Ideas and Model Lessons in Learning Rashi-#3
Copyright RashiYomi Inc 2004 Adapted From Rashi-is-Simple http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
Written by Dr. Russell Jay Hendel;
A: REVIEW
This is the 3rd in a 30 part series on the Methods that are useful for teaching Rashi. Parts 1 and 2 may be accessed on the Rashi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ in the workbook series. Part 1 contains useful information on our notation and methods - to best understand this issue the reader should be familiar with our conventions.

B: OTHER VERSES - MEANINGS
In the previous issues we have introduced 2 Rashi methods. A method is something you do whenever you read a verse. The proper use of methods helps you make inferences the same way Rashi does. The OTHER VERSE - FURTHER DETAIL method requires that you ask, "Are there other verses that shed additional light on the meaning of this verse?;" The OTHER VERSE-CITATION method requires that you ask, "Does this verse refer to some other event or verse?" Today we introduce the OTHER VERSE - MEANING method. This method requires that you ask, "Do other verses shed light on the meaning of the words used in this verse?"

C: EXAMPLE 1 - Ex22-03a
The Biblical Text
If the theft be found in the thieves hand then he must pay double(a fine)
The Rashi Text
The phrase the thieve's hand means the thieve's possession or the thieve's domain. That is the verse should be translated if the theft be found in the thieves domain then he must pay double (a fine)

D: TEACHING AT 3 STUDENT LEVELS
The (Very) Advanced Level:
(a) Using the Radak, Book of Roots (Sefer Sharashim), list all meanings of the Biblical word Yud-Daleth(which normally means hand).
(b) Provide several verses illustrating each meaning.
(c) Using a Biblical Search Engine or Biblical Concordance find many verses where Rashi presents meanings of the Biblical word Yud-Daleth.
Now answer the following 3 questions:
(1) Which meanings do Rashi and Radak both agree on?
(2) Which meanings does Radak give but Rashi does not give?
(3) Which meanings does Rashi give but Radak does not give. [This exercise is probably too difficult at K-12 level -- it is accessible to advanced Rabbinical students and to ordained Rabbis. It is a very useful exercise since it gives deep insights into word meanings]
The Intermediate Level: Using a Biblical Search Engine or Biblical Concordance find other verses where Rashi translates the Biblical word, Yud-Daleth, as meaning domain or possession.
The elementary level: Look up the following Rashis: Gn41-35b, Gn32-14a, Ex22-03a, Nu21-26b, Nu31-06c, Dt03-08a. Before reading Rashi you thought that the Biblical word Yud-Daleth meant hand.
For each of these 6 verses
(a) translate the verse with Yud-Daleth meaning hand and
(b) translate the verse with Yud-Daleth meaning domain.
Does the translation of domain suggested by Rashi fit the verse better? Explain.

E: USE OF LISTS
This list of 6 Rashis may be found at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn41-35b.htm on the Rashi website. Alternatively you can find it in Volume 20 Number 8 of Rashi-is-Simple at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h20n8.pdf.
Using lists of Rashis has 3 benefits:
(a) Using a list of many Rashis enables one to feel confident that Rashi is giving the simple meaning of the text(instead of a one-time midrashic/homiletic meaning).
(b) Using a list of many Rashis also enables seeing the consistency in Rashi.
(c) Finally, had we created a list of all meanings of Yud-Daleth according to Rashi and Radak then we would have deeper insights and appreciations of Biblical meaning.

F: EXAMPLE 2 - Lv09-03d
The Biblical Text: Take....a one-year-old calf (heiffer)
The Rashi Text: We learn from this verse that the age-requirements of a calf is 1 year (At 2 years it is called an ox)
This Rashi and discussion on it can be found on the Rashi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/lv09-07d.htm

G: THE THREE STUDENT LEVELS
There is no advanced level for this verse.
The Intermediate Level: We all know that calf (egel in Hebrew) means a young ox. At what age do we start calling a calf an ox. Using a Biblical Search Engine or Biblical Concordance review the 48 occurrences of egel in the Bible. In which verses do you see hints of age requirement? What are these age requirements?
The Elementary Level: Find as many verses mentioning calf as you can. Some obvious Biblical chapters mentioning calf occur at Gn15 (Convenant of the Cut animals), Ex32 (The golden calf), Dt21 (The broken heiffer-sacrifice for accidental murder). Do you find any verses with age requirements? How does Lv09-03 help us understand these other verses? Could Rashi have used other verses to derive age requirements? (Hint: See Micah6-6.)
Notice how the use of lists enriches our understanding of Rashi -- there are in fact 2 Biblical verses explicitly identifying the age of calves as 1 year or less.
H: Example 3 - Homework Exercise Ex25-31
Starting with this issue, besides the examples we give explicitly, we will also give exercises -- comparable examples that illustrate the points we have been making. The Homework exercise today is to show that the Biblical word Mikshah (hard) when used on manufactrued objects refers to a process of SCULPTORING vs. SOLDERING. The teacher should have no trouble adapting these exercises to advanced, intermediate and elementary levels.
Exercise: Gather / find all verses dealing with manufactured objects that are suppose to be made hard (Mikshah). Answer the following questions:
(a) How many hard manufactured objects are there?
(b) How many verses mention the requirement of hardness.
(c) How many verses identify hardness as meaning sculptored (one piece) vs. soldered.

I: ANSWERS TO EXERCISES
(a) Three manufactured objects had to be hard (The Keruvim (Ex25-18), The Candellabrah(Ex25-31) and the trumpets (Nu10-02)).
(b) There are 8 verses mentioning the Biblical word Mikshah (hard)
(c) The identification of manufactured hard as manufactured in one piece(sculptored not soldered) or manufactured from it (vs. soldered onto it) occurs in three verses: Ex25-36, Ex25-31 and perhaps Ex25-19.

J: A SUBTLETY
In our first issue we used Gn46-27 to infer that a few people mentioned in Dt26-05d means 70 people. Today we used Lv09-03d to infer that calf means one-year-old calf. But why does Rashi on Lv09-03 infer that calf always means one year old while Rashi on Dt26-05d infers that few means 70 only once (in Dt26-05d).
The answer is simple: The word calf, except for two verses, always occur without age requirements. The two verses which do give ages give the same age (1 year old). Hence we are justified in assuming that calf always means 1 year. By contrast, the word a few has many meanings in different contexts. Thus in Gn47-03 it refers to Jacobs life (140 years when he stood before Pharoh); in Lv25-52 it refers to a variable number of years between 1-50; in Dt26-05d it refers to 70. Hence -- since a few has many explicit meanings while calf only has one numerical meaning - we can only use Gn46-27 to shed light on the meaning of a few in one verse while we can use bto shed light on the meaning of calf in every verse.

K: The Rabbi Ishmael Rules
There is a connection between the elementary Rashi Method we introduced today and an advanced Talmudic method. Rabbi Ishmael laid down 13 principles by which to interpret verses and laws. You can find the Rabbi Ishmael rules in the morning prayers in all prayer books at the end of the morning blessing section. Although these rules are very advanced and require extensive training, nevertheless one of these rules can be used to shed light on meaning. Here is the rule with the application to our situation inserted in parenthesis in italics.
Rule: If you have a general principle (like the concept that calf means a young ox) and in one case (Lv09-03 or Michah6-6) you have further details (a one year old calf) then these verses do not just shed light on themselves (that is, the calf mentioned in Lv09-03 had to be one year old) but shed light on all occurences (so the word calf always means one year old).