Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
THE RASHI DATABASE:
http://www.shamash.org/rashi
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000
Volume 4 Number 19
Produced Dec. 31, 1999
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------
v1a34-31
A standard symbolic technique is to communicate an
abstract concept using a GOOD EXAMPLE. eg The Psalmist
said(113-7) 'He lifts poor from the dust' (clearly God
helps people not in the dust also). In our verse
DEGRADATION is indicated by PROSTITUTE.
v1b48-7
You can say TO A PLACE by eithr a) Using a PREFIX LMD=TO
(LMITZRAYIM), b) Using a SUFFIX HAY(Mitzraymah). The
suffix HAY has a connotation of going to the OUTSKIRTS
of the place while the PREFIX LAMED indicates going to
the heart of the place
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THE RASHI IS SIMPLE MAILING LIST
--------------------------------
GOALS: To grammatically defend all 8000 Rashis on Chumash.
METHOD:Every Rashi will be defended with a LIST of comparable cases
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Laymen, Academicians, Rabbis, Yeshiva students
COMMENTS,QUESTIONS: EMail to address below; (minor edits may occur)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:Always given unless 'anonymous' is explicitly asked
(UN)SUBSCRIBE: Email to above with keyword "(UN)subscribe"
JOURNAL REFERECE: Pshat & Drash, TRADITION, Win 1980, R Hendel
NOTATION: eg v2b1-8 refers to Ex(Book 2) Chap 1 Verse 8 Rashi b(#2)
SPECIALS:...on Rambam,Ramban,Symbolism,Pedagogy,Daily Questions
EMAIL: RJHendel@Juno.Com,rashi-is-simple@shamash.org,
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VERSE: v1a34-31
======
v1a34-31 Should our sister be treated like a prostitute
[Moderator: The verse is discussing the rape of
Dinah. Dinah's brothers attacked the town where she
was raped. Her father, Jacob, protested that such an
attack was 'going to far'. The brothers maintained
their position saying that they attacked the whole town
because their sister was degraded]
RASHI TEXT:
===========
v1a34-31 The Biblical phrase
>Like a prostitute
means
>Like 'deserted property'
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
=========================================
The verse actually says
>Should our sister be treated like a PROSTITUTE
However as the Sifsay Chachamim already points out, this is an
exaggeration, since Dinah was only raped by one person. The
sifsay Chachamim then explains that Rashi interprets
>PROSTITUTE = DESERTED UNPROTECTED PROPERTY
and the verse really means
>Should our sister be treated like deserted property.
In fact very often verses will use
>GOOD EXAMPLES(like 'prostitute')
of an
>ABSTRACT concept(like 'treated like trash')
rather than just state the abstract concept itself.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% QUESTION 1 %%
%% ========== %%
%% How would you go about showing examples%%
%% that verses communicate by exaggeation?%%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
We have already seen examples of this in the last issue in
volume 4 number 18, v1a49-11. Thus to illustrate the abstract
concept that
>God helps helpless people
the Psalmist stated
>Who picks up poor from the dust
This is obviously only a good example. God helps a poor person
even if he is not in the dust! Similarly to illustrate the abstract
concept that
>there will be plenty of food and wine in Judah's reign
Jacob stated
>they will tie wild donkeys to vines
(in other words the vines will be so strong that they can hold
donkeys--thus the 'tieing donkeys to vines' is symbolic of the
great prosperity in the Messianic era). {LIST1} below gives
many examples. {LIST2} analyzes the relation in these verses
between the abstract concept and the good example (Sometimes
the good example PRECEDES the abstract concept and sometimes
it is an EFFECT of the abstract concept--the more interested
reader can read this list below).
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
=========================
We make a methodological comment on this Rashi. One could see
this Rashi as resolving "the problem". The idea of approaching
Rashis by "the problem" was 1st hilighted by Dr Leibowitz in her
books. This is how the Sifsay Chachamim approaches this verse
>But Dinah was not a prostitute since a prostitute is
>someone who runs around with everybody
Thus we have a 'problem' which must be resolved.
Despite the strength of this argument we respectfully point out
that it doesn't really bother anybody nor is it a problem that
>a rape victim is called 'treated like a prostitute'
A more fruitful approach is the LIST approach of this email list.
All words can be used either literally or symbolically. The list
of literal and symbolic meanings are governed by simple rules--
if the context justifies not a literal but a symbolic interpretation
then we use it.
Such an approach seeks not a problem to each Rashi but rather
a LIST and a classification---what is the style? grammar? and
meanings involved? What are similar precedents?
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
===========================================================
{LIST1} {List of verses using the technique of
>PARADIGMATIC EXAMPLES
The verses states an abstract concept NOT by
explicitly stating it but rather by showing
>A GOOD EXAMPLE OF IT
Thus instead of God explicitly asking Job to
>stand up for himself
God instead asks Job to
>gird your loins
something done in time of war when you stand
up for yourself militarily}
VERSE TEXT TEXT MEANS
======== ================================== =====================
Job38-3 Gird your loins like a man Stand up for yourself
Joel2-24 Fill the granaries with grain Plenty of food
Ps113-7 Lifts the poor from the dust Helps the poor
Ps45-9 garments perfumed with myrr,aloe.. You'll be well off
Prv33-21 wine when it is red strong wine
SOURCE TO LIST 1: You cannot solve this with a CD rom.
However certain books of the Bible are intrinsically poetic.
Hence if you open them you will find examples. The poetic books
are Isa, Jer, Ez, 12 minor prophets, Ps, Prov, Job.
{LIST2} {Illustration of the technique of
>PARADIGMATIC EXAMPLE
Stating a concept by stating a good example,a good
cause or a good effect of it rather than by explicitly
stating it. The items on this list listed in column 1
come from {LIST3} with verse citations. We have the
following explanation of columns in this list
>column1 = the concept to be explained
>column2 = the Biblical "good example"
>column4 = is the example a CAUSE or EFFECT
>column3 = is the cause effect PRIMARY/2ndary
By way of illustration we look at the 2nd row
>The concept PLENTY OF WINE is illustrated with
>the verse WASHING CLOTHES IN WINE
>WINE WASHING is the EFFECT of having alot of wine
>WINE WASHING is a 2ndary EFFECT of lots of wine}
CONCEPT TEXT OF VERSE Primary? CAUSE?
============== ================================= ======== ======
Plenty of wine red eyed(from excessive drinking) primary effect
Plenty of wine wash clothes in wine(from excess) secondary effect
Plenty of wine tieing donkies to vines(strong) secondary cause
Stand up gird your loins secondary cause
plenty of food fill the granary with grain primary effect
help poor lift poor from dust secondary cause
rich,well off perfumed garments secondary effect
strong wine red wine secondary effect
CROSS REFERENCES:
=================
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
=================
Volume 4 number 18 v1a49-11
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
===============================================================
NEW MEANINGS | SYMBOLISM
`
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1b48-7
======
v1b48-7 ..Rachel died on the Road..& I buried her on the road
v1a48-7 and there was a MEASURE OF LAND till Ephrath
v1-35-16 ..and there was a MEASURE OF LAND till Ephrath
v1b44-13 ..and they came to the CITY OUTSKIRTS
RASHI TEXT:
===========
v1b48-7 I buried Rachel on the road and did not even bring her
into a city. Jacob says that he knows that Joseph was upset
that all the other patriarchs and matriarchs were buried in
Chevron except for his mother. Jacob explains that he buried
Rachel on the road so that when the Jews went into exile
they would pass by the burial plot of Rachel and her memory
would be a merit for them. Indeed it explicitly says about
the exile Jer31-14
>.. a voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, tears...
>...Rachel is crying on her children,she refuses to be
>...comforted on her children because they are no longer
>...there...and God responds ...stop your voice from crying
>...your eyes from tears for there is reward for your work
>.......and the children will return from the enemy land
Jacob further emphasized that he did the above from a prophetic
order.(Finally Rashi discusses the meaning of the Hebrew phrase
>CIVRATH HAARETZ
Since this is in another Rashi it will not be repeated but the
bottom line is
>it was a standard measure of plowing for one day
This will be discussed below).
v1a48-7 MEASURE of LAND=
(i) Land Measure=2000 Cubits(Like Sabbath Boundary)
(ii) Land that is ploughed (Midrash Rabbah)
(iii)Length of land ploughed in one day(cf 2K8-19)
(iv) A Standard measure of land
[Moderator For completeness I bring the RDK--
(v) Amount that can be walked from Dawn to breakfast
[Moderator These will all be explained below--for
convenience I combined v1a48-7, v1b48-7 v1-35-16]]
v1a35-16 MEASURE of LAND=
(i) Land Measure=2000 Cubits(Like Sabbath Boundary)
(ii) Land that is ploughed (Midrash Rabbah)
(iii)Length of land ploughed in one day(cf 2K8-19)
(iv) A Standard measure of land
[Moderator For completeness I bring the RDK--
(v) Amount that can be walked from Dawn to breakfast
[Moderator These will all be explained below--for
convenience I combined v1a48-7, v1b48-7 v1-35-16]]
v1b44-13 The palace is called the CITY OUTSKIRTS even though
it was the heart of the city because the 10
brothers were strong and could overtake the palace
physically (so it was like a city OUTSKIRT vs an
actual city to them)
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
=========================================
Wow! This is a peach among Rashis. Indeed
>On this Rashi, the Ramban humbly justifies Rashi(no disagreement)
>Rashi APPEARS as if he is being sermonic to comfort the exiles
>Rashi APPEARS to use Midrash to go against simple textual meaning
>Rashi appears to inject prophetic orders where there are none
>But Rashi is PURE THOUGHT, PURE GRAMMAR-not an ounce of politics
Whoever wishes to increase his/her FAITH IN THE SAGES and understand
that they only speak Grammatically and never politically, that
they were speaking the words of God and not what people wanted to
hear, should carefully study this Rashi and Rambans.
We will divide the explanation of this verse into two parts.
The first part will give the main argument. The second part
will give further supportive arguments. he first part is
clearly explained by the Ramban---Rachels burial place is
REPEATED three times---
>she died IN CANAAN ON THE ROAD
> about a mile away from Ephrath
> & I buried her on Ephrath ROAD
The Ramban is NOT being picky on extra words--rather the Ramban
is focusing on the grammatical principle that
>we don't repeat a NOUN if we can use a PRONOUN
It could have simply said
>she died in Canaan-------------
> about a mile away from Ephrath
> & I buried her on Ephrath ROAD
Thus the NOUN, ROAD is repeated.
Repetitions of NOUNS and VERBS occur frequently in Tnach. The
standard way of treating these double occurences is to interpret
the 2nd occurence of the NOUN or VERB as referring to a BROADER
interpretation of the NOUN or VERB or even to an ALTERNATIVE
meaning of the word.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% QUESTION 1 %%
%% ========== %%
%% Can you come up with good examples of %%
%% of repeated nouns and/or verbs which are %%
%% interpreted using this principle? %%
%% How would you find such examples? %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
{LIST1} {LIST2} {LIST3} all give many examples from past issues.
Here are some nifty examples which illustrate the above principle
The repetition of
>HOUSE
in 3-27-14:15
>sanctify HOUSE...redeem HOUSE
extends the normal meaning of HOUSE to refer to POSSESSIONs.
(That is the laws apply both to empty HOUSES as well as houses
with their CONTENTS, that is there possessions).
The repetition of
>MAN
in 3-18-6
>A MAN MAN shall not come near to having illicit sex
extends the CONTEXTUAL meaning of
>Jewish MEN are prohibited (cf 1-18-2)
to
> All men (non jewish also) are prohibited
The repetition of
>BLOOD
in 3-1-5
>bring near the BLOOD...throw the BLOOD
extends the contextual meaning that
>the properly collected blood of a sacrifice is thrown
to
>ANY blood (whether collected or spilled) is thrown
The repetition of
>HIT
in 5-13-16
>HIT HIT the city by sword
extends the meaning of HITTING the city to non-sword hittings
(if eg swords are not available)
The repetition of
>BROTHER
in 1-45-3:4
>And Joseph said to his brothers....
>And Joseph said to his brothers....
extends the meaning of BROTHER to BOTH physical brotherhood
as well as the emotional bonds of brotherhood (So Rashi says
that Joseph reminded his brothers that eg he was circumcised
and abstained from illicit sexual relations and that even though
he was in Egypt he nevertheless was their SPIRITUAL brother).
Returning to our verse the two words ROAD mean
>I buried her on the ROAD
>I buried her in the OPEN in a place of VULNERABILITY
In other words ROAD can mean
>ROAD or
>OPEN VULNERABLE PLACE
{LIST4} brings verses showing that
>ROAD means an OPEN VULNERABLE PLACE.
The 2 simplest examples are
>Amalek attacked you ON THE ROAD
or
>...where is the prostitute ON THE ROAD
In both these verses ROAD has a connotation of an OPEN VULNERABLE
PLACE where bad things happen.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% QUESTION 4 %%
%% ========== %%
%% How would you prove that sometimes %%
%% >ROAD=OPEN VULNERABLE PLACE %%
%% What tools would you use? %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Now that we have explained the meaning of the verse
>She died on the ROAD....
>and I buried her out on the ROAD IN THE OPEN
we have to explain WHY? What is the purpose of this emphasis?
Without meaning to sermonize we briefly and concisely state that
people who are well off do not 'hang out on roads'. Rather it is
the poor, distressed, and non-respected that 'hang out on roads'.
During such times of despair seeing the graves of dead people can
be an inspiration and needed help. For the dead remind the desparate
that there is hope in life and we can overcome obstacles. Of the 3
patriarchs and 4 matriarchs Both Rachel and Isaac symbolize
sacrifice.But Isaac's sacrifice was stopped
while Rachel's sacrifice was not.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% QUESTION 5 %%
%% ========== %%
%% How would you prove that Rachel led a %%
%% a sacrificial life and symbolized %%
%% tribulation more than Isaac? What sources%%
%% would you use? %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Rachel {LIST5}
>was robbed of her wedding night
>had children with great difficulty
>was robbed of intimacy with her husband
>was treated like a stranger by her father
>was cursed by her husband
>died with the least contribution of children
Hence Rachel is the Matriarch of Exile-despite her tribulations
she is a matriarch and she inspires hope in all her children.
We have already seen many times that Tnach will often communicate
an abstract idea not by stating that abstract idea itself but rather
by using a GOOD EXAMPLE. {LIST6} repeats this list which we have
presented several times in the last issue. Thus instead of stating
that there
>WILL BE PLENTY OF FOOD in the Messianic era the verse
instead says that
>CLOTHES WILL BE WASHED WITH WINE
(because there will be so much wine).
Similarly instead of saying that
>God helps the helpless
the Psalmist states that God
>picks up the poor from the dust
(Obviously God helps people who have not fallen down also).
In our verse also---Rashi simply picked a good example of
>Rachel being buried in the open where she inspires the helpless
In fact Rashi's example is not based on politics but based on the
ONLY Biblical verse, Jer31-14 where it explicitly mentions Rachel's
burial as being an inspiration to the exiled and helpless. But we
again emphasize that it is a mistake to
>EXHAUST the verses meaning with its applicability to the exile
rather we must regard Rashi as
>Giving a very good example
which indicates
>the general abstract concept
that
>Rachel's burial place inspires all people who are helpless.
Let me summarize our interpretation of this verse
>first we note the REPETITION of ROAD
>we interpret repeated nouns by generalizing their meaning
>so the second ROAD = OUT IN THE OPEN, VULNERABLE
>Rachel was buried in the OPEN VULNERABLE places
>Rachel is the Matriarch of the exiled and symbolizes hope
>Jer31-14 is a good example of the above.
>The above interpretation is a joint effort of Rashi-Ramban
The above is our main defense of Rashi (the double repetition of
ROAD). We now cite further nuances in the verse which support
or lend credibility to what we have just proven.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% QUESTION 7 %%
%% ========== %%
%% Why did Rashi state that %%
%% >CIVRATH ERETZ = about a mile and %%
%% >That Jacob followed a prophetic order %%
%% Did Rashi have a source %%
%% What techniques would you use to answer this? %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
To defend the rest of Rashi we use the powerful technique of
>ALIGNING VERSES
by which we take almost identical verses and line them up
thereby exposing any subtleties of difference. This is
presented in {LIST7} and repeated here. As can be seen
there are exactly 4 differences between 1-48-7 and 1-35-16,19.
We will now review them one by one. (The idea of aligning the
verses comes explicitly from the Ramban who brought in 1-35)
We emphasize that ALIGNMENT very often only SUGGESTS or SUPPORTS
ideas that have already been proved. So in this case the main
proof is the double occurence of ROAD. However the 4 nuances
in {LIST7} lend support for further ideas
VERSE 1-35-16,19 VERSE 1-48-7 NOTES
=========================== ========================= =====
and there was still when there was still
THE A *1
measure of land measure of land
to come to come
to the outskirts of Ephrath to the outskirts of Ephrath
... ....
and and
I *2
she was buried buried her
there *3
in the road to the in the road to
outskirts of Ephrath Ephrath *4
which is Beth Lechem which is Beth Lechem
Let us now explain the four differences.
*2,*3,*4
--------
Note how in 1-34 it says
>Rachel was buried
while now Jacob says
>**I** buried her **there**
Thus there is an emphasis on
>his personally doing it
>his doing it exactly at that spot.
It is probably from this difference(emphasis on I and THERE)
that Rashi infers that
>Jacob did the burial under prophetic order
Finally we note (difference *4) that 3 times it says
>she died/was buried on the ROAD to the OUTSKIRTS of EPHRATH
while in 1-49 Jacob says
>I buried her on the ROAD to EPHRATH.
The difference between the
>ROAD to the OUTSKIRTS of EPHRATH
and the
>ROAD to EPHRATH
could indicate that eg EPHRATH expanded so what was originally
the ROAD TO THE OUTSKIRTS became a ROAD TO THE TOWN ITSELF.
This is further supported by the statement in the verse that
EPHRATH became BETHLECHEM (When a city changes name
it can expand). In other words it would appear that
>Jacob ordered the burial (**I** buried her)
>he did it right **there**(despite a small distance to town)
>he knew that the city was changing (OUTSKIRTS vs CITY)
From all this we can infer that he probably was acting under
prophetic orders to inspire people.
Again, a total summary of all the above is
>the word ROAD is repeated twice in the verse
>Hence the 2nd ROAD = Out in open, Vulnerable
>Thus Jacob buried Rachel in the OPEN so that..
>she should inspire helpless people who pass by her grave
>Further Support for this is the emphasis
>**I** buried her **there**
possibly indicating a prophetic order
>EPHRATH OUTSKIRTS vs OUTSKIRTS
possibly indicating that city limits would change
>The death was a small distance from BethLechem
(So it was deliberate that he didn't move her)
The remaining comments are technical and may be found in the
list section. There we show that
>MEASURE OF LAND = Standard measure of land that
> could be plowed in one day
We also resolve the controversy of Rashi and Midrash Rabbah
We also show that
>TO A PLACE
can be designated grammatically EITHER with
>LAMED + PLACE (Prefix LAMED)
or
>PLACE + SUFFIX HAY
The SUFFIX HAY emphasizes
>in the direction of a place
>towards the outskirts.
I believe this is accepted grammatically and we bring a short
list of examples in {LIST9}.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
=========================
One last thought. Ramban criticizes the LANGUAGE of RASHI
>Jacob did not even bring Rachel to BethLechem to THE LAND
The phrase
>THE LAND
makes it sound as if Rashi was saying that Jacob was not buried
in Israel (which is clearly false since 1-48-7 explicitly says
she was buried in Canaan).
Sifsay Chachamim interprets
>bring Rachel to BethLechem to land
as
>bring her to a CITY (a 'land').
I would suggest that
>bring Rachel to BethLechem to PLACE HER IN THE LAND
means
>bring Rachel to BethLechem for BURIAL
since
>PLACE HER IN THE LAND could mean BURIAL
At any rate my point here is a point I have made often on this
list. Namely, Rashi is
>precise in concepts and lists
but
>not totally precise in style and language.
Such an approach (partially) disagrees with some scholars. But I
think that the Ramban's words on this verse prove it---Rashi,
whether we take the Sifsay Chachamim or my intepretation,
could have been clearer (and hence we are justified in stating
that Rashi's precision lies in concepts and lists but not always
in his style). Note, that the Ramban's disagreement was in style
only--he fully concurred with Rashi on meaning.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
===========================================================
{LIST1} {Of Repeated nouns in the same verse (Courtesy of Malbim)*1}
THE NOUN REFERS APPLICATION
TO TWO OBJECTS OF THIS
VERSE REPEATED NOUN THAT ARE SIMILAR PRINCIPLE
(Is in Caps) THESE 2 OBJECTS ARE OF TWO OBJECTS *2
----- ------------- ------- -----------
3-1-5 Offer BLOOD Blood in vessel Even spilled blood
Throw BLOOD Blood spilled on floor can be thrown
on altar (not just
blood properly
collected)
3-27-14 Sanctify HOUSE House=House These sanctify/
3-27-15 Redeem his HOUSE House=Possesions redeems laws apply
Either to a house
or a house with
possessions
3-23-32 On EVE of 9th Eve = After Sunset Don't eat on the
From the EVE Eve = During Sunset day prior to Yom
Kippur right up
to sunset. Rather
start the fast
prior to sunset
FOOTNOTES:
* 1
See Chapter 15 of Malbims beautiful Morning Star for a long list of
verses with double nouns--Morning Star occurs at beginning of his
commentary on Leviticus.
* 2
Nouns are never repeated if you can use a pronoun or suffix. There
are a variety of methods of treating double nouns. One of them being
that each noun refers to a DIFFERENT item (as shown in the list
below). In general repetition denotes EMPHASIS. The emphasis can
be by limitation or even by extension. For example, BLOOD BLOOD
denotes ANY blood even if it was spilled out of the temple vessel
HOUSE HOUSE denotes ANY aspect of the house (including its contents)
{LIST2} {Of verses with A MAN A MAN. All attempts see the repetition
as denoting a more liberal interpretation. However the
details of this liberalness have no concensus. Thus Rashi
simply teaches us the general idea of liberal interpretation
but leaves out any mention of details}
VERSE A MAN A MAN means? SOURCE SUBJECT OF VERSE
====== ==================== ============ ==========================
3-17-8 2 men do it together Zevachim 108 Offerings outside temple
3-17-3 bisexual people Zevachim 66 Slaughter outside temple*1
3-18-6 Non Jews Sanhedrin 57 Incestuous relationships
4-5-12 Even men in prison Sotah 27 Suspect wife ceremony *2
FOOTNOTES:
*1 Note that even though 3-17-3 and 3-17-8 sound alike nevertheless
3-17-8 by law applies even if two men together offered up the
animal while 3-17-3 by law does NOT apply if two men offered
up the anaimal together. The attempt to apply 3-17-3 to
women is seen as weak since the general equivalence of men and
women is learned from more explicit verses in Baba Kama 15
*2 This is NOT the halachah. If the wife of a prison inmate is
behaving improperly the court does NOT have the right to make
her go thru the suspect-wife ceremony. The most reasonable
interpretation of 4-5-12 applies to varied social types...
the woman must go thru the ceremony whether her husband is
the possesive type or easy going type.
4-5-12 A MAN A MAN when his wife commits adultery.
Quite amusingly here the Talmud (Sotah 27) derives that
the repetition of A MAN A MAN means that the suspected wife
laws of 4-5 apply to ALL men (even eg men in prison or
marriages with deaf people etc). I say "amusingly" because
even though such a midrash is sound and logical it is NOT
the halacha. Again we can appreciate why Rashi left out
a midrash which is not accepted halachah.
{LIST3} {List of verses that have double verbs (courtesy of
the Babelonian Talmud, Baba Metzia 31). Each verse
has some word repeated twice--one of the verbs is
an infinitive and the other is the normal form
of the verb. This list gives the lesson derived
from each: The infinitive means ongoing activity
and means it should be done even 100 times; the
double verb is interpreted like all double nouns
--the second verb is different than the 1st and
denotes that the activity of the verb is done
EVEN in other circumstances (See {LIST3} for the
treatment of double nouns)}
VERSE TOPIC DOUBLE
WORD INFINITIVE DOUBLE VERB
====== ============= ====== ========== ========================
5-22-1 Lost articles return 100 times without owner knowledge
5-22-7 Take birds*1 let-go 100 times even not for food *1
3-19-17 Rebuke sinner rebuke 100 times even a student to Rabbi
2-23-5 Help unload*2 unload 100 times even if owner can't help
5-22-4 Help reload*2 reload 100 times even if owner can't help
4-25-21 Death penalty die 100 times*3 even with other deaths*3
5-13-16 Hit city hit Long war*3 even with other deaths*3
5-24-13 Security return 100 times even if court sanctioned
2-22-25 Security return 100 times even if court sanctioned
5-15-8 Charity open up100 times even if from other cities
5-15-10 Charity give 100 times even if from other cities
5-15-14 Slave freeing Give Alot *4 even if you didn't profit
FOOTNOTES:
*1 This refers to finding birds in a nest. If you want the young
birds (for food) then you must let the mother bird go (and even
if she returns) you must repeatedly let her go. From the double
verb the talmud learns that this LETTING-GO law applies even
if you took it not for food but rather say for a sacrifice (I might
not think the mother has to be let go since she could be used for
a sacrifice also).
*2 The Biblical law requires that if you see a fellow Jews with
a loaded donkey then you must help him unload the donkey (to rest
it) and then you must also help him reload the donkey when he
wants to go back on his journey (So there are two obligations:
Loading and Unloading).
*3 There is no Talmudic derivation on the infinitive of placing
to death. But of my own accord I extended the "100 times" theme
to the death penalty---e.g. if you performed the execution and
he still didn't die you would have to perform the execution again
(till he dies)
*4 The Talmud notes that certain opinions did not hold this as
law. That is, if you lost money from the slave (during his work
by you) then you are NOT obligated to give him. This opinion
would hold by NONE of the laws in this list--they hold the
double verb form to be a Hebrew Idiom with no special meaning.
Nevertheless Rashi was faced with a problem. We use most of the
laws on this list. How then do the people who hold that the
infinitive and double verb have special meaning deal with these
verses. Rashi actually answers this question on the sister verse
to 5-15-14, which is 5-15-8.
It says there to GIVE GIVE to the the poor and then repeats
GIVE GIVE (HAAVAYT) his needs. Now the verse continues that you
only give him WHAT HE NEEDS (So if he doesn't need anything you
need not give him). Rashi therefore interprets the double-verb
to mean GIVE HIM ANY WAY YOU CAN... If you can't give him charity
then give him a loan (as e.g. a rich man who isn't eligible for
charity--he should be given a loan). This Rashi on 5-15-8 can
be applied to 5-15-14. According to those opinions that you only
give gifts to a slave when he leaves PROVIDED you didn't lose money
then you would still be obligated to give him a loan (so he can
start off in life).
{LIST4} {Verses where
>ROAD=OPEN VULNUERABLE PLACE
SOURCE: Review from a Konkordance or CD ROM}
VERSE TEXT
========== ==============================================
5-25-17:18 Amalek attacked you ON THE ROAD
5-27-18 Cursed be who makes a blind ON THE ROAD err
5-42-38 And an accident will happen to him ON THE ROAD
1-38-14:21 Prostitutes hang out ON THE ROAD
Job24-4 Pushes the poor off the roads
{LIST5} {List of tribulations that Rachel went thru.
This is used to justify the assertion that
Rachel is the Matriarch of the exile.
SOURCE: We can read thru the Biblical chapters and
found these out}
VERSE TEXT OF TRIBULATION TO RACHEL
========== ============================================
1-29-20:23 was robbed of her wedding night
1-30-1:2 had children with great difficulty
1-30-14:16 was robbed of intimacy with her husband
1-31-15 was treated like a stranger by her father
1-31-32 was cursed by her husband
1-35-17:19 died with the least contribution of children
{LIST6} {List of verses using the technique of
>PARADIGMATIC EXAMPLES
The verses states an abstract concept NOT by
explicitly stating it but rather by showing
>A GOOD EXAMPLE OF IT
Thus instead of God explicitly asking Job to
>stand up for himself
God instead asks Job to
>gird your loins
something done in time of war when you stand
up for yourself militarily}
VERSE TEXT TEXT MEANS
======== ================================== =====================
Job38-3 Gird your loins like a man Stand up for yourself
Joel2-24 Fill the granaries with grain Plenty of food
Ps113-7 Lifts the poor from the dust Helps the poor
Ps45-9 garments perfumed with myrr,aloe.. You'll be well off
Prv33-21 wine when it is red strong wine
SOURCE TO LIST 6: You cannot solve this with a CD rom.
However certain books of the Bible are intrinsically poetic.
Hence if you open them you will find examples. The poetic books
are Isa, Jer, Ez, 12 minor prophets, Ps, Prov, Job.
{LIST7} {Alignment of 1-35-16,19 and 1-48-7. The alignment
is used to support the idea that Jacob buried
Rachel on the ROAD so as to be an inspiration for
her children when they were in exile. The main
proof comes from the double repetition of the
word ROAD in 1-48-7}
VERSE 1-35-16,19 VERSE 1-48-7 NOTES
=========================== ========================= =====
and there was still when there was still
THE A *1
measure of land measure of land
to come to come
to the outskirts of Ephrath to the outskirts of Ephrath
... ....
and and
I *2
she was buried buried her
there *3
in the road to the in the road to
outskirts of Ephrath Ephrath *4
which is Beth Lechem which is Beth Lechem
*1 THE measure of land vs A measure of land
--------------------------------------------
The following 5 explanations have been advanced for this phrase
>It comes from CBR=ALOT and denotes a long distance
>It comes from CBRH=SIEVE and denotes
land that is well sieved=ploughed (Midrash Rabbah)
>(RDK) It comes from BRH=Have a good meal and denotes
the amount of time from dawn to breakfast
>Oonkelos--Amount of land that can be plowed in a day
>Rashi--a known measure of land
Let us show how these 5 explanations are the same. *1 in the
above list shows
>THE MEASURE of land vs A MEASURE of land
This difference would identify
>THE MEASURE OF LAND
as
>the standard length of land that was used (Rashi).
Thus Rashi was simply illuminating the difference between verses.
Next, CVRTH either comes from the root CVR or BRH. First we study
>CVRTH = CVRH = SIEVE
from which we would get the meaning of
>SIEVE=PLOUGH.
This is in fact what Midrash Rabbah and Oonkelos say
>The length of land that can be plowed in one day
Rashi further points out that eg just as
>BATHROOM does NOT mean the room with a bath
>ICE CUBE does NOT have to be cubical (but can be round)
>HIWAY does NOT have to be HIGHER than other roads
>a WATCH does not have to WATCHED
>a BEACH CHAIR need not ever be taken to a beach
so too
>A SIEVE OF LAND = A MEASURE OF LAND
refers to a standard measure of land EVEN IF THAT LAND IS NOT
SEIVED. In a Briskian nutshell, the equation
>A MEASURE OF LAND=measure of land sieved=plowed in a day
is not
>a MEANING
but rather
>an ETYMOLOGY.
For if I say that
>BATHROOM means the room with a bath
then a bathroom without a bath cannot be called a bathroom. But if
I say that
>BATHROOM's etymology is the room with a bath
then BATHROOM means any room assigned to bodily needs (whether
baths or anything else). Similarly ice cubes were originally
made cubical. That is their etymology. Today they refer to any
frozen water (whether cubical or not). Hence when the Midrash
Rabbah says that
>MEASURE of EARTH=Fertile earth that is well sieved=plowed
it is not giving a MEANING (something that is always true) but
rather giving an ETYMOLOGY. (Rashi proves this by bringing in
a verse (2K8-19) where MEASURE OF EARTH does not refer to FERTILE
LAND). (In closing RDK's derivation is from BRH=GOOD MEAL so that
CVRTH = the amount of time from dawn to breakfast. We are not
taking sides on what this standard distance is--suggestions range
from 2000 cubits(.6-.8 Miles) to 1 parasang (about 1.5 miles)
*2,*3,*4
--------
Note how in 1-34 it says
>Rachel was buried
while now Jacob says
>**I** buried her **there**
Thus there is an emphasis on
>his personally doing it
>his doing it exactly at that spot.
It is probably from this difference(emphasis on I and THERE)
that Rashi infers that
>Jacob did the burial under prophetic order
Finally we note (difference *4) that 3 times it says
>she died/was buried on the ROAD to the OUTSKIRTS of EPHRATH
while in 1-49 Jacob says
>I buried her on the ROAD to EPHRATH.
The difference between the
>ROAD to the OUTSKIRTS of EPHRATH
and the
>ROAD to EPHRATH
could indicate that eg EPHRATH expanded so what was originally
the ROAD TO THE OUTSKIRTS became a ROAD TO THE TOWN ITSELF.
This is further supported by the statement in the verse that
EPHRATH became BETHLECHEM (When a city changes name
it can expand).
{LIST8} {Difference between MEANING and ETYMOLOGY. This list
is used to show that even though a word has an original
meaning, that original meaning does not have to always
be present. So ICE CUBES were originally cubical but
today can be any shape. This list is used to harmonize
the Midrash Rabbah and Rashi---The Midrash Rabbah gives
the etymology of MEASURE OF LAND---it was land that
was well seived = well plowed; while today it means
that distance of land that could be plowed in a day}
WORD ETYMOLOGY MEANING TODAY
==== ========= =============
Bathroom Room with a bath Room for bodily functions
Ice cube Ice in shape of a cube Ice in any shape
Hiway An elevated road Any fast speed road
Watch Something you look at alot A time piece
Beach chair Chairs for the beach Any loungy chair
{LIST9} {The principle that
>TO A PLACE
can be designated either by
>LMD + PLACE
or
>PLACE + SUFFIX HAY
was explained in VOlume 4 Number 6 v1a28-2. This list
shows that the suffix hay form is used when you want
to indicate going to the OUTSKIRTS of something and
not to the heart of something}
VERSE PLACE THEY WENT TO OUTSKIRTS NOT HEART
======= ========= ==============================================
1-11-31 Canaan They only came to Charan (not into whole land)
1-18-2 Bowing You don't bow INTO THE LAND but TOWARDS it
1-50-13 Canaan They only went to Charan but not further in
1-46-10 Mitzrayim Yaakov dwelt in Goshen not the heart of Egypt
1-43-16 The house Presumably to the house vestubule 1st
CROSS REFERENCES:
=================
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
=================
Volume 4 Number 13 v1b48-7 Use Good examples for abstract concepts
Volume 4 Number 6 v1a28-2 TO A PLACE = SUFFIX HAY
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
===============================================================
DOUBLE NOUN | DOUBLE PARSHAS | ALIGNMENT
WORD MEANINGS
WORD MEANINGS
GRAMMAR
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End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
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