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Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000
Volume 6 Number 9
Produced Jun 1, 2000
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------
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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)
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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: v3x26-42
=====
******************************************************************
MODULE 1: The 4 methods of dealing with FULL/DEFICIENT spellings *
******************************************************************
We now complete the review of
>FULL and DEFICIENT spelling
begun in the last issue, v3y26-42. We found two rules or methods.
We now complete our study by reviewing in this issue the examples
where DEFICIENCY INDICATES A SEPARATE PUN SENTENCE. In the next
issue we will present the example where DEFICIENCY indicates
a PUN INTERWOVEN WITH THE ORIGINAL TEXT.
Recall from last issue the 4 methods of dealing with
>FULL and DEFICIENT SPELLINGS
>1a: The DEFICIENT SPELLING indicates the PERSON was bad/deficient
>1b: The DEFICIENT SPELLING indicates NOT ALL did it
>2a: The DEFICIENT SPELLING indicates a SEPARATE PUN SENTENCE
>2b: The DEFICIENT SPELLING indicates by pun an EXTRA NUANCE
All supportive LISTS will occur in the next issue.
****************************************************************
MODULE 2: Deficiency in Spelling = A pun and separate sentence*
****************************************************************
EXAMPLE 1: Gn24-39a
-------------------
The Bible is discussing how Abraham ordered Eliezer to
obtain a wife for his son. Abraham sent him to Canaan,
to obtain Rivkah. Eliezer then protests
>Gn24-39 >MAYBE she will not come back with me
>RASHI: >The Hebrew word
----- >MAYBE
>is written deficiently so that it spells
>TO ME
>
>This creates a PUN, an extra sentence
>TO ME
>
>In other words, Eliezer wanted Abraham to
>marry his daughter. In effect Eliezer said
>TO ME, should you come
EXAMPLE 2: Gn16-05a
-------------------
Sarah could not (at first) have children from Abraham.
So she gave Abraham her maid, Hagar. When Hagar gave
birth Sarah became jealous. She blamed her husband
and said to him
>Gn16-05b >May God judge between me and YOUU
>RASHI: >This is the only time in the
----- >Bible that The Hebrew word
>YOUU
>is spelled FULLY. As such it looks
>like the Hebrew word
>YOUU (Feminine YOU)
>
>This creates a pun. Besides being
>angry at her husband Sarah said
>
>May God judge between me & YOU(Hagar!)
In other words Sarah was just taking it out on everybody.
EXAMPLE 3: Ex03-15a
-------------------
Moses asked God his real NAME and God responded by revealing
to Moses the Tetragrammaton. God said
>Ex03-15a >This is my name FOREVER
>RASHI: >The Hebrew word
>FOREVER
>is spelled deficiently
>As such it looks like the word
>HIDDEN
>
>This suggests a pun. We can also read
>My name (should be) HIDDEN
>
>In other words, we learn from this that
>Gods ineffable name should not be
>pronounced.
EXAMPLE 4: Ex23-02c
-------------------
The text is talking about Court procedures. The Torah
admonishes judges
>Ex23-02c >Don't answer a DISPUTE by saying
>'I will follow the majority'
>RASHI: >The Hebrew word
>DISPUTE
>is spelled deficiently.As such it
>looks like the Hebrew word
>RABBI
The pun sentence is
>Don't answer a Rabbi
This is actually applied to Kings---the
prohibition of disagreeing with a King comes
from this verse (The King is compared to a Rabbi)
*************************************************************
MODULE 3: More examples of DEFICIENCY indicates separate PUN*
*************************************************************
EXAMPLE 5: Gn08-21a
--------------------
After the flood God promised not to destroy the world.
He said
>Gn08-21a >I will not destroy the world because
>man is evil from his youth
>RASHI: >The Hebrew word
>From his youth
>is spelled deficiently. As such it looks
>like the verb
>to shake, romp.
>This suggests a pun. We can also read
>the sentence as
>(The) Evil (passion is) from
>(the time of his) romping and
>shakings.
The Torah compares the evil passions to the stages an
infant goes thru.
>First: An infant shakes and romps
>Then: It gradually develops its motor skills
>Till: The infant can walk and grab well
This same process can be used to deal with Passions as
an adult goes thru life.
>First: One has desires but cannot implement
them properly
>Then: The adult gradually learns the proper
procedures by which to fulfill these
desires
>Till: The adult can deal with his/her desires
in a mature manner.
EXAMPLE 6: Gn01-14
---------
>Gn01-14 >Let there be lights (Sun and moon)
>RASHI
>The deficiently spelled word
>LIGHTS (OR)
>looks like the word
>to curse (ORR); Diptheria (MayRah).
Here too we interpret the verse as a pun.
>God creates the LIGHTS (Sun and Moon)
>God also created Diptheria
This also makes alot of sense. The changing climate--
of sun and moon---can bring both good and bad. Both health and
sickness can be attribued to the sun and moon. (It was the
custom of the Pious men of old to fast on Wednesdays (when
the sun was created) so that children shouldn't die of diptheria.
EXAMPLE 7: Nu07-19a
--------------------
The Bible in Nu07 relates how the 12 tribes brought their
gifts to the temple consecration. The question naturally
arises as to what order they should use--who should offer
first, second, third etc.
BEFORE looking at Rashi or the peculiarities in the verse
we can simply look at the various LISTS of tribes that
occur in the Bible. Here are a few
>Nu07:The order of the prince gifts was JUDAH, YISACHAR,
ZEVULUN.
>Gn29:The order of the births is found in Gen29 and
is REUVEN, SHIMON, LEVI, JUDAH (A different order)
>Nu03:The order of the tribes in camping is found in Nu03
and is JUDAH, YISSACHAR, ZEVULUN, etc. This coincides
with the camping order
The first temple gift was offered by the tribe of
>JUDAH
from which the royal line came. But the 2nd tribe
to offer was
>YISACHAR.
On this verse we have the following Rashi.
>Nu07-19a >He offered his sacrifice/gift...
>RASHI: >The Hebrew word
>OFFERED
>is spelled deficiently. As such it
>looks like the COMMAND form
>OFFER it!
>
>This suggests a pun.
>
>Yisachar offered his sacrifice because
>he was ORDERED to
See the {NOTES *1} section for comments on the difference
in phraseology in YISSACHAR's gift.
LISTS,NOTES,SUMMARIES:(This section may be ignored on a 1st Reading)
====================================================================
NOTES: *1
-----
There is a strong school of thought whose PRIMARY emphasis
is not the one in this email list
>Rashi is using grammatical principles backed by LISTS
but rather the PRIMARY emphasis is
>Rashis problem
>What is bothering Rashi
This other approach would note that a study of the list
of tribal gifts shows that The other 11 tribal gifts begin
>and his offering was...
However by Yissachar it says
>He OFFERED his offering....
This different order suggests that the word
>OFFERED (Spelled deficiently)
was intentionally put there to indicate some extra
nuance
In other words our view is that we would have translated the
pun anyway. However we can combine the pun with "the problem"
Such a view helps make the pun look intentional. This is
Rashis view also (That the "problem" and pun should be connected)
In this spirit we showed by the deficiently spelled EPHRON that
ALL other ephrons were spelled fully. Similarly Rashi himself
says that all other BAYNAYICHS (By Hagar) are spelled deficiently
and this is the only one that is spelled fully. (Note however
that if there is no extra help Rashi will give the pun anyway-
thus the pun is SUPPORTIVE but not NECESSARY).
PRINCIPLES: USAGE
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VERSE: v1y6-9
======
Recall in Volume 6 Number 7, issue v1z6-9 we showed how
>HA ELO HIM means JUDICIAL PROCESS
In that issue we reviewed all examples where
>It was OBVIOUS that "ha elo him" means judicial process
In this issue we transfer what we previously learned to examples
>where it is POSSIBLE but NOT NECESSARY that
>"ha elo him" means JUDICIAL process
This is common in Biblical study. First we see a collection
of obvious examples---we then use the principles we learned on
verses where the application is POSSIBLE but not OBVIOUS.
There are 4 examples. All examples from both this issue
and the last issue are summarized in {LIST1}
In all these examples it is NOT obvious that
>HA ELO HIM = Judicial Review
However, by so interpreting we add richness to the verse
and find support in other verses.
EXAMPLE 1:Gn06-09c
------------------
>Gn06-09c >Noach WALKED with "THE JUDGE"
>RASHI >By Abraham it says
>walk BEFORE me Gn24-40
>By Noach it however says
>walked WITH me Gn06-09c
>
>What is the difference between
>walked WITH vs BEFORE
>
>Noach was like someone who came
>to synagogue now and then while Abraham
>was like a congregational pastor who
>devoted his life to the synagogue.
>
>In a nutshell:
>Walked BEFORE = Total Devotion
>Walked WITH = invovled with
We in fact already explained this in v1c6-9 in Volume 6
Number 7. We have left to explain how Rashi knew that
Abraham walked BEFORE God while Noach walked OF God.
Of course this is obvious since Abraham was a patriarch
But if we follow the interpretation that
>THE JUDGE = God in his Judicial Capacity
then we can simply note that
>Abraham frequently
>CALLED PEOPLE TO GOD ({LIST2}
>Noach never CALLED PEOPLE TO GOD
Rashi (Gn-06-09) identifies this calling to God with
>rebuke for sins--recognition of God as Judge!
Rashi states
>Noach did not urge his generation to repent
>Abraham however taught people the way of God(Gn18-19)
However Noach did, for the flood,
>build the ark
>bring all the animals there
So rashi is simple:
Noach recognized Gods judgement (he walked WITH God)
But he did not rebuke people (Walk BEFORE God).
Example 2: Gn44-16a
-------------------
Recall that after Joseph's brothers brought down Binyamin to Egypt
Joseph planted some silver in their briefcases in order to frame
them. When they were caught they said to Joseph
>Gn44-16a
>The Judge (ie God) has found our sin(of selling
>Joseph)--we will now be slaves to our lord
>(just as we sold him into slavery)
>RASHI
>The phrase
>The Judge
>refers to God (not to Joseph).
Why did Rashi interpret
>The Judge
as referring to
>God
and not to
>Joseph.
There are 2 possible approaches--philosophical and grammatical.
The PHILOSOPHICAL approach would cite
>Gn42-21 But we feel guilty on not hearing Joseph's
>screams when he pleaded with us
In other words the interpretation
>The JUDGE = God
is consistent with the emotional milieu of Joseph's brothers.
By contrast the GRAMMATICAL approach emphasizes that
>THE JUDGE = Judicial Process
Joseph's finding planted silver in their briefcases could
obviously NOT be termed Judicial a process. Rather the judicial
process must refer to the brothers being JUDGED for what they
did to Joseph. Indeed
>They sold him into slavery and now,
>they themselves are being sold--
>they avoided his screams of innocence and now
>their screams of innocence are being avoided.
So indeed they spoke correctly when they said
>We are being Judged Truly
Notice how in the end the GRAMMATICAL explanation is like a
seed that flowers into the PHILOSOPHICAL explanation. For indeed
their explicit statement that they felt guilty
>makes sense
when combined with the grammatical observation that
>THE JUDGE = Judicial Process
EXAMPLE 3: Gn35-07b
-------------------
Many people are unaware that grammatically the Hebrew word
for God
>A-D-N or E-L-H
occurs in the plural even when referring to one person(not
necessarily God). Here is an explicit Rashi and list
>Gn35-07b >For there THE God(s) revealed Himself to Joseph
>RASHI >There is a {LIST3} of words which grammatically
>written in the PLURAL even when referring to
>one person and even when not referring to God.
>The idea behind this is that certain ACTIVITIES
>(like ownership, judgeing, etc) are never done
>by one person but done by a group. Here are
>some examples
CONCEPT VERSE WHY IT IS PLURAL WHO IS REFERRED TO
========= ======= ============================= ==================
Master(S) Gn39-20 The master confers with other Slave owner
OWNER(S) Ex22-13 The owner confers with others Owner of object
Judge Ex22-07 The judge confers with others Court judge
Note Rashis genious in constructing this list. NONE of the examples
refer to God. Using a PLURAL for singular people/objects is a
GRAMMATICAL rule.
This verse was discussed in
Volume 4 Number 15 v1b29-27
There we showed compared this Rashi with other Rashis on PLURALITY
and GOD.
Finally we note that this verse, Gn35-07 speaks about
>THE JUDGE appearing to Jacob while he was running from
>his brother
Recall that under his mothers order Jacob "stole" the birth blessing
from his father ISAAC. Immediately ESAUV wanted to kill him and
therefore Jacob was constantly on the run (Gn27-42:46). Thus Jacob
was
>undergoing Judical review (HA ELO HIM)
all these years for stealing the blessing. Now that he was saved
from Esauv and Laban Jacob thanks God.
It is for this reason, because of the Judicial review, that
HA ELO HIM is used in this verse. Rashi emphasizing the plural
is consistent with the observation that many angelic forces judged
Jacob--besides God himself judging Jacob, the Guardian Angel of
Esauv judged him (Gn32:22-32)
EXAMPLE 4: Ex18-11b, Ex18-11c, Ex18-11d
----------------------------------------
>Ex18-11b
>I know that Jewish Divine Justice is better
>than all other deity justices
>Ex18-11d
>For by the decree of ROUGH WATERS (on
>the Jewish babies, to drown then in
>the Nile Ex01-22)--that decree
>Ex18-11c >was placed on them
>RASHI:
>THE JUDGE = God in His Judicial capacity
>Apparently Jethro was familiar with all Deities
>and their system of Justice
>The Hebrew root ZOD = ROUGH {LIST3}
Again, the fact that
>The JUDGE = Judicial process
enhances the meaning of this verse,Ex18-11 which says
>Now I know that God is greater than all gods
For a simplistic approach would be the interpretation that
>The Jewish God is MORE POWERFUL than other gods
However a more focused approach would be the interpretation
>The Jewish God is MORE JUST than other Gods
This more focused interpretation
>MORE JUST vs MORE POWERFUL
is further supported by the reason that Jethro gives
>Because your Jewish God judged the Egyptians
>by the very same methd with which the Egyptians
>mistreated you--the Egyptians wanted to drown
>all Jewish babies (Ex01-22) and they themselves
>were drowned by the splitting of the sea
Thus the attribute of God that was shown was not
>POWER
but
>JUSTICE.
LISTS,NOTES,SUMMARIES:(This section may be ignored on a 1st Reading)
====================================================================
{LIST1} {Verses with HA ELO HIM. In the first 3 examples it
is obvious that
>HA ELO HIM=Judicial process
In the last 4 examples it is not obvious but the
verses interpretation is enriched by so interpreting
We can also find support for this nuance in the
other verses}
VERSE TEXT How HA ELO HIM=JUDGE
======== =============================== =========================
Ex21-06a He should bring him to HAELOHIM COURT
Gn06-02a HAELOHIM students snatched girls JUDGES
Ex18-19b You be middleman for HA-ELOHIM Receive Law for nation
Gn44-16a The ELO-HIM Found our sin*2 We DESERVED this
Ex03-01b The mountain of HAELOKIM Law received on Sinai
Ex18-11b God is more Just than other gods Judged Egypt with drowning
Gn06-09c Noach WALKED WITH "THE JUDGE" Prepared ark for flood*1
Gn35-07b God(s) revealed Himself to Jacob Plural=Judged by Court*3
NOTES
------
*1 In other words Noach acknowledged Gods justice but did
not rebuke his generation. By contrast, Abraham CALLED
people to God. See {LIST2}
*2 The examples in the lower part of the list are all examples
where it is not necessary that
>HA ELO HIM = Judicial Process
For example the verse
>HA ELO HIM found our sin
could mean
>The KING (JOSEPH) found our sin
Similarly the phrase
>MOUNTAIN OF GOD
could easily refer to
>an awe inspiring mountain
Thus the fact that we ALREADY KNOW that
>HA ELO HIM = Judicial process
leads us to interpret these other verses a certain way
*3 See {LIST3}
{LIST2} {Verses showing that Abraham
>called people to God.
We find no such verses by Noach. This is used
as supporting evidence that
>Abraham walked BEFORE God
>Noach only walked WITH God}
VERSE CALLING PEOPLE TO GOD
======= ================================
Gn12-08 And Abraham called people to God
Gn13-04 And Abraham called people to God
Gn21-33 And Abraham called people to God
Gn26-35 And Abraham called people to God
{LIST3} {A list of words that are always written in the PLURAL
even when referring to ONE person and even when not
referring to God. This LIST comes from Rashi and could
not be produced using current database methods. Note
Rashis elegance and brilliance in bringing examples
ALL of which do NOT refer to God---it is not a
theological principle but a grammatical principle!}
CONCEPT VERSE WHY IT IS PLURAL WHO IS REFERRED TO
========= ======= ============================= ==================
Master(S) Gn39-20 The master confers with other Slave owner
OWNER(S) Ex22-13 The owner confers with others Owner of object
Judge Ex22-07 The judge confers with others Court judge
{LIST4} {Verses showing the UNIFYING meaning of
>Z O D = rough, active, bubbling activity
The list is routine and can be compiled with a
Konkordance or CD ROM}
MEANING VERSE HOW IT IS CONNECTED TO "rough,active
================= ========= ====================================
Boiled Vegetables 2King4-38 Boiling water is rough active water
To Boil Gn25-29 Boiling water is rough active water
Maliciously Ex21-14 He is "boiling mad" *1
Maliciously Prv13-10 "Boiling mad" causes fights*2
Roaring waters Ps124-5 Rough rapid waters are rough & active
NOTES
=====
*1 Note the comparable idiom in English
*2 The Hebrew root
>Z-O-D
is sometimes translated
>willfully
but upon reviewing the above list it really means
>"rought active bubbling" activity
such as Rapid rivers, Boiling, or "boiling mad"
CROSS REFERENCES:
================
Volume 4 Number 15 v1b29-27
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Yasher Coach Akiva Miller for asking the
================ question
PRINCIPLE USED: SYNONYMS
=============== UNIFIED MEANING
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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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