Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List VISIT the RASHI DATABASE archives AT http://www.shamash.org/rashi (C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000 Volume 4 Number 22 Produced Jan, 09 2000 WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10) ***WEB PAGE UPDATED TOMORROW MORNING 8 EST**** Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations -------------------------------------------------------------- v2a3-11 BULLETS in Biblical Hebrew are indicated by writing "THAT" twice. 2-3-11 reads "And Moses said Who am I (THAT=*=BULLET 1) I That I should go to a King like Pharoh and (THAT=*=BULLET 2)That the Jews should have the merit to leave Egypt. 4 examples cited #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#* RASHI - IS - SIMPLE ------------------- 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, #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#* VERSE: v2a3-11 ====== v1b3-5 And you will be like gods v1b3-6 She saw THAT the tree was good v1c3-6 ..and THAT it was desirous to the eyes v1d3-6 ..and precious for understanding v1a29-12 .THAT he was brother of her father.. .THAT he was son of Rivkah v1d33-11 ...THAT God has been graceful to me ...THAT he has given me all v2a3-11 And Moses said to God 'Who am I' THAT I should v2b3-11 go to Pharoh and THAT I should take the Jews out of Egypt RASHI TEXT: =========== v1b3-5 You will be like gods--'be able to create worlds' v1b3-6 She saw that the tree was good 'To become godlike' v1c3-6 ..and it was desirous to the eyes-'opening eyes' v1d3-6 .precious for understanding--'appreciate good/evil' v1a29-12 I(Jacob) am the the BROTHER(relative)of your father Another interpretation-- If your father is deceitful I can be his 'brother' in deceit If your father is a good man then I am the son of Rivkah (a good woman) and be behave good v1d33-11 Esauv spoke in an arrogant manner 'I have ALOT (more than is necessary)' But Jacob said I receive God's grace and have what is necessary for me v2a3-11 Moses said 'Who am I that I should speak to Kings' v2b3-11 ..and also even if I am worthy of going to King Pharoh, what merit do the Jews have to escape Egypt. BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION: ========================================= For purposes of exposition let us begin with v1a29-12 which Rashi himself says can be understood at TWO levels. ELEMENTARY LEVEL ---------------- At the elementary level the Chumash is simply repeating itself >I am the brother (=relative) of your father >(in fact) I am the son of Rivkah (his sister) Contrary to popular belief Rashi is not bothered by REPTITION. In fact Rashi explicitly says that REPETITION is simply a style that denotes ENDEARMENT. For example, on 1-46-2 where it says >and God called, Jacob, Jacob Rashi simply says >Repetition(of JACOB) denotes endearment of Jacob to God Similarly in 2-1-1 where it REPEATS the genealogies of the Jews (which we already knew) Rashi says >Repetition denotes endearment {LIST1} from a prior issue presents a list of such REPETITIONS denoting endearment. It is perfectly normal Biblical style. ----------------------------------------------------- |QUESTION 1: | |---------- | |How would you prove that Repetition denotes | |endearment? How would you find verses where there | |is repetition? What tools would you use? | ----------------------------------------------------- ADVANCED LEVEL -------------- Since repetition by itself does not indicate TWONESS but rather endearment, it follows that if you wanted to express TWO aspects of one concept you would need a special language feature to indicate this TWONESS. In English we use BULLETS. In English we would express the verse as follows * I can be your fathers brother (ie like your father) OR * I can be my mothers son (ie like my mother) The point being that Jacobs mother was a fine woman while Laban was deceitful. It is the BULLETS that emphasize that TWO concepts are being communicated. Once we know that there is some TWONESS to the communication it is easy to see that Jacob is saying that >I can behave like your FATHER or like my MOTHER. In Biblical Hebrew BULLETS are indicated by a KEYWORD CONNECTIVE like "THAT" that is repeated. There are in fact 6 sentences in the Torah that have the form >...THAT .. AND THAT The words "THAT" function as bullets. Thus the verse reads >and Jacob told Rachel > THAT he was the relative of her father >&THAT he was the son of Rivkah As already mentioned, once the idea of TWONESS is known (from the BULLETS/THAT) it is easy to see that Jacob was saying that >I can behave like your father or >I can behave like my mother ------------------------------------------- |QUESTION 2: | |=========== | |How would you find all verses which have | |the form .. THAT... AND THAT | |What tools would you use? How would you | |then confirm the thesis that the DOUBLE | |THAT functions like bullets? | ------------------------------------------- {LIST2} contains the 6 double THAT verses in the Torah. This list does not come from CD ROMS or KONKORDANCES. You can actually find this list in the micro-print that surrounds good Chumashes. This micro-print is considered a commentary and is called THE GREAT TRADITION (MSORAH GDOLAH). It was finalized by the Mesorites a group of people who lived between the closing of the Gemarrah, the Geonim and the codification of the Bible. It contains information on all sorts of word patterns. The work of the Mesorites was used to form the basis of the modern Konkordances. Rashi comments on 4 of these 6 "DOUBLE THAT" VERSES. The basic idea in each verse is that the "DOUBLE THAT" indicates a TWONESS. We now list each verse and then indicate HOW we would perceive the verse without the BULLETS/THATS and HOW we perceive the verse with the BULLETS/THATS. EXAMPLE 1--v1-29-12 ------------------- WITHOUT THE BULLETS/"THATS": I(Jacob) am your relative -------------------------- WITH THE BULLETS/"THATS": ----------------------- * DECEITFUL:I can act like your fathers relative * NICE: I can act like my mother EXAMPLE 2-3-11 --------------- WITHOUT THE BULLETS: Who am I that I should go to Pharoh --------------------& save the Jews WITH THE BULLETS/"THATS" ----------------------- * PHYSICAL: Who am I that I should go to Pharoh(a powerful king that might kill me) and take a nation of 600,000 people out of Egypt * SPIRITUAL: What merit do the Jews have that they should be saved EXAMPLE 1-33-11 --------------- WITHOUT THE BULLETS: I(Jacob) also have everything I need --------------------(Cf Esauv's statement (1-33-9) 'I have alot (more than I need)' WITH THE BULLETS/"THAT:" ---------------------- * I live by Gods grace * I however have everything (sufficient needs) In other words Jacobs statement >I have EVERYTHING can be understood >ARROGANTLY (I have ANYTHING I want) >WITH HUMILITY (I have sufficient for my needs) By using the two bullets (GODS GRACE, EVERYTHING) Jacob emphasizes that he is using the >ALL of SUFFICIENCY and not the >ALL of ANYTHING EXAMPLE 1-3-6 ------------- WITHOUT THE BULLETS: The snake said to Eve--look you don't even -------------------- know/appreciate that you are naked..by eating from the tree your eyes will be open(your desires will increase), & you will understand good and evil WITH THE BULLET/"THAT:" The snake said to Eve TWO things -------------------- * If you eat from the tree your EYES WILL BE OPENED * You will become like Gods and be able to create worlds The verse says that Eve then saw that * PHYSICAL:the forbidden fruit would OPEN HER EYES and give her an understanding of her nakedness and of good and evil * SPIRITUAL: it would make her godlike with the ability to create worlds The above compactly summarizes the various Rashis on the verse. Rashi simply took the above concepts and associated them with the verse phrases. The KEY point to emphasize is that what motivated Rashi was NOT the repetition but rather the repeat of the KEY WORD THAT. Further technical comments are given below. ------------------------------------------------ | STOP! STOP! | | The remainder of this section is technical! | | On a FIRST reading you may wish to scroll to | | the next section which begins with the word | | VERSE: You can scroll quickly by using the | | FIND feature in the main menu of your browser| | or word processor (FIND "VERSE:"). More | | ambitious readers (or on a 2nd reading) are | | encouraged to continue for many more | | interesting details and lists. | ------------------------------------------------ COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM: ========================= We have 3 comments #1) BROTHER = RELATIVE ---------------------- Jacob says that >I am the BROTHER of her father But in fact he was >the son of the sister of her father Rashi simply explains that >BROTHER is a generic word meaning relative. {LIST3} presents several examples. ------------------------------------------- |QUESTION 3: | |========== | |How would you prove that | | >Brother = Relative? | |What tools would you use? | ------------------------------------------- #2) CREATORS OF WORLDS ---------------------- I have frequently explained that Genesis 1 describes not the creation of the world but the creation of prophecy. What happened 6000 years ago is that the first prophet was created. See v1-1-4 in v1n25. Using this concept we would understand the dialog in Genesis 3 as follows --the snake suggested that by eating of the fruit (which eg according to some opinions was GRAPES=WINE=LIQUOR) their eyes would be open (ie they would become aware of themselves sexually, would know good and evil etc). --the snake further suggested that prophecy itself as eg in the 4 beasts of Ezekiel 1 was nothing but a description of sex--that is the snake denied prophecy and only perceived the world as dealing with physical desires. Hence the snake concluded that the visions they had were derived from sexual (vs spiritual) experiences and that therefore if they had the forbidden fruit=graphes=wine that they would acquire not only sexual understanding but prophetic understanding.(of course actual prophecy denotes spiritual matters having nothing to do with physical intimacy). Rashi derives the second point (that prophecy=sexuality) from the double bullet (double "THAT") which suggests that besides trying to "open their eyes"(Make them aware of themselves physically) the snake also attacked prophecy itself. #3) 2 BULLETS for THREE SENTENCES --------------------------------- Note that 1-3-6 and 2-3-11 both have 3 sentences but 2 bullets. Let us deal with 2-3-11 the treatment of 1-3-6 being similar. The verse says >Who am I that I should go to Pharoh > and that I should take the Jews out of Egypt As pointed out above, without the double "THAT" I would intepret both of these physically >Pharoh is a King and kills people; how can I go to him >Even if I take the Jews out of Egypt how can I feed them, provide shelter, deliver their babies etc (This last point was made by the Exodus Rabbah on this verse) BUT..with the double BULLETS/"THAT" we have that in ADDITION to the above physical interpretation there is a SPIRITUAL component (hence the TWO bullets) >PHSYCIAL: How can I go to Pharoh who is a king; he'll kill me >SPIRITUAL: Do the Jews have merit to escape Egypt. It is interesting how this verse is treated differently by the Midrash Rabbah and Rashi. Rashi Is simple--there are two bullets and two comments >Who am I that I should go to Pharoh >What merit do the Jews have to escape egypt But the Midrash Rabbah has 3 components >How can I go to Pharoh (he might kill me) >How can I sustain a nation of 600000 people >What merit do they have to leave In fact the Midrash Rabbah even has a 4th component. But the above should be enough for now. LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}: =========================================================== {LIST1} {Verses where something is REPEATED. In each of them the repetition is not EXPOUNDED to denote a TWONESS but rather the REPETITION is expounded to denote endearment. This LIST is compiled from similar lists notated by the Mesorites on the Chumash} NAME: VERSE WHERE THEY WERE REPEATED TWICE ================== ===================================== Abraham 1-22-11 *2 Jacob 1-46-2 *2 Moses 2-3-4 *2 Shmuel Sam-3-10 *2 You're beautiful Songs-4-1 *3 Names of the Jews 2-1-1 and 1-48-8 *1 FOOTNOTES *1 The 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 {LIST2} {The 6 verses in the Torah where it uses the form ....THAT....and THAT (In other words THAT is repeated We refer to these in the text as DOUBLE THAT verses. We interpret these THATS as the equivalent of BULLETS in English..each one denoting one point. The LIST was compiled using the work of the Mesorites.} VERSE THE TEXT BULLET INTERPRETATION ====== ================================== ===================== 1-3-6 THAT the tree was good for food Become godlike &THAT it is a desirous to the eyes Become selfaware 1-29-12 THAT he is the brother of her father Knows Deceipt &THAT he is the son of Rivkah Knows Brotherhood 1-33-11 THAT God has been graceful to me Started with nothing &THAT I have enough Now I have sufficient 2-3-11 THAT I should go to Pharoh Physical capability &THAT I should save the Jews Jews merit? 2-4-31 THAT God remembered the Jews &THAT He saw their suffering *1 4-5-20 THAT you've strayed from your husband &THAT you have become impure *1 FOOTNOTES *1 There is no Rashi on these verses {LIST3} {Verses where BROTHER denotes a RELATIVE but not a real brother} VERSE PERSON1 #2 RELATION TEXT ======= ======= ======= ============ ============================== 1-13-8 Abraham Lot Uncle-Nephew We are brothers 1-29-12 Jacob Laban Uncle-Nephew I am brother of your father 5-18-15 Jews Someone Nation-person ..a prophet from your brothers Prv19-7 Friends Poor Friends-Poor ..the poor's friends hate him 3-25-46 Jews Jews Nation-Nation ..against your brothers CROSS REFERENCES: ================= Volume 1 Number 6, v2-1-1 (Repeatition denotes endearment) Volume 1 Number 25,v1-1-4 (Gen 1 talks about the creation of prophecy) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: ================= RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}: =============================================================== OVERALL STRUCTURE OVERALL STRUCTURE OVERALL STRUCTURE OVERALL STRUCTURE OVERALL STRUCTURE OVERALL STRUCTURE OVERALL STRUCTURE OVERALL STRUCTURE #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#* End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*