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Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2001
Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel
Volume 8 Number 22
Produced Jan 11, 2001
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
QUESTIONS FROM READERS
======================
I answer a question from CHAIIM LOIKE (Dr John Loikes son)
about the controversy between Rashi and the Aramaic
translation on the Hebrew word >HVH<--does it have 2 meanings
or 1 meaning.(The question was asked a Year ago)
Those who want to learn how to really read Rashis translations
of words should study these comments.
NEW WEB DESIGN
==============
Sunday night there will be a new web design for the RashiYomi
website. Thanks to all who gave comments and feedback Please
tune in on Sunday
SHORTER ISSUES
==============
Recent issues have become much shorter--they are 2/3 the
length of original issues and have twice as much Rashis.
I really appreciate all the comments and suggestions on
length. And special thanks to all who had the patience
to stay with us so long. I hope to continue this new
trend.
PARSHAH SERIES
==============
Gn48-22a A series of Rashis on the >EXTRA PORTION< that Jacob
gave Joseph. I show an easy way out of the difficulties
of the Sifsay Chachamim and RAAM
I also show a beautiful Radack which shows why the
same word can mean >Shoulder< and >Portion<. (Compare
the English >Shoulder of the Road<--see below for
details)
Rashis covered in this issue
----------------------------
VERSE RULE BRIEF DESCRIPTION
======== ============== ================================
Gn48-22a WORD MEANINGS The Hebrew >SChM< can mean>PORTION<
Gn48-22b WORD MEANINGS The Hebrew >SChM< can mean>PORTION<
Gn48-22c WORD MEANINGS The Hebrew >SChM< can mean>PORTION<
Gn48-22d WORD MEANINGS The Hebrew >SChM< can mean>PORTION<
Gn38-16b UNIFIED MEANING The Hebrew >HBH< means >NEGOTIATE<
Gn11-03b UNIFIED MEANING The Hebrew >HBH< means >NEGOTIATE<
Gn11-07b UNIFIED MEANING The Hebrew >HBH< means >NEGOTIATE<
Gn30-01b UNIFIED MEANING The Hebrew >HBH< means >NEGOTIATE<
Gx10-01a UNIFIED MEANING The Hebrew >HBH< means >NEGOTIATE<
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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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
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JOURNAL REFERENCE: 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, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: Gn48-22a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn48-22a Gn48-22b Gn48-22c Gn48-22d
RULE
====
{LIST}
The Hebrew word >SChM< can mean both SHOULDER, WAKE UP,
and PORTION. This LIST shows verses where these 3 meanings
occur. The foonotes show that a unified meaning to these
three usages is the concept of SHOULDER
===========================================================
MEANING VERSE TEXT OF VERSE
========== ======= =======================================
Shoulder Gn09-23 They put the blanket on their shoulders
To wake up Gn26-31 They woke up in morning*1*2
Portion Gn48-28 I gave you an extra >PORTION<*3*4
NOTES
=====
*1 When you get up in the morning it is your >SHOULDERS<
that change position. Hence >WAKING UP< is called
>SHOULDERING<
*2 The meaning >TO WAKE UP< usually occurs in the >CAUSATIVE
TENSE<
*3 This is Rashi. Radack beautifully supplements Rashi by
giving the English metaphor of a >ROAD SHOULDER<. This
phrase means >SIDE< of the road and hence can also refer
to a >PORTION< (Each >SIDE< of the plot= One >PORTION<)
*4{LIST}
This is one of those Rare Rashis where Rashi himself
gives the LIST supporting his thesis. This LIST shows
verses where SCHEM means PORTION. All these verses
can be translated with the word >PORTION<. They can
also be translated using the RADACKs concept, (which is
used in English also), of >The SHOULDER< of the road
by which we indicate one >SIDE<
===========================================================
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH SCHEM meaning PORTION
======== ========================================
Ps21-13 For Thy enemies designated us 1>PORTION< of booty
Ps60-08 God said ..I will divide out >PORTIONS< of land
Hos06-09 They ambush travellers from the road >SHOULDERS<
Tzf03-09 So They serve God together on one >SIDE<
Gn48-22 I gave you an extra >SHOULDER< of land
{END OF LIST}
Thus the simple meaning of Rashi is that >SCHEM< means >PORTION<
We now make 4 further clarifying comments on Rashi
COMMENT 1
=========
OTHER VERSES:
------------
Rashi cites Jo24-32 >And they buried Josephs bones in Schem<
to IDENTIFY what the extra Portion was that Jacob gave Joseph
COMMENT 2
=========
Why not give Schem to Shimon and Levi who fought for it?
-------------------------------------------------------
This question is implicitly asked by the Rashi commentator
the REEM.
The answer is given by Rashi---Joseph buried Jacob outside
of Egypt and in return for that burial Jacob gave Joseph
the opportunity to be buried in Israel by giving him an
extra plot of land
COMMENT 3
=========
Rashi seems to be saying that >SCHEM< means >SCHEM< not portion
---------------------------------------------------------------
Rashi says >SCHEM< means portion. But he also says that Schem
means >SCHEM itself<. Thus he >APPEARS< to go against the
simple meaning of the text. It would also be ungrammatical
for Rashi to translate the verse this way (>And I gave you
1 city of Schem over your brothers<--you never use numbers
with proper nouns since they are always one).
However I would interpret these two contradictory Rashis using
the principles of >STAGES<
--STAGE 1: >SCHEM< means >PORTION<
--STAGE 2: The >PORTION< referred to is >SCHEM ITSELF<
The added pun on >SCHEM=portion, SCHEM=The City itself<, gives
a certain nifty atmosphere and helps the student remember.
COMMENT 4
=========
But if Jacob cursed Shimon and Levi for what they did in Schem
why is he bragging about his >Conquest of Schem with MY SWORD
and MY BOW?<.
Rashi actually literally says >That I took with my SWORD AND
BOW: RASHI: This refers to prayer<.
So some people >INTERPRET< this Rashi to mean that Rashi
was taking the words >SWORD,BOW< out of their normal context
and translating them as >PRAYER<.
However there is no need to do this. We simply interpret the
verse to mean: >I give you Schem which I took with MY sword
and MY bow<.
Rashi is commenting on the emphasis on >MY< (Jacob could
have simply said: >I give you SCHEM which I took from the
Emorites<--why add military details).
Rashi is explaining that the conquest of Schem was not an
ordinary war. True Shimon and Levi won the initial battle
by destroying a whole city. But they did this by double
crossing them on a deal. Normal politics would consider this
an act of war. It would have meant nothing for the surrounding
nations to kill 70 people. Rashi therefore explains that the
surrounding nations did not follow up on the war because of
Jacobs prayers. And indeed we explicitly find a verse Gn35-05
>And the fear of God was on the surrounding cities and they
did not pursue Jacob<
In summary Rashi was commenting on something but he was not
changing the meaning of the words >SWORD, BOW<. Rather he was
adding that when Jacob fought he >ALSO< prayed.
I believe this is the proper way to learn Rashi
RASHI RULE USED: UNIFIED MEANING
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: Gn38-16b
RASHIS COVERED: Gn38-16b Gn11-03b Gn11-07b Gn30-01b Gn10-01a
RULE:
====
{LIST}
The fundamental UNIFYING MEANING of the Hebrew word >HBH<
(>Hey-Beth-Hey<) is >TO DISCUSS,TO PLAN<--to negotiate--
to make something done, or to acquire something.
=================================================================
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH >HBH< MEANING >DISCUSS,PLAN<
======== ========================================================
Gn11-07b Lets >DISCUSS,PLAN< to go down to intefer with this city
Gn38-16b Lets >DISCUSS,PLAN< having an affair together*1
Ex01-10a Lets >DISCUSS,PLAN< to go to war on them
Gn11-03b Lets DISCUSS,MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN< for a new city*2
Gn30-01b >DISCUSS (with God-ie Pray)Please< with a prostitute. Even though she
was a prostitute he didnt just come on her. He rather asked
her to >Please prepare for prostitution<--thus he even though
he was satisfying his raw physical desires he still had
consideration for other people.
{END OF LIST}
*2 Rashi also explains the moral issue of God >Going down< and
destroying the city(ie dispersing them). This seems rather
harsh. In fact God has only descended 10 times in all of
human history.
Rashi points out that the building of the city to rebel
against God was not something semi-accidental (like an
affair) but rather something premeditated and >PLANNED<
(>HVH<). In a similar way Gods descent to punish the
city was something >PLANNED< --- God was not just punishing
evil but rather he was punishing >PREMEDITATED< evil.
*3 Rashi points out that Jacobs Father had similarly prayed
for his wife to have a child. Rashi picturesquely
sees prayer as a >Bargaining,Negotiating,Planning &
Discussing< with God.
{END OF LIST}
FURTHER COMMENTS ON RASHI
=========================
Those who want to learn how to really read Rashis translations
of words should study these comments. Again my acknowledgement
to Chaiim Loike for spending several hours a year ago discussing
this with me.
1st:
===
Rashi on Gn11 and Radack in his book of Roots both indicate
that >HVH< has a fundamental meaning of >back and forth<
discussions whether for
--advice,
--commerce, or
--some work project
Thus the word has a fundamental meaning of BARGAINING or
NEGOTIATING. (Rashi on Gn11-03b, Radack ROOT Y-H-B)
2nd:
===
Rashi >SEEMS< to reverse himself on Gn38-16b where he says
----------------------------------------------------------
>HVH< means >PREPARE< except where it is translated as
>GIVE< And even when it is translated as >PREPARE< its
meaning is close to >GIVE<
----------------------------------------------------------
Rashi is referring to the standard Aramaic translation
which can translate >HVH< as either >PREPARE< or >GIVE<
3rd
===
Our method of resolving these two contradictory Rashis is
to suggest a 3rd meaning to >HVH<. This 3rd meaning is an
abstract concept that unifies the other two meanings.
Indeed, we have suggested that >HVH< means to >PLAN,PREPARE,
DISCUSS< It means >TO NEGOTIATE TO ACQUIRE or DO SOMETHING<
Hence some verses may emphasize the >NEGOTIATION<
(ie Preparation) while other verses may emphasize
>ACQUISITION<---the giving of the object. Thus indeed
>HVH< can mean both >PREPARE< and >GIVE< but its fundamental
meaning is >NEGOTIATE TO ACQUIRE<.
4th
===
The RADACK indeed finds two strong supports for the above
thesis.
SUPPORT 1
---------
The root >Y-H-B< can mean >Your business needs & dealings<
as is found in the verse Ps55-23 >Throw on God your NEEDS
AND BUSINESS DEALINGS and let HIM support you<
SUPPORT 2
---------
{LIST}
Radack brilliantly shows that just as >HBH< which seems to
mean >GIVE< actually means to >PREPARE< so too the word
>WALK< which means >WALK< (LCh) also means >PREPARE<
This is shown in the following verses
===========================================================
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH walk TRANSLATED AS prepare/plot
======= ==================================================
Ecc2-1 Let me >PREPARE< for myself a life of happiness
Gn37-27 Let us >PREPARE/BARGAIN< to sell him to the Arabs
Gn19-32 Let us >PREPARE/PLOT< to make him drunk tonight
Jr18-18 Let us >PREPARE/PLOT< schemes against Jeremiah
{END OF LIST}
SUMMARY
=======
* A superficial reading of the Bible suggests that >HBH< can
mean >GIVE< or >PREPARE<
* A proper approach is to find one unifying abstract concept
of which these two translations are attributes. Thus the
concept of >BARGAINING,PREPARING,PLOTTING< has aspects of
>PREPARE< and aspects of >Getting someone to GIVE to you<
* We prove this conjecture by
---showing other uses of the root with this suggested
unifying meaning
---showing other roots which can also mean both NEGOTIATE
and have a simpler MOTION Meaning (like GIVE,WALK)
We suggest that the above approach is fundamental for
understanding Rashi
RASHI RULE USED: UNIFIED MEANING
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
THE 2 DOZEN RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RASHI RULES
=======================================
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, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*