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VERSE: Lv25-15b
RASHIS COVERED: Lv25-15b Lv25-15a
======================== Lv25-15b =============================
SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
A major Rashi method deals with Biblical implementations
of modern TYPING effects such as BOLD, ITALICS, BULLETS,
PARAGRAPHING etc. It is well known for example that if
you wish to indicate EMPHASIS then you might BOLDFACE
or ITALICIZE an item. The Bible did not use Boldface
but did use REPETITION. We call this the Rashi Method
of REPETION
EXAMPLE: Lv25-15b STRANGERS DONT EAT TERUMAH
--------------------------------------------
Note the following repetition
-Lv25-15b buy from colleagues by NUMBER YEARS SINCE JUBILEE
-Lv25-15b sell -------------- by NUMBER YEARS OF PRODUCE
Without the REPETITION I would simply state (as Rashi does)
-----------------------------------------------------------
So eg if your field produces an average yield of $1000 a
year then in year 0 of the Jubilee it would be worth 50,000
because the buyer would expect $1000 x 50 years=50,000;
by contrast in year 40 of the Jubilee it would be worth
10,000 because the buyer only expect $1000 x 10 years=10,000
In other words the
VALUE OF THE FIELD = YIELD PER YEAR x NUMBER OF YEARS
If however a person sold the field for $50,000 in year 40
he would be overcharging for the field and violating a
Biblical law
-----------------------------------------------------------
It is important to emphasize that, as Rashi states
----------------------------------------------------
Whatever other meaning we derive (from the repetition),
these OTHER MEANINGS, are BESIDES the simple meaning
of the text
----------------------------------------------------
Without the REPETITION I would look at the PLURAL WORD
YEARS in the verse and simply state
---------------------------------------------------
Most sales are for YEARS (vs 1 year). Hence the
law is stated using typical examples. However the
law applies EQUALLY whether you sold the field for
one YEAR or many YEARS.
---------------------------------------------------
Here I used the Rashi rule of GENERALIZATION--which
requires that verses are seen as stating laws using
typical examples.
However we dont use the rule of GENERALIZATION when
the verse has some limitation.
Thus using the Rashi rule of REPETITION we see that
- the REPETITION requires EMPHASIS
- the EMPHASIS requires RESTRICTIVE meaning
I therefore infer that
--------------------------------------------------
A sale of land requires a minimum of 2 years.
We infer this from the REPEATED word, YEARS
which indicates AT LEAST TWO YEARS
--------------------------------------------------
To recap:
- It would be a mistake to think that Rashi
arbitrarily picked on the word YEARS and
required all sales to be two years
- Indeed in many cases Biblical laws are
stated using typical examples and generalized
to other cases
- However SINCE there is a REPETITION in the
verse therefore I am justified and required
to interpret the verse literally---a sale
must be for at least YEARS (that is 2 years)
The above is a peachy example of Rashi...it shows
that pickiness and restrictive meaning is only
one tool available to the Biblical student--this
tool may ONLY be used when required. In this
verse it is the repetition that requires it--
without the repetition I would not have come
to this conclusion.
This is fundamental to understanding Talmudic homiletics
LIST160a below presents other examples where verses are
interpreted restrictively because of a REPETITION.
==================================================================
ITEM DETAIL
======================== =========================================
RASHI RULE CLASS: REPETITION
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS RESTRICTIVE MEANING
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #19
SEE BELOW LIST160a
List of verses with REPEATED words interpreted restrictvely
==================================================================
=================== LIST160a =====================================
List of verses with REPEATED words interpreted restrictively
==================================================================
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE MEANING OF REPETITION
======== ================================ ========================
Nu04-04a The HOLY of HOLIES Holiest part of temple
Ex31-15a A SABBATH of SABBATHS*1 Even cooking prohibited
Lv13-49a Y-R-K-R-K (GreenReen) The GREENEST of GREENS*2
Lv13-49b A-D-M-D-M (Reded) The REDEST of REDS*2
Gn28-11a He prayed by THE PLACE..PLACE*3 >THE PLACE<=the Temple
Gn37-15a And a MAN found him..THE MAN.*4 >THE MAN<=AProphet/Angel
-------- ------------------------------- -----------------------
Lv01-08d wood on fire ON ALTAR ON ALTAR No wood protruding*5
Lv14-17a Blood on ear;Oil on ear ON BLOOD BLOOD must be first*5
Lv21-03a NonMarried sister-close to brthr single or engaged*6
Lv21-03b NonMarried sister-close to brthr single or engaged*6
Lv22-22f Dont offer Dont offer..blemished ANY act of offering*7
Lv21-21b BLEMISHED BLEMISHED priests... If still blemished*8
Lv06-20c Blood on GARMENT,SPRINKLED PART Only SPRINKLED PART*9
Lv22-13b STRANGER STRANGER cant eat Trmh Only stranger*11
Lv22-15b Sell according to YEARS YEARS*12 At least 2 yr for sale
Lv22-15a Sell according to YEARS YEARS*12 At least 2 yr for sale
NOTES
------
*1 Ex31-15b further points out that all holidays which are
referred to as >SABBATH of SABBATH< (Ex31-15, Lv23-32)
have prohibitions of both WORK and EATING. By contrast
all holidays which are only called >SABBATH< (Lv23-23
and Lv23-39) only have a prohibition of Work but not
a prohibition of COOKING. This is fully discussed at
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h6n12.htm)
*2 This is fully discussed in http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h1n23.htm
Ibn Ezra seems to disagree and state that GReenReen means a
light green (which would contradict this list). But as I
show in that posting, Ibn Ezra retracted what he said in his
commentary on Ps45-03. In fact Ibn Ezra simply points out
that he was testing the consistency of this rule against all
doubled roots. To make a long story short we reviewed all
roots & found possible problems with only 2 verses, Ps38-11
and Songs6-1. However we can properly translate these verses
Ps38-11 would be translated as >My heart FLUTTERS (intense
back and forth motion)<; Similarly Songs6-1 would be
translated as >Dont avoid me simply because I am very
SUNBURNED (an intense form of DAWN-COLOR)
*3 Many of the examples in this list are CONSTRUCTS
e.g. The HOLY of HOLIES. Future additions to this
list will emphasize examples similar to Lv01-08d
*4 So the repeated word MAN must refer to the narrow meaning
of the Hebrew ISH which means A DISTINGUISHED man such
as an Angel or Judge.
*5 In legal terminology the repetition creates ESSENTIALITY
- The wood is on the altar; and MUST be on the altar
- Blood on ear; oil on ear; and the blood MUST come first
*6 In other words the priest can defile himself to a sister
who is REALLY NOT MARRIED (not married and still CLOSE
to her brother the Priest)--thus the priest can defile
himself to a SINGLE and ENGAGED sister but not to a
MARRIED sister
*7 If you review Lv22-17:25 you will find 3-5 repetitions
of the concept that BLEMISHED ANIMALS SHOULD NOT BE
OFFERED (or PLACED ON FIRE) TO GOD. Therefore the
REPETITION applies to ANY PART OF THE OFFERING
PROCEDURE. The main parts of the OFFERING PROCEDURE are
- DEDICATION of the animal
- SLAUGHTER of animal
- RECEIPT of animal blood
- OFFERING ON FIRE of organs*10
*8 In other words only is he is REALLY BLEMISHED = STILL
BLEMISHED (But if he recovered from the Blemish then
the law does not apply and he can offer offerings)
*9 The verse states
----------------------------------------------------
If blood falls on a GARMENT, then wash in the temple
THAT ON WHICH IT FELL
----------------------------------------------------
The capped words indicate a quasi repetition. This
repetition creates emphasis. ONLY the part of the
garment on which the blood is sprinkled need be
washed.
----------------------- LONGER FOOTNOTES -------------------
*10 An important point about learning Rashi should be
emphasized. Many Rashi commentators play NUMBER GAMES
- they count FOUR repetitions of DONT OFFER
- they then note FOUR applications of emphasis in Rashi
(to a) Dedication b) Slaughter c) receipt of blood
d) offering
However our approach in this list has always been
conceptual. The REPETITION denotes EMPHASIS. The
EMPHASIS in turn simply includes ALL CASES--ALL PARTS
OF THE PROCEDURE. We think this a mature and satisfying
approach to Rashi.
*11 The whole verselet A STRANGER CANNOT EAT TERUMAH is
repeated. The simple way of taking it is that
- ONLY strangers are restricted from eating TERUMAH
- ALL other PRIESTS (EVEN SUCh AND SUCH) may eat TERUMAH
The details of the EVEN SUCH AND SUCH are not
necessarily explicitly mentioned and must be guessed
at by those knowledgeable of Jewish law.
Rashi(Lv22-13b) applies the EVEN SUCH AND SUCH (Lv22-13b)
to a Priest whose relative just died and prior
to burial. EVEN THOUGH a BEFORE-BURIAL PRIEST MAY NOT EAT
SACRIFICIAL ITEMS nevertheless he MAY EAT TERUMAH
*12
Note the following repetition
-Lv25-15b buy from colleagues by NUMBER YEARS SINCE JUBILEE
-Lv25-15b sell -------------- by NUMBER YEARS OF PRODUCE
Without the REPETITION I would simply state (as Rashi does)
-----------------------------------------------------------
So eg if your field produces an average yield of $1000 a
year then in year 0 of the Jubilee it would be worth 50,000
because the buyer would expect $1000 x 50 years=50,000;
by contrast in year 40 of the Jubilee it would be worth
10,000 because the buyer only expect $1000 x 10 years=10,000
In other words the
VALUE OF THE FIELD = YIELD PER YEAR x NUMBER OF YEARS
If however a person sold the field for $50,000 in year 40
he would be overcharging for the field and violating a
Biblical law
-----------------------------------------------------------
It is important to emphasize that, as Rashi states
----------------------------------------------------
Whatever other meaning we derive (from the repetition),
these OTHER MEANINGS, are BESIDES the simple meaning
of the text
----------------------------------------------------
Without the REPETITION I would look at the PLURAL WORD
YEARS in the verse and simply state
---------------------------------------------------
Most sales are for YEARS (vs 1 year). Hence the
law is stated using typical examples. However the
law applies EQUALLY whether you sold the field for
one YEAR or many YEARS.
---------------------------------------------------
Here I used the Rashi rule of GENERALIZATION--which
requires that verses are seen as stating laws using
typical examples.
However we dont use the rule of GENERALIZATION when
the verse has some limitation.
Thus using the Rashi rule of REPETITION we see that
- the REPETITION requires EMPHASIS
- the EMPHASIS requires RESTRICTIVE meaning
I therefore infer that
--------------------------------------------------
A sale of land requires a minimum of 2 years.
We infer this from the REPEATED word, YEARS
which indicates AT LEAST TWO YEARS
--------------------------------------------------
To recap:
- It would be a mistake to think that Rashi
arbitrarily picked on the word YEARS and
required all sales to be two years
- Indeed in many cases Biblical laws are
stated using typical examples and generalized
to other cases
- However SINCE there is a REPETITION in the
verse therefore I am justified and required
to interpret the verse literally---a sale
must be for at least YEARS (that is 2 years)
The above is a peachy example of Rashi...it shows
that pickiness and restrictive meaning is only
one tool available to the Biblical student--this
tool may ONLY be used when required. In this
verse it is the repetition that requires it--
without the repetition I would not have come
to this conclusion.
This is fundamental to understanding Talmudic homiletics
=================================================================
---------------------------------------------------
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Volume 25 Number 25
#*#*#*# (C) 2000-2005, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#
Volume 25 Number 25