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 8 Number 6 Produced Nov 17, 2000 WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10) Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations THE GOLDEN RAMBAM RASHI SERIES ============================== This unit will have its second installment next week We are delaying it to give some items from this weeks Parshah WEEKLY PARSHAH SERIES ===================== Gn19-31a Rashi reviews aspects of >how IT happens< Gn18-05a Rashi explains several Hebrew idioms Several of these Rashis use the {LIST} method adopted in this email group Rashis covered in this issue ---------------------------- VERSE RULE BRIEF EXPLANATION ===== ==== ================= Gn19-31a EXAMPLE9 Torah DEVELOPS an idea in several stages Gn19-31b EXAMPLE9 Torah DEVELOPS an idea in several stages Gn19-33a EXAMPLE9 Torah DEVELOPS an idea in several stages Gn19-33b EXAMPLE9 Torah DEVELOPS an idea in several stages Gn18-37a EXAMPLE9 Torah DEVELOPS an idea in several stages Gn19-36a DOUBLE PARSHAS >She conceived< is a whole verse Gn18-05a NEW MEANINGS >EAT YOUR HEARTS CONTENT<=>Have a meal< Gn18-05b GRAMMAR Rashi indicates grammatical function Gn18-05c NEW MEANINGS Rashi explains a complex 3 word phrase Gn18-05d NEW MEANINGS Rashi explains a complex 3 word phrase -------------------------------------------------------------- #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (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: Gn19-31a RASHIS COVERED: Gn19-31a Gn19-31b Gn19-33a Gn19-33b Gn18-37a OVERVIEW: ======== Recall that Lot escaped from Sedom and Amorah. He and his two daughters were in a cave. The daughters seduced Lot. Rashi uses this opportunity to show the teleology of sin--how does IT happen and what goes into it. Rashi uses the method of >CLIMAX<. According to this method, the Bible sometimes develops an idea in several stages over several verses. In the sequel the phrase >the elder< refers to the >the elder of Lots 2 daughters< while >the younger< refers to >the younger of Lots 2 daughters< {LIST} According to Rashi sin takes place in 4-5 stages ================================================ WHICH STAGE WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS STAGE =========== ========================== In stage 1 One discovers >VULNERABILITY< in men(eg He is old) In stage 2 One >EXAGGERATES FEARS(Paranoia)<(eg no men left) In stage 3 One >uses ACCIDENTS< (eg look at the wine we found) In stage 4 One treats a person like a >SEX OBJECT<(eg seduce) Let us see these 4 stages in the incest of Lot. {LIST} Rashi uses this opportunity to show the teleology of sin-- how does IT happen and what goes into it. ================================================================ STAGE TEXT OF VERSE SHOWING STAGE IN SEDUCTION ============= ================================================== Vulnerability And the elder said to the younger,Father is old*1 Paranoia and there are no men left in the world*2 Accidents*3 (they found some wine)--let us give wine to father Sex-Objects She (the elder) >seduced< him *4 NOTES ===== *1 Notice how Rashi connects the >VULNERABILITY< stage with the >PARANOIA< stage. Rashi says >He is old(vulnerability) and if we dont do it NOW then we wont have another opportunity(Paranoia)< *2 >There are no men left in the world<. This is >paranoia< Paranoia consists of taking a legitimate fear and >EXAGGERATING< it. *3 If one carefully reads Rashi, the Sifsay Chachamim and the Midrash Rabbah on which this is based one gets the erroneous impression that there is controversy on the daughters intention. According to one view there was so much drinking at this time of history that people had to hide the wine in caves---that is where the girls found the wine. According to another opinion the Midrash alludes to the great amount of wine there will be in the Messianic era In other words the girls had >pure< intent--they wanted to populate the world and even though they committed incest they did have good intentions. But there is no CONTROVERSY here. Rather Rashi is describing sin psychology. Surely we all know that no one just goes out and sins (After all it doesn't look right). Rather every sin has some type of >justification and rationalization< Also every sin utilizes accidents. So we now understand the 2 opinions in the Midrash--they are complementary. On the one hand everyone was drinking wine,and THEREFORE, by accident, in the cave they were in they found wine that had been hidden there. As is the case with all sinners they saw this as an act of God that would help them. On the other hand they didn't just go and sin. Rather they said they were sinning to >populate the word<. Like many sins, this one also had its ugliness painted and mixed with some good intentions. *4 Rashi uses the method of double parshas. His inferences are justified by the two {LISTS} below {END OF THIS LIST} {LIST} Rashi compares two verses to show that the elder >Seduced< his father and treated him like a sex object ------------------------------------------------------------ Gn19-31 And the elder slept OF her father Gn19-34 I(the elder) slept OF my father yesterday Gn19-34 You(younger) sleep WITH him tonight Gn19-35 The younger slept WiTH him *a *b ------------------------------------------------------------ NOTES ===== *a,b So we see that the >ELDER< slept >OF< her father while the >YOUNGER< slept >WITH< her father Throughout the Bible >SLEEPING OF< vs >SLEEPING WITH< is used to denote >Treating a person like a sex object< vs >having an affair< In the case of women, treating a person like a sex object refers to seducing the man(without his participation) {END OF THIS LIST} {LIST} Rashi further amplifies on the difference between the older and younger daughter by showing how their respective nations were treated later on. The attached LIST shows how the two daughters differed in -their sexual overtures(the older treated him like an object) -their naming of their children(the baby was called FromDaddy) -our obligations to them(dont harass vs dont harass war) ================================================================ WHICH DAUGHTER WHAT TOPIC LANGUAGE OF BIBLE VERSE ============== ============ =================== ======= Older sex treated like object Gn19-31 Younger sex*1 had an affair Gn19-35 Older Name of baby Named him FROMDADDY Gn19-37 Younger Name of baby Named him WITHME*2 Gn19-38 Older Relationship dont provoke war Dt02-09 Younger Relationship dont provoke *3 Dt02-19 NOTES ===== *1 As indicated in a previous LIST the verses says >Slept OF him< vs >Slept WITH him< denoting treating like an object vs having an affair *2 Thus the older daughter openly bragged in her name on what happened--she called him >FromDaddy< while the younger daughter called him >WithMe<(more discrete) *3 Rashi of course is commenting on the difference between Dt02-09 and Dt02-19: >dont provoke WAR< vs >dont provoke< Thus the younger daughter was more protected: >dont provoke< means >dont provoke AT ALL< (while with the older daughter we were only prohibited in >dont provoke to WAR< {END OF THIS LIST} COMMENTS: ======== We have left to explain the cryptic statement in Rashi about the >dots< in the written scrolls of the Torah, on the word >When she got up<. Gn19-33 states that the elder slept with her father but >lot did not know when she slept and GOT UP<. The capped words >GOT UP< have >DOTS< over them in the Torah. These dots of course are only hints. There are only a few places in the Bible where they occur. A parenthetical remark in Rashi states that he >did know when she got up<. But this directly contradicts the explicit verse. Surely the dots cannot contradict what is already there (These parenthetical remarks were not written by Rashi but inserted their by a printer at a later date) Rather I would suggest (as is the custom with drunkedness and affairs) that the >dots< refer to a >hazy awareness<---the type of groggy awareness which happens when you are just getting out of it. So the verse says >he was stone drunk when she slept with him but he was just COMING OUT OF IT when she got up (and nevertheless he slept with the younger one the next night)< We plan to gather all the >dot verses< in one posting in the future and show a unified treatment of them. For the moment it suffices to concentrate on the above lists to give us the simple meaning of the text. RULE USED: EXAMPLE9 #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#* VERSE: Gn19-36a The verse states >And the two daughters of Lot conceived from their father< RASHI in his commentary starts giving a biology lecture on how most women do not conceive from a first affair but these girls did. {LIST} Rashi was developing the idea that this is the only time in the Bible where a WHOLE verse is devoted to mentioning >CONCEIVING<. Usually the Bible says >IN ONE VERSE< >She CONCEIVED and Gave Birth<. Since this is the only verse where it mentions conceiving by itself Rashi saw in this an emphasis on the fact that they conceived. Here is a list of verses mentioning conceiving *1 ========================================================== VERSE WHO GAVE BIRTH TEXT ======= ============== ==== Gn04-01 Eve She conceived and gave birth Gn21-02 Sarah She conceived and gave birth Gn29-32 Leah She conceived and gave birth Gn30-07 Bilhah She conceived and gave birth 1S1-20 Chana She conceived and gave birth Gn19-36 Lots daughter She conceived from her father NOTES ===== Actually there are 3 other verses (out of about 30) where it only says SHE CONCEIVED. They are as follows -Gn16-04 & As soon as Sarah saw that Hagar conceived she made fun of her Thus the reason why it says CONCEIVED vs CONCEIVED AND GAVE BIRTH is obvious -Gn25-21 And Isaac prayed for her and she finally conceived Thus the reason why it says CONCEIVED vs CONCEIVED AND GAVE BIRTH is obvious -1Ch4-17 And SHE conceived to him .... -1Ch4-18 But his JEWISH WIFE gave BIRTH to .... The Radack on 1Ch4-18 interprets the verse as shown According to Radack the first wife was non jewish (Pharohs) daughter. Thus by the Jewish wife it uses the term BIRTH while by the non jewish wife it uses the term CONCEIVED The implied insult is clear. RASHI RULE USED: DOUBLE PARSHAS #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# VERSE: Gn18-05a The Hebrew word >SAAD< means to >MAKE WELL FOUNDED< The Hebrew word >LAYV< means >HEART< The combined phrase >SAAD LAYV< creates an idiom with a new meaning >EAT A MEAL<. This is justified by the following LIST almost all of whose verses are brought by Rashi {LIST} Verses where the phrase >Make a well founded heart< means >Eat a good meal< *1 =========================================================== VERSE TEXT ===== ==== Gn18-05 I will take >BREAD< & you will >WELL FOUND YOUR HEARTS< Ps104-15 & >BREAD< will >MAKE A MANS HEART WELL FOUNDED< Jud19-05 And >MAKE YOUR HEART WELL FOUNDED< on >BREAD< NOTES ===== *1 In olden times meals were traditionally associated with >bread< which occurs in all these verses(That is why we make a blessing over bread before every meal) In passing there is a nutritionaly foundation for this practice: Bread, because it is made with yeast, is a food that is rich in ALL B vitamins. The B vitamins are water soluble and hence are easily lost from the body. For this reason they must be replenished frequently. The reason people feel >icky< when they haven't eaten bread for a while is because the B vitamins are missing. The Talmud (Bracoth) in fact notes that in the Messianic era we might break meals over specially made bears (which are also rich in B vitamins because of the fermentation process) However the word >Make well founded< by itself can denote having a meal EVEN if the word bread does not occur. eg 1King13-07 >And come to my house and WELL FOUND YOURSELF< Statistically the Hebrew root ->Samech-Ayin-Dalet< only occurs 12 times in the Bible. It means >have a bread meal< 3 times (25%) It means >have a meal< 4 times (33%) RASHI RULE USED: NEW MEANINGS #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# VERSE: Gn18-05c RASHIS COVERED: Gn18-05c Gn18-05d The following Hebrew words have the following meanings -KI BECAUSE, SINCE -AL ON -CAYN YES {LIST} The Hebrew phrase >KI AL CAYN< creates an idiom meaning >BECAUSE<. The phrase only occurs 6 times in the BIble. It is used when the CAUSALITY is social. Thus if you honor someone >BECAUSE< of something they did you would use this phrase. Similarly if you prohibit something >BEcAUSE< of something they did you would use this phrase =========================================================== VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH A PHRASE MEANING BECAUSE ======= ============================================= Gn18-05 Let me honor you with a meal SINCE you are my guests Gn19-08 Please dont molest them SINCE they are my guests Gn33-10 Please take my gift BECAUSE you appear like an angel Nu10-31 Please stay BECAUSE we honor you with being our guide Gn38-26 Please dont punish her BECAUSE it is my fault Nu14-43 Please dont war BECAUSE you are sinners & wont succeed {END OF THIS LIST} RASHI RULE USED: NEW MEANINGS #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# VERSE: Gn18-05b RASHI simply indicates the grammatical function of the various phrases. Rashi interprets -I will take bread -and you will have a meal -afterwards you can go -because I wish to honor you since you are my guests This Rashi is completely straightforward. As the Rashi commentary, Sifsay chachamim points out, the word >AFTERWARDS< could also function like the word >AFTER<. Thus an initial attempt to read this verse could result in the following >INCORRECT< interpretation -I will take bread -and you will have a meal AFTER you go- So Rashi simply indicated that the verse should be translated as TWO sentences vs ONE sentence. Such commentaries, where the commentary tells us to read a verse as TWO sentences vs ONE sentence are very common in the books of Psalms, Proverbs and Job This technique of interpreting as an EXTRA SENTENCE can be very powerful. RASHI RULE USED: GRAMMAR #*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# 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, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*