like somebody}
PHRASE VERSE Chatty style vs Formal style
======= ======= ========================================
Isaac 1-22-2 Your son, your precious, you like, Isaac
Leave Casdim 1-12-1 Leave, to the place, I will show you
Abraham 1-22-11 Abraham Abraham
Jacob 1-46-2 Jacob Jacob
Moses 2-3-4 Moses Moses
Shmuel Sam3-10 Samuel Samuel
You're beautiful Songs4-1 Your beautiful, your beautiful*3
Do you know Lbn 1-29-4 Known *4
FOONOTES
*1The identical phrase "And these are the names of the Jews"is used
in both 2-1-1 and 1-48-8. By contrast the repetition of the names of
Noach (in 1-5-32 and 1-10-1) use different phrases
*2 It is hard to appreciate the list until we add the fact that the
other people that God spoke to (Isaac, Aharan, Joshua...) do not
have ANY verses where there a repetition.
*3 Note how Songs-4-1 deals with attributes vs names
*4 During the whole dialog between Jacob and the Shepard,
the Shepards maintain a formal cold stance(1-29-4:8)
CROSS REFERENCES:
v2-1-1, v1n6 Repetition denotes endearment
v1-46-2, v1n6 Repetition denotes endearment
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
STYLE
STYLE
SQL {Database query comments for those who know Database theory}:
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
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--------------
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----------------------
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The "b" means The second rashi on that
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Seir)
Similarly v5-2-1 would mean Dt 2:1 and probably refer to all
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#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*