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VERSE: Lv05-04b

RASHIS COVERED: Lv05-04b Lv05-04c Lv05-04d

========================== Lv05-04b ============================

SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
One of Rashis 5 main goals is to indicate paragraph
structure. One method of paragraph structure is to
use the THEME-DETAIL-THEME style. According to the
THEME-DETAIL-THEME method, the DETAIL is perceived as
a DEVELOPMENT of the general paragraph theme and is
interpreted in that manner. We call this the Rashi
method of RABBI ISHMAEL STYLE with the Rashi submethod
of GENERAL-DETAIL-GENERAL

EXAMPLE Lv05-04b - Lv05-04d
---------------------------
The Biblical text at Lv05-04 has
the following content/structure
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
THEME:  When a desiring soul swears explicitly
DETAIL:  - - - - - - - - - -  for harm or good
THEME:  For anything that a person swears explicitly
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Rashi (paraphrased)
---------------------------------------------------
The detail
- - - - - - - - -
for HARM or GOOD
- - - - - - - - -
is interpreted as DEVELOPING the paragraph theme.

Hence we interpret
- HARM = harm oneself
- GOOD = give pleasure to oneself
and we generalize this to
- any oath on PERMISSABLE events

Hence we include in these laws
- oaths to harm or give pleasure to oneself
- oaths about the future/past (I will/did throw a stone)
and we only exclude non-personal oaths such as
- I will observe the Sabbath.
---------------------------------------------------

Rashi cites the Sifrah which in fact gives other
approaches of generalization. Suffice it therefore to
observe that the underlying principle is one of
generalizing the DETAIL clause to perceive it as a
DEVELOPMENT of the GENERAL THEME.


LIST460q below summarizes this argument
==============================================================
ITEM                     DETAIL
======================== =====================================
RASHI RULE CLASS:        STYLE
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS      GENERAL-DETAIL-GENERAL
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #25
SEE BELOW                LIST460q
List of clauses in       Lv05-04 (Personal oath)
==============================================================

========================== LIST460q ============================
List of clauses in       Lv05-04 (Personal oath)
================================================================
ITEM    TEXT OF GENERAL THEME              TEXT OF DETAILS
======= ================================== =====================
GENERAL A soul explicitly swears
DETAIL  '                                  to harm [oneself]*1
DETAIL  '                                  todo good to[oneself]
GENERAL Any oath that a person swears

NOTES
------
*1
The detail
- - - - - - - - -
for HARM or GOOD
- - - - - - - - -
is interpreted as DEVELOPING the paragraph theme.
Hence we interpret
- HARM = harm oneself
- GOOD = give pleasure to oneself
and we generalize this to
- any oath on PERMISSABLE events

Hence we include in these laws
- oaths to harm or give pleasure to oneself
- oaths about the future/past (I will/did throw a stone)
and we only exclude non-personal oaths such as
- I will observe the Sabbath.*10

------------------ LONGER FOOTNOTES --------------------------

*10 The Sifrah distinguishes two methods:

    THE THEME-DEVELOPMENT-THEME Method
    ----------------------------------
    According to the Sifrah the bottom line is that the
    Biblical text refers to FUTURE PERMISSABLE events



    THE GENERALIZATION-LIMITATION-GENERALIZATION method
    ---------------------------------------------------
    According to the Sifrah the bottom line is that the
    Biblical text refers to PERMISSABLE events.

    This is an extremely subtle distinction and would require
    many examples and much discussion to clarify. Hence at
    this point in our Rashi digest we simply refer to the

    - GENERAL-DETAIL-GENERAL method
    - we regard the GENERAL clause as the PARAGRAPH THEME
    - we regard the DETAIL clause as DEVELOPMENT

    The basic idea of Rashi is to
    - perceive the whole paragraph as one unit
    - see the details as a development of the theme

    We will have more to say about these two methods
    in a later digest and we will give easy criteria
    by which the interested student can distinguish the
    two approaches.

================================================================
---------------------------------------------------
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Volume 25 Number 7


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