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Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2001
Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel
Volume 9 Number 14
Produced March 12, 2001
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
HILIGHTS
========
Dt04-32a
A new insight to my theory on Genesis-1 which states
that Genesis 1 discusses the creation of prophecy
not the creation of the physical universe. We
interpret Genesis 1 in light of the Rashi which
claims that the >6th day< refers to the holiday
of Shavuoth.
READER QUESTIONS
================
v9-3-12a
RON MITNICK is still not satisfied with our explanation
of why Rashi interpreted >THE boards< to refer to
the trees planted by the Patriarchs for the temple.
A new approach in this issue.
v9-3-12b
AL SILBERMAN has second thoughts on acknowledging
that >LeAT< is a verb form. (This will be discussed
in the next issue.)
WEEKLY PARSHAH SERIES
=====================
For Rashis on this weeks Parshah visit
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/parshah.htm
Rashis covered in this issue
----------------------------
VERSE RULE BRIEF DESCRIPTION
======== =============== ===================================
Dt04-32c SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
DT04-44a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Dt04-45a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Dt31-19a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Nu01-17a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Dt01-01a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Nu13-33a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Nu04-13a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Nu28-26a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Nu29-11a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Dt11-12a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Nu28-06a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Ex26-15a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Gn01-31a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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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/
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VERSE: Dt04-32c
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
===============
To Ron Mitnick for his continued probing on the Rashi Ex26-15a
I also acknowledge a young Torah scholar in Baltimore (who
wishes to remain anonymous) with whom I had many stimulating
conversations about the word >THE<.
RULE
====
The word >THE< can be used in 4 methods
--to refer to something that immediately follows or followed
eg Dt04-32c >Has anyone heard THIS GREAT THING-that God ...<
--to refer to a concept, story or thing mentioned ELSEWHERE
eg Nu13-33a >We saw there THE Nefilim< -- cf Gn06-04
--to refer to the best known of a class
eg Dt01-07e >THE Mount< -- This refers to The Kings Mountain
--to refer to a qualitative best
eg Dt05-18a >You will do the good and upright< -- ie compromise
EXAMPLES (More examples next time)
========
---------------------------------------------------------------
The following verses uses both >THE< and >THIS<
The verse speaks about >THIS THING< and refers to
what is mentioned in the next verse*1
---------------------------------------------------------------
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH >THE< & >THING< and FOLLOW UP VERSE
======== ======================================================
Dt04-32c Has any one heard >THIS GREAT THING:<
That a nation should be saved by miracles
DT04-44a >THIS is THE TORAH< that Moses placed before the Jews
>THESE are the STATUTES that God spoke in Egypt:<*2
I am the Lord thy God
Dt31-19a Read >THIS SONG< To the Jewish people:
Harken, oh heavens and I will speak....
Dt01-01a These are THE WORDS that Moses spoke to Israel:
God made you plentiful..how can I endure your complaints
NOTES
=====
*1 We could also include Nu01-17a >And Moses took THESE PEOPLE<
The word >THESE PEOPLE< refers to the 12 Prince Heads
mentioned in Nu01-01:16
*2 Rashi also uses the rule of Rabbi Ishmael dealing with
contradictory verses, to explain Dt04-44:45
For Dt04-44 mentions the 10
commandments SAID BEFORE ENTRY INTO ISRAEL while Dt04-45
mentions the 10 commandments mentioned AT SINAI
Rashi resolves this contradiction according to the
well known tradition that the 10 commandments were
said twice--once in Sinai and once before entry in
Israel.
See http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ri-14.htm
for further discussion of Rabbi Ishmaels methods.
{END OF LIST}
---------------------------------------------------------
In the following verses >THE< refers to a known concept
that is mentioned elsewhere
---------------------------------------------------------
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE REFERS TO THIS TERM MEANS..
======== ======================= ========= =================
Nu13-33a THE Nefilim*1 Gn06-04 Sons of Prophets
Nu04-13a THE Altar*2 Ex27-01 Copper Altar
Nu28-26a THE day of BIKURIM*3 Lv23-17 Shavuoth Holiday
Nu29-11a THE atonement offering Lv16-03 Yom Kippur Holiday
Dt11-12a THE Year Beginning*4 Jewish New Year
Nu28-06a THE Olah of Mount Sinai Ex24-05 Receipt of Torah*5
Ex26-15a THE temple boards*6 Gn21-33 Abrahams altar trees
Gn01-31a THE Sixth day*7 Shavuoth-6th of Sivan
NOTES
=====
*1 [This footnote partially answers Ron Mitnick who was
concerned with the fanciful Legend brought by Rashi
in Ex26-15a that Jacob planted trees for the Temple]
The simple meaning of the text is that the word >THE NEFILLIM<
refers to >THE NEFILLIM< mentioned in Gn06-04. Furthermore,
the >NEFILLIM< in Gn06-04 are described as a gang of people
that came from judges grabbing women.
But the Hebrew word for JUDGES used there is E-L-O-H-I-M. So
it seems reasonable to interpret this word as referring to
prophecy. It then seems reasonable to interpret the verse
that >THE STUDENTS OF PROPHETS HAD FAILED IN THEIR SPIRITUAL
GOALS AND WERE NOW INSTEAD TAKING WOMEN<
The Legend expresses this metaphorically >The NEFILLIM
refers to the angels AZAZEL etc that FELL FROM HEAVEN<
This is simply a metaphor. >ANGELS< means >PROPHETS<
>FELL FROM HEAVEN< means >FALLEN FROM THE PROPHETIC PATH<
>AZAZEL< literally means >HELL< a fitting name for such
people.
Thus NEFILIM refers to people who defected from prophecy
(Cf the example of the Saul who later sought advice
from witches).
Thus although the Rashi is a bit fantastic nevertheless
Rashi is based on a solid simple meaning; and when
the legend is properly interpreted it seems reasonable.
To sum up Rashi has two components
---a simple component--that THE NEFILLIM references Gn06-04
---a reasonable supplement--that these NEFILLIM were
defected prophets
A person who doesnt fully believe the reasonable component
should instead focus on the simple component. In my
TRADITION article (Winter 1980) I call this the principle
of STAGES.
*2 There are 2 altars--the copper altar and the gold altar
The copper altar is referred to as >THE ALTAR< while
the gold altar is not so referred. Hence Rashi cleverly
interprets the verse as referring to the COPPER ALTAR.
(Cf Ex27-01 vs Ex30-01--notice how it is the COPPER
ALTAR that has the word >THE< while the Gold altar
does not have THE! Rashi bases himself on GRAMMAR not on LOGIC
As the Rav (Soloveitchick) has said >When learning
Chumash it is best to avoid the stormy waters of
philosophy and stick to the placid waters of grammar<)
*3 The sole reason for believing that this holiday
mentioned in Nu28-26 is Shavuoth is because of use
of the identical word >BIKURIM< in Lv23-17.
*4 I know of no explicit Biblical verse that identifies
the holiday of the >seventh month with the shofar blowing<
as the New Year. Nevertheless the word >THE< in Dt11-12
refers to this known holiday
*5 Rashi actually mentions 2 possibilities for the
>Mount Sinai Olah<
---The Olah offering offered at receipt of the 10 commandments
---The Olah offering offered when the Temple was consecrated
(See Ex24-01:18 & Ex29-38:46)
Thus the important point is that >THE< refers to a known
offering connected with SINAI. Rashi does not commit himself
to which one. (Also see the Sifsay Chachamim who points out
that the verse should really be read with the word >LIKE<:
>LIKE the olah offering offered at Mount Sinai<)
*6 As I commented in http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n11.htm,
--the word >THE< in >THE TEMPLE BOARDS< refers to known
boards which apparently refers to the trees that Abraham
planted for an altar(Gn21-33). The Midrash then rightfully
assumes that Isaac and Jacob continued this tradition.
This is a reasonable but not necessary continuation of
the simple meaning of the text and resembles the Legend
of fallen angels mentioned above in footnote *1.
I believe this LIST gives cogency and believeability to this
approach
*7 The phrase >THE 6th< would refer to the day known as
>THE SIXTH<. This refers to the Jewish Holiday of Shavuoth
which always falls on the 6th of Sivan.
This derivation resembles the other derivations in the LIST
such as >THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR< which refers to the
Jewish New Year.
I believe this LIST gives cogency and believeability to this
approach.
I now interpret Genesis 1 based on this Rashi, that the
6th day refers to Shavuoth. First recall that I have
suggested that Genesis 1 explains that what was created
6000 years ago was Prophecy not the physical world. For
a complete reference see http://www.RashiYomi.Com/gen-1.htm
Pre-Day-1:The earth world has people of DARKNESS &
CONFUSION. The emotional world is watery and
not solid
DAY-1: God says >Let there be the lights of prophecy<
and Adam, the first prophet is created
DAY-2: God creates the physical and spiritual world; God
also creates the rain cycle. This refers to the
destruction of the physical world of the generation
of the flood
DAY-3: The PLANT world is a universal metaphor for learning
since all knowledge is organized in a taxanomic
manner. Thus on Day-3 God created the yeshiva world
referring to the famous Yeshivas of Shem and Ever
DAY-4: God created the SUN--the fire visions of prophecy.
This refers to the creation of the patriarchs who
had fire visions. They also LIT the world since they
told others of their fire visions. (Apparently ADAM
may only have had the HOLY SPIRIT--that is the
spiritual capacity to see things in dreams but not
in fire visions)
DAY-5: God creates the great Dinosaur nations like Egypt
which rule thru the power of the >herd<
DAY-6: God creates the pinacle of prophecy--Moses, who is
also called Adam. Moses is the father of all
prophets and is given the Torah on the holiday of
the 6th. Moses ruled over all ANIMAL prophets and
over all LEARNING (Grass).
DAY-7: God rests. The 3-stage creation of prophecy is
complete
--stage 1--Adam who had dreams
--stage 2--The Patriarchs who had fire dreams
--stage 3--Moses who had mosaic prophecy.
Praise be Him Who chose them and their learning
RASHI RULE USED: SPECIAL WORDS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (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 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*