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Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2001
Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel
Volume 9 Number 18
Produced March 27, 2001
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
HILIGHTS
========
Dt06-16a
We continue the series on Rashis use of the word >THE<
started in Volume 9 Number 14 in dt04-32c. Please see
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/dt04-32c.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n14.htm
READER QUESTIONS
================
v9-3-27a
AL SILBERMAN gives a source for a Rashi technique
used in a previous 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
======== =============== ===================================
Dt06-16a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Gn14-03a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Gn14-07b SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Gn01-31a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Gn11-05a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Gn22-02c SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
Dt05-18a 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
Gn01-31a SPECIAL WORDS >THE< can be used in 4 ways
-----------------------------------------------------------------
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
RASHI IS SIMPLE
GOALS: To grammatically defend all 8000 Rashis on Chumash.
METHOD:Rashis are defended with LISTS of comparable cases
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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,
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VERSE: v9-3-27a
Al Silberman found an interesting source for the Rashi
principle that >some verses sound better rearranged<.
See the following URLS that discuss/illustrate this
principle
---http://www.RashiYomi.Com/gn41-57a.htm
---http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h8n17.htm
Al also gave a whole list of examples to which we plan to
devote a future issue.
Here are his postings.
From: "Silberman, Alfred (N-BAE Systems)"
To: "'Russell J Hendel'"
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 07:19:37 -0500
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 08:07:13 -0500
[Moderator: I combined 2 postings of Al]
Subject: ReArrangement of Verses by Rashis
As far as what you wrote, I saw in a book by
Esra Shereshevsky on Rashi that the out-of-sequence words
that Rashi uses for explanations comes from Rule #
31 of the 32 rules of R' Elazar son of R' Yosi Haglili.
You may want to think about this aspect.
Moshe
[Moderator: I am always grateful for pointing out sources.
Because I use original database methods which require alot
of time I am not always able to look up original sources.
THANKS]
Here are the 13 examples of rearrangement that Moshe sent
me (please see the URLs above for my list). I will be
devoting a future issue to this topic in which I cite all
my previous examples as well as Moshes examples]
Al continues
=============
In order to possibly make this clearer [or perhaps not : - ) ]
I have found thirteen interpretations from Rashi on the Torah
where he also notes that words are out of sequence.
I will be using the JPS translation here.
1. Gen 2 : 19
... and whatever the man called each living creature,
that would be its name"
The words "nefesh xayah" are out of sequence.
Unadjusted it reads - and whatever the man called
nefesh xayah that would be its name. The word
whatever in the JPS translation should translate
the words "nefesh xayah" while "each living creature"
would be an interpolation.
2. Gen 14 : 15
At night, he and his servants deployed against them....
The word "laylah" is out of sequence. The words as stated
read - They divided amongst themselves the night.
3. Ex 2 : 5
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile...
This translation is interesting in that it ignores the
words "`al yad". The words actually read - The daughter
of Pharaoh went down to bathe at the shore. The JPS
ignores the words "`al yad", while Rashi prefers to switch
the words around so that it says - The daughter of Pharaoh
went down to the shore in order to bathe.
4. Ex 16 : 20
... and it became infested with maggots and stank...
Rashi points out that in the order of things food will stink
before it becomes infested with maggots as the correct sequence
in verse 24 has it.
5. Ex 27 : 4
Make for it a grating of meshwork in copper....
Actually, I don't understand the English meaning of this
JPS translation. Both Rashi and the Ibn Ezra say that the
meaning is - make for it a copper grating, made as meshwork
[i.e. made by experts in meshwork]. The word "copper" belongs
earlier.
6. Lev 1 : 15
... pinch off its head, and turn it into smoke on the
altar; and its blood shall be drained out against the side
of the altar" Obviously out of sequence. The draining of the
blood occurs before the burning. However, here a whole clause
has a pluperfect meaning - "and turn it into smoke on the
altar - after having drained its blood".
7. Lev 22 : 2
Instruct Aaron and his sons to be scrupulous about the sacred
donations that the Israelite people consecrate to me, lest
they profane My holy name... "Here JPS has correctly shifted the
clause "that the Israelite people consecrate to me" earlier.
8. Lev 23 : 16
you must count until the day after the seventh week -
fifty days..."The count goes only until forty nine NOT
fifty. Rashi translates this verse as follows - You must count
until [but not including] the day after a full seven weeks, which
is fifty days. The word "count" belongs earlier and does not
indicate the actual count but the DURATION of the count. The JPS
translation is also not to be understood that the count reaches
fifty.
9. Num 14 : 21
Rashi says that the words "and the Lord's presence will
fill the world" belongs at the end of verse 23. However,
Rashi also notes that there are other ways to translate
the phrase which places it correctly.
10. Num 19 : 7
after that the priest may reenter the camp, but he shall
be unclean until evening"By Jewish law he may only reenter
after evening so Rashi says the order is out of sequence.
Here, again, it is a whole phrase that is out of sequence,
not just an isolated word.
11. Num 22 : 33
... If she had not shied away from me, you are the one
I should have killed, while sparing her."The words "gam
othekha haragti" are obviously out of sequence since there
would have been only one death in that case as well. Rashi
translates this as
- I would have also killed you [i.e. in addition to delaying you]
Rashi reads "gam haragti othekha".
12. Num 27 : 2
They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chieftains...
Rashi here cites one Rabbi who would like to read this as a
sequence of events rather than a single event.Rashi explains that
in that case the order of events had to be otherwise than the
sequence in the verse. However, the simple reading is that this
was a single event in front of all these people.
13. Deut 4 : 38
to drive from your path nations greater and more populous than
you..."This translation correctly moves the word "Mipanekha" from
the end of the clause to the beginning. The way it is written it
reads - "to drive nations greater and more populous than you -
from your path". Not terrible, but awkward sounding.
[Moderator: NICE set of examples: I will Bli Neder, after I
finish this series on >THE< devote my attention to this topic
of rearrangement]
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
VERSE: Dt06-16a
CROSS REFERENCE
===============
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/dt04-32c.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n14.htm
RULE
====
The word >THE< can be used in 4 methods
--->THE< can refer to a PROPER NOUN
e.g. Dt06-16a >Dont test God as you tested him by TEST<
RASHI: TEST is the name of the place mentioned in Ex17-07
-->THE< can refer to something that is nearby
eg Dt04-32c >Has anyone heard THE GREAT THING-that God ...<
-->THE< can refer to a concept, story or
thing mentioned ELSEWHERE
eg Nu13-33a >We saw there THE Nefilim< -- cf Gn06-04
-->THE< can refer to the best known of a class
eg Dt01-07e >THE Mount< -- This refers to The Kings Mountain
EXAMPLES (More examples next time)
========
---------------------------------------------------------------
In the Following verses the word >THE< indicates that
what follows is a PROPER NOUN--the name of place or thing
---------------------------------------------------------------
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH >THE< & >THING< and FOLLOW UP VERSE
======== ======================================================
Gn14-07b And they conquered THE AMALEKITE FIELD
RASHI: Note that AMELAYK was not yet born!!!!
Thus the verse could not mean that they conquered land
owned by Amelayk. Rather the verse means that they
conquered that piece of territory which today has the
name >THE AMELIKITE FIELD<
Dt06-16a Dont test God as you did by TEST
RASHI: TEST refers to the placed named in Ex17-07
The verse does not mean
>Dont test God as you tested Him in all your tests<
Rather: >TEST< is the name of a place.
Gn14-03a They gathered in The VALLEY OF MEADOWS
RASHI: i.e. they gathered in the place called
>THE VALLEY OF MEADOWS< (>MEADOW VALLEY<).
The verse does not mean
>They gathered in a valley with alot of meadows<
Gn22-02c And go to MOUNT MORIAH
RASHI: MOUNT MORIAH is the name of a place. Using
the Cross Reference 2C03-01 we see that MOUNT MORIAH
is Jerusalem. (Rashi gives two possible reasons*5)
Gn11-05a The city built by the PROPHETS
BACKGROUND: The word >ADAM can refer to either
---The first prophet named >ADAM< or
---to the generic concept of >HUMAN<
Gn11 discusses how God descended to >review the
Tower built by the ADAMITES<. Thus this verse
seems to say that God reviewed the Tower built
by humans. However the prefix >THE< transforms
the word >ADAM< from meaning >HUMAN< to a word
meaning >ADAM<, the first prophet.*6
Dt05-18a & You should judge using ARBITRATION/COMPROMISE *7
RASHI: The verse literally says
>You shall do THE-GOOD-AND-THE UPRIGHT before God<
RASHI:
If the verse left out the word >THE< then it would
read >And you shall practice GOOD AND UPRIGHT deeds
before God<. However the use of >THE< in the phrase
>THE-GOOD-AND-THE-UPRIGHT< makes
>THE-GOOD-AND-THE-UPRIGHT< into an idiom, a separate
concept.
In this case, Rashi explains that this idiom
refers to COMPROMISE or ARBITRATION or MEDIATION in
the Judicial process since Arbitration and Mediation
on the one hand are >UPRIGHT(ie consistent with the
law)< while on the other hand they are >GOOD< and
acceptable for all parties.
---------------------------------------------
The Following verses where >THE< refers to
a proper noun are repeated from Volume 9
number 14
---------------------------------------------
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE REFERS TO THIS TERM MEANS..
======== ======================= ========= =================
Nu28-26a THE day of BIKURIM*1 Lv23-17 Shavuoth Holiday
Nu29-11a THE atonement offering Lv16-03*2 Yom Kippur Holiday
Dt11-12a THE Year Beginning*3 Jewish New Year
Gn01-31a THE Sixth day*4 Shavuoth-6th of Sivan
NOTES
=====
*1 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.
*2 Rashis point is that while every day has a sin offering
the Biblical phrase >THE sin offering< refers to the
sin offerings of >THE< holiday of sin atonement--YOM
Kippur, the DAY OF ATONEMENT
*3 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
*4 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
*5 a) Jerusalem was called MOUNT MORIAH from the root YRH
which means to give religious decision and guidance
In fact in the Messianic era, Jerusalem will be a
center for religious decision and guidance (Is02-03)
b) Jerusalem was called MOUNT MORIAH from the root MOR
which refers to strongly scented perfumes such as
the Ketoreth offering that was daily offered in
Jerusalem.
*6 RASHI: It does not say the city built by
HUMANS (literally >sons of men<) but rather
it says the city built by >sons of ADAM<
referring to ADAM the prophet. Just as ADAM
insulted God by eg blaiming his own sin on the
wife that God gave him (cf Gn03-12) so too the
people who built the Tower of Babel insulted
God.
This Rashi advises us that the people who built
the Tower of Babel were prophets who should have
known better than to build a Tower and try and
standardize religion.
The idea of prophets sinning is also mentioned in
Gn06-01:02
*7 In fact most people are unaware that ARBITRATION
and MEDIATION were an intrinsic part of the Judicial
process (that is the two disputants were always
offered COMPROMISE). Unlike othe legal systems where
Arbitration/Mediation were something outside the
legal system, in Jewish law they were an intrinsic
part of the legal system.
About 95% of Jewish Court cases were settled by
arbitration/mediation.
Thus this verse is the source for offering all
litigants ARBITRATION/COMPROMISE.
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 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*