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Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000
Volume 6 Number 7
Produced May, 21 2000
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------
v6b5-20
An Anonymous contributor suggests that I place the main
idea ON TOP and place the verses and Rashis in the
middle (We have been doing it the opposite way). I have
done that in this issue. Let me know if it helps. As
usual contributions are always welcome.
v1c6-9
There are 3 meanings to HLCH depeding on the
proposition. HLCH IM = To Go with; (b) HLCH ETH = To
apprentice (C) HLCH LFANAI=To Devote oneself to. Thus
Noach only APPENTICED HIMSELF to God while Abraham
DEVOTED HIS WHOLE LIFE TO GOD.Further examples given
v1z6-9
Ha-ELO-H-IM means THE LAW, JUDGES, the JUDICIAL PROCESS.
Even when referring to God it refers to God as LawGiver.
SEveral examples are studied where Ha-Elo-H-IM means
COURT, JUDGES etc.
v6a5-20
CB Chait gives further insights into meaning of Rayah.
She also corrects the spelling of her name
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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
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
RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RULES...Complete set with examples ON BOTTOM
EMAIL: RJHendel@Juno.Com,rashi-is-simple@shamash.org,
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FROM Anonymous
TO RJHendel@Juno.Com
DATE 5-17-2000
RE Simplicity of Rashi is simple
I read through it that night and understood it well. Before I give you
concrete suggestions, I wanted to review it again, which I haven't had a
chance to do.
One suggestion I can make at this time: put the new material at the
beginning. This will make it much easier to find and follow. That can
be followed by the notes and that followed by Q/A and loose ends.
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VERSE: v1c6-9
======
One of the principles that we have introduced in this list is that
meaning is NOT JUST an attribute of
>3 letter verb roots
but rather meaning is determined by the COMBINATION of
>3 letter roots and prepositions(Connectives).
In other words, the same root can have two different meanings
depending on the prepositions (connectives) with which it is used
For example, the verb
>TO WALK (H-L-Ch)
can be combined with at least 3 connectives. We have
>TO WALK WITH (H-L-Ch IM) = to GO with
>TO WALK OF (H-L-Ch ETH) = to APPRENTICE
>TO WALK FACING (H-L-Ch LFaNauV) = to DEVOTE onself
Here is our point. Even though
>GO
>APPRENTICE
>DEVOTE
are three different concepts nevertheless they all use the same
Hebrew root
>H-L-Ch (Walk)
English translations (including JSP) are not always that careful
on this principle (Which was first explicitely introduced by the
Malbim in Lev01-01)
EXAMPLES: (See Summaries in {LIST1} and {LIST2})
---------
EXAMPLE 1: Gn17-01a
----------
The following are examples where the Hebrew phrase
>WALK FACING
really means
>DEVOTE
The following people all DEVOTED themselves to some cause
WHO TO WHOM TEXT OF VERSE VERSE
------- ------- ------------------------------- ---------
Abraham God DEVOTE yourself to me Gn17-01a
Samuel Nation I have DEVOTED my life to you 1Sam12-02
Priests Nation ..priests who DEVOTE themselves 1Sam02-35
The last example (1Sam02-35) is appreciated when we realize that
the prophet is rebuking Eli because his sons used the priesthood
for personal gain.
EXAMPLE 2,3: Gn06-09c, Gn13-05a
-----------
The following are examples where the phrase
>WALK OF
really means
>APPRENTICE
The following people all APPRENTICED THEMSELVES to some idea/person
WHO TO WHOM TEXT OF VERSE VERSE
----- ------- ------------------------------------ ---------
Lot Abraham Lot, Abrahams APPRENTICEE,had riches Gn13-05a
Noach God Noach APPRENTICED himself to God Gn06-09c
Note that it is a subjective value judgement that eg Lot only
APPRENTICED himself to Abraham while Samuel DEVOTED himself to
the nation. Similarly it is subjective that Noach only
APPENTICED himself to God while Abraham DEVOTED himself to God
By this we mean that eg NOACH only apprenticed himself
to God---went to synagogue, gave money to causes etc. While
Abraham was the equivalant of say a full time Rabbi--a person who
works full time for God. Such a perspective can be supported by
examining other verses which show the EXTENT ot attachment. Rashi
hilights the nuances of APPRENTICESHIP vs DEVOTION as can be seen
from the following texts
>Gn06-09c >Noach WALKED OF God
Gn17-01 >..God said to Abraham WALK FACING me
>RASHI:
>By Abraham who was mature in the service of God
>we use the phraseology
>WALK FACING me
>By Noach who was not as experienced in service of
>God, we use the phraseology
>WALK OF me
>Gn17-01a >..God said to Abraham WALK FACING ME
>RASHI: >..The Hebrew term
>WALK FACING ME
>is translated like the Aramaic translation
>DEVOTE yourself to my service
>Gn13-05a >And also Lot,who WALKED OF Abraham, had many riches
>RASHI: >In other words the phrase
>WHO WALKED OF Abraham (Apprenticeship)
>explains WHY Lot was rich (Because he followed
>Abrahams example of being Charitable). Thus
>the verse should be translated as
>
>And Lot also had riches....(Because) he was
>Abrahams apprentice
EXAMPLE:
--------
Finally the following verses illustrate that
>WALK WITH = Ordinary GOING WITH
WHO TO WHOM TEXT OF VERSE VERSE
-------- ------- ---------------------------------- ---------
SOLDIERS DAVID The soldiers who WENT WITH David 1Sam30-22
RIVKAH Eliezer Will you GO WITH this person 1Gn24-58
These examples are compactly summarized in {LIST1} and {LIST2}.
LISTS,NOTES,SUMMARIES:(This section may be ignored on a 1st Reading)
====================================================================
{LIST1} {Summary of the 3 meanings of H-L-Ch. We conjecture that
the meaning of H-L-Ch=TO WALK, depends on which connective
is used with the verb. Verse examples are presented in
{LIST2})
Connective Phrase Hebrew MEANING
========== ============== ================ ================
WITH TO WALK WITH (H-L-Ch IM) to GO with
OF TO WALK OF (H-L-Ch ETH) to APPRENTICE
FACING TO WALK FACING (H-L-Ch LFaNauV) to DEVOTE onself
{LIST2} {Verses illustrating the 3 meanings of H-L-Ch depending
on their connective. The 3 meanings were of H-L-Ch were
presented in {LIST1}. The last column indicates the
preposition used with H-L-Ch}
WHO TO WHOM TEXT OF VERSE VERSE HLCh
======= ======= =================================== ========= ====
Abraham God DEVOTE yourself to me Gn17-01a FACE
Samuel Nation I have DEVOTED my life to you 1Sam12-02 FACE
Priests Nation ..priests who DEVOTE themselves 1Sam02-35 FACE
Lot Abraham Lot, Abrahams APPRENTICEE,had riches Gn13-05a OF
Noach God Noach APPRENTICED himself to God Gn06-09c OF
SOLDIERS DAVID The soldiers who WENT WITH David 1Sam30-22 WITH
RIVKAH Eliezer Will you GO WITH this person 1Gn24-58 WITH
PRINCIPLE USED: ROOT+ PREPOSITION
==============
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VERSE: v1z6-9
======
Rashi is Simplist, Akiva Miller recently asked on the email group
HebLang, why Gods name,
>ELOKIM = GOD
sometimes has a definite article before it
>HaELOKIM = THE GOD.
In other words what does the phrase
>THE GOD
mean? When is it used?
After reviewing several examples I discovered that according
to Rashi
>HAELOKIM
is used when talking about
>Judicial process, a court case.
Let us look at some examples
EXAMPLE 1: Ex21-06a
----------
The Biblical text is speaking about a slave who refuses freedom and
wishes to remain a slave. The Bible tells the master...
>Ex21-06a >His master should bring him to HAELOHIM
>RASHI: >The Hebrew word
>HAELOHIM
>means
>court.
EXAMPLE 2: Gn06-02z
----------
>Gn06-02a >And the students of HAELOHIM snatched girls
>RASHI: >The Hebrew word
>HAELOHIM
>means
>the princes and Judges
>(More in Rashi but we have discussed this elsewhere
EXAMPLE 3: Ex18-19b
---------
The Biblical text is discussing how Jethro advised Moses on a
more efficient judicial system. Jethro suggested that Moses
simply act as a middleman for delivery of the Law from God and
that a hierarchy of Judges be used to decide cases.
>Ex18-19b >You be for the nation opposite HAELOKIM
>RASHI: >You should be the middleman that
>ASKS GOD ABOUT PROPER LEGAL PROCEDURE
Thus even though
>HAELOKIM does refer to God here,
nevertheless Rashi emphasizes that
>HAELOKIM refers to God in his capacity as a Law Giver
(NOTE: To be fair to Rashi---Rashi explains 2 words
>OPPOSITE = Middleman
>HAELOHIM = God as transmitter of Law
We only explained one of these two. The other will be explained
at a later date).
EXAMPLE 4: Ex03-01b
----------
Before discussing this next example allow me to cite a discussion
between Professors Devins and Barnett on Heblang on whether
>ALL examples precede the theory explaining them
(So eg we would first decide on the meaning of EVERY verse
with ELOKIM and only then try to find a unifying meaning)
or alternatively
>MOST examples precede the theory explaining them
(So eg we would look at many examples of verses with ELOKIM,
then we would find a unifying meaning (Judicial process) and
finally we would go back to the verses we had not yet
explained and REEXPLAIN THEM.)
The following is an example of this alternative approach
>Ex03-01b Moses was grazing sheep at the mountain of HAELOKIM
>RASHI: Mount Sinai was called
>The Mountain of HAELOKIM=The mountain of the LAW
because the LAWS of COURTS (Ex 21) was destined TO
BE GIVEN on it (Ex 21 follows the revelation in Ex20
Let me explain this Rashi further. The other occurences of
>ELOKIM
clearly mean
>The LAW, the JUDICIAL PROCESS, the JUDGES
However Ex03-01
>Moses was grazing sheep at the MOUNTAIN OF "THE GOD"
does not clearly refer to Law. For example another reasonable
interpretation is that
>MOUNTAIN OF THE GOD = AWE INSPIRING MOUNTAIN
It is only however, AFTER we reviewed the other examples and
discovered that
>ELOHIM = LAW, JUDGES, JUDICIAL PROCESS
that I go back and REINTERPRET Ex03-01 as
>MOUNTAIN OF ELOKIM = MOUNTAIN OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM
In summary, the previous examples JUSTIFY reinterpreting Ex03-01
as refering to Mount Sinai as the MOUNTAIN of the LAW.
-------------------------------------------------------
|HOMEWORK EXERCISES |
|To avoid lengthiness we will complete this module |
|next time. We will also examine several consecutive |
|occurences of ELOKIM so we can ascertain how often |
|statistically ELOKIM means LAW (and how often we |
|reinterpret). For those wishing to prepare |
|please review the following verses |
| Gn44-16a |
| Gn06-09c |
| Gn35-07 |
| Ex18-11b,c,d |
|What is the difference between these examples and |
|the examples we covered so far |
--------------------------------------------------------
PRINCIPLE USED: SYNONYMS
===============
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From: Chaya Chait
To: rjhendel@juno.com
Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 18:42:22 -0700
Subject: while we're on the topic,
I just had a chance to read the R-I-S msg of 5/15/00.
Please share with the list that I also became convinced,
with your help, that rayah indicates a "similar"
(a person of equal spiritual importance). I was
impressed with that concept vis a vis H"KBH's regard for basar v'dam.
[MODERATOR: By the way this is a theme that it is hard to
find an adequate English translation for Hebrew words. Thus we have
>ME: RayAh = Business Partner / Colleage
>CB: Rayah = a "similar"
>ANONYMOUS: Rayah=a "reciprocity colleague"
All these terms are of course approximate (Some better than others)
This is true in all our translations and for that reason we
encourage discussion]
Sh'koach, and puh-leez spell my name correctly. B-ru-r-y-a
(there are 4 Chaya Bruriah (2)/Bruria(1)/Brurya's (1) in
Baltimore, and the spelling of my name is A) the one that
I use, and B) the only way people can distinguish which CB
is being discussed. If only H"KBH determined that Klal Yis.
should be limited to such problems as name spellings,
halevai....
Seriously, people who know me read this list, and they're
curious about why my name-spelling allegedly changed.
[Moderator:It is peculiar that I spend so much time in
spelling in Tnach but can't spell an English name.
Anyway tell your friends it is entirely my fault and will
not happen again (Better still..tell them to join Rashi is
Simple]
Chaya Brurya
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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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