1. RASHI METHOD: REFERENCES BRIEF EXPLANATION: Commentary on a verse is provided thru a cross-reference to another verse. The cross references can either provide (1a) further details, (1b) confirm citations, or (1c) clarify word meaning. This examples applies to Rashis Dt03-18a URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n2.htm Brief Summary: The deal with Reubenites and Gadites (Dt03-18a) cross REFERENCES Nu32-25:27.

Using the verses below, which discuss the deal Moses made with Reuvenites and Gadites Rashi clarifies that the deal consisted of the Reuvenites and Gadites fighting with the Jews for the conquest of Israel in return for which they received the transJordan.

Target Verse	Text	Cross Reference	Text	Rashi Comment
Dt03-18a:20	And I commanded you at that time, saying: 'The HaShem your G-d hath given you this land to possess it; ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all the men of valour. But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle ....shall abide in your cities which I have given you; until .... they also possess the land ....	Nu32-25:27	And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke unto Moses, saying: 'Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead; but thy servants will pass over,....armed for war, ....	Rashi illumines the underlined words The deal/command with the Reuvenites-Gadites was that (a) they fight with the Jews for the conquest of Israel in return for which (b) they inherit the TransJordan.

The focus of a meaning Rashi does not have to be on defining an unknown term. Sometimes Rashi will present nuances of synonyms thereby crystalizing the true meaning and essence of a word.

Rashi believes that the Biblical root Yud-Daleth-Hey means familiar. This root is incorrectly translated as to know. The verses and examples below illustrate the higher precision of using the translation familiar.

• Gn04-01 And Adam was familiar with his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: 'I have gotten a man with the help of HaShem.'
• Dt34-10 And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom HaShem was familiar with as in a face to face relationship;
• Ex01-08 Now there arose a new Monarchy over Egypt, who was not familiar with Joseph
• Dt01-13 Get you, wise men, and understanding, familiar to your tribes and I will make them heads over you.'

Rashi knew the following conjugation rule: Each Biblical root has a grammatical form indicating the infinitive. The same infinitive grammatical form can, besides meaning the infinitive, also mean an ongoing intensive effort. Some sample verses and Rashis are cited below. Note how we incorporate the Rashi comment into the translation.

• Ex20-08 Be involved in Remembering the sabbath day, to keep it holy. [Rashi: Remember the Sabbath each day. For example if you see a good dish on the weekday, then purchase it for the Sabbath.]
• Ex13-03 And Moses said unto the people: 'Be involved in remembering this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand HaShem brought you out from this place; there shall no leavened bread be eaten. [Rashi: You should remember the exodus every day.]
• Dt01-16a And I charged your judges at that time, saying: 'Be involved in hearing cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. [Rashi: Don't e.g. judge a case immediately but rather, in serious cases, wait at least one night before passing verdict (even if you have seen similar cases many times).]

The table below presents an aligned extract of verses in Dt03-18b:20 and Nu32-25:27. Both verses discuss the deal for the Reubenites-Gadites to fight with the Jews in the conquest of Israel. The alignment justifies the Rashi assertion that
• The requirement was for the Reubenites-Gadites to fight with the Jews in their conquest of Israel
• However in actuality the Reubenites-Gadites led the Jews in battle.

Verse	Text of Verse	Rashi comment
Dt03-18b:20	And I commanded you at that time, saying: 'The HaShem your G-d hath given you this land to possess it; ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all the men of valour. But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle--I know that ye have much cattle--shall abide in your cities which I have given you; until HaShem give rest unto your brethren, as unto you, and they also possess the land which HaShem your G-d giveth them beyond the Jordan; then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.
Nu32-25:27	And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke unto Moses, saying: 'Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead; but thy servants will pass over, every man that is armed for war, before HaShem to battle, as my lord saith.'	The deal was for them to pass over before Hashem. However they volunteered to pass over before their brothers (To lead).

The table below presents presents two contradictory verses. Both verses speak about the report of the spies. The underlined words highlight the contradiction. One verse says that the spies reported that the land of Israel was good while the other verse says that the spies reported that the land of Israel was bad. Which is it? Did the spies say the land was good or bad?

Summary	Verse / Source	Text of verse / Source
Spie's report: The land of Israel is bad.	Nu13-32	And they spread an bad report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying: 'The land, through which we have passed to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature.
Spie's report: The land of Israel is good.	Dt01-25b	And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us back word, and said: 'Good is the land which HaShem our G-d giveth unto us.'
Resolution:	2 Aspects	The majority of spies reported the land was bad. The minority of spies (Kaleb and Joshua) reported the land was good.

Rashi resolves this contradiction using the 2 aspects method.
• The majority of spies reported the land was bad.
• The minority of spies (Kaleb and Joshua) reported the land was good.

By using the table structure with underlines we are able to participate and empathize with Rashi in construction of the Rashi comment.

Stating an abstract principle is not the only way to teach a principle. Some people learn better from examples then from general abstractions. The literary method used is called synechdoche, indicating a general class by a nifty good example. In Talmudic lingo we call this generaliztaion. Every day, during our prayer, we recite the 13 Rabbi Ishmael style rules including the generalization rule.

Verse Dt01-17b discussing judicial equality states Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear the small [person] and the great [person] alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of any man; for the judgment is G-d's; and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, and I will hear it.' Rashi generalizes this. After all, great people typically have cases involving great amounts, while small people typically have cases involving small amounts. Hence the Rashi comment: Treat cases involving large sums and cases involving small sums alike (With equal attention and detail).

We ask the following database query: Does crying facilitate prayer and petition being ansewred? The reader is encouraged to perform the query using a standard Biblical Konnkordance or search engine. This database query yields the list below. The list justifies the following shocking Rashi inference: God typically answers prayer accompanied by crying except in the case of slander. A slanderer who sincerely crys in his/her prayer is not answered.

Verse Dt03-16 discussing the portion that Moses gave the Reuvenites and Gadites states And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the Arnon river, the middle of the river and a border; even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;

Rashi explains the diagrammatic meaning of the underlined phrase middle of the river and a border:
• The underlined phrase middle of the river refers to the water (in the midst of the river) - that is, they acquired the river proper.
• The underlined phrase and a border means they also acquired a little bit of the land border of the opposing river side.
In other words they inherited a piece of land along with both the river and a little land on the side. (If they only had a natural border of a river boats could not dock on the river side since the property would belong to someone else.)

Advanced Rashi: The adventuresome student is invited to draw a diagram illustrating the above. The diagram should show how they acquire (a) the land (b) the river itself and (c) a little bit of river side.

Military activity is often vigorously described using animal metaphors. Here we use the symbolism principle that items can symbolize their function. Examples are plentiful
• Nu24-09 states He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion. Who shall stir him up? Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.
• Jr05-06 states Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the deserts shall destroy them, a leopard shall watch over their cities; every one who goes out there shall be torn in pieces; because their transgressions are many, and their apostasies are great.
• Jr46-12 states Her sound is like that of a serpent on the move; for they shall march with force, and come against her with axes, like wood cutters.
• Dt01-44a states And the Amorites, who lived in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.

The interpreter's task is to identify the unique military characteristics of each animal. Rashi commenting on the last verse Dt01-44a states The military characteristic of the bee is the swiftness of conquest without exertion of power. That is a bee kills thru an instantaneous sting with venom, not by the type of power and interactive fight shown by a lion.