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 24 Produced Oct 24, 2000 WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10) WEB ANNOUNCEMENT NEW NEW RASHI YOMI CALENDAR NEW NEW NEW ============================================================= Its up!The RASHI YOMI CALENDAR. This unique calendar displays the weeks in REVERSE order with the most recent week is on top. The RASHIYOMI series is displayed with topics by day. The famous RASHIYOMI SUMMARIES are beige color coded. Please visit http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Calendar.htm THE RASHI-RAMBAN SERIES ======================== Gn07-18a We have neglected this series. Here is a beautiful grammatical gem READER QUESTIONS ================ Ex21-30a Bracha Diamond, one of my Shomrey Emunah Rashi students brought in a research project from her seminary days on Rashis where IF means WHEN.(Bracha found an extra Rashi I had overlooked WEEKLY PARSHAH SERIES ===================== RASHIS EXPLAINED ================ Dt33-02a Continuation of the POETRY SERIES. Rashi analyzes the introduction to bless the Jews. Rashis covered in this issue ---------------------------- VERSE RULE BRIEF EXPLANATION ======== ============== ================= Ex21-30a SPECIAL WORDS >IF< can mean >WHEN< Gn07-18a GRAMMAR Gimel-Beth-Resh can mean BECOME BIG Dt33-02a EXAMPLE9 4 Stages to make a devoted relationship Dt33-02c EXAMPLE9 4 Stages to make a devoted relationship Dt33-03a EXAMPLE9 4 Stages to make a devoted relationship Dt33-04a EXAMPLE9 4 Stages to make a devoted relationship Dt33-05a EXAMPLE9 4 Stages to make a devoted relationship Dt33-05b EXAMPLE9 4 Stages to make a devoted relationship Dt33-05c EXAMPLE9 4 Stages to make a devoted relationship Ex21-08d EXAMPLE9 4 Stages to make a devoted relationship ----------------------------------------------------------------- #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (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: Ex21-30a RASHIS COVERED: Ex21-30a Ex20-22a Ex22-24a Lv02-14a Nu36-04a Gn28-20a Dt21-14a ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:Bracha Diamond from my Shomrey Emunah Rashi class did a research project when she was in seminary on Rashis stating that the word >IF< can also mean >WHEN<. Most people know 3 such Rashis. I had listed 6 and Bracha pointed out a 7th Ex21-30a) RULE: The word >IF< can also mean >WHEN<. The fact that >IF< means >WHEN< can be proved by referring to >OTHER VERSES<. EXAMPLES: {LIST1} Please find below the 7 verses where >IF< means >WHEN<. We also bring the supporting verses that proves that >IF< must mean >WHEN<.As an example: Ex20-22 says >IF you build an altar<. However since Dt27-06 >obligates< us to build an altar this changes the translation of Ex20-22 to >WHEN you build an alter<. ================================================================ VERSE Text of Verse(IF means WHEN) Supporting Verse ========== =========================== ================= Ex20-22a WHEN you build an altar Dt27-06 Ex22-24a WHEN you lend money Dt15-08 Lv02-14a WHEN you bring First fruit Lv23-10 Nu36-04a WHEN the Yovel comes*1 Lv25-08:12 Gn28-20a WHEN God be with me Gn28-15 Dt21-14aWHEN you hate her let her go*2 Ex21-30aWHEN ransom is placed on him NOTES *1 Actually Rashi states >Since the Bible literally says >IF the Jubilee comes< we infer that the Jubilee would eventually cease from Israel. But implicit in this Rashi is the fact that the verse means >WHEN the Jubilee comes then such and such will happen< *2 This is Rashi..If you rape a foreign woman in war and take her into your house you will ULTIMATELY despise her and throw her out COMMENT: The question remains as to why Rashi in the name of the Mechilta only cited 3 of these 7 verses. We discussed this at my Shomrey Emunah class: It would appear that only in the first 3 verses in the above {LIST}can you prove, by citing other verses, that the word >if< >MUST< be translated as >when<.Certainly there is no proof in the last two verses. In Nu36-04a, the word >IF< is used because it is part of a >COMPOUND HYPOTHETICAL< statement: >IF< (a) the girls marry out of their tribe and (b) the Jubilee comes >THEN<. So even though the Jubilee >MUST< come, since it is part of a compound hypothetical the word >IF< is used. Finally the >IF< in Gn28-20a is used as a sign of respect:Even though God had promised Jacob to be with him nevertheless Jacob says >IF God will be with me< instead of >WHEN God will be with me< in order not to sound arrogant. In summary, there are 7, possibly more, verses where >IF< means >WHEN<. In 3 of those 7 we can prove, by citing other verses, that >IF< must mean >WHEN< and therefore the Mechiltah only cited these 3. ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: Volume 4 Number 8 Gn28-20a RULE USED: SPECIAL WORDS #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#* VERSE: Dt33-02a RASHIS COVERED: Dt33-02a Dt33-02c Dt33-03a Dt33-04a Dt33-05a Dt33-05b Dt33-05c Ex21-08d COMMENT: We are soon beginning Genesis again. I wanted to end the Poetry thread we have been doing by emphasizing that in these Rashis it is CONTEXT not MEANING that determines meaning. I also wanted to emphasize that CONTEXT can override DICTIONARY meaning. Finally I wanted to emphasize that we can use CONTEXT to decide between otherwise legitimate competing interpretations of verses. Let us look at these verses from this perspective. RULE: One of the 13 principles of Biblical interpretation of Rabbi Ishmael is the principle of >CONTEXT<--that meaning can be inferred from >CONTEXT<. In particular many poetic passages outline 3-7 >STAGES< in the development of an idea. Therefore the proper guidelines for intepreting these poetic verses is to {LIST1} 6 Guidelines in interpreting Poetic verses GUIDELINE 1. Identify the >UNIFYING PRINCIPLE< in the poetic structure 2. Identify the >STAGES< developing this unifying principle 3. Construct a >PARALLELISM< between the STAGES & the VERSES 4. Next, try and recognize the >WORDS< that >YOU< do >KNOW< 4. Review all >POSSIBLE MEANINGS< of the words in the verses 5. Let the >PARALLELISM< determine which meaning to be use EXAMPLE The VERSE discussed is Dt33-02:04 1. UNIFYING PRINCIPLE: The main idea in these verses is that the Jews are totally devoted in their relationship to God 2. STAGES: The 4 stages in achieving >Total devotion to God< or in describing any relationship of total devotion is {LIST2} 4 Stages in achieving a harmonious devoted relationship STAGE YOU >SEEK< PARTNER YOU >FIND< PARTNER PARTNER >LEARNS< YOUR >WAY OF LIFE< FROM YOU PARTNER >ACCEPTS< YOUR >WAY OF LIFE< 3: PARALLELISM: {LIST3} 4 Stages that lead to a >DEVOTED RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD< and the verses in Dt33-02:05 describing these stages. The footnotes show that it is CONTEXT not the dictionary which determines MEANING. ========================================================= STAGE VERSE (Dt33-02:05) ==================== ====================================== God >SEEGod tried to give the Torah to Esauv*2 God >FINAll tribes accepted the Torah*3 Jews >LEMoses gave us the Torah eternally*4 Jews >ACGod is King in Israel at all time*5 NOTES: *1 Rashi on Dt33-02a explicitly notes the structure of these verses: The first two describe the actions of >GOD< while the last 2 describe the actions of the >JEWS<. So Rashi was indeed very much aware of CONTEXT and STRUCTURE. *2 This idea, that God offered the Torah to Esauv is normally seen as midrashic and fanciful. But we can ultimately defend this as pure simple meaning. Let us first give a reasonable interpretation of this verse. It explicitly says in an OTHER VERSE, Dt02-05 >For I(God) have given Mount Seir to Esauv<. In other words, Dt02-05 identifies that National occupations (such as Esauvs occupation of Mount Seir) comes from prophetic orders of God. I think this sufficient to explain the Rashi. For Rashi is simply saying: >Look God gave prohesies to all the nations--to Esauv God gave territoriality; but to the Jews He gave the Torah< In other words the emphasis is that in the context of God making prophetic promises it is only the Jews who accepted the Law while the other nations only wanted territory. (This is the essence of Rashis point. Rashi probably conjectured that just as God gave Mount Seir to Esauv (& Israel to the Jews) so too he offered the Torah to both the Jews and Esauv but only the Jews accepted the Torah. However if the reader just wants to deal with what is explicitly said, we have Dt02-05 which shows that we are contrasting the prophesies to Esauv, which promise only territory vs the prohpesies to the Jews, which promise the Torah) *3 In the remaining 3 footnotes we show how CONTEXT, not the dictionary determines meaning. Everyone knows that the Hebrew word >AM< primarily means nation. However in certain rare cases >AM< can refer to >any large gathering< or >any well knit unit<. The fact that Rashi prefers to translate >AM< as >TRIBES< (>all the TRIBES accepted the Torah<) is due to CONTEXT---it is stage 2 in a devoted relationship when one FINDS the partner. Hence Rashi must interpret Gn33-03 as referring to acceptance of the Torah by the Jews. Here are the supporting verses from RADACK besides those Rashi brings {LIST4} Verses where the Hebrew word >AM< means >UNIT< or >LARGE GATHERING<. These examples come from RADACK. Rashi ingeniously brings Gn35-11 where the cognate words >GOY< which usually means >NATION< in fact means & refers to the >TRIBE< of BENYAMIN. ============================================================== VERSE Text of Verse: The CAPPED word translates >AM< ======== =============================================== Ex21-08d He shall not sell the slavegirl to another FAMILY Joel2-2 A big and huge ARMY (cf Joel2-11) Jud18-6 & They came to LAYISH and saw the CITY dwelling there Neh9-24 The Jews conquered the 7 STATES of Canaan 4. The verse says >Moses commanded us the Torah, an inheritance to the nation of Jacob<. Notice how every >WORD< has a clear meaning. Also notice how the >SENTENCE< itself is also understood However the >CONTEXT< is not clear--->HOW< does this sentence >FIT IN< with the rest of the paragraph? It is this >CONTEXT< which Rashi wishes to give. Rashi derives the meaning from the OVERALL CONTEXT of the paragraph. Rashi uses the method of DOUBLE PARSHAS to highlight the difference. {LIST5} ================================================================ Alignment of the 2 halves of Dt33-04 *a *b The Torah was commanded to us An inheritance (to) the Congregation of Jacob ================================================================ NOTES *a) by calling the Torah an >INHERITANCE< the verse emphasizes that the Torah was accepted eternally. In other words we did not just learn Gods ways once but rather we CONTINUALLY learn them. This theme is echoed in the next verse also. *b) By first using the word >US< and only then using the phrase >Congregation of Jacob< the verse emphasizes that we achieved our relationship with God by learning the Torah. *5) Again the >WORDS< in the verse have clear meaning; similarly the >SENTENCE< has clear meaning---it says >And thus there was a King in Israel, when(ever) the leaders have a Gathering<. But it is the >CONTEXT< of this sentence in the paragraph--->HOW< it fits into the rest of the paragraph---that Rashi clarifies. Indeed, recall the 4 stages of a >DEVOTED RELATIONSHIP<; (a) SEEKING a partner; (b) FINDING a partner; (c ) the partner LEARNS your way of life; (d) the partner ACCEPTS you. Hence, Dt33-05 must therefore be interpreted as referring to the Jews >ACCEPTING< God as their permanant partner. Hence, Rashi (Dt33-05a) interprets >And there was a King, God, in Israel< since this fits the context (By contrast Ibn Ezra translates >And there was a king, Moses, in Israel<) Notice how the Ibn Ezra gives a correct interpretation of the >SENTENCE< but the Ibn Ezra does not give a correct interpretation of the >PARAGRAPH< For his interpretation of this verse as referring to Moses does not fit into the paragraph. Hence, also Rashi (Dt33-05b, Dt33-05c) emphasizes the >ETERNAL< nature of the Jews acceptance of God since this fits into the context. The emphasis on the eternal nature can also be derived from an alignment of the verse parts. {LIST6} ============================================================= Alignment of the two halves of Dt33-05 *a *b & there King (Goin Israel when the leaders gathered ============================================================= NOTES *a The parallel structure suggests that Gods Kingship exists in both SPACE (in Israel) and TIME (when the leaders gathered) and hence hints at the eternal nature of Gods kingship. As previously indicated the emphasis on ETERNAL relationship comes from the structure of the paragraph. Similarly the word >AND THERE WAS< can be perceived as hinting at emphasis. *b The concept that the gatherings were done by leaders serves to indicate that it was a proper gathering (rather than a spontaneous response of a herd) SUMMARY: We have seen many strange translations above. Rashi translates >AM< as >TRIBE<. Similarly Rashi emphasizes the >ETERNAL< nature of the God-Jew relationship in Dt33-04:05. Finally Rashi emphasizes that it is God who achieves Kingship. Other explanations are possible. Rashi himself brings down a translation where >AM< refers to >NON JEWISH NATIONS<. Similarly Ibn Ezra translates Dt33-05 as referring to Moses Kingship. Rashi would not dispute that his explanations are >rare<. Rather Rashi would assert that his explanations are the only explanations that are consistent with the >CONTEXT< of the entire paragraph. In other words, while the other explanations may be consistent with the >WORDS< and >SENTENCE< they are NOT consistent with the overall >PARAGRAPH CONTEXT<. Hence Rashis translation is the only simple meaning. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: To my younger sister for introducing me to the idea of explanations of >WORDS<, >SENTENCES< and >PARAGRAPHS<. (For those in the know this is an old joke on the difference between Psalms, Proverbs, and Job) RULE USED: EXAMPLE9 #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#* VERSE: Gn07-18a RASHIS COVERED: Gn07-18a RULE: The Hebrew root Gimel-Beth-Resh can mean MEANING VERSE*1 TEXT OF VERSE ======== ======= ============================================= *Conquer 1Sam2-9 A person doesn't CONQUER by force *big Ps103-11 Gods Mercys were GREAT on those loyal to him Job36-9 He tells when their sins become too GREAT Gn07-18a The flood waters were very GREAT (BIG)*2 NOTES *1 The 3 verses supporting the meaning >BIG< were presented by the Rambam. Interestingly the RADACK does not give this meaning of >BIG<. *2 I view the Ramban as EXPLAINING Rashi(not as disagreeing with him or offering FURTHER SUPPORT). Let us examine: What was Rashis task? To indicate that the meaning of Gimel-Beth-Resh was >BECOME BIG< rather than >CONQUER<. Observe that >CONQUER< is a >TRANSITIVE< verb--eg Moses Conquered Pharoh. You do the conquering action to someone else By contrast >BECOME BIG< is a possibly >INTRANSITIVE VERB<. Thus in Gn07-18a, >The flood waters became GREAT on the earth<. Hence, it was sufficient for Rashi to indicate that we are using the INTRANSITIVE vs the TRANSITIVE meaning of Gimel-Beth-Resh. We immediately understand the terse cryptic Rashi--->AND THEY BECAME GREAT:(RASHI) BY THEMSELVES<. The phrase >BY THEMSELVES< simply indicates that the verb is potentially >INTRANSITIVE<.Ramban then amplified on this by indicating that Gimel-Beth-Resh can mean >BECOME BIG<. This is a typical method in Rashi. His translation may use one or two words in order to indicate a grammatical feature which in turn indicates a specific meaning. In other words Rashi does not directly explain the word but rather explains the word indirectly by indicating a grammatical property. RULE USED: GRAMMAR #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (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 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*