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Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000
Volume 6 Number 3
Produced May, 08 2000
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------
v1b2-19
Some verses are best understood using APPOSITION-or
SENTENCE arrangement. eg "HE went camping, HE & HIS
FAMILY" really means "HE & HIS FAMILY went camping"-this
sentence is best understood by REARRANGEMENT. 6 Rashis
are brought.Alternatives are discussed
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RASHI IS SIMPLE
GOALS: To grammatically defend all 8000 Rashis on Chumash.
METHOD:Every Rashi will be defended with a LIST of comparable cases
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COMMENTS,QUESTIONS: EMail to address below; (minor edits may occur)
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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
RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RULES...Complete set with examples ON BOTTOM
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VERSE: v1b2-19
======
***************************************************************
MODULE 1: The principle of APPOSITION & SENTENCE REARRANGEMENT*
***************************************************************
In this issue we present Rashis that
>REARRANGE A SENTENCE ORDER TO MAKE IT CLEARER
The simplest example of REARRANGEMENT, is the grammatical
principle of
>APPOSITION.
An example of APPOSITION is the sentence
>HE went camping---HE & HIS FAMILY
We say that the CAPPED PHRASE
>HE & HIS FAMILY
is in APPOSITION (or OPPOSITE) to the CAPPED WORD
>HE
Another way of putting this is to INTERPRET the sentence
>HE went camping---HE & HIS FAMILY
as really meaning
>HE & HIS FAMILY WENT CAMPING
The purpose of APPOSITION is to create EMPHASIS---
>HE went camping (HE & HIS FAMILY)
emphasizes the decision to go camping by placing it up front. It
is as if the sentence said
>HE indeed decided to go camping (HE & HIS FAMILY)
We now present the Rashis
EXAMPLE 1:
----------
>Gn02-19b ALL that Adam named-(EVEN) WILD BEASTS-that was their name
>RASHI:
> ALL-(EVEN) WILD BEASTS-that Adam named,that was their name
Thus Rashi emphasizes the APPOSITION by REARRANGING the sentence to
make it clearer. Rashi uses the same technique in the other examples
presented below.
******************************************************************
MODULE 2: EXAMPLES OF (APPOSITION)SENTENCE REARRANGEMENT IN RASHI*
******************************************************************
EXAMPLE 2:
----------
>Gn14-15a HE split on them-HE & HIS SERVANTS-& they conquered them
>RASHI:
> HE-HE & HIS SERVANTS-split on them & they conquered them
EXAMPLE 3:
----------
>Ex02-05a And Pharoh's daughter went DOWN to wash-NEAR THE NILE
>RASHI:
And Pharoh's daughter went DOWN-NEAR THE NILE-to wash
(Amusingly---she did not openly bathe in the Nile---rather she
bathed in a bath house that was located near the Nile)
EXAMPLE 4:
----------
>Nu19-07b HE'll wash his clothes-&then be pure-HE IS IMPURE TILL EVE
>RASHI: HE'll wash his clothes-HE IS IMPURE TILL EVE-&then be pure
Perhaps the following makes this even clearer
>HE'll wash his clothes & then be pure-
>BECAUSE he is impure till eve
(NOTE that the Hebrew word AND can mean OR, BECAUSE or any
connective)
EXAMPLE 5:
----------
>Dt04-38a To CONQUER-nations stronger than you-FROM BEFORE YOU
>RASHI: To CONQUER-FROM BEFORE YOU-nations stronger than you
*************************************
MODULE 3: When NOT to use APPOSITION*
*************************************
EXAMPLE 6:
----------
>Nu27-02b And They stood BEFORE Moses, &Before Elazar, &Before...
>RASHI:
>>>>>>(EXPLANATION 1):
>1st they stood before the community,
>then before Elazar and
>only then before Moses
Thruought this email list we have suggested that when two
explanations are given by Rashi, that Rashi really finds
> the first explanation unsatisfactory
and really finds
> the 2nd explanation satisfactory.
But we emphasize that the grammatical principle of
>APPOSITION
only justifies
>Placing a sentence phrase OUT OF SEQUENCE
It does NOT justify
>rearranging a LIST (Moses, Elazare, Congregation)
Thus Rashi is correct in rejecting EXPLANATION 1. We go on to
>>>>>>(EXPLANATION 2):
>They stood before Moses & Elazar & The community
>But they phrased their question so that the question
>impacted each of the people they stood before.
Rashi learns this from the repeated CONNECTIVE WORD
>BEFORE
We have explained elsewhere that a repeated connective word
acts as a bullet. So the verse reads
>They asked their question to
>>Moses
>>Elazar
>>The Community
To understand HOW they formulated the question so that its nuances
spoke individually to
>Moses
>Elazar
>The Community
let us examine the next Rashi
EXAMPLE 6a (Argument to Moses):
-----------
>>Nu27-03b He wasn't in the Korach rebellion but died thru his sin
>>RASHI:
>>That is, he didn't rebel against God and prophecy.
In other words the girls in asking their question emphasized that
>Our father who died was not one of your enemies from
>the Korach rebellion.
Hence their question specifically addressed Moses by stating that
their father was not his enemy.
Rashi does not tell us how the Girls focused their question on
>Elazar
>The Community
But it is easy to guess
EXAMPLE 6b (Argument to the community):
-----------
>>Nu36---If the girls inherit their father and then marry into
>> another tribe then when they die their fathers inheritance
>> will be transferred to the new tribe.
Such an argument is an argument not to Moses or Elazar but to the
COMMUNITY. Although this argument was brought in Nu36 it is
conceivable that the girls mentioned it in their initial question.
EXAMPLE 6c(Argument to Elazar):
----------
>>Nu27-04 Why should our father lose his inheritance because
>> he has no son
>>
The nuances here were possibly addressed to Elazar, the Priest.
For the girls could argue that PRIESTHOOD is MALE dependent and
if their is no MALE there is no PRIESTLY status to the girls--
they can't eat sacrifices. So too, possibly in inheritance; if
there was no MALE there would be no inheritance for the girls.
Such an argument made their question more professional looking.
As usual the 6 Rashis illustrating apposition are summarized in
{LIST1} while the 3 nuances to moses, Elazar and the Community
are presented in {LIST2} The Rashi-is-Simple posting showing
the relationship between repeated connective words and bullets
is indicated below and may be found at the Rashi website.
{LISTS} {The following material is a bit technical---please ignore
on a first reading}
{LIST1} {5 Rashis illustrating SENTENCE REARRANGEMENT or APPOSITION
To illustrate the meaning of this list let us look at the
first example
>HE went camping---HE & HIS FAMILY
The DISPLACED CAPPED PHRASE is in APPOSITION to the
CAPPED word HE. In other words the sentence COULD be read
>HE--HE and HIS FAMILY--went camping.
The other verses can be similarly interpreted}
VERSE DISPLACED PHRASE SENTENCE
===== ================ =====================================
HE & HIS FAMILY HE went camping
Gn02-19 WILD BEASTS ALL he named is really their name
Gn14-15 HE& SERVANTS HE split on them..& conquered them
Ex02-05 NEAR THE NILE She went DOWN, to wash
Nu19-07 HE HE'll wash & become pure
Dt04-38 FROM BEFORE YOU TO CONQUER, nations stronger than you
{LIST2} {This vindicates the 2nd Explanation in the Rashi Nu27-02b
Rashi explains why the verse says
>They stood
>Before Moses
>Before Elazar
>Before the community/Tribe
The repeated BEFORE suggests a BULLETING effect; their
question had nuances addressed to each person. These
nuances and the verses supporting them are presented below}
Nu27-02 VERSE ARGUMENT
======= ======= ===================================================
Moses Nu27-03 He didn't rebel with Korach*1
Tribe*2 Nu36 If they a)inherit b)Marry c)Die their tribe loses*2
Elazar Nu27-04 Maybe INHERITANCE=PRIESTHOOD & is male dominated*3
FOOTNOTES
---------
*1 Rashi cites various opinions on how he did die.
>He was the wood cutter who was executed (Nu15-32)
>He was one of those who prematurely warred Canaan(Nu14-44:45)
*2 This was an argument by the community. If the girls
>inherit their father
>marry into another tribe
>die before their husbands
Then their husbands will inherit the land from another tribe
*3 So that girls should not inherit at all
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Volume 4 Number 22, V2a3-11--we show how repeated
connectives in a sentence mimic bulleting.
PRINCIPLES USED: OVERALL STRUCTURE
OVERALL STRUCTURE
OVERALL STRUCTURE
OVERALL STRUCTURE
OVERALL STRUCTURE
OVERALL STRUCTURE
OVERALL STRUCTURE
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THE 2 DOZEN RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RASHI RULES
=======================================
I: RASHI gives MEANING
======================
A: WORD MEANINGS--(eg)"on the face of"=during the lifetime
(v2n6,v4-3-4), http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4-3-4.htm
B: SPECIAL WORDS--(eg)ACH=USUALLY;USUALLY observe shabbath!
(v2n6, v4-1-49),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4-1-49.htm
C: SYNONYMS--(eg)YShV=RESIDE; GARTI='INNED'--temporary say
(v1n1, v1-32-5), http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1-32-5.htm
D: UNIFIED MEANING--(eg)Tz Ch K = (a) laugh, OR (b) mock
(v4n4, v1-21-9), http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1-21-9.htm
E: NEW MEANINGS--(eg)HEAD-MOUTH of garment = HEM of Garment
(v5n10,v2a28-32),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2a28-32.htm
II: RASHI teaches GRAMMAR/STYLE
===============================
F: CLASSICAL GRAMMAR--(eg)HEY+CHATAF PATACH=QUESTION
(v2n24,v1b3-11),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1b3-11.htm
G: USAGE(NEW GRAMMAR)--(eg)INFINITIVE=GERUND;WATCHING laws;
(v2n10,v4-32-6),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4-32-6.htm
H: ROOT+PREPOSITION--(eg) BCH AL=cries about,BCH ETH=mourn
(v1n14,v1a45-14),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1a45-14.htm
I: SEMANTIC RULES--(eg) WAGES="ENDoF"="END oF Work Day';
(v1n10,v1b1-1),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1b1-1.htm
J: STYLE--(eg)REPETITION denotes Endearment;'Abraham,Abraham
(v1n6,v2-1-1),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2-1-1.htm
K: DOUBLE NOUNS--(eg)HIT HIT by sword ('even without sword')
(v2n20,v2a22-25),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2a22-25.htm
L: PRONOUNS--(eg) sanctify OTHO = sanctify ONLY IT;
(v2n10,v4a7-1),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4a7-1.htm
III: OVERALL TEXTUAL STRUCTURE
==============================
M: OTHER VERSES--(eg)STONE(3-25-13)=BALANCE STONES(3-19-36)
(v3n9,v5b25-13),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5b25-13.htm
N: EXTRA SENTENCES--(eg)he'll dress his measurement=TAYLORED
(v1n20,v3a6-3),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v3a6-3.htm
O: DOUBLE PARSHAS-'he WILL pray'-'he WON'T pray';So Optional
(v3n12,v5a24-14),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5a24-14.htm
P: CLIMAX-(eg 5-19-11)(a)Hate, (b)spy, (c)confront,(d)Murder
(v3n9,v5-19-11),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5-19-11.htm
Q: OVERALL STRUCTURE-growing nails=despisement(from context)
(v3n8,v5-21-12),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5-21-12.htm
IV: IMPLICATIONS & DERIVATIONS
==============================
R: STAGES-learn HUMAN marital frequency from ANIMAL ratios
(v1n14,v1a32-15),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1a32-15.htm
S: MORAL LESSONS/REASONS-God spoke before punishment;we too
(v2n12,v4-12-9),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4-12-9.htm
T: RabbiIshmael-(eg)When an OX gores; OR ANY animal gores;
(v2n19,v2-22-17),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2-22-17.htm
V: OVERALL
=================
U: SYMBOLISM-'WASHING his clothes in wine'=PLENTY of wine;
(v4n18,v1a49-11),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1a49-11.htm
V: PICTURES--(eg) The TZITZ was like a HELMET over a turban
(v5n12,v2-40-35),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2-40-35.htm
W: TABLES/SPREADSHEETS---To appear
End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
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