The 10 RashiYomi Rules 
Their presence in Rashis on Parshat ToLeDoTh 
 Vol  2#5 - Adapted from Rashi-is-Simple  
Visit The RashiYomi Website : http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
 (c) RashiYomi Incorporated, Dr Hendel President, Dec-1-2005 
English and Hebrew translations of the Bible come mostly from the www.MECHON-MAMRE.org  translation with changes made by me 

The goal of this Weekly Rashi Digest is to use the weekly Torah portion to expose students at all levels to the ten major methods of commentary used by Rashi. It is hoped that continual weekly exposure to these ten major methods will enable students at all levels to acquire a familiarity and facility with the major exegetical methods.

1. RASHI METHOD : OTHER VERSES   
This example applies to Rashis Gn26-02a 
URL Reference : (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn26-02a.htm 

The other verse  method seeks to confirm the contents of a target verse by cross referencing other verses which either confirm the target text or add details to it. Additionally the other verse  method can shed light on word meaning. 

Verse Gn26-01:05 states   And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. And the LORD appeared unto him, and said: 'Go not down unto Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father; and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and by thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves; because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.'   וַיְהִי רָעָב, בָּאָרֶץ, מִלְּבַד הָרָעָב הָרִאשׁוֹן, אֲשֶׁר הָיָה בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם; וַיֵּלֶךְ יִצְחָק אֶל-אֲבִימֶלֶךְ מֶלֶךְ-פְּלִשְׁתִּים, גְּרָרָה.  וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְהוָה, וַיֹּאמֶר אַל-תֵּרֵד מִצְרָיְמָה:  שְׁכֹן בָּאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיךָ.  גּוּר בָּאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת, וְאֶהְיֶה עִמְּךָ וַאֲבָרְכֶךָּ:  כִּי-לְךָ וּלְזַרְעֲךָ, אֶתֵּן אֶת-כָּל-הָאֲרָצֹת הָאֵל, וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת-הַשְּׁבֻעָה, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּעְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָם אָבִיךָ.  וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶת-זַרְעֲךָ, כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְנָתַתִּי לְזַרְעֲךָ, אֵת כָּל-הָאֲרָצֹת הָאֵל; וְהִתְבָּרְכוּ בְזַרְעֲךָ, כֹּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ.  עֵקֶב, אֲשֶׁר-שָׁמַע אַבְרָהָם בְּקֹלִי; וַיִּשְׁמֹר, מִשְׁמַרְתִּי, מִצְוֹתַי, חֻקּוֹתַי וְתוֹרֹתָי.  Rashi illumines the underlined commandment, don't go down to Egypt by citing an other verse also with a famine and with a consequent going down to Egypt. Verse Gn12-10 states   And there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land.   וַיְהִי רָעָב, בָּאָרֶץ; וַיֵּרֶד אַבְרָם מִצְרַיְמָה לָגוּר שָׁם, כִּי-כָבֵד הָרָעָב בָּאָרֶץ.  

A further reading of Gn12 sheds light on why God might have prohibited Isaac going down to Egypt. Pharoh tried to take Sarah as his wife. Abraham was saved by a miracle. Perhaps this is the reason God was warning Isaac against returning to Egypt. 

At any rate, the major focus of this Rashi, is to illumine the meaning of one verse using an other verse. 

2. RASHI METHOD : WORD MEANINGS / new meanings 
This example applies to Rashis Gn26-35a 
URL reference :(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/gn26-35a.htm  

The word meaning  method seeks to present dictionary meaning. Rashi uses 10 vehicles to infer word meaning. A major word meaning submethod is the letter-meaning  method. Rashi believed that 3-letter Hebrew roots were used for conjugation into Hebrew words; but the meaning of 3-letter Hebrew roots could be explained by studying their component 1 and 2-letter subroots. 

Verse Gn26-35 states   And they were a bitterness of spirit unto Isaac and to Rebekah.    וַתִּהְיֶיןָ, מֹרַת רוּחַ, לְיִצְחָק, וּלְרִבְקָה.   Rashi, as we will suggests, translates the Hebrew root Mem-Resh-Hey מרה as meaning out of place.  So Rashi would translate this verse as And they were a out of place (unconventional socially) unto Isaac and to Rebekah. Some other translations (some with more tang) would be loud, piercing, sharp, deviant. For example Rashi could have translated the verse: And they were [socially] loud unto Isaac and to Rebekah. 

Before defending this we clarify our intention in alternately translating other verses:  Example 1: Some people would e.g. translate verse Ex23-21 as stating   Take heed of him, and hearken unto his voice; be not rebellious against him; for he will not pardon your transgression; for My name is in him.   הִשָּׁמֶר מִפָּנָיו וּשְׁמַע בְּקֹלוֹ, אַל-תַּמֵּר בּוֹ:  כִּי לֹא יִשָּׂא לְפִשְׁעֲכֶם, כִּי שְׁמִי בְּקִרְבּוֹ. The English translation just cited translates the Hebrew root, Mem-Resh-Hey מרה as meaning rebellious, don't violate orders.  But violate is a strong term. We prefer and suggest the alternate translation don't be out-of-place or deviant to his orders.  There is a point of novelty here: not only is the verse demurring to outright violation but the verse is also demurring to just playing around with minor deviations. In other words, we are suggesting that the current English translations are too strong; we prefer softer translations.

Example 2: Here is another example:  Mem-Resh-Hey מרה is translated is bitter, as in I feel bitter. Here again we feel that the translation bitter is too strong. we would prefer the translation I feel out of place as in the English idiom I am not myself today. 

Example 3: As a final example instead of translating Mem-Resh-Hey מרה as bitter herbs we would simply prefer saying that they are sharp or out of place, perhaps, out of season and not their usual self.

In all these examples we have attempted to translate Mem-Resh-Hey מרה with a more softer tone than is conventionally done in English: Hence we translated: out of place (minor deviations) vs. violate, not myself vs. bitter, unconventional (out of place) neighbors vs bitter neighbors, and herbs that are not themselves (out of place or out of season) vs bitter. It is not clear whether English caught our intention but the idea is to indicate a softer tone. 

Rashi probably made this derivation by using the meaning of Hebrew letters. Rashi, like other grammarians, believed in 3-letter Biblical roots. However 3 letter roots are used to conjugate Hebrew words. By contrast, one letter and two letter roots are used to explain the meaning of Hebrew roots. That is the meaning of the Hebrew root is the composition of the meaning of the letters and two letter roots which make up that root. Hence using the fact that the letter Resh ר means רוח or space. We infer

•	mem resh מר means out of place and is used to refer to something bothersome, bitter, and deviant  The etymology would be מנ רוחו from its-normal-space. 
•	Resh Gimel Lamed רגל means to spy and is etymologically derived as meaning uncovering space גלה ר 
•	The Hebrew  Resh Caph Lamed רכל means travelling merchant and etymologically means כלכל ברוח food on the road (lit. food on the space). 
•	The Hebrew Resh Tauv Kaph רתקֹ means fixed, snapped in, and etymologically means pitched in its placed תקֹע ברוחו 

3. RASHI METHOD : GRAMMAR / conjugation 
This example applies to Rashis  Gn25-27e 
URL reference :(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/gn25-23a.htm  

The grammar  method seeks to apply and teach Hebrew grammar.  One component of grammar deals with paragraph development. Paragraphs can be developed by contrast, cause, enablement, or unified theme. . 

Note the contrast in the underlined phrases in Verse Gn25-27 which states   And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.   וַיִּגְדְּלוּ, הַנְּעָרִים, וַיְהִי עֵשָׂו אִישׁ יֹדֵעַ צַיִד, אִישׁ שָׂדֶה; וְיַעֲקֹב אִישׁ תָּם, יֹשֵׁב אֹהָלִים.  The simple meaning of the text is that the tents of Jacob contrast with the hunt fields of Esauv. One simple explanation is that Jacob did not sit in hunting tents. Perhaps he sat in tents of scholars or perhaps he sat in tents of charity givers. 

Rashi literally says: The word tents refers to the tents of Shaym as stated in the verse Verse Gn09-27 "God enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be their servant."   יַפְתְּ אֱלֹהִים לְיֶפֶת, וְיִשְׁכֹּן בְּאָהֳלֵי-שֵׁם; וִיהִי כְנַעַן, עֶבֶד לָמוֹ.  

Our point is that Rashi's goal is not to identify the tents that Jacob sat in but rather to contrast Jacob's tents with Esauv's hunt. So one example of contrast is tents of scholarship; another example could be tents of charity.  Rashi's primary goal is to explain tents in such a way that it contrasts with 

4. RASHI METHOD : ALIGNMENT
This example applies to Rashis  Gn25-26b 
URL reference :(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/gn25-26b.htm 

The alignment  method seeks to extract nuances from the minor differences in the alignment  of two almost identical verses. The contrast of the two almost identical verses points either to a) two cases , b) several nuances , or c) an equality of the verses which leads to an understanding in meaning . 

Notice the contrast, he vs they in the alignment of the following verse: 
•	Verse Gn25-25 states   And the first came forth ruddy, all over like a hairy mantle; and they called his name Esau.   וַיֵּצֵא הָרִאשׁוֹן אַדְמוֹנִי, כֻּלּוֹ כְּאַדֶּרֶת שֵׂעָר; וַיִּקְרְאוּ שְׁמוֹ, עֵשָׂו.  
•	Verse Gn25-26 states   And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel; and he called his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when she bore them.   וְאַחֲרֵי-כֵן יָצָא אָחִיו, וְיָדוֹ אֹחֶזֶת בַּעֲקֵב עֵשָׂו, וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ, יַעֲקֹב; וְיִצְחָק בֶּן-שִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה, בְּלֶדֶת אֹתָם.  

In both cases the baby attribute (full of hair,heel ) was there. Yet in one case everyone gave the child the nickname while in the other case only the Patriarch saw the significance that the younger brother would tag on the heels. 

It is not difficult to fill in the details. Presumably as the children grew up Esauv, meaning in Hebrew, done, was the accomplished person. He would always pave the way. And then, as so often happens, the younger brother would come and tag along on the heels of the older brother's success. Isaac because he was a patriarch saw this as archetypical of the future national relationship of the Jews and Esauvites. Hence Isaac alone chose to name him by this attribute because he as Patriarch and prophet saw this to be the future relationship of the two nations(Other people did not so see it). This contrast of accomplisher vs tagger on heels is also present in the blessings in Gn27.

5. RASHI METHOD : CONTRADICTION 
This example applies to Rashis  Gn27-05a 
URL reference :(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn27-05a.htm

 The contradiction  method seeks to derive Biblical content by assuming a resolution to contradictory  verses. Rashi had 3 main methods to resolve contradiction : The two contradictory verses could be speaking about a) two stages  of one process, b) two aspects  or attributes of one entity, or c) the contradictory verses could be resolved assuming a broad or literal interpretation  of the words causing the contradiction. 

Todays Rashi uses both the contradiction rule and the format-bullet rule. 

Recall that Isaac asked his son Esauv to hunt food from the wild to obtain a blessing. Note the repeating keyword, to in the following verse which describes what Esauv intended to do: Verse Gn27-05 states   
And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field 
•	to hunt for venison, 
•	to bring it. 
  וְרִבְקָה שֹׁמַעַת--בְּדַבֵּר יִצְחָק, אֶל-עֵשָׂו בְּנוֹ; וַיֵּלֶךְ עֵשָׂו הַשָּׂדֶה,
•	 לָצוּד צַיִד
•	 לְהָבִיא.  
This repeating keyword creates a bullet effect. We are told that Esauv did two distinct things: 
•	He went to hunt food 
•	He went to bring food, that is, to buy it, like the English idiom, Takeout. 
We immediately see the contradiction: Did Esauv plan to hunt the food, or bring-buy it? 

Rashi resolves this contradiction using the two aspects method. 
•	Esauv preferably wanted to fulfill his father's request and hunt food 
•	But if he didn't find it he would bring-buy food 

To fully appreciate this Rashi let us cite the actual Rashi text:  Rashi says If he couldn't get it from hunt he would get it by stealing

Rashi here uses the technique of exaggeration. Actually the Biblical word bring is like the English take-out . Esauv, if he couldn't find hunt would bring the food, that is buy it. Rashi exaggerates this and suggests that if Esauv couldn't find hunt he would steal.

The real point of Rashi is the bullet contrast - either hunt or bring. 

There is also a philosophical point to Rashi. Rashi emphasizes that while Esauv did respect his father he did not in general wish to be moral. The important thing was to make father feel comfortable. However, you could bend the rules if necessary. 

7. RASHI METHOD : Formatting
This example applies to Rashis  Gn27-03c 
URL reference :(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn27-03c.htm
  
Modern formatting  has a variety of vehicles which the writer uses to either create emphasis  or point to an underlying unity . Three common examples of modern formatting are (a) bold-italic-underline , (b) paragraph indentation including use of line spaces, (c) use of bulleted lists . 

Authors use these formatting  devices as follows: (a) All authors know that bold-italic-underline indicates emphasis . The Bible did not use bold-italic-underline but instead uses repetition  to indicate emphasis . (b) Modern authors use indentation  and line spaces between paragraphs to point to an underlying unity  in a paragraph. The Bible indicates paragraph unity  by using the theme-detail-theme , detail-theme , or theme-detail  styles. (c) Modern authors use bulleted lists  to indicate contrastive emphasis --the bullets  together are seen as spanning a domain of ideas while each individual bullet  is seen as indicating a separate and distinct idea. The bible indicates bulleted lists  by either using repeated keywords or parallel structure . 

The reader will recognize the theme-detail-theme , detail-theme  and theme-detail  methods as three of the 13 exegetical methods of Rabbi Ishmael. What we have added is the explanation that the Rabbi Ishmael rules focus on biblical examples : Are these biblical examples understood as exhaustive of the whole law or are they understood as examples to be generalized? Similarly the reader will recognize that we have called the bullet  method is the Rabbi Ishmael rule of context . What we have added to the Rabbi Ishmael exposition is the idea that parallel structure  and repeated keywords are two methods of making inferences from context 

Note the underlined repetition of the word hunt in the following verse: Verse Gn27-03 states   Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt me a hunt;   וְעַתָּה שָׂא-נָא כֵלֶיךָ, תֶּלְיְךָ וְקַשְׁתֶּךָ; וְצֵא, הַשָּׂדֶה, וְצוּדָה לִּי, צידה ).  Rashi interprets the word hunt restrictively: It had to be a real hunt; a hunt from the wilds. 

Why? Perhaps there is moral inference here. Isaac did not just want to bless Esauv. He wanted him to be himself. Hence he sent him on what Esauv did best--the hunt --he said to him, "go into the wilds, go to a place where you aren't sure you can get anything, depend on God, hunt me a real hunt , and then when I bless you will appreciate it more--you will understand what I mean when I bless you that you should be fulfilled."

In this example Rashi interpreted a repeating word, hunt hunt, as the equivalent of bold, and indicating emphasis. We now repeat the example brought in the contradiction method since it uses the bullet method. 

Recall that Isaac asked his son Esauv to hunt food from the wild to obtain a blessing. Note the repeating keyword, to in the following verse which describes what Esauv intended to do: Verse Gn27-05 states   
And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field 
•	to hunt for venison, 
•	to bring it. 
  וְרִבְקָה שֹׁמַעַת--בְּדַבֵּר יִצְחָק, אֶל-עֵשָׂו בְּנוֹ; וַיֵּלֶךְ עֵשָׂו הַשָּׂדֶה,
•	 לָצוּד צַיִד
•	 לְהָבִיא.  
This repeating keyword creates a bullet effect. We are told that Esauv did two distinct things: 
•	He went to hunt food 
•	He went to bring food, that is, to buy it, like the English idiom, Takeout. 
We immediately see the contradiction: Did Esauv plan to hunt the food, or bring-buy it? 

Rashi resolves this contradiction using the two aspects method. 
•	Esauv preferably wanted to fulfill his father's request and hunt food 
•	But if he didn't find it he would bring-buy food 

To fully appreciate this Rashi let us cite the actual Rashi text:  Rashi says If he couldn't get it from hunt he would get it by stealing

Rashi here uses the technique of exaggeration. Actually the Biblical word bring is like the English take-out . Esauv, if he couldn't find hunt would bring the food, that is buy it. Rashi exaggerates this and suggests that if Esauv couldn't find hunt he would steal.

The real point of Rashi is the bullet contrast - either hunt or bring. 

There is also a philosophical point to Rashi. Rashi emphasizes that while Esauv did respect his father he did not in general wish to be moral. The important thing was to make father feel comfortable. However, you could bend the rules if necessary. 

8. RASHI METHOD : DATABASES
This example applies to Rashis  Gn25-19a
URL reference :(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn25-19a.htm 

The database  method seeks to discover biblical ideas using the methods of modern database theory and sequential query language (SQL). The Talmudic sages and Rashi were totally familiar and frequently used all aspects of modern database theory. 

Today we ask the query: How are genealogies listed in the Bible? The query returns the 5 results listed below. 

A review of these 5 genealogies shows two distinct genealogy styles. 

The simplest style is the straightforward style. For example, these are the genealogies of so and so...followed by a list. Three examples of the straightforward style are shown below. 

However sometimes the straightforward style is interrupted. That is there is a textual insert between the declaration of genealogy and the actual list. When there is such an interruption Rashi chooses to interpret the interruption as indicating attributes of the children in the genealogy. 

Here are the three examples of the straightforward style. 

•	Verse Gn10-01:04 states   Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.   וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת בְּנֵי-נֹחַ, שֵׁם חָם וָיָפֶת; וַיִּוָּלְדוּ לָהֶם בָּנִים, אַחַר הַמַּבּוּל.  בְּנֵי יֶפֶת--גֹּמֶר וּמָגוֹג, וּמָדַי וְיָוָן וְתֻבָל; וּמֶשֶׁךְ, וְתִירָס.  וּבְנֵי, גֹּמֶר--אַשְׁכְּנַז וְרִיפַת, וְתֹגַרְמָה.  וּבְנֵי יָוָן, אֱלִישָׁה וְתַרְשִׁישׁ, כִּתִּים, וְדֹדָנִים.  
•	Verse Gn11-10:13 states   These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arpachshad two years after the flood. And Shem lived after he begot Arpachshad five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.  And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and begot Shelah. And Arpachshad lived after he begot Shelah four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.    אֵלֶּה, תּוֹלְדֹת שֵׁם--שֵׁם בֶּן-מְאַת שָׁנָה, וַיּוֹלֶד אֶת-אַרְפַּכְשָׁד:  שְׁנָתַיִם, אַחַר הַמַּבּוּל.  וַיְחִי-שֵׁם, אַחֲרֵי הוֹלִידוֹ אֶת-אַרְפַּכְשָׁד, חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת, שָׁנָה; וַיּוֹלֶד בָּנִים, וּבָנוֹת.   וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁד חַי, חָמֵשׁ וּשְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה; וַיּוֹלֶד, אֶת-שָׁלַח.  וַיְחִי אַרְפַּכְשַׁד, אַחֲרֵי הוֹלִידוֹ אֶת-שֶׁלַח, שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים, וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה; וַיּוֹלֶד בָּנִים, וּבָנוֹת.   
•	Verse Gn11-27 states   Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot.   וְאֵלֶּה, תּוֹלְדֹת תֶּרַח--תֶּרַח הוֹלִיד אֶת-אַבְרָם, אֶת-נָחוֹר וְאֶת-הָרָן; וְהָרָן, הוֹלִיד אֶת-לוֹט.    
In all the above examples the list of children immediately follows the declaration of genealogy. 

Note the contrast in the following two genealogies where an interruption is present. 
•	Verse Nu03-01:02 states   Now these are the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in mount Sinai. And these are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the first-born, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.   וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת אַהֲרֹן, וּמֹשֶׁה:  בְּיוֹם, דִּבֶּר יְהוָה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה--בְּהַר סִינָי.  וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי-אַהֲרֹן, הַבְּכֹר נָדָב, וַאֲבִיהוּא, אֶלְעָזָר וְאִיתָמָר.  Rashi explains the interruption as an attribute of the list of children: These weren't Moses' children(They were Aaron's children). But since Moses taught them they are perceived as his children. That is, both the physical father and spiritual teacher are considered parents. 
•	Verse Gn25-19:28 states   And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean, of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. And Isaac entreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD let Himself be entreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said: 'If it be so, wherefore do I live?' And she went to inquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger. And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came forth ruddy, all over like a hairy mantle; and they called his name Esau. And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob. And Isaac was threescore years old when she bore them. And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison; and Rebekah loved Jacob.   וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת יִצְחָק, בֶּן-אַבְרָהָם:  אַבְרָהָם, הוֹלִיד אֶת-יִצְחָק.  וַיְהִי יִצְחָק, בֶּן-אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה, בְּקַחְתּוֹ אֶת-רִבְקָה בַּת-בְּתוּאֵל הָאֲרַמִּי, מִפַּדַּן אֲרָם--אֲחוֹת לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי, לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה.  וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק לַיהוָה לְנֹכַח אִשְׁתּוֹ, כִּי עֲקָרָה הִוא; וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ יְהוָה, וַתַּהַר רִבְקָה אִשְׁתּוֹ.  וַיִּתְרֹצְצוּ הַבָּנִים, בְּקִרְבָּהּ, וַתֹּאמֶר אִם-כֵּן, לָמָּה זֶּה אָנֹכִי; וַתֵּלֶךְ, לִדְרֹשׁ אֶת-יְהוָה.  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה לָהּ, שְׁנֵי גֹיִים בְּבִטְנֵךְ, וּשְׁנֵי לְאֻמִּים, מִמֵּעַיִךְ יִפָּרֵדוּ; וּלְאֹם מִלְאֹם יֶאֱמָץ, וְרַב יַעֲבֹד צָעִיר.  וַיִּמְלְאוּ יָמֶיהָ, לָלֶדֶת; וְהִנֵּה תוֹמִם, בְּבִטְנָהּ.  וַיֵּצֵא הָרִאשׁוֹן אַדְמוֹנִי, כֻּלּוֹ כְּאַדֶּרֶת שֵׂעָר; וַיִּקְרְאוּ שְׁמוֹ, עֵשָׂו.  וְאַחֲרֵי-כֵן יָצָא אָחִיו, וְיָדוֹ אֹחֶזֶת בַּעֲקֵב עֵשָׂו, וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ, יַעֲקֹב; וְיִצְחָק בֶּן-שִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה, בְּלֶדֶת אֹתָם.  וַיִּגְדְּלוּ, הַנְּעָרִים, וַיְהִי עֵשָׂו אִישׁ יֹדֵעַ צַיִד, אִישׁ שָׂדֶה; וְיַעֲקֹב אִישׁ תָּם, יֹשֵׁב אֹהָלִים.  וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת-עֵשָׂו, כִּי-צַיִד בְּפִיו; וְרִבְקָה, אֹהֶבֶת אֶת-יַעֲקֹב.  Note the interruption between declaration of genealogy and the list. We have bolded three passages: a) Isaac's prayer for children b) Abraham's begatting of Isaac  and c) Rivkah's seeking guidance from God. Rashi explains that the interruptions emphasize prayer/seeking God. Hence, Rashi interprets the mention of Abraham begatting Isaac as referring to the prayer of Abraham to have children. We conclude, that the overall context shows, that prayer to God was an integral factor in the birth of the two children and in the formation of their personalities. 

9. RASHI METHOD : SPREADSHEETS
This example applies to Rashis  Gn25-20a Gn22-20a Gn22-23a Gn25-26d Gn24-57a Gn24-57b 
URL reference :(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn25-20a.htm 

We say that Rashi uses the spreadsheet  method if he either (a) uses spreadsheets and algebra or (b) geometric illustrations or (c) any other type of illustration even if it doesn't involve algebra and geometry, to explain a verse. We also use the term spreadsheet method  if Rashi (d) gives consequences and inferences from a verse whose meaning and structure is clear and is consistent with other biblical verses. In summary, any clarification of a verse that is in addition to its meaning is called spreadsheets.

The Bible gives us the following sequence of events and the following explicit ages. Note that some of the events are do not have explicit ages associated with them. 

------------------------------------------------------- 
VERSE    ISAAC RIVKAH EVENT 
-------  ----- ------ --------------------------------- 
Gn17-17  0            Sarah is 90 when Isaac born 
Gn22-01               Akaydah 
Gn22-20a              Bethuayl had been born 
Gn22-23a              Rivkah had recently been born 
Gn23-01  37           Sarah 127 at time of death 
Gn24-59               Rivkah and nursemaid Go To Isaac 
Gn25-20a 40           Marriage to Rivkah 
Gn25-26d 60           Birth of Esauv and Yaakov 
------------------------------------------------------- 

Notice e.g. Sarah was 127 at time of death and 90 when Isaac was born; this proves that Isaac was 37 when his mother died. That is, the above list is given. 

We now must make assumptions. I shall give one possible set of assumptions. Readers are free to experiment on their own. I assume that Isaac was somewhere between 25-30 at the time of the great sacrifice and that Rivkah had recently been born (0-5). To be specific I assume Isaac was 25 and Rivkah was 5. Let us now reexamine the list. 

------------------------------------------------------- 
VERSE    ISAAC RIVKAH EVENT 
-------  ----- ------ --------------------------------- 
Gn17-17  0            Sarah is 90 when Isaac born 
Gn22-01  25    5*     Isaac's age at time of Akaydah 
Gn22-20a 25    5*     Bethuayl had been born 
Gn22-23a 25    5*     Rivkah had already been born 
Gn23-01  37    12?    Sarah 127 at time of death 
Gn24-59  40    15?    Rivkah and nursemaid Go To Isaac 
Gn25-20a 40    15?    Marriage to Rivkah 
Gn25-26d 60    35?    Birth of Esauv and Yaakov 
------------------------------------------------------- 

From 25 to 37 is 12 years. Hence if Rivkah was 5 at the Akaydah she would be 12 at Sarah's death. Similarly from 37 to 40 is 3 years. Hence if Rivkah was 12 at Sarah's death she would be 15 at the time she got married. This justifies the above list. 

The reader must realize that as in a traditional spreadsheet, as soon as the asterisked rows(*) are filled in, we are forced to fill in the remaining rows (with question marks) to be consistent with these rows. This is the essence of the spreadsheet method. The important point I am emphasizing here is the idea of using a spreadsheet.  If we assume Isaac was 25 and Rivkah 5 then we must infer that Rivkah was 15 when she got married.  

There is an actual Talmudic statement that Rivkah was 3 when Isaac married her. I would interpret this to mean Rivkah was 3 years into puberty when Isaac married her. That is I interpret the 3 years of age to mean 3 years into puberty. 

The reader, as indicated above, is free to experiment with other figures and use the above spreadsheet. For example if Isaac was 20 at the time of the great Sacrifice (age of Adulthood) and Rivkah was just born (age 0) we would obtain the following spreadsheet showing Rivkah 10 when she got married. 

------------------------------------------------------- 
VERSE    ISAAC RIVKAH EVENT 
-------  ----- ------ --------------------------------- 
Gn17-17  0            Sarah is 90 when Isaac born 
Gn22-01  20    0*     Isaac's age at time of Akaydah 
Gn22-20a 20    0*     Bethuayl had been born 
Gn22-23a 20    0*     Rivkah had already been born 
Gn23-01  37    7?     Sarah 127 at time of death 
Gn24-59  40    10?    Rivkah and nursemaid Go To Isaac 
Gn25-20a 40    10?    Marriage to Rivkah 
Gn25-26d 60    30?    Birth of Esauv and Yaakov 
------------------------------------------------------- 

It however seems reasonable she was an adult at marriage so we reject this. The text Gn22-20 says Abraham was told about Rivkah's birth--so it does seem reasonable that she was 0-5. 

In all this analysis it is important to emphasize what is given vs. what is assumed. Such an approach gives greater credibility and believability to Rashi and enriches the commentary experience. 

Conclusion

This week's parshah contains no examples of the style and symbolism method. This concludes this weeks edition. Visit the RashiYomi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ for further details and examples.