Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 1999
http://www.shamash.org/rashi
Volume 3 Number 3
Produced Jul, 30 1999
Topics Discussed in This Issue
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v5c11-22 CLING TO=paste;CLING WITH/IN=Hang Out;CLING ETH=Overtake..
v5e11-25 Rashi cross references if a verse say "As God said"
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*** READING TIPS ***
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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: v5c11-22
v5c11-22 ...and cling in Him
RASHI TEXT:
v5c11-22 Is it possible to cling to God? God is compared to
a devouring fire--how can one cling to God? Rather
it means to cling to the sages and their students
and God accounts it to us as if we clung to him
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
A fundamental tool of this email list is the idea that the unit
of meaning is not the 3 letter root but rather the combination
of the 3 letter root WITH a connecting preposition.
Thus the root DVK has 4 meanings depending on the preposition
following it
--CLING TO means to PASTE; for example "The infants tongue became
pasted to his palate because of the drought" (Thr4-4)
--CLING ETH means to OVERTAKE; for example "And laban overtook him
in the Gilad mountains" (1-31-23)
--CLING WITH/IN means to HANG OUT WITH or to ADOPT A PERSONAL LIFE
STYLE; for example "...and you can hang out with my workers"
(Ruth2-21) or "But Ruth remained with her mother-in-law"
(She converted To Judaism and did not go back to being a
Moavite)(Ruth1-14).
A more thorough analysis may be found in {LIST1}.
Thus Rashi is Simple. Since 5-11-7 uses the preposition IN ("Cling
IN God") we interpret the verse to mean that one should adopt a
Godly PERSONAL LIFE STYLE and HANG OUT with Godly people.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {Of verses with the root DVK. There are 4 possible
prepositions occuring with DVK giving rise to 3-4 meanings}
PREPOSITION MEANING VERSE TEXT
TO Pasted Thr4-4 Infant tongues PASTED to
Pallette because of drought
TO Pasted Ps102-6 My bones are PASTED to my
flesh *1 *2
ETH Overtake 1-31-23 Laban OVERTOOK Jacob
ETH Overtake Jud18-22 They OVERTOOK the Danites
ETH Overtake 1Sam31-2 Philistines OVERTOOK Saul
WITH Hang out Ruth2-8 HANG OUT with my workers
WITH Hang out Ruth2-21 HANG OUT with my workers
IN Life Style 2R3-3 Clung to Yaravam's LIFE
STYLE of sin
IN Hang out 1R11-2 King Solomon HUNG OUT with
them (heathen women) for
marriage
IN Hang out/ Ruth1-14 Ruth remained (HUNG OUT?)
with her mother-in-law (she
ADOPTED HER LIFE STYLE(She
converted and didn't go
back to Moav) *3
FOOTNOTES
*1 This is a description of starvation (Kwashiokor--the body becomes
so emaciated that the bones bulge and it appears that they are
glued to the skin)
*2 The sister verse Job19-20 however says "My bones CLING IN my
skin and flesh". Perhaps the reference there is not to emaciation
as in Kwashiokor but rather to excessively dried out skin (such
as happens in older people). The skin becomes so dried with wrinkles
that it hangs loosely over the bones (Thus the metaphor here would
be that the "skin, bones, and flesh" become not a UNIT but like a
GROUP of organs that "hang out together" (and like any group are
not alltogether all the time). Although such a metaphor (of
skin, flesh and organs hanging out together indicating looseness)
seems far fetched it is consistent with the fragmented tone of Job
*3 We similarly interpret the famous 1-2-24 "And he shall CLING IN
his wife"---the reference is not to sexual union (PASTED TOGETHER)
but rather to husband and wife HANGING OUT TOGETHER and ADOPTING
THE SAME LIFE STYLE (Rashi's commentary on that verse is not a
comment on the verb DVK but rather a comment on the phrase "They
shall be one flesh")
*4 CLING WITH only occurs in these two verses. Rashi seems to have
classified the meanings of CLING WITH and CLING IN together (perhaps
because there was too little data to make a decision). It would
appear that CLING WITH denotes a group of people physically hanging
out together while CLING IN denotes either adopting a personal life
style or a group of people that are bonded by a common philosophy
(but not necessarily together all the time).Thus BOAZ's workers were
a PHYSICAL group (and not bonded by a philosophy)--hence CLING WITH.
By contrast King Solomons wives were a SPIRITUAL group and were
bonded by their commanality of heatheness (Hence the CLING IN).
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
ROOT+PREPOSITION
SQL {Database query comments for those who know Database theory}:
S1 = SELECT Verse FROM Bible WHERE Verse DVK
SELECT , , ,
FROM ,S1
WHERE =DVK
ORDER BY
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v5e11-25
v5e11-25 God will place your Fear on these nations
as he has promised you
v1c21-1 God did to Sarah AS HE HAD SAID
v1e24-7 God who swore to me 'To your descendants
will I give this land'
v2c12-25 When God brings you to the land
He said He would give you
v5d18-2 God is his (the Levites)
inheritance as He said
5-19-8 If God widen your land as He Said
v4b27-23 And he (Moses) placed both hands
on him(Joshua) as God said to Moses
v3a10-3 Thru my Near ones will I(God) be honored
RASHI TEXT:
v5e11-25 The verse says "as he has promised you" This
refers to 2-23-27 where it explicitly says "I (God)will
send My Fear before you and I will loosen the nations
that you come to.."
v1c21-1 God promised Abraham "But Sarah will give birth"
God also promised him "Not Eliezer but Isaac
will inherit you"
v1e24-7 God promised Abraham in the convenant of CUTS
that his own descendants would inherit not Eliezer
v2c12-25 God said clearly to Moses, "I will save them
from Egypt" and "I will redeem them"...and
"I will bring them to the land.."
v5d18-2 It explicitly says "..they will not inherit for
I am their (LEvites inheritance)"
5-19-8 This widening of the land refers to the KAYNI
KNIZI and KADMONI
v4b27-23 The "as God commanded (Moses)" includes the
transfer of SPlendor (which was done by placing
two hands vs one hand on Joshua--(Moses was
only commanded to place one hand on Joshua...
By placing two hands on him he transmitted
extra splendor)
v3a10-3 God said "..and in the temple I will be sanctified
with HONOR". Interpret HONOR as MY HONORED ONES.
Moses Told Aaron "I knew that someone would have
to die for God's honor. I thought it would be
me or you. I now see that your two sons were
chosen and are holier than both of us".
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
5-11-25 says that God will do something THE WAY HE PROMISED TO DO IT
So Rashi Is Simple. He shows us the verse, 2-23-27, where God
promised to do it.
Rashi frequently is not bothered by a verse but simply tries to
enhance appreciation of that verse by citing a comparable verse
that supports it.
The most famous example of this is the ARAMI OVAYD AVI chapter
where OTHER VERSES are brought to support each phrase in v5d26-5
in v1n21. This example occurs in the Passover Hagaddah. As we
commented in v5d26-5 the technique of OTHER VERSES is the simplest
of all research techniques but something that every person can
do. This technique (CITATION of other verses) is the easiest
technique by which to introduce people to Biblical research as
anyone can become proficient in it.
{LIST1} shows a variety of verses where it says
--and so and so was done the way God said
Rashi uses the same technique of CITATION, CROSS REFERENCE or
OTHER VERSES on these verses.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
There are several dozen verses where it says "As God said"
But in only a half a dozen do we find a Rashi with a cross
reference. Why did Rashi single out these half a dozen for
commentary?
This is answered in {LIST1}. In ALL cases there is a cross
reference. But in many cases the cross reference is to a
previous verse or chapter.
For example, 1-12-4 says that Abraham journeyed as God
commanded him. But the command occured in the previous verse
1-12-3. So Rashi Is Simple. There is no need for a commentary
or cross reference.
Similarly 1-17-23 says that Abraham circumcised his household
as God commanded. But the command occurs in the previous
chapter 1-17-9:14 so there is no need for a cross reference.
However on those verses where the cross reference is more
distant Rashi does give a cross reference.
Two things are seen here: We see Rashi's database mind--for
Rashi consistently gives cross references when they are far
away and consistently leaves them out when they are nearby.
We also see Rashi using workbook methods: He filled in the
hard cross references but left the easy cross references to
the student.
We note that all but two of the verses have EXPLICIT
cross references. For example 1-21-1 says that Sarah gave
birth as God had said and 1-17-19 says EXPLICITLY that God
promised Abraham "..but Sarah will give birth..". Thus the
cross reference is explicit.
However two of the cross references are not explicit.
--In 4-27-18:20 God tells Moses to take Joshua and
(a) place your hand on him (b) command him to replace you
before the whole congregation and (c) give him your splendor
Moses in turn in 4-27-22:23 took Joshua (a) placed BOTH his hands
on him (he had been commanded only to place one), (b) commanded
him to take his place before the whole congregation, as God
had commanded.
So Rashi interpreted the "As God commanded/said" to refer to the
placing of Splendor (indicating something extra--presumably the
use of the 2 hands vs the one).
Is such an interpretation SIMPLE and JUSTIFIED? Undoubtedly THE
VERSE BY ITSELF would not justify this. But we have all of {LIST1}
that shows that CROSS REFERENCES always exist. Thus we are
justified in applying the results of this LIST PATTERN to this
case and use a reinterpretation of the verses (SPLENDOR = PLACING
TWO HANDS vs ONE HAND).
Similarly 2-29-43 simply says that God will be sanctified with
weight/honor.
The verse by itself does NOT explain what this means. It could
mean anything. It could mean miracles or punishment of righteous
people who act familiar with God or prophecy or anything which
would impress on people Gods holiness.
So when Aaron's two sons died in 3-10-3 Moses was justified in
APPLYING the 2-29-43 verse to the situation and saying "True
Your sons died..but Gods honor becomes weightier since there
are no favorites."
Again it is the totality of LIST1 (where cross references always
exist) that encourages us to reinterpret a verse and apply it as
a cross reference.
Such an approach to lists is normal. 70-90% of the list is clear.
The other 10-25% may involve reinterpretation. Such reinterpretation
is justified because of the rule we learned from the other cases.
Finally with regard to Rashi's statement that "Don't call MY HONOR
but rather MY HONORED ONES"--this is clearly a pun. The word HONOR/
WEIGHT had many interpretations and any one could have been used.
The statement by Moses "I knew someone holy would die---I thought
it would be me or you but now I see that your sons were holier than
us" was simply meant to placate Aaron's feelings (for otherwise
it would mean that someone HAD to die for God to show his honor
which is absurd).
To summarize--2-29-43 says that I will be sanctified with WEIGHT.
This could mean any of a number of things. When Aaron's sons
died Moses was justified in APPLYING (not interpreting) that
verse to the given situation. Moses was also justified in telling
Aaron who was in mourning that "Someone had to die, possibly me
or you, I see it was them"--since it is permissable/obligatory
to console the mourners bereft of children with exaggerations
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {(Partial) List of verses where it says that something
happened AS GOD SAID. If God said it in a previous verse
or chapter there is no need for a cross reference. But if
the cross reference is to another verse then Rashi brings
a cross reference. In two cases the cross reference involves
interpretation--in the other cases the cross reference is
explicit and the same}
VERSE RELATION OF
WHERE VERSE WHERE
GOD IS QUOTED AS PROMISING GOD GOD IS QUOTED
VERSE OR COMMANDING THE FOLLOWING PROMISED TO OTHER VERSE
======= ============================= ========= ================
1-12-4 Abraham should leave home 1-12-3 Previous verse
1-17-23 Abraham should circumcise 1-17-9:14 Previous chapter
1-18-19 Gods promises to Abraham 1-17 Previous chapter
1-21-1 Promise of Sarah giving birth 1-17-19 *1 Rashi
1-23-16 Promise to pay Ephron 1-23-15 Previous verse
1-24-7 Abraham's sons will inherit him 1-17-19 *2 Rashi
1-24-30 This is way he spoke to me 1-24-27 Previous verse
1-24-51 Take Rivkah as God has said 1-24-42:48 Previous verse
1-49-28 These are the blessings he gave 1-49 Previous chapter
2-12-25 When God brings you to Israel 2-6-8 Rashi
5-18-2 Levites will not inheritance 4-18-20 Rashi
5-19-8 Full inheritance promised 1-15-19 Rashi
4-27-23 Moses appointed Joshua 4-27-20 Rashi *3
3-10-3 God is honored by near ones 2-29-43 Rashi *3
FOOTNOTES
*1 Rashi also cites 1-15-4 "This one (Eliezer, your servant) will
not inherit you but your own son will inherit you"
*2 The Bible uses the word "..He SWORE to me.." vs
..He SAID to me... Although the term OATH does not occur in
1-17-19 or the surrounding verses the phrases "..WORD OF GOD.."
as well as the establishment of a convenant ("Convenant of CUTS")
has the status of an OATH when coming from God (because it has
to be kept). Such a perspective uses a SEMANTIC approach based on
meaning (OATH means HAS TO KEEP and WORD OF GOD means HAS TO KEEP)
rather than a SYNTACTIC approach based on common words (OATH, OATH).
*3 In these last two examples the cross reference is not explicit
but requires interpretation.
God said to "Give of your SPLENDOR to Joshua." Clearly this
is a vague order with no specific refernce. Since Moses placed
BOTH HANDS on Joshua vs the command to place ONE HAND on him
(4-27-23 vs 4-27-18) it becomes REASONABLE to APPLY the statement
AS GOD COMMANDED HIM to the order to Moses to give from his SPLENDOR
(indicating something extra--a 2-hand placement vs a 1-hand
placement) to Joshua.
In a similar manner in 2-29-43 God simply said that "I will be
sanctified with WEIGHT." WEIGHT refers to a HEIGHTENED AWARENESS
of someone's presence (just as a heavy object feels heavier than
a lighter object). The verse could mean many things. After
Aaron's sons died Moses was justified not in INTERPRETING the verse
to apply to the death of people near God but rather in APPLYING the
verse to the given situation. (Clearly, it is absurd to say that
God required the sacrifice of a holy person to impress people with
the holiness of the temple).
Notice how this whole LIST of examples where it says AS GOD
COMMANDED with cross references lends credibility to these last
two exceptions. Precisely because in every other instance we find
a cross reference we are justified in applying verses to support
these verses even though it involves an element of interpretation.
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
OTHER VERSES
SQL {Database query comments for those who know Database theory}:
S1=SELECT verse FROM Bible WHERE "AS GOD COMMANED" verse
SELECT verse1,verse2 FROM S1,BiBle WHERE
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
COMMUNICATIONS
--------------
Send via email SUBMISSIONS/responses/contributions to
rashi-is-simple@shamash.org
If you want your communication published anonomously (without
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they can be published as is or with editing)
NOTATIONAL CONVENTIONS
----------------------
e.g. v5b2-1 means as follows:
The "v" means verse
The "5" means Deuteronomy--the 5th book
The "2" means The 2nd chapter
The "1" means The 1st verse
The "b" means The second rashi on that
verse ("we rounded mount
Seir)
Similarly v5-2-1 would mean Dt 2:1 and probably refer to all
Rashis. (These conventions start with issue 14---beforehand
the notation is similar and will be updated retroactively
in the future)
Asterisks (*,#) in a list usually refer to footnotes that follow it
Parenthesis with the word List and a number--[LIST3] refers to
LISTS in the LIST section of each posting.
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OUR GOALS
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RASHI-IS-SIMPLE
* will provide logical explanations to all 8,000 Rashis on Chumash.
* the preferred vehicle of explanation is thru list of verses and exceptions
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* read your welcome note from Shamash
* read PESHAT and DERASH: TRADITION, Winter 1980 by Russell Hendel
End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*