A miscellaneous rule in Biblical grammar states
that the pronoun for himself when used in a sentence
functions adverbially to indicate that the activity of the
sentence was done for personal reasons.
A good example of this occurs in Nu10-01:02
And HaShem spoke unto Moses, saying:
Make for yourself two trumpets of silver; of beaten work shalt thou make them; and they shall be unto thee for the calling of the congregation, and for causing the camps to set forward.
Rashi comments on the personal aspect of making the
trumpets by providing three possible methods of personal
aspect.
- Make the trumpets for yourself--only you can use them.
- Make the trumpets from your own funds
- The trumpets are used for your assemblies
Another example occurs at Ex18-27 which concludes
the chapter describing how Jethro recognized the superiority
of the Jewish God over other gods. The verse, translated
with the above rule, states
And Moses let his father-in-law depart;
and he went for personal reasons into his own land.
Rashi comments on the adverbial phrase: For personal reasons:
He returned to found his own personal society/club of people
who believe in a monotheistic God. The club/society he founded
is referenced in Ju04-11. which states
Now the Kenite society, who was of the descendants of
Hobab the father-in-law of Moses,
had separated himself from the Kenites,
and pitched his tent near the terebinth in Zaanannim,
which is by Kedesh.
Advanced Rashi:
We have only given two examples above. Over the next
few weeks we will develop this theme by bringing in
many more examples. Very often a Rashi method is not
appreciated till you have examined many verses which,
in diverse settings, apply the same rule.
Note the contradiction in the following verses
both describing Moses' wife's (Tziporah's) family:
- Verse Ex02-18 describing Tziporah's sisters returning
from the well where they were harassed by the shepards, states
And when they came to Reuel their father, he said: 'How is it that ye are come so soon to-day?'
- Verse Nu10-29 discussing Moses' request, to his father-in-law,
to accompany the Jews on their journey to Israel states
And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law: 'We are journeying unto the place of which HaShem said: I will give it you; come thou with us, and we will do thee good; for HaShem hath spoken good concerning Israel.'
We see the contradiction. Which is it? Was Reuel the
father of Moses' wife, Tzipporah, or was Reuel the grand-father
of Moses' wife, Tzipporah?
Rashi resolves this using the broad-literal method
of resolution:
The word father can equally mean father or
grand-father. Hence, Reuel was the grandfather of
Moses wife, Tzipporah. The narrative in Ex02-18 states
that Tzipporah and her sisters came to Reuel their grandfather
who suggested that a descent man who saved them from harassment
should be trusted to go out with (Grandfathers typically give
such advice).
We have explained in our article
Biblical Formatting located on the world wide web at
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/biblicalformatting.pdf,
that the Biblical Author indicates bold, italics, underline by using
repetition. In other words if a modern author wanted to emphasize
a word they would either underline, bold or italicize it. However when the Biblical
author wishes to emphasize a word He repeats it. The effect - whether
thru repetition or using underline - is the same. It is only the
means of conveying this emphasis that is different.
When a modern author wishes to deemphasize a concept
they will strike it out. When the Biblical author wishes to deemphasize
a concept He places dots over it. The dots in the Biblical version, or the
strikeout in the modern version, indicate deemphasis.
There are 5 examples of dotting or strikeout in the Bible.
They are presented in the list below along with the accompanying Rashi interpretation.
- Nu03-39a: All that were numbered of the Levites, whom Moses and
Aaron numbered at the commandment of HaShem, by their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand.
Rashi: Aaron was stricken from the census--that is he wasn't counted since he was a Levite.
- Gn33-04a:
And Esau ran to meet him [Jacob], and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and
kissed him; and they wept.
Rashi: It wasn't a real (i.e. sincere) kiss since Esau really hated Jacob.
- Dt29-29a: The secret things [sins] belong unto HaShem our G-d; but the
things [sins] that are
revealed belong [are visited] unto us and to our
children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Rashi: Revealed sins weren't always visited upon the community; they weren't visited upon
the community till after the conquest of Israel in the time of Joshua.
- Gn37-12a: And his brethren went to
shepard their father's flock in Shechem.
Rashi: They didn't really go to shepard sheep; rather they went to escape their father
who favored Joseph.
- Nu09-10a:
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If any man of you or of your generations
shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey
afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto HaShem;
Rashi: Not absolutely
far away - but far away enough not to be able to
come to Jerusalem.
Advanced Rashi:
Each of the above Rashis might look homiletic by itself. However the list of
Rashis creates an aura of credibility that we would otherwise not be able
to achieve. The list of examples is thus an important vehicle for understanding and
explaining difficult Rashis.
Verse Ex19-01 describing the Jews arrival
at Sinai, where they received the Torah, states:
In the third month after the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
Verse Nu10-11a describing the departure of the Jews
from Sinai, states:
And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth day of the month, that the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle of the testimony.
Based on these two verses Rashi infers
The Jews stayed at Sinai for a little under a year.
[The table below shows they stayed for 11 months 3 weeks)]
The spreadsheet below shows the computations that
led to Rashi's conclusion.