The 10 RashiYomi Rules
Their presence in Rashis on Parshath EMOR
Volume 16, Number 10
This weeks Weekly Rashi with Hebrew/English source tables
Is accessible at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1610.htm
(c) RashiYomi Incorporated, Dr. Hendel, President, May 6th, 2011
Visit the Rashi website http://www.Rashiyomi.com

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 of all levels to acquire a familiarity and facility with the major exegetical methods. Although I frequently use my own English translations of biblical verses and Rashi comments, the Hebrew and English translations in the source tables are derived from online parshah files at chabad.org who in turn acknowledges the Judaica Press Complete Tanach, copyright by Judaica Press.

    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 Lv23-39b
    URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n17.htm
    Brief Summary: Passover is in SPRING; Succoth is in HARVEST season. So leap years are made if necessary

Verse Lv23-39b
Hebrew Verse אַךְ בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי בְּאָסְפְּכֶם אֶת תְּבוּאַת הָאָרֶץ תָּחֹגּוּ אֶת חַג יְ־הֹוָ־ה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן שַׁבָּתוֹן וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי שַׁבָּתוֹן:
English Verse But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the festival of the Lord for a seven day period; the first day shall be a rest day, and the eighth day shall be a rest day.
Rashi Header Hebrew באספכם את תבואת הארץ
Rashi Text Hebrew שיהא חדש שביעי זה בא בזמן אסיפה, מכאן שנצטוו לעבר את השנים, שאם אין העבור, פעמים שהוא בא באמצע הקיץ או החורף:
Rashi Header Enlish when you gather in the produce of the land
Rashi Text English [This teaches us] that this seventh month must occur at the time of ingathering, [namely, in the fall]. From here, [we learn] that they were commanded to proclaim leap years [i.e., to add an extra, thirteenth month to the lunar year], for if there were no leap years, [the lunar years would eventually no longer coincide with the solar years, and] sometimes [the seventh month] would occur in midsummer or midwinter [not in the time of ingathering]. - [Torath Kohanim 23:192]

Verse Lv23-39b discussing when to celebrate the holiday of Succoth states Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days; on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. Rashi clarifies the underlined words when you have gathered in the fruit of the land by referencing verses Dt16-01 which states Watch for the month of Spring, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God; for in the month of Spring the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. Hence the Rashi comment: The Bible ties Passover to Spring and Succoth to harvest. From this requirement we infer that calendar months must be watched (adding if necessary extra months) so that Passover always falls out in Spring and Succoth at Harvest time.

Text of Target verse Lv23-39b Text of Reference Verse Dt16-01
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days; on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. Dt11-10:17 which states Watch for the month of Spring, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God; for in the month of Spring the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
Rashi comments: The Bible ties Passover to Spring and Succoth to harvest. From this requirement we infer that calendar months must be watched (adding if necessary extra months and making a leap year) so that Passover always falls out in Spring and Succoth at Harvest time.

Advanced Rashi: Rashi literally states From here - Verse Lv23-39b, discussing Succoth and harvest - we learn that calendar months must be adjusted so that Succoth coincides with harvest. Ah! But that is not true! It is not true that we learn this law (adjusting the calendar) from Succoth. In fact we learn the law requirement of adjusting the calendar from the explicit Biblical verse at Dt16-01 Watch [for] the Spring time and make a Passover. It appears to me that this Rashi text is proof that when Rashi say we learn from here this phrase should not be taken literally. It rather should be interpreted as This is one of the possibly many places where we learn from and it is not even the main place. Throughout this email list I have encouraged such reinterpretations of exclusive statements by Rashi. The serious student of Rashi should carefully review the Rashi text and the arguments presented above to convince him/her self of this. For this reason we always feel free to supplement a Rashi statement we learn from here with other derivations. The more skeptical reader is encouraged to read the Rashi on Dt16-01 which proves that Rashi did not learn the calendar law requirement from here. For another application of this fundamental principle in reading Rashi please see below rule #4, alignment.

      2. RASHI METHOD: WORD MEANING
      BRIEF EXPLANATION: The meaning of words can be explained either by
      • (2a) translating an idiom, a group of words whose collective meaning transcends the meaning of its individual component words,
      • (2b) explaining the nuances and commonality of synonyms-homographs,
      • (2c) describing the usages of connective words like also,because,if-then, when,
      • (2d) indicating how grammatical conjugation can change word meaning
      • (2e) changing word meaning using the figures of speech common to all languages such as irony and oxymorons.
      This examples applies to Rashis Lv24-16a
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1216.htm
      Brief Summary: Nun-Kuph-Beth means to 1) make a HOLE, 1a) hammer 1b) female 2) FIX (assign a slot/ hole) whether fixing wages, social positions, or fixing of a name.

Verse Lv24-16a
Hebrew Verse וְנֹקֵב שֵׁם יְ־הֹוָ־ה מוֹת יוּמָת רָגוֹם יִרְגְּמוּ בוֹ כָּל הָעֵדָה כַּגֵּר כָּאֶזְרָח בְּנָקְבוֹ שֵׁם יוּמָת:
English Verse And one who blasphemously pronounces the Name of the Lord, shall be put to death; the entire community shall stone him; convert and resident alike if he pronounces the [Divine] Name, he shall be put to death.
Rashi Header Hebrew ונקב שם
Rashi Text Hebrew אינו חייב עד שיפרש את השם, ולא המקלל בכינוי:
Rashi Header Enlish And one who blasphemously pronounces the Name
Rashi Text English [This teaches us that] one is not liable [to the death penalty] unless he pronounces the [four-letter Divine] Name. However, one who curses using an ancillary Name [for God, rather than the explicit, four-letter Name], is not [liable to the death penalty]. — [Torath Kohanim 24:243]

When Rashi uses, what we may losely call, the hononym method, Rashi does not explain new meaning but rather shows an underlying unity in disparate meanings. Rashi will frequently do this by showing an underlying unity in the varied meanings of a Biblical root.

In my article Peshat and Derash found on the world wide web at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rashi.pdf. I advocate enriching the Rashi explanation using a technique of parallel nifty translations in modern English. Today's examples show this.

    The Heberw Biblical root Nun-Kuph-Beth has a fundamental meaning of making a hole. Hence this Biblical root can mean
  • hole
  • hammar [ an instrument for making holes ]
  • female [ ]
  • fix [ that is, assign a slot (assign a hole!) ]
  • fix wages [ ]
  • fix one's primary assignment, name or social calling. [ ]
  • identify one's primary assignment, name or social calling.

Applying the above translation to Lv24-16a discussing the death penalty due to a blasphemer we obtain He who identifies God's name [utters God's personal name, the Tetragrammaton] shall be put to death.

Advanced Rashi: The above translation may not seem punchy and exact. But other verses with the root Nun-kuph-beth are also problematic in translation. To illustrate one example Nu01-17 states And Moses and Aaron took these men who were fixed by names [their new social position/slots/holes were fixed]. Finally comapre the English idiom an opening referring to a job title; here opening closely resembles the Hebrew hole! Thus while these translations are correct they don't fit in English as snugly as most translations do.

      3. RASHI METHOD: GRAMMAR
      BRIEF EXPLANATION: Rashi explains verses using grammar principles, that is, rules which relate reproducable word form to word meaning. Grammatical rules neatly fall into 3 categories
      • (a) the rules governing conjugation of individual words,Biblical roots,
      • (b) the rules governing collections of words,clauses, sentences
      • (c) miscellaneous grammatical, or form-meaning, rules.
      This examples applies to Rashis Lv24-09a,b
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1412.htm
      Brief Summary: And IT [the MINCHAH (feminine)] will be for Aaron and his sons and they will eat IT [the BREAD (masculine)] in a holy place

Verse Lv24-09a
Hebrew Verse וְהָיְתָה לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו וַאֲכָלֻהוּ בְּמָקוֹם קָדֹשׁ כִּי קֹדֶשׁ קָדָשִׁים הוּא לוֹ מֵאִשֵּׁי יְ־הֹוָ־ה חָק עוֹלָם:
English Verse And it shall belong to Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, for it is holy of holies for him, among the fire offerings of the Lord, an eternal statute.
Rashi Header Hebrew והיתה
Rashi Text Hebrew המנחה הזאת, שכל דבר הבא מן התבואה בכלל מנחה הוא:
Rashi Header Enlish shall belong
Rashi Text English Heb. וְהָיְתָה. This meal offering (מִנְחָה, which is feminine) [shall belong]. For [although, strictly speaking, the bread is not the usual “meal offering (מִנְחָה),” it is included in that category, because] any offering that comes from grain falls under the category of a meal offering.

Today Hebrew grammar is well understood and there are many books on it. Rashi, however, lived before the age of grammar books. A major Rashi method is therefore the teaching of basic grammar.

Many students belittle this aspect of Rashi. They erroneously think that because of modern methods we know more. However Rashi will frequently focus on rare grammatical points not covered in conventional textbooks.

    There are many classical aspects to grammar whether in Hebrew or other languages. They include
  • The rules for conjugating verbs. These rules govern how you differentiate person, plurality, tense, mode, gender, mood, and designation of the objects and indirect objects of the verb. For example how do you conjugate, in any language, I sang, we will sing, we wish to sing, she sang it.
  • Rules of agreement. For example agreement of subject and verb, of noun and adjective; whether agreement in gender or plurality.
  • Rules of Pronoun reference.
  • Rules of word sequence. This is a beautiful topic which is not always covered in classical grammatical textbooks.

Today we deal with the topic of gender agreement Verse Lv23-09 talking about the weekly bread has a strange shift from female to male pronouns. The verse states And it [the Minchah offering of bread (feminine)] will belong to Aaron and his children and they will eat it [the bread (masculine)] in a holy place. As is our usual custom we have embedded the Rashi explanation in brackets in the translation of the verse.

Just to summarize: The Priests bring the 12 loaves on the table and eventually eat it. The Biblical text simultaneously uses the feminine and masculine it to refer to what is eaten. Rashi explains that the masculine it refers to bread which is masculine while the feminine it refers to the minchah offering since any plant offering is called Minchah. Since the 12 loaves are perceived both as bread and as minchah consequently both the masculine and feminine it are used.

But there is a deeper level to appreciating Rashi. The remarkable thing about this insight of Rashi is that the word Minchah is not even mentioned in the Chapter. Thus Rashi introduces a new principle of grammar: Pronouns can refer to implicit nouns; nouns referring to objects that are understood to be spoken about even though they are not explicitly mentioned!! Supporting this remarkable principle of gramamr Rashi observes ...Any offering made of plant material is classified as a Minchah.

    4. RASHI METHOD: ALIGNMENT
    BRIEF EXPLANATION: Aligning two almost identically worded verselets can suggest
    • (4a) 2 cases of the same incident or law
    • (4b) emphasis on the nuances of a case
    • (4c) use of broad vs literal usage of words
    This examples applies to Rashis Lv21-01e
    URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n17.htm
    Brief Summary: Don't DEFILE/COME to dead souls [IN THE NATION] But if he accidentally BUMPED into dead ON ROAD he buries

Verse Lv21-01e
Hebrew Verse וַיֹּאמֶר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה אֱמֹר אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם לְנֶפֶשׁ לֹא יִטַּמָּא בְּעַמָּיו:
English Verse And the Lord said to Moses: Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: Let none [of you] defile himself for a dead person among his people
Rashi Header Hebrew לא יטמא בעמיו
Rashi Text Hebrew בעוד שהמת בתוך עמיו, יצא מת מצוה:
Rashi Header Enlish Let none [of you] defile himself [for a dead person] among his people
Rashi Text English While the dead person is among his people [and therefore has people, non- kohanim, to bury him]. This comes to exclude [from the prohibition a kohen who comes across] a מֵתמִצְוָה, [a dead person for whom no one is in calling distance to attend to his burial and thus it is incumbent for people to attend to him]. — [Torath Kohanim 21:4]

The table below presents an aligned extract of verses in Lv21-01e,Lv21-11. Both verses discuss the prohibition of priests becoming ritually impure by contact with a dead person The alignment justifies the Rashi assertions that The priest should not come to a dead body in ordinary funerals in the country. But if he bumped into the dead body (strewn on say a road) the priest should defile himself and bury the person.

Verse Text of Verse Rashi comment
Lv21-01e
  1. to a soul
  2. in the country
  3. the priest should
  4. not become defiled
  • He shouldn't come to ordinary funerals in the country
  • But if he bumps unexpectedly to a dead person on the road then he should bury it.
Lv21-11
  1. to any dead soul
  2. -----
  3. the High priest should
  4. not come
  • He shouldn't come to ordinary funerals in the country
  • But if he bumps unexpectedly to a dead person on the road then he should bury it.

Advanced Rashi: In our analysis we have emphasized the two contrastive aligned pairs come-defile and in the country indicated in bullets (2) and (4) in the above table. The combined nuances of these two bullets - come vs. bump into- and - in the country vs on the road - make it plausible that the Bible makes an exception if either the priest or High Priest bumped unexpectedly into a dead body on the road with no one attending to the person to bury it. In such a case the Priest must defile himself and bury the body. In presenting this explanation we have deviated from Rashi's literal statement that we infer this law from the extra phrase in the country (bullet #(2)). We instead offer a combined approach come vs bumped into unexpectedly (bullet #(4)) and in the country vs on the road (bullet #(2)). The combined approach makes Rashi more plausible. Such a reading of Rashi where we interpret Rashi's statement we learn from here to mean We learn from a variety of places inclding here is consistent with the approach to Rashi laid down in rule #1, references above.

There are some further subtleties in this Rashi which we have not gone into. For example the Bible splits the aligned nuances between the chapters dealing with Priest and High Priest. The High Priest should not come to a dead body but he may defile himself to a dead body he bumps into unexpectedly. Similarly the ordinary priest should not let himself be defiled for funerals in the country; but for a dead body on the road he may or even should let himself be defiled. It is my opinion that Rashi simply noted one difference in the country. He expected each student to supplement this one observation with other differences.

      5. RASHI METHOD: CONTRADICTION
      BRIEF EXPLANATION:Rashi resolves contradictory verses using 3 methods.
      • (5a) Resolution using two aspects of the same event
      • (5b) Resolution using two stages of the same process
      • (5c) Resolution using broad-literal interpretation.
      This example applies to Rashis Lv19-20e
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1216.htm
      Brief Summary: (1)There is a DEATH penalty for KILLING a person (2) There is a MONETARY penalty for WOUNDING an animal. (3) There is a DEATH penalty for WOUNDING a person (parents).

Verse Lv19-20e
Hebrew Verse ְאִישׁ כִּי יִשְׁכַּב אֶת אִשָּׁה שִׁכְבַת זֶרַע וְהִוא שִׁפְחָה נֶחֱרֶפֶת לְאִישׁ וְהָפְדֵּה לֹא נִפְדָּתָה אוֹ חֻפְשָׁה לֹא נִתַּן לָהּ בִּקֹּרֶת תִּהְיֶה לֹא יוּמְתוּ כִּי לֹא חֻפָּשָׁה:
English Verse If a man lies carnally with a woman, and she is a handmaid designated for a man, and she had not been [fully] redeemed nor had her document of emancipation been granted her, there shall be an investigation; they shall not be put to death, because she had not been [completely] freed.
Rashi Header Hebrew כי לא חפשה
Rashi Text Hebrew לפיכך אין חייב עליה מיתה, שאין קידושיה קידושין, הא אם חופשה, קידושיה קידושין וחייב מיתה:
Rashi Header Enlish because she had not been [completely] freed
Rashi Text English And therefore, the man is not liable to the death penalty because of [his intimacy with] her, since her marriage is not binding. It follows then, that if she had been freed, her marriage would be binding, and he would be liable to the death penalty. — [Torath Kohanim 19:55; Gittin 43b]

The table below presents presents two contradictory verses. Both verses talk about penalties for damages. The underlined words highlight the contradiction. One verse says a death penalty applies when you smite the entire soul of a person while the other verse says a death penalty applies when you smite a person. Which is it? Is there a death penalty simply for wounding / smiting or does the death penalty require murder / smiting the whole soul? Rashi simply resolves this using the 2 Aspects method: (1) There is a death penalty for smiting people only if death occurs. (2) There is a death penalty for smiting parents even if wounding, not death, occurs.

Summary Verse / Source Text of verse / Source
There is a death penalty for killing people Lv24-17 And he who the smites the entire soul of a human shall surely be put to death.
There is a death penalty for smiting parents Lv24-21 And he who kills a beast, he shall restore it; and he who smites a man, shall be put to death
Resolution: 2 Aspects: (1) There is a death penalty for smiting people only if death occurs. (2) There is a death penalty for smiting parents even if wounding, not death, occurs.

    Advanced Rashi: But how did Rashi know to apply the 2nd verse to parents? The contradiction method frequently (not always) finds supportive resolution from other verses. In this case Ex21-14:17 explicitly states
    • But if a man comes wilfully upon his neighbor, to slay him treacherously; you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
    • And he who strikes his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death.
    • And he who steals a man, and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
    • And he who curses his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
    Here the context of four items deserving a death penalty
    • Murder
    • Smiting parents
    • Kidnapping
    • Cursing parents
    lends credibility to the suggestion that just striking parents requires a death penalty.

This Rashi is a good example of the contradiction method since the contradiction is inferred from the alignment of the entire soul of a person vs. person. Furthermore the resolution is supported by an explicit verse stating that smiting parents in and of itself is punished by a death penalty.

    6. RASHI METHOD: STYLE
    Rashi examines how rules of style influences inferences between general and detail statements in paragraphs.
    • Example: Every solo example stated by the Bible must be broadly generalized;
    • Theme-Detail: A general principle followed by an example is interpreted restrictively---the general theme statement only applies in the case of the example;
    • Theme-Detail-Theme: A Theme-Detail-Theme unit is interpreted as a paragraph. Consequently the details of the paragraph are generalized so that they are seen as illustrative of the theme.
    This examples applies to Rashis Lv24-11e
    URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1412.htm
    Brief Summary: (a1) DETAIL: Ahaliav...from tribe of DAN built Temple (a2) DETAIL: Blasphemer...from tribe of DAN was executed (b) GENERAL: Actions - whether good/bad - reflect on family and tribe.

Verse Lv24-11e
Hebrew Verse וַיִּקֹּב בֶּן הָאִשָּׁה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית אֶת הַשֵּׁם וַיְקַלֵּל וַיָּבִיאוּ אֹתוֹ אֶל מֹשֶׁה וְשֵׁם אִמּוֹ שְׁלֹמִית בַּת דִּבְרִי לְמַטֵּה דָן:
English Verse And the son of the Israelite woman pronounced the [Divine] Name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
Rashi Header Hebrew למטה דן
Rashi Text Hebrew מגיד שהרשע גורם גנאי לו גנאי לאביו גנאי לשבטו, כיוצא בו (שמות לא ו) אהליאב בן אחיסמך למטה דן, שבח לו שבח לאביו שבח לשבטו:
Rashi Header Enlish of the tribe of Dan
Rashi Text English [This] tells us that a wicked person brings disgrace to himself, disgrace to his father, and disgrace to his [entire] tribe. Likewise, [the converse is true regarding a righteous man,] “Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan” (Exod. 35:34), [for Oholiab brought about] praise to himself, praise to his father, and praise to his [entire] tribe. — [Torath Kohanim 24:237]

Certain Biblical paragraphs are stated in a example form. In other words an example of a law is stated rather than the full general rule. The reader's task is to generalize the example. The idea that all Biblical laws should be perceived as examples (unless otherwise indicated) is explicitly stated by Rashi (Pesachim 6.). This is a rule of style since the rule requires that a text be perceived as an example rather than interpreted literally. The Rabbi Ishmael style rules govern the interpretation of style.

Todays example shows a generalization from two verses.

Verse Lv24-11e discussing the act of blasphemy committed in the desert states and the name of his mother was Shlomith, the daughter of Divri, from the tribe of Dan. Verse Ex31-06 discussing the craftmanship of Bezalel, the Temple architect, states and with him Ahaliav....from the tribe of Dan. The Rabbi Ishmael example rule requires generalization of these passages. In this case we simply generalize from blasphemers and Temple architects to all people with distinguishing deeds: any person with a distinguishing deed - whether good or bad - brings reflection - whether honor or disgrace - to his tribe.

      7. RASHI METHOD: FORMATTING
      BRIEF EXPLANATION:Inferences from Biblical formatting: #NAME?
      • Use of repetition to indicate formatting effects: bold,italics,...;
      • use of repeated keywords to indicate a bullet effect;
      • rules governing use and interpretation of climactic sequence;
      • rules governing paragraph development and discourse
      This example applies to Rashis Lv21-03c
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n17.htm
      Brief Summary: Do NOT defile oneself to general dead; but DO defile oneself to relatives

Verse Lv21-03c
Hebrew Verse וְלַאֲחֹתוֹ הַבְּתוּלָה הַקְּרוֹבָה אֵלָיו אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָיְתָה לְאִישׁ לָהּ יִטַּמָּא:
English Verse and for his virgin sister who is close to him, who was not [yet] with a man for her, he shall defile himself.
Rashi Header Hebrew לה יטמא
Rashi Text Hebrew מצוה:
Rashi Header Enlish for her, he shall defile himself
Rashi Text English [This is] an obligation [for him to do so]. — [Torath Kohanim 21:8; Sotah 3a]

    An important task for any writer is sentence unification within each paragraph and paragraph unification within each chapter. Rashi used three main methods of unification:
    • unification by contrast
    • unification by cause-effect-consequence
    • unification by commonality.
    The unification principle is not cosmetic. It is powerful leading to novelty in meaning and interpretation. Today's example shows this.

    Note the contrast in the following verses:
  • ....Speak to the priests, ...they shall not become ritually impure to dead ...
  • Except for his wife,...mother...sister...for her he should defile himself.

    To fully understand Rashi's point we present the above verses in several forms:
    • ....Speak to the priests, ...they shall not become ritually impure to dead ...
    • Except for his wife,...mother...sister...
    The implication here is: (a) Do not defile to ordinary people; (b) but you may defile to close relatives.

    However the following format: -
    • ....Speak to the priests, ...they shall not become ritually impure to dead ...
    • Except for his wife,...mother...sister...for her he should defile himself
    Rashi focusing on the contrastive nature of the verses - do not vs. he should - states, (a) There is a prohibition of defiling to non close relatives; (b) there is an obligation of defiling to close relatives. In other words the contrastive set of verses creates emphasis - the priest is not only permitted to defile himself to close relatives, he is in fact required.

      8. RASHI METHOD: DATABASES
      BRIEF EXPLANATION:Rashi makes inferences from Database queries. The precise definition of database query has been identified in modern times with the 8 operations of Sequential Query Language (SQL).

      This example applies to Rashis Lv23-22b
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1216.htm
      Brief Summary: There are 4 methods of giving charity: a) Monetary gifts b) loans c) business support d) abandonment of items in letting the poor to work (gather) for them.

Verse Lv23-22b
Hebrew Verse וּבְקֻצְרְכֶם אֶת קְצִיר אַרְצְכֶם לֹא תְכַלֶּה פְּאַת שָׂדְךָ בְּקֻצְרֶךָ וְלֶקֶט קְצִירְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט לֶעָנִי וְלַגֵּר תַּעֲזֹב אֹתָם אֲנִי יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:
English Verse When you reap the harvest of your Land, you shall not completely remove the corner of your field during your harvesting, and you shall not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. [Rather,] you shall leave these for the poor person and for the stranger. I am the Lord, your God.
Rashi Header Hebrew תעזב
Rashi Text Hebrew הנח לפניהם והם ילקטו, ואין לך לסייע לאחד מהם:
Rashi Header Enlish you shall leave
Rashi Text English Leave it before them and let them gather it up. And you shall not help one of them [since this will deprive the others]. — [Torath Kohanim 19:22]

We ask the following database query: What activities does the Torah classify as charity? 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 Rashi inference: There are 4 ways to fulfill the obligation of charity: 1) Monetary gifts 2) monetary loans 3) business support 4) abandonment of items letting the poor work (gather) for them. The list below presents the results of the database query.

Verse Word used Charity fulfillment through...
Dt15-10 you shall give him Monetary gifts
Dt15-07:08 lend him sufficient for his needs Interest free loans
Lv26-35 you shall strengthen him Business support (even without loans or gifts)
Lv23-22 leave the corner of the fields for the poor ... Abandon the corners for the poor to gather - there is no requirement for you to help him.

Advanced Rashi: Note the exquisite contrast in these 4 examples: Give him freely vs. loan on condition of repayment; Strengthen and help him in business vs. let them gather the gleanings themselves - let them work, do not help them! This rich spectrum of charity obligations allows all to participate in this important commandment. I believe the results of this database query an innovation of this email list as I have not seen it explicitly in any books on charity.

      10. RASHI METHOD: SYMBOLISM
      BRIEF EXPLANATION: Rashi provides symbolic interpretations of words, verses, and chapters. Rashi can symbolically interpret either
      • (10a) entire Biblical chapters such as the gifts of the princes, Nu-07
      • (10b) individual items, verses and words
      The rules governing symbolism and symbolic interpretation are presented in detail on my website.

      This examples applies to Rashis Lv24-14c
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n17.htm
      Brief Summary: LEANING symbolizes TRANSFERENCE of AUTHORITY. LEANING on an executed criminal symbolizes that he is responsible for this own death.

Verse Lv24-14c
Hebrew Verse הוֹצֵא אֶת הַמְקַלֵּל אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וְסָמְכוּ כָל הַשֹּׁמְעִים אֶת יְדֵיהֶם עַל רֹאשׁוֹ וְרָגְמוּ אֹתוֹ כָּל הָעֵדָה:
English Verse Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and all who heard [his blasphemy] shall lean their hands on his head. And the entire community shall stone him.
Rashi Header Hebrew את ידיהם
Rashi Text Hebrew אומרים לו דמך בראשך ואין אנו נענשים במיתתך שאתה גרמת לך:
Rashi Header Enlish [shall lean] their hands [on his head]
Rashi Text English They say to him: “Your blood is on your own head! We are not to be punished for your death, for you brought this upon yourself!” - [Torath Kohanim 24:239]

    Today we ask the database query: When is leaning used in Biblical commandments / procedures? The query uncovers 3 examples of commandments with leaning. An examination of these 3 examples shows that leaning symbolically indicates transfer of responsibility.
  • Physically the leaner is now supported by the object he leans on.
  • This symbolically affirms that the leaner is now supported morally by the object he leans on - that is, there has been transfer of responsibility.

The table below presents the 3 commandments as well as their symbolic interpretation. We also include a non-commandment example of leaning. It follows that this Rashi combines the database and symbolism methods.

Commandment Verse Text Of Verse Symbolic meaning of leaning
Offerings Lv01-04 And he shall lean with his hands upon the head of the elevation-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. The offerer transfers his obligations to the offered animal. Hence what is done to the offered animal (e.g. sprinkling the life-force blood towards the Godly altar fires) is what he himself should do.
Executions Lv24-14b Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lean their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. The stoners transfer the responsibility of stoning to the executed: You are responsible for this stoning not us (Rashi).
Levite Induction Ceremony Nu08-09a And thou shalt present the Levites before the tent of meeting; and thou shalt assemble the whole congregation of the children of Israel. And thou shalt present the Levites before HaShem; and the children of Israel shall lean their hands upon the Levites. The Israelites transfer their responsibility of performing correct offering procedures to the Levites who now minister in the Temple as the representatives of the Israelite community.
Joshua's induction ceremony Nu27-18 And HaShem said unto Moses: 'Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is spirit, and lean thy hand upon him; Moses leans or finds support thru Joshua who will succeed Moses and perform his duties of leadership.

Sermonic points: The idea of symbolically affirming a serious moment such as transfer of responsibility occurs in many cultures with many diverse symbols. All cultures recognize the need to symbolically affirm serious moments and values. The symbolism here identifes support in the physical realm with moral support in the social realm. It is a symbol based on function.

Conclusion

This week's parshah does not contain examples of the Contradiction Rashi methods. Visit the RashiYomi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com for further details and examples.