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Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel
Volume 7 Number 21
Produced Oct 6, 2000
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
WEB NEWS
v9-10-6 Please check out the WORD form of these postings on the
------- web site. If you like them we will make it a regular
feature (The new form helps greatly on the tables & Citations)
Be sure and hit the comment button and let me know your opinion.
FROM THE READERS
v9-10-5a Dr Loike asks how a strange Rashi was inferred Dt3014a
RASHIS EXPLAINED
Dt30-14a Dr Hendel explains the strange Rashi on Dt30-14a
--------an entire list of similarly strange verses.
Dt05-03a Rashi reinterprets>the treaty was not with your fathers<
-------- as >The treaty was not ONLY with your fathers<. Rashi
did this because of an explicit OTHER VERSE.
Dt06-04a There are 4 Biblical verses which use the phrase
---------HEAR ISRAEL. All 4 verses refer to Messianic Aspirations
of the Jewish people.
Rashis covered in this issue
----------------------------
VERSE RULE BRIEF EXPLANATION
======== ============== =================
Dt30-14a DOUBLEPARSHAS 3 verses give a double aspect of Torah
Dt05-03a OTHER VERSE Rashi uses Dt29-14 to explain Dt05-03
Dt06-04a DOUBLE PARSHAS HEAR ISRAEL refers to Messianic goals
Dt05-03b DOUBLE PARSHAS HEAR ISRAEL refers to Messianic goals
Dt09-01a DOUBLE PARSHAS HEAR ISRAEL refers to Messianic goals
Dt20-03a DOUBLE PARSHAS HEAR ISRAEL refers to Messianic goals
Lv20-10a DOUBLE PARSHAS Comparison of 2 verses on adultery
Lv20-10b DOUBLE PARSHAS Comparison of 2 verses on adultery
Lv20-10c DOUBLE PARSHAS Comparison of 2 verses on adultery
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RASHI IS SIMPLE
GOALS: To grammatically defend all 8000 Rashis on Chumash.
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VERSE: v9-10-5a
From: Dr John Loike, jdl5@columbia.edu
To: Dr Russell Hendel
RE: Strange Rashi on Dt30-14a
Russell
Happy New Year.
Dt30-14 says >For it(the Torah) is very near you thru your mouth
and heart to do<. Rashi, seemingly out of nowhere says >This
verse refers to the Written and Oral Law<
How did he get that.
Regards & Keep up the good work
John
(ANSWER: Excellent question (As usual). Read posting Dt30-14a
which first strengthens the question and then gives a witty
answer)
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VERSE: Dt30-14a
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: To Dr Loike for pointing this Rashi out.
BACKGROUND: As Dr Loike notes it is STRANGE to derive from the
verse >it is near in your mouth and heart to do< that >this
refers to the Written and Oral law<.
In fact it almost looks as if Rashi is playing a game on
repetition---Rashi seems to identify the 2 Biblical words
>mouth< and >heart< with the 2 types of law >Written< & >Oral<
Furthermore it is common in Biblical sentences to repeat phrases
True we sometimes use >context< to be specific in each of these
phrases but that is only when we have 3,4 or 5 of them. A simple
repetition is >the human method of conversation< and as we know
from the Rabbi Ishmael series >the Torah speaks in human
conversational style<.
In a nutshell how can Rashi be sure that the repeated phrase is
INTENDED for emphasis here? The answer lies in using the method
of DOUBLE PARSHAS---it turns out that there is a repeated
emphasis on TWONESS throughout this chapter.
{LIST}
-----------------------------------------------------------
SeveraL Repetitions in Dt30-11:14
=================================
VERSE PHRASE #1 PHRASE #2
========== ================== =====================
Dt30-11 It isn t ABOVE you It isn t FAR from you
Dt30-12:13 It isn t in HEAVEN It isn t OVERSEAS
Dt30-14 Close to your HEART Close in SPEECH
-----------------------------------------------------------
There is a difference between ABOVE and FAR. FAR means it
requires to much work to get there but it can be done. By
contrast, ABOVE means I can NOT get there.
Prophecy, by its nature is ABOVE man. You can t just become
a prophet. So Moses says that the Biblical law which was
revealed thru prophecy is not ABOVE you in HEAVEN.
By contrast, the oral law with its many regulations is something
that COULD be memorized verbally (With your mouth) if you really
tried. Moses assures the Jews that while it requires work to
memorize all the regulations nevertheless the law is not OVERLY
FAR--it is eg NOT OVERSEAS.
In summary, the answer to John s question is that Rashi was not
commenting on the repetition in the VERSE Dt30-14 but rather
Rashi was commenting on the repetition THROUGHOUT THE CHAPTER.
RULE USED: DOUBLE PARSHAS
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VERSE: Dt05-03a
Dt05-03a states >God did not make a convenant with our fathers
but rather God made the convenant with us<
So it sounds like WE received the convenant but NOT our fathers
How then can Rashi state that the proper translation of this
verse is >God did not ONLY make a convenant with our fathers
but rather God ALSO made a convenant with us<
The simple answer comes from an OTHER VERSE. For it explicitly
states in Dt29-13:14 >God did not only make the convenant with
you---but rather he made the convenant with both those who are
here as well as those who are not here<
Thus Rashi is Simple. He applied the Dt29-13:14 verse to Dt05-03a
and interpreted it as saying >God did not ONLY make a convenant
with our fathers but rather God ALSO made a convenant with us<
(In explaining this verse we have used the technique of OTHER
VERSES. We could have equally used the technique of RABBI
ISHMAEL--TWO CONTRADICTORY VERSES. We have a whole series on
this which can be found at http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ri-14.htm)
RULE USED: OTHER VERSES
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VERSE: Dt06-04a
RASHIS COVERED: Dt05-03b Dt06-04a Dt09-01a Dt20-03a
RULE: Although God said all commandments to the Jews there are
only 4 commandments where it explicitly says HEAR ISRAEL. This
exrra emphasis is given in situations dealing with the Messianic
aspirations of the Jews. The Messianic aspirations of the Jews
are stated in Zeph03-09 and Zech14-09
>For then I will spill on all nations a clear language to call
in the name of God<
>On that day God will be unique and his Name will be unique<
Here is a summary of the 4 verses with HEAR ISRAEL
SUMMARY: There are 4 verses with the phrase HEAR ISRAEL.
* Two of these verses (Dt06-04, Dt05-03) refer to fundamental
theological doctrines (Gods Uniqueness & the 10 commandments)
which the whole world will one day acknowledge during the
Messianic era.
* The other two verses (Dt20-03 and Dt09-01) refer to a promise
that Israel will be able to conquer powerful nations. An explicit
OTHER VERSE, Dt09-09 explains that the merit we have that enables
us to conquer other nations is the (Messianic) promise to the
Patriarchs that the Jews will one day be the leader of the world.
Here are the details of the 4 verses and their Rashis
{LIST}
The 4 verses where it says HEAR ISRAEL all deal with the
Messianic vision of the Jewish people to conquer all nations
to have a personal relationship with a unique God
================================================================
VERSE VERSE TEXT RASHI
======== ================== ============================
Dt06-04a God is unique*1 God is unique to ALL NATIONS
Dt05-03b God spoke to YOU*2 God will speak to ALL NATIONS
Dt09-01a MIghty nations*3 You will be mightier*3
Dt20-03a Powerful nations*4 You will conquer them*4
NOTES
*1 Rashi explicitly says that the verse >God is Unique< does not
only apply to the Jews but will ALSO apply one day to the whole
world (& Rashi cites Zeph03-09 and Zech14-09).
The reason Rashi added this emphasis (>applies to the whole world<
vs >applies to the Jews< is because of the special phrase HEAR
ISRAEL)
*2 Let us clearly list what is said in THE VERSE, RASHI and in
OUR INTERPRETATION of Rashi.
THE VERSE: >Hear Israel...God spoke to you face to face<
RASHI(LITERAL): >In other commandments you (Jews) heard Gods
word thru ME(Moses). In this case, at the revelation on Mount
Sinai, God PERSONALLY spoke to you.< Hence the Verse says
HEAR ISRAEL, God spoke to you FACE TO FACE.
OUR INTERPRETATION OF RASHI: We connect the Rashi on Dt06-04
with the Rashi on Dt05-03: Just as you Jews now personally
hear God so too will the whole world one day personally
listen to God. It is for this reason it says HEAR ISRAEL.
Just as Rashi brought Messianic verses on Dt06-04 so too
can we bring in Messianic verses here eg Isa11-9 >The whole
world will be filled with KNOWING GOD like water covering
the ocean<
*3 THE VERSE SAYS: >You Jews are coming to nations MORE
POWERFUL THAN YOU<. On the phrase >MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU<
Rashi says >They ARE powerful; but you are MORE POWERFUL<.
It appears that Rashi is commenting on the
phrase MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU which implies that the
non-jewish nations have power But this phrase is perfectly
normal and it is unnecessary to invest it with special
meanings.
Instead Rashi was using the method of OTHER VERSES which
explicitly say (Dt09-09) >The reason you are conquering these
other nations is because of the (Messianic) promises to the
Patriarchs<
Thus we have an explicit statement that the Jews are conquering
the nations because of the (Messianic) Promises to the
Patriarchs. Thus this Rashi is consistent with the other Rashis
linking the phrase HEAR ISRAEL with the JEWISH MESSIANIC VISION.
*4 THE VERSE SAYS: >Hear Israel..you are going to war don t be
afraid of this powerful nation<
RASHI SAYS: >In the merit of HEAR ISRAEL you will conquer them<
It looks like Rashi is saying >Because you say the prayer
HEAR ISRAEL, in that merit, you will conquer<. But this would
be ungrammatical.
OUR INTERPRETATION: Our interpretation follows the same general
trend as in ALL OTHER VERSES with the phrase HEAR ISRAEL. We
interpret the Rashi phrase >Even if you only have the merit
of HEAR ISRAEL you will conquer< to refer NOT to the daily
prayer HEAR ISRAEL but rather to the MESSIANIC ASPIRATIONS OF
THE JEWISH PEOPLE. In fact we have interpreted all verses
with the phrase HEAR ISRAEL to refer to the MESSIANIC VISIONS
So we would interpret this Rashi as follows: >Even if you
only have the merit of MESSIANIC ASPIRATIONS TO GET THE
NATIONS TO WORSHIP A UNIQUE GOD you will conquer<.
Such an interpretation is consistent with the explicit Rashi on
Dt06-04 and with the explicit other verse (Dt09-09) which Rashi
brings on Dt09-01a which says that we conquer nations because
of the (Messianic) promises to the Patriarchs.
RULE USED: DOUBLE PARSHAS
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VERSE: Lv20-10a
{LIST}
----------------------------------------------------------------
Comparison of 2 verses presenting a death penalty for adultery.
Row A cites Lv18-10 while Row B cites Lv20-10
================================================================
== ===== ======== ========== ==== ========= ====
A Dont gives seed to a collegues wife
B Death to a man WHO adulterizes a mans wife
B WHO adulterizes a collegues wife
*1 *2 *3 *4
NOTES
*1 From Difference *1 we infer that row A presents the
PROHIBITION of adultery while while rows B present the PENALTY
for adultery.
*2 From difference *2 we infer that there is no death penalty
for an act of adultery committed by a minor(who is not A MAN)
*3 The repeated word WHO creates a bullet like affect that
emphasizes that there is a new contribution in each of the B rows.
The nuances of the two B rows may be found in footnote *4
*4 From difference *4 we infer that there is no death penalty
for adultery with
--the wife of a minor (she is not A MANS WIFE)
--the wife of an idolater(she is not a COLLEAGUES WIFE)
Needless to say all acts of adultery are prohibited
----------------------------------------------------------------
RULE USED: DOUBLE PARSHAS
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THE 2 DOZEN RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RASHI RULES
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/rules.htm
=======================================
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/rules9-6.htm
=======================================
I: RASHI gives MEANING
======================
A: NEW MEANINGS--(eg)"on the face of"=during the lifetime
Volume 2 Number 9, http://www.rashiyomi.Com/Nu04-04a.htm
B: SPECIAL WORDS--(eg)ACH=USUALLY;USUALLY observe shabbath!
Rashi Yomi Summaries,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ach-6.htm
C: SYNONYMS--(eg)AMR=to speak; DBR=to cite or to quote;
Volume 2 Number 1, http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Lv20-02a.htm
D: WORD MEANINGS-Thermos(TzNTzNTh)=doubly(TZN TZN) Cold(TZN)
Volume 1 Number 9,23,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ex31-15a.htm
E: UNIFIED MEANINGS-PAAM=Repeated action:To Ring,Hammer,Step
Volume 1 Number 3,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Gn41-08a.htm
II: RASHI teaches GRAMMAR/STYLE
===============================
F: CLASSICAL GRAMMAR--(eg)QUESTION = HEY+CHATAF PATACH
Volume 3 Number 22,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Gn04-09z.htm
G: USAGE(NEW GRAMMAR)--(eg)INFINITIVE="be involved in";
Volume 5 Number 24,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ex13-03a.htm
H: ROOT+PREPOSITION--(eg)ChZK B="to hold";ChZK M="overpower"
Volume 1 Number 7,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ex04-04a.htm
I: THE SENTENCE--2 verses can make 1 sentence-eg Dt02-16:17
Volume 3 Number 7,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt19-06a.htm
J: STYLE--REPETITION denotes Endearment;eg 'Jacob Jacob'
Volume 1 Number 12,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Gn46-02a.htm
K: DOUBLE NOUNS--(eg)"GIVE GIVE";if not CHARITY then LOAN
Double Noun page, http://www.RashiYomi.Com/DN.htm
L: PRONOUNS-(eg)IMCHAH=with you; ITCHAH=Accompanying you;
Volume 3 Number 13,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ex22-24c.htm
III: OVERALL TEXTUAL STRUCTURE
==============================
M: OTHER VERSES--Aaron SAW(Ex32-05)...the brawl(Ex32-18)
OTHER VERSE page, http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ov.htm
N: EXTRA SENTENCES-eg[GIVE HIM][WHAT HE NEEDS](Not if rich)
Volume 2 Number 20,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt15-08c.htm
O: DOUBLE PARSHAS-'he WILL pray'-'he WON'T pray';So Optional
Volume 3 Number 12,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt24-14a.htm
P: CLIMAX-(eg Dt19-11)(a)Hate, (b)spy, (c)confront,(d)Murder
Climax Page, http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Climax.htm
Q: OVERALL STRUCTURE-growing nails=despisement(from context)
Volume 3 Number 8,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt21-11a.htm
R: SPREADSHEETS-What is the marriage loophole in inheritance
Volume 2 Number 23,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Nu36-03a.htm
IV: BEYOND THE TEXT
===================
S: MORAL LESSONS/REASONS-God explains BEFORE punishing;
Volume 2 Number 12,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Nu12-09a.htm
T: RabbiIshmael-(eg)"When an OX gores";(Or ANY animal gores)
Volume 4 Number 21,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt25-04a.htm
End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
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