Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List (C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 1999 http://www.shamash.org/rashi Volume 4 Number 6 Produced Nov, 12 1999 Topics Discussed in This Issue ------------------------------ v1d25-22 DRSH GOD=SEEK GOD means BOTH(a) to pray or(b) to seek advice from a prophet. Rashi & Ramban on this verse COMPLEMENT each other (they don't disagree). Many people (besides Rivkah) both PRAYED & SOUGHT PROPHETIC ADVICE. WALKING TO SEEK = Going someplace v1a28-2 You can express going TO a place by either (a) Placing a PREFIX LAMED before the name of the place (eg L MITZRAYIM= TO EGYPT) or (b) placing a SUFFIX HAY after the name of the place (eg MITZRAYMA = TO EGYPT). b2)For 2 word names place HAY after 1st word #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (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: v1d25-22 ====== v1d25-22 ..and she (Rivkah) went to seek God v1e25-22 ..and she (Rivkah) went to seek God RASHI TEXT: =========== v1d1-25 ..Rivkah went to the University run by Shem v1e1-25 ..Rivkah went to the University run by Shem in order that they should tell her how her pregnancy will progress BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION: ========================================= OUTLINE ------- There is a controversy between Rashi and Ramban on this verse. We present as follows >First we state the controversy >Then we state how to resolve the controversy >Then we list 'levels of understanding the controversy' This simply controversy will afford students an excellent opportunity to learn the principles by which controversies can be resolved as well as to learn pitfalls to avoid. THE CONTROVERSY --------------- Rashi holds that >Rivkah went to obtain PROPHETIC advice on her pregnancy Ramban, by contrast holds that >Rivkah went to PRAY To support his opinion the Ramban brings down the verses where the Hebrew verb >SEEK (DRSH) means prayer {LIST1}. THE RESOLUTION -------------- But as {LIST1} shows there are verses where >DRASH must mean >SEEK PROPHETIC advice. Furthermore, as {LIST1} shows >WALKING TO SEEK GOD vs >SEEKING GOD only occurs in two cases. The other case (2K1-2) was when King Achazya sent messengers to inquire from the Fly gods about his illness. Clearly then >WALKING to SEEK GOD denotes >GOING SOMEPLACE. Hence Rashi is Simple. It says here that >Rivkah WENT to seek God and hence we interpret it to mean that >SHE WENT someplace to seek advice. Rashi identifies this place she went to with the University of Shem. He does this because Rashi knew from other sources that such a University existed. This need not concern us here and will be defended in a later Rashi. For the moment the important thing is that Rivkah WENT SOMEPLACE to seek advice. (Ramban does not disagree that Rivkah went someplace; the disagreement is WHY she went there--to pray or to seek advice). Next upon reviewing {LIST1} we see that the Hebrew verb >To Seek (DRSH) is used BOTH for >Praying and also for >Seeking advice from a prophet. Therefore the most logical conclusion is that >Rivkah went to Shem's University to pray The content of her prayer was possibly that she should >get prophetic guidance After the prayer she >sought prophetic guidance from Shem. Such a view unifies the contributions of both Rashi and Ramban and is consistent with {LIST1}. Furthermore our conjecture that Rivkah went for BOTH prayer and advice is born out by {LIST2} which shows a variety of other people who BOTH prayed and sought advice-- >Chana (Sam1) prayed and was given a priestly blessing >David prayed for victories and also sought prophetic advice from the priests (1Sam23-2) >Manoach PRAYED that an Angel should give prophetic ADVICE (Ju 13-9) In summary we posit that BOTH Rashi and Ramban are correct--Rivkah >Both prayed and sought advice Such a position is consistent with >the list of verses where, DRASH=SEEK, occurs and with >the list of people who BOTH prayed and sought advice Having explained the Rashi-Ramban controversy we now list various levels of understanding this controversy. THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL -------------------- Since the Ramban DOES bring verses where >DRASH = SEEK = PRAY while Rashi does not bring any such verses we could flippantly say that Rashi was wrong and Ramban was right. Such an approach is inadequate since it assumes that Rashi did not know the Bible---a blatant absurdity THE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL ---------------------- Using {LIST1} we can find verses where >DRASH = TO SEEK PROPHETIC ADVICE Hence we have verses to support both Rashi and Ramban. Consequently we can say that Rashi used his verses while Ramban used his verses. In other words we say that the Rmbn school believed that DRASH=PRAY while the Rashi school believed that DRASH=SOUGHT PROPHETIC ADVICE. At the intermediate level we see controversy as a political process. We see each school believing in their set of verses. Such an approach is inadequate since it does not account for how Rashi dealt with Ramban's verses nor does it account for how Ramban dealt with Rashi's verses. THE ADVANCED LEVEL ------------------ At this level we seek to view Rashi and Ramban as COMPLEMENTING each other. In other words we see >DRASH=SEEK as having elements of BOTH prayer and seeking prophetic advice. Notice that this requires amending the Ramban's language. For the Ramban said >DRASH ***only*** means seek thru prayer Clearly this is not true as shown by {LIST1}. We certainly don't think that the Ramban was ignorant of the verses where DRASH means SEEKING thru prophecy. Hence we interpret his statement >DRASH **only** means seek thru prayer to mean >DRASH ***can*** mean seek ***ONLY*** thru prayer. As indicated the advanced level where we see Rashi and Ramban complementing each other leads to RICHNESS of interpretation and understanding. The only inadequacy of the ADVANCED LEVEL is that our suggestion that Rashi and Ramban are complementing each other and that the verse >SEEK GOD means >BOTH seek God thru prayer and seek God thru advice is pure speculation on our part. We are only assuming that the verse means BOTH things in order to avoid a controversy. We have not intrinsically shown the position on it own merits. This deficiency will be remedied at the next, PROFOUND level. THE PROFOUND LEVEL ------------------ At the profound level we add to the advanced level by providing {LIST2} which PROVES our contention that MANY people (not just Rivkah) BOTH >PRAYED TO GOD >SOUGHT PROPHETIC ADVICE. Thus the profound level brings the desired unity of Rishonim by proving all contentions with LISTS. In fact the PROFOUND level allows us to go back and reanalyze the verses brought by the Ramban in which he said that >SEEK = PRAYER It would emerge that SEEK could mean both PRAYER and seeking ADVICE in these verses. As mentioned in the introduction, this simple controversy affords us the opportunity to know the principles by which controversies can be resolved and how to prove such resolutions. COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM: ========================= LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}: =========================================================== {LIST1} {Verses where DRASH=SEEK is used. In some verses it MUST mean SEEK Thru prayer. In some verses it MUST mean SEEK thru prophecy. In many verses it can mean either. Also in only one case we have WALKING to seek which means going someplace to seek} VERSE TEXT WALK PRAYER/ADVICE ===== ====================== ============= ============= 2K1-2 Ask the Fly gods Walk and seek Pagan Advice Ps34-5 I sought God,He answers Prayer Ps77-3 When suffering I sought Prayer P119-10 With my heart I sought Prayer 2Ch18-6 Is..a prophet to seek Prophetic advice 2R3-11 Seek from a prophet Prophetic advice 1C10-14 He sought Witches,not Gd Prophetic advice 1Sam9-9 When one seeks God Seeks Prophecy {LIST2} {People who sought God BOTH thru prayer and prophetic advice PERSON VERSE WHERE THEY PRAYED VERSE OF OBTAINING ADVICE ====== ======================= ========================= Chana 1Sam1-10 1Sam1-17 Manoach Jud13-8 Jud13-9 David Ps52:60 1Sam23-2,11,12 CROSS REFERENCES: ================= ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: ================= RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}: =============================================================== DOUBLE PARSHAS DOUBLE PARSHAS QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS: ======================= HW #1: Create a complete list of all verses where SEEK occurs. Answer the following questions >In which verses does it HAVE to mean PRAYER >In which verses does it HAVE to mean SEEKING PROPHETIC ADVICE >In which verses can it mean either #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#* VERSE: v1a28-2 ====== v1a28-2 Go to PADAN ARAM (PdenA) v1b28-2 to the house of Lavan (BaythA) v1a46-1 and he came to Beer Sheva (BeerA) v1b14-10 ..they fled to the Mountains (HRHA) RASHI TEXT: =========== v1a28-2 Pdena = TO Padan v1b28-2 BaythA = TO the Bayit. Whenever you want to say TO (=L) you can drop the L and place a HAY at the end v1a46-1 A HAY at the end of the word has the same meaning as a LAMED at the beginning of the word They both mean TO the designated place v1b14-10 HRA = TO the mountains To express the concept >TO the mountains you can either PREFIX mountain with a lamed >L HAR or you can SUFFIX mountain with a HAY > HARA Both mean TO THE MOUNTAIN (And this differs from HHARAH which means to THE mountain). BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION: ========================================= From time to time Rashi will teach Grammatical rules. In the above verses Rashi teaches that if you want to state that >you are coming TO a place then you can either >place the prefix LAMED before the name of the place for example >L Mitzrayim (To egypt) or you can >place the SUFFIX Hay after the name of the place for example > MitzraymA {LIST1} shows 4 times Rashi mentions this principle in Brayshit. The rule is simple,straightforward and well known and needs no further comment. COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM: ========================= Why does Rashi bring down the Rule 4 times. In 1-46-1 Rashi shows how to use this SUFFIX HAY rule when the name of the place consists of two words. >You place the HAY on the FIRST of the two >words---BeerA Shva. On v1b28-2 Rashi shows how this rule applies even to places that do not have a proper name---(thus BAYIT=HOUSE and BAYTHA = TO THE HOUSE). This is in fact further illuminated by the Sifsay Chachamim who points out that the SUFFIX HAY rule only applies to places and certain utensils. Finally on v1b14-10 Rashi points out the difference between >HRH = fled to mountains versus >HHRH = to THE mountain. I have already indicated several time that when Rashi has a grammatical rule to teach he will GO OVER ALL CASES ONCE Hence here he goes over >The general case >The case of a 2 word name (Use Suffix Hay on 1st word) >The case of a non proper name (Like HOUSE) >The distinction between TO MOUNTAINS and TO THE MOUNTAIN Such a method is superior to Grammar books which give many examples but do not always cover all cases. By contrast Rashi always covers all cases and tries to allocate one example per case. LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}: =========================================================== {LIST1} {Verses where >TO a place is expressed by placing a HAY at the end rather than a LAMED at the beginning. I don't presently know why Rashi stated this principle on 4 verses but not on the others} VERSE PLACE TO THAT PLACE RASHI ===== ===== ============= ===== v1a28-2 Padan PadanA Yes v1b28-2 Bayith BaythA Yes v1b14-10 HR HRHA Yes v1a46-1 BeerSva BeerA Shva Yes v1-46-3 Mitryim MitzraymA No v1-46-4 Mitzrym MitzraymA No v1-46-6 Mitzrym MitzraymA No CROSS REFERENCES: ================= ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: ================= RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}: =============================================================== GRAMMAR GRAMMAR GRAMMAR GRAMMAR QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS: ======================= HW #1: Expand the list of places where the SUFFIX HAY RULE is used. #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (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 mentioning your name) simply say so (and your wishes will be respected). All other submissions (whether thru Shamash or ANY of my email addresses are made with the understanding that 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. THE WEB SITE ------------ To review all past issues as well as to see all principles go to the web site HTTP://WWW.Shamash.Org/Rashi/Index.Htm. You can download all past issues from this website. 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To SUBSCRIBE send email to listproc@shamash.org, and type in the body of the message: subscribe rashi-is-simple email-address FName LName OUR GOALS --------- 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 * These postings will be archived in Shamash in Quartuplet -- By Volume and Number -- By Verse -- By Grammatical Rule -- By quicky explanation * Rashi-Is-Simple should prove useful to layman, scholars, rabbis, educators, and students * Although this list is orthodox we welcome all logical --explanations --contributions --modifications --questions --problems provided they are defended with adequate examples. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ---------------------- For further information on the character of this list * 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 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*