13 Methods for inferring meaning:#31 of 32
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# July 10th, 2001 #
# Rashis 850-851 Of 7800 (10.9%) #
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========= SPECIAL FEATURE ====================
Todays issue shows the difference in approach
DR HENDEL vs DR LEIBOWITZ---RABBI BONCHECK
ALSO Please visit my RASHI-WORD SUMMARY at
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/words.htm
==============================================
GOALS:
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I decided its time for a longer unit.
This unit which is a bit longer than the others focuses on a
major Rashi task--explaining the MEANINGS OF WORDS. EXPLAINING
MEANING is more than looking something up in a dictionary.
There are METHODS to explaining WORDS. In this module we will
explore HOW Rashi determines meaning --WHAT are Rashis methods.
TODAYS UNIT
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We are finishing this series on HOW NAMES ARE MADE. I hope
you have enjoyed it. We close this series by applying all
we know to a simple but illustrative example. The grand summary
is tomorrow. Dont miss it.
REFERENCE:
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This module comes from the following reference in the
Rashi-is-Simple series.
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/gn01-22b.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h7n23.htm
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
EXAMPLE 101: Gn01-22b
===========
EXAMPLE 102: Gn01-22c
===========
BACKGROUND:
==========
God blessed Adam by telling him BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY. Rashi
comments that FRUITFUL implies having SOME CHILDREN while
MULTIPLY implies HAVING MANY CHILDREN.
Thus it looks like Rashi was commenting on the problem of the
double language BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY. Equivalantly it looks
like the double language FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY was BOTHERING
Rashi and hence he had to solve it.
MY APPROACH vs the LEIBOWITZ-BONCHECK APPROACH:
==============================================
As I have indicated several times Dr Leibowitz and Dr Boncheck,
two noted Rashi commentators, emphasized an approach that
starts with finding RASHIS PROBLEM. By contrast my approach
emphasizes DATABASE QUERIES---we ask
-----------------------------------------------------
What is the NORMAL language to indicate a blessing
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THE DATABASE QUERY
==================
It turns out that blessings to reproduce occur 19 times
in the Bible. MOST of these use the double language FRUITFUL &
MULTIPLY. Thus this is NORMAL language.
Hence Rashi was not bothered by the double language.
If any thing Rashi was bothered by the few verses that
do NOT use the double language but simply say BE
FRUITFUL
THE RASHI
=========
Here are the results of the database query
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* 19 verses bless humans to be FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY
* 15 of these verses use a DOUBLE LANGUAGE: FRUITFUL & MULTIPLY
* 4 of these verses use a SINGLE WORD: FRUITFUL
* These 4 verses also deal with blessing in hostile environments
Hence
* the normal blessing style is BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY
* However if a person is in a hostile environment then the
blessing is BE FRUITFUL --- the connotation being AT LEAST
be fruitful.
The conclusion that I, Rabbi Boncheck, or Dr Leibowitz reach
is the same. But the method we use is different. Dr Leibowitz
regards the EXTRA word (FRUITFUL & MULTIPLY) as a problem. By
contrast I am not bothered by anything. I rather see a simple
database query which correlates two different styles with two
different situations -- it is irrelevant to me whether these
two styles have anything to do with extra words or not.All
that is relevant is that many examples justify the usage.
To use Talmudic lingo I employ the method of Rabbi Ishmael
GENERALIZATION FROM SEVERAL VERSES while Dr Leibowitz and
Rabbi Boncheck seem to use the Rabbi Akivian method of EXTRA
WORDS.
Here is a compact table summary of the above rule. The
queries showing the statistics on FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY as
well as the 4 verses with hostile environments and the word
FRUITFUL are presented below in the notes section.
============== SUMMARY: FRUITFUL & MULTIPLY vs FRUITFUL ========
Summary of the different styles of indicating
fruitfulness, where they are used, and what emphasis
is implied
================================================================
LANGUAGE USED #Vs TYPE OF ENVIRONMENT EMPHASIS
================ === ===================== ====================
fruitful multiply 15 normal environments alot
fruitful 4 hostile environment only a few children
fruitful 9 plants fixed progeny
================================================================
------------------------- NOTES ---------------------------------
======== STATISTICS: FRUITFUL-MULTIPLY vs FRUITFUL ==============
Analysis of verses describing a blessing of being
FRUITFUL. Most of the 19 verses use a double language
FRUITFUL and MULTIPLY. only 4 use the single language FRUITFUL
=================================================================
# VERSES % VERSES What these verses have in common
======== ======== ===============================================
19 100% Verses with a blessing to be fruitful
15 79% Uses the language BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY*1
4 21% Uses the language BE FRUITFUL
9 100% Verses describing FRUITFUL Plants *2
NOTES:
======
*1 The order is not fixed. Thus Jer3-16
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When you MULTIPLY and are FRUITFUL
------------------------------------
uses a reverse order.
*2 Verses with plants only have the word FRUITFUL but
not the word MULTIPLY. It seemed reasonable to compare
verses with talking about human fruitfullness. There are 19
of these and 80% use a double language.
================================================================
===== FRUITFUL (one word) used when Environment Hostile ========
Here are the 4 verses where it says >FRUITFUL< but does
not also say >MULTIPLY< As shown each of these verses
occurs in a hostile environment
===============================================================
VERSE HOW WAS THE ENVIRONMENT HOSTILE
====== ================================================
Gn26-22 Isaac had constant WATER RIGHT DISPUTES
Gn41-52 Joseph was a former slave & convict in a Egypt*1
Ps105-24 Egypt was hostile to the Jews*2
Ex23-30 Verse is talking during the conquest of the land
NOTES
=====
*1 We could also add that Egypt was hostile to Jews
*2 Interestingly the verse says >And they were VERY FRUITFUL
Also note that Ex01-07 (also speaking about the Jews in Egypt)
says
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And the Jews were FRUITFUL and MULTIPLIED and...
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Apparently it is optional in a hostile environment to use the
double language FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY or the single
language FRUITFUL
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#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#