Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
VISIT the RASHI DATABASE archives AT
http://www.RashiYom.com/
Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2000
Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel
Volume 7 Number 23
Produced Oct 13, 2000
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
HAPPY SUCCOTH
* Rashi is Simple will not appear next week
* Rashi is Simple will resume the week of the 22nd
* I will be improving the website next week
* I also will try and complete the Judaism faq page
* Browse the website;let me know how you like the word format
of these Rashi-is-Simples
WEEKLY PARSHAH SERIES
RASHIS EXPLAINED
Dt33-06 Continuation of the POETRY SERIES. Rashi analyzes the
blessing to continue Reubens existence.
Gn01-02 We explore 4 methods by which to infer word meanings.
When there are no other occurences of the word or root we can use
parallel structure.
Dt32-13c The words for activities can be derived from the words
for objects (eg TO COLOR comes from the word COLOR)
Dt32-14h Poetry uses GOOD EXAMPLES to illustrate ABSTRACT
CONCEPTS
Gn01-22 >FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY< is the normal style. >FRUITFUL<
without >MULTIPLY< is used in hostile environments.
Rashis covered in this issue
----------------------------
VERSE RULE BRIEF EXPLANATION
======== ============== =================
Dt33-06a EXAMPLE9 Verse develops a concept in stages
Dt33-06b EXAMPLE9 Verse develops a concept in stages
Dt33-06c EXAMPLE9 Verse develops a concept in stages
Gn01-02a WORD MEANINGS Parallel structure explains meaning
Gn01-02b WORD MEANINGS Parallel structure explains meaning
Gn01-02c WORD MEANINGS Parallel structure explains meaning
Gn01-22b SYNONYMS >BE FRUITFUL< used in hostile places
Gn01-22c SYNONYMS >BE FRUITFUL< used in hostile places
-----------------------------------------------------------------
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
RASHI IS SIMPLE
GOALS: To grammatically defend all 8000 Rashis on Chumash.
METHOD:Rashis are defended with LISTS of comparable cases
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Laymen, Academicians, Yeshiva world
COMMENTS,QUESTIONS: EMail to address below
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:If you want to ask anonymously please ask
(UN)SUBSCRIBE: Email to addresses below with "(UN)subscribe"
JOURNAL REFERECE: Pshat & Drash,TRADITION, Win 1980,R Hendel
NOTATION: eg Gn01-02a refers to Rashi "a" on Genesis 1:2
SPECIALS:...on Parshah,Rambam,Ramban,Pedagogy,Symbolism
RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RULES Complete set of rules on bottom
EMAIL: RJHendel@Juno.Com, rashi-is-simple@shamash.org,
WEB: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: Dt33-06a
RASHIS COVERED: Dt33-06a Dt33-06b Dt33-06c
RULE: We have frequently indicated that POETIC verses are
governed by the Rabbi Ishmael rule of CONTEXT. Very often poetic
verses REPEAT the same theme several times. In interpeting these
verses the following guiding principles are helpful:
GUIDELINES FOR INTERPRETING POETIC VERSES
* First, find the overall UNIFYING principle
* Next, try and recognize the WORDS that YOU do KNOW
* Further try and find the SPECIAL NUANCES in the words you know
* Then infer the meanings of other words using PARALLEL STRUCTURE
* Try and find all SUBCATEGORIES of the UNIFYING theme
* Make a ONE TO ONE CORRESPONDENCE between the subcategories of
The unifying theme and repeated stanzas of the verse based on
the nuances you recognize in the repeated words.
THE TEXT OF THE VERSE: Dt33-06
>May Reuben Live
May he not die
May his people be counted<
Let us now apply the 6 categories of the guidelines to this verse
THE UNIFYING PRINCIPLE: Clearly the unifying principle is that
>Reuben should continue to exist<
THE WORDS: All >words< in the verse have a clear and known
meaning
SPECIAL NUANCES: It is important to emphasize that NONE of the
words in the verse have special nuances. Thus the phrase >May
Reuben Live< or >May he not die< do not have special nuances. Our
point here is that if Rashi does derive special nuances then it
was not the >meanings< of the words that suggested these nuances
but rather the >overall structure of the verse<
THE PARALLEL STRUCURE: In this particular verse there are 3
>verbs< which clearly define 3 phrases (which are presented in
the table below).
THE SUBCATEGORIES OF CONTINUING EXISTENCE: Rashi suggests that
the subcategories of continuing existence are as follows
{LIST1}The 3 subcategories of >continuing existence<
====================================================
* existing physically
* existing spiritually (having a spiritual component)
* being recognized as an equal (ie being counted)
THE ONE-TO-ONE CORRESPONDENCE:
{LIST2}The 1-1 correspondence between the 3 verse phrases
in Dt33-06 and the categories of continuing existence*1
========================================================
VERSE Category of >continuing existence<
==================== ==================================
May Reuben live May he >physically< exist
May Reuben not die*2 May he have a >spiritual< component
may he have number may he be >counted< & recognized
NOTES
*1 I think it clear that the individual words >live< or >die<
do >NOT< correspond to the concepts of >physical< and >spiritual<
existence. Rather what motivated Rashi to make this
correspondence is the >principle of climax< which demands that 3
or more phrases be interpreted in a climatic manner. It is this
principle, CLIMAX, which creates the correspondence and therefore
it is a mistake to read the correspondence into the meanings of
the words
*2 Actually the verse says >May Reuben live AND not die< To
emphasize the parellelism we have translated this
as >May Reuben live and May Reuben not die<
RULE USED: EXAMPLE9
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: Gn01-02a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn01-02a Gn01-02b Gn01-02c
RULE: The meaning of words can be inferred by a variety of
methods including
{LIST3}4 Methods of Researching the meaning of a Word
======================================================
METHOD WHAT DO WE LOOK AT?
====== ========================================
VERSE USAGE What does this word mean in other VERSES
ROOT USAGE What do other words with this ROOT mean
SYNONYMS How do words with the same MEANING compare
PARALLELISM What is the meaning of PARALLEL WORDS
In the method of PARALLELISM we line up the phrases in a
verse and compare the meanings of words in >SIMILAR POSITIONS<
EXAMPLE:
{LIST4}The unknown Hebrew words >Tohu< and >Bohu< in Gn01-02
are >PARALLEL< to the word >darkness< which has a known meaning
===============================================================
& The earth was >Tohu<
& >Bohu<
darkness on the deep
Thus Rashi-is-simple.The words >Tohu< and >Bohu< means >darkness<
True, Rashi does cite specific meanings on these words including
similar Old French words and the Aramaic translation.However
Rashi is simply saying that these words mean >DARKNESS<. Note,
that these verbs do NOT occur in any other verses, nor are there
other words from the same root. Hence all we can do is say that
these words mean >DARKNESS<(or similar meanings like DESOLATION)
It is instructive to compare Rashi to other commentaries. The
Radack cites the Greek philosophical approach that >Tohu and
Bohu< refer to the primeval matter and primeval form from which
God created the world. By contrast Rashis approach is fresh and
to the point. Rashi is in effect saying >We do not have any other
verses with this word; we do not have any other words with this
root; hence ALL we can do is say that it refers to some type of
DARKNESS<
As can be seen the method of PARALLELISM is quite powerful.
RULE USED: WORD MEANINGS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: Gn01-22b
RASHIS COVERED: Gn01-22b Gn01-22c
BACKGROUND: The verse says >Be Fruitful and multiply<. Rashi
comments that >Fruitful< implies having >some children< while
>Multiply< implies >having MANY children<.
Thus it looks like Rashi was commenting on the problem of the
double language >Be FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY<. Equivalantly it looks
like the double language >FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY< was >BOTHERING<
Rashi and hence he had to solve it.
MY APPROACH vs the LEIBOWITZ-BONCHECK APPROACH: As I have
indicated several times Dr Leibowitz and Dr Boncheck, two noted
Rashi commentaries, emphasized an approach that starts with
finding >Rashis problem<. By contrast my approach emphasizes
database queries---in this case we ask >What is the NORMAL
language to indicate a blessing<
It turns out {LIST5} that blessings to reproduce occur 19 times
in the Bible. Most of these use the double language >FRUITFUL &
MULTIPLY<. Thus this is normal language. Rashi was not bothered
by the double language. If any thing Rashi was bothered by the
few verses that do NOT use the double language but simply say >BE
FRUITFUL<
{LIST5} Analysis of verses describing a blessing of being
>FRUITFUL<. Most of the verses use a double language
>FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY<
==========================================================
# % What these verses have in common
== ==== ============================================
19 100% Verses with a blessing to be fruitful
15 79% Uses the language BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY*1
4 21% Uses the language BE FRUITFUL
9 100% Verses describing FRUITFUL Plants *2
NOTES:
*1 The order is not fixed. Thus Jer3-16
>When you MULTIPLY and are FRUITFUL< uses a reverse order.
*2 Verses with plants only have the word >FRUITFUL< but
not the word >MULTIPLY<. It seemed reasonable to compare
verses with talking about human fruitfullness. There are 19
of these and 80% use a double language.
After reviewing the 4 verses which only use the word
>FRUITFUL< we see that they all deal with situations
where people were living in a hostile environment {LIST6}.
Now that we have reviewed these differences it seems logical
to suggest that >FRUITFUL WITHOUT MULTIPLY< is used in
hostile environments because it is hard to have many children
while >FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY< is used in normal environments
since it is easy to have many children. This is summarized in
{LIST7}.
In summary Rashi was not commenting on the extra word--
rather Rashi was commenting on those verses without
the extra word! Furthermore, Rashi wasn t focusing on
the number of words used but rather on the correlation
between the language and the situations in those verses.
{LIST6} The 4 verses where it says >FRUITFUL< but does
not also say >MULTIPLY< As shown each of these verses
occurs in a hostile environment
=======================================================
VERSE HOW WAS THE ENVIRONMENT HOSTILE
====== ==========================================
Gn26-22 Isaac had constant >water right disputes<
Gn41-52 Joseph was a former slave & convict in a Egypt*1
Ps105-24 Egypt was hostile to the Jews*2
Ex23-30 Verse is talking during the conquest of the land
NOTES
*1 We could also add that Egypt was hostile to Jews
*2 Interestingly the verse says >And they were >VERY FRUITFUL<<
Also note that Ex01-07 (also speaking about the Jews in Egypt)
says >And the Jews were FRUITFUL and MULTIPLIED and...<
Apparently it is optional in a hostile environment to use the
double language >FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY< or the single
language >FRUITFUL<
{LIST7} Summary of the different styles of indicating
fruitfulness, where they are used, and what emphasis
is implied
========================================================
LANGUAGE USED #Vs TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT EMPHASIS
================ === ===================== ===================
fruitful multiply 15 normal environments alot
fruitful 4 hostile environment only a few children
fruitful 9 plants fixed progeny
RULE USED: SYNONYMS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
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
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*