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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