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 Nu18-27a URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n24.htm; Brief Summary: The statement that levite tithe tithe is similar to granary grain (Nu18-27) cross references (Nu18-12) requiring giving the first granary grain to priests.

Verse Nu18-27a discussing the requirement of levites to tithe their tithe for Priests states Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, When you take of the people of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up an offering of it for the Lord, a tenth part of the tithe. And this your offering shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. Rashi clarifies the underlined words grain of the threshing floor, by referencing verse(s) Nu18-12, discussing the gifts given to priests which states All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of grain, the first fruits of them which they shall offer to the Lord, these have I given you. Hence the Rashi comment: The Levite's tithe'd tithe has the same status as the grain gift from Israelites to priests. As explicitly stated in Nu18-13 only ritually pure people may eat it (male or female). Furthermore as stated in Lv22-14 non-Priests who improperly eat these holy items pay a 25% fine.

Text of Target verse Nu18-27a	Text of Reference Verse Nu18-12
Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, When you take of the people of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up an offering of it for the Lord, a tenth part of the tithe. And this your offering shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.	All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of grain, the first fruits of them which they shall offer to the Lord, these have I given you.
Rashi comments: The Levite's tithe'd tithe has the same status as the grain gift from Israelites to priests. As explicitly stated in Nu18-13 only ritually pure people may eat it (male or female). Furthermore as stated in Lv22-14 non-Priests who (accidentally) improperly eat these holy items pay a 25% fine.

Advanced Rashi: Note the unusual feature that Rashi cross references two verses: One verse indicates the requirement to eat the priestly gifts in ritual purity while the other verse indicates a 25% fine for (accidental) violation of the requirement.

The verse only states that the tithe of the tithe shall be reckoned to you as grain priestly gifts. It does not explicitly indicate the similarity - how is levite tithe similar to priestly gifts? Rashi has explained above that the similarity refers to the requirements and punishments of how the gifts may be eaten. The driving force for this aspect of Rashi comes from the style rule and will be revisited in rule #6 below.

When Rashi uses what we might loosely call the hononym method he shows the underlying unity in disparate meanings of the same root. Very often this unity clarifies further known meanings.

The Hebrew root Kuph-Beth means hollow. This root can refer to
• the belly (the hollow of the body)
• a hole (in a wall)
• a hammar (to make holes)
• female gender
• a measure of volume (equal to the volume of 24 eggs)
• a wine press( cavity in the ground)

As can be seen all the meanings are simply connected with the fundamental idea of hollow, hole and cavity.

Two familiar functions of grammar in all languages are pronoun reference and plurality.

Hebrew is more flexible than English in pronoun reference. In other languages a a pronoun refers to the last mentioned person. However in Hebrew pronoun reference can be determined by the most logical connection even if it is not the last mentioned noun.

Biblical Hebrew, in general, has two methods of indicating pronouns
• Suffix: For example if I wanted to say Help him I would add a suffix Nun-Vav to the verb meaning help. The suffix nun-vav means that the indirect object of the help should be him.
• Full word: However when a full word is used for a pronoun it indicates emphasis: Only to that person.
This beautiful suffix-word distinction was developed by the great modern commentator, Malbim. Malbim uses this principle numerous times, especially throughout Leviticus to explain various exegetical laws.

We can apply this suffix-word distinction to the translation of verse Nu16-10a: and that He hath brought only you near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and will ye seek the priesthood also? Here we have embedded the Rashi comment: Only you, the Levites may assist in Temple service; Lay Israelites may not do so, in the translation as indicated by the underlined word only. Rashi's point is that Moses seemed to counter their rebellion-point we have been left out by a counter argument only you the Levites may assist in the Temple.

The table below presents an aligned extract of verses or verselets in Nu16-01c, 1C06-22:23. Both verses/verselets discuss the Korach family. The alignment justifies the Rashi comment that: The Torah discusses the bad Korach rebellion and the good songs sung in the Temple by the Korachites. Genealogy discretely omits Jacob's name by the rebellion but includes it by the Temple songs. This omission / inclusion discretely indicates disapproval and approval respectively.

Verse	Text of Verse	Rashi comment
Nu16-01c	He took ahold of himself, Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and ...	The Torah discusses the bad Korach rebellion and the good songs sung in the Temple by the Korachites. Genealogy discretely omits Jacob's name by the rebellion but includes it by the Temple songs. This omission / inclusion discretely indicates disapproval and approval respectively.
1C06-22:23	And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after the ark rested there. And they ministered .... And these are the men who served and their sons. Of the sons of the Kohathites: Heman a singer, the son of Joel, the son of Samuel, The son of Elkanah, the son of Jeroham, the son of Eliel, the son of Toah, (K) The son of Zuph, the son of Elkanah, the son of Mahath, the son of Amasai, The son of Elkanah, the son of Joel, the son of Azariah, the son of Zephaniah, The son of Tahath, the son of Assir, the son of Ebiasaph, the son of Korah, The son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Jacob

Advanced Rashi: Some alignments are more explicit. For example the Decalogue speaks about the prohibition of making vs. having idols thus explicitly indicating two prohibitions: manufacture and possession of idols. By contrast some alignments are more discrete indicating their messages with omissions rather than with explicit contrasts.

I am indebted to Dr. Aviva Zornberg's new book, The Murmuring Deep: Reflections of the Biblical Unconscious, for inspiring the understanding of this Rashi. I was at the launching of this book at Pardes in June a few weeks ago. There professor David Shulman used Indian philosophy to describe Aviva's book as studying silence. The book describes several types of silences and the communications implicit in them. Aviva picked up this theme in her own talk on her book. Using Kabbalistic terminology she distinguished between voice and words Frequently the Biblical text will give voice without words and it is important to understand the implied content. You can google the book title to find reviews or purchase it.

Using these concepts we can see the omission of Jacob's name by Korach as an unworded voiced silence. This particular silence indicates disapproval.

It is important to emphasize the relationship between the alignment and this silence. The alignment - one verse with mention of Jacob and one verse without proves the intentionality of the Author in the omission. That is, the sole purpose of the alignment is to prove that the silence is really there. We must then interpret the silence - the omission - as indicating disapproval.

Interestingly Rashi adds: Jacob, in his blessings explicitly states In their congregations let my honor not be mentioned.... Hence we see that Jacob's name was not mentioned in Nu16-01. However I think it important to emphasize that the true driving force of the omission is disapproval. The explicit verse in Jacob's blessings is simply an added embellishment. Indeed it shows how Korach's rebellion can be traced back to Levi's attack on Joseph. My point in not emphasizing this added verse is to show that it is only an embellishment; the real driving force behind Rashi is the alignment which points to a voiced silence.

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 examples applies to Rashis Nu18-30b Nu18-30c URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n24.htm Brief Summary: Brief Summary: When a Levite receives Tithe he FIRST tithes his tithe to the priest. THEN the remainder can be eaten anyplace (it has no sanctity)

The table below presents two contradictory verses. Both verses talk about the similarity of the Levite Tithed-Tithe to granary grain. The underlined words highlight the contradiction. One verse says it (the tithed tithe) will have the same status as granary grain [which must be eaten in ritual purity] - Nu18-12:13 while the other verse says you will raise a gift (tithed-tithe) to the priest .....it will be like granary grain ... you can eat it anywhere Which is it? Must there be ritual purity or may it be eaten anywhere (even the cemetery). Rashi simply resolves this using the 2 Stages Method method: 1) You separate tithe from the tithe (If the Terumah was not separated you separate that first). This tithed tithe has a status of granary grain gifts which must be eaten in ritual purity (Nu18-11:13). 2) Then the remaining grain will have the status of granary grain (after gifts have been separated) They can be eaten anyplace even in the cemetery (Nu18-31:32).

Summary	Verse / Source	Text of verse / Source
Tithed Tithe (and Terumah) must be eaten like grain that is in ritual purity	Nu18-11:13	And this is yours; the offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the people of Israel; I have given them to you, and to your sons and to your daughters with you, by a statute forever; everyone who is clean in your house shall eat of it. All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the grain, the first fruits of them which they shall offer to the Lord, these have I given you. And whatever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring to the Lord, shall be yours; everyone who is ritually pure in your house shall eat of it.
After separating gifts the remainder will be like ordinary grain and can be eaten anywhere [Rashi: Even in a cemetery.]	Nu18-30:31	Therefore you shall say to them, When you have set aside the best of it, then it shall be counted to the Levites as the grain in the granary, and as the produce of the winepress. And you shall eat it in every place, you and your households; for it is your reward for your service in the Tent of Meeting.
Resolution:	2 Stages	1) You separate tithe from the tithe (If the Terumah was not separated you separate that first). This tithed tithe has a status of granary grain gifts which must be eaten in ritual purity (Nu18-11:13). 2) Then the remaining grain will have the status of granary grain (after gifts have been separated) They can be eaten anyplace even in the cemetery (Nu18-31:32).

Certain Biblical paragraphs are stated in a Theme-Development-Theme form. In other words a broad general idea is stated first followed by the development of this broad general theme in specific details. The paragraph-like unit is then closed with a repetition of the broad theme. The Theme-Detail-Theme form creates a unified paragraph. The detailed section of this paragraph is therefore seen as an extension of the general theme sentences. Today's example illustrates this as shown immediately below.

Verse Nu18-19:20 discussing the possessional rights of the Priests / Levites states
• General: All the raised gifts of the Temple objects, which the people of Israel offer to the Lord, have I given you, and your sons and your daughters with you, by a statute forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord to you and to your seed with you.
• Detail: And the Lord spoke to Aaron, You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any part among them
• General: I am your part and your inheritance among the people of Israel.

Rashi generalizes the detail clause You shall have no inheritance in their land as illustrative of the general clause, All the raised gifts of the Temple objects have I given you and states: You shall not have an initial portion in the division of Israel and also you will not divide booty in future defensive wars in which territory is captured. We believe this comment evident and consistent with the Rabbi Ishmael style guidelines.

Advanced Rashi: To strengthen our understanding of this Rashi we present an almost identical general-theme-general derivation on the same topic but from a Deuteronomy verse.

Verse Dt18-01:02 discussing the possessional rights of the Priests / Levites states
• General: The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel;
• Detail: They shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his inheritance;Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brothers;
• General: The Lord is their inheritance, as he has said to them.

Rashi generalizes the detail clause They shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire as illustrative of the general clause, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel and states: The detail clause explains the general clause. The reason the Levites have no inheritance in Israel is because they obtain all their needs from the sacrificial fires. It immediately follows that all the Levite needs are obtained from the Temple objects and therefore they have no need for wars to obtain additional land. We believe this comment evident and consistent with the Rabbi Ishmael style guidelines.

Traditional Rashi-ists typically emphasize redundancy. We do not use redundancy as a rule as we consider it vague. But it is instructive to use other Rashi rules equivalent to redundancy to provide alternative derivations to the Rashi comment. Accordingly we present an alignment in verse Nu18-20.
• You shall have no inheritance in their land
• neither shall you have any portion among them;
Rashi might comment: The contrast of the aligned phrases, - inheritance in their land vs. portion among them - suggests the applicability of the law to both the initial inheritance of Canaan as well as apportionment of future conquests. As indicated above this alignment approach is similar to the traditional redundancy approach of modern Rashi-ists.

I chose to derive the Rashi from style rather than from alignment. I did this to negate the idea that the most important thing in learning Rashi is counting superfluity and redundancy. While this is one component of learning Rashi there are equally important approaches which require intuiting general feel and direction and generalizing verses.

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 Nu16-01c URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n24.htm Brief Summary: Non standard genealogical references can be used to indicate by inuendo certain support and lack of it for causes.

Today we ask the database query: How are genealogies indicated? The query uncovers many examples. An examination of these examples justifies the Rashi assertion that Genealogy by father is standard. Genealogy by brother indicates help in marriage. Genealogy with omission indicates lack of approval.

The table below presents results of the query along with illustrations of Rashi's comment.

Advanced Rashi: Rashi cutely mentions 1C06-22:23 where the sons of Korach who composed, sang and delivered temple songs, were listed in full genealogy going back to Jacob. This verse contrasts nicely with our verse.

The main point here is that the database method uncovers the innuendo and exposes it as intended by the author. The large number of standard genealogies proves that non-standard genealogies were intentionally produced to hint at certain inuendos.