Ideas and Model Lessons in Learning Rashi-#4
Copyright RashiYomi Inc 2004 Adapted From Rashi-is-Simple http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
Written by Dr. Russell Jay Hendel;
A: REVIEW
This is the 4-th in a 30 part series on the Methods that are useful for teaching Rashi. Parts 1 - 3 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 3 similar 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 three methods presented in previous issues focus on inferences from an OTHER VERSE - you might infer FURTHER DETAILS from an OTHER VERSE, or a current verse may be CITING an OTHER VERSE, or you might infer MEANING from an OTHER VERSE.

C: THE MEANING METHODS
Starting today we present a new class of methods dealing with MEANING. Already in the previous issue we presented the OTHER VERSE-MEANING method. For example we showed that the verse phrase if the theft be found in the thief's hand, Ex22-03a, really means if the theft be found in the thief's possession. We in fact showed half a dozen verses and Rashis where the translation hand = domain fits well. One of the primary goals of Rashi, or any commentary, is to present the meaning of words. Rashi had a variety of vehicles to explain word meaning.

D: THE SPECIAL WORDS METHOD
Today we examine the meanings of SPECIAL WORDS. A word is called SPECIAL if
- it occurs several dozen or more times in the Bible
- the word is not a noun (object) or verb (activity)
- but rather the word is relational - it connects different words or different sentence parts.
Examples of SPECIAL WORDS, in English, are because, that, if, then, only, but, nevertheless, also, on, to, from, this, the, etc. The remarkable thing about Biblical SPECIAL WORDS is that they frequently have half a dozen or so meanings; the challenge to the Rashi-ist is to discover and catalog these meanings.

E: EXAMPLE 1 - Gn11-15a
The Biblical Text
Sarah denied it,(:-- "I did not laugh [at God's promise]"--) BECAUSE (KI) she was afraid; Abraham responded, "No! RATHER (KI) you did laugh!"
The Rashi Text
The first occurrence of the Hebrew word KI means because; the second occurrence of the Hebrew word KI means rather. Our sages have taught that the Hebrew word KI has 4 meanings: if, perhaps, rather, because.

F: TEACHING AT 3 STUDENT LEVELS
The elementary level: Look up the following Rashis: Gn18-15a Ex34-09a Ex23-05c Dt15-08b Before reading Rashi you thought that the Biblical word KI meant because.
For each of these 4 verses
(a) translate the verse with KI meaning because and
(b) translate the verse with KI meaning if, rather, perhaps, because.
Do these other translations of KI suggested by Rashi fit the verse better? Explain.
The Intermediate Level: Using a Biblical Search Engine or Biblical Concordance find other Biblical verses where Rashi translates the Biblical word, KI, as meaning if, rather, perhaps, and because. Find as many verses with Rashi as you can. Also find as many Biblical verses where KI has one of these 4 meanings.
The (Very) Advanced Level:
- Find as many Rashis explaining the word KI as you can
- How many distinct meanings of KI did you find?
- Organize the Rashis according to meaning.
- Find other Biblical verses and/or Rashis supporting these meanings of KI.

G: SOLUTION TO THE ADVANCED LEVEL
Rashi presents the following seven meanings to KI:
- (Gn18-15a) Sarah denied making fun of God's promise because she was afraid
- (Dt15-08b) Do not be miserly; rather, give charity
- (Dt32-03a) When God's name is announced, give honor to God
- (Nu20-29c) The congregation saw that Aaron died
- (Ex23-05c) Perhaps you-ll see your enemy's donkey in need and desert him?
- (Ex34-09a) If we are obstinate then forgive us
- (Gn29-15a) Is being a relative reason for no pay ?
Each of these seven meanings has many many further verses and Rashis supporting it. For example, the meaning perhaps, or the similar meaning of lest, may be found in the following Rashis: Ex23-05a, Ex20-22c, Dt20-19c, Gn50-19a. (We shall see below that it is possible to reinterpret Gn29-15a using the translation because)

H: USE OF LISTS
Note the great utility in using lists. For Rashi mentioned only 4 meanings to KI while we have shown seven! We present the resolution to this contradiction -- seven vs four -- in the next paragraph. More importantly most people think that KI means because, or when, or, if --- but the lists expose us to the fact that KI can also mean perhaps, rather, etc. The interested reader who wishes to study further usages should visit http://www.Rashiyomi.com/words.htm -- this handy resource on the Rashi website presents a host of SPECIAL WORDS, their varied meanings, selected verse examples, as well as hyperlinks to collections of further examples.

I: SEVEN vs. FOUR
On the one hand Rashi claims there are 4 meanings of KI. On the other hand we have seen 7 meanings to KI --- remarkably these seven meanings are given by Rashi himself. How do we resolve this contradiction. Curiously, Rashi himself resolves it!
Gn43-07d We told him the truth. Did we know THAT he would say bring your brother
RASHI: KI here means THAT. KI can mean IF and IF can mean THAT
Thus this is one of the 4 usages of KI, IF.
Gn24-33a I will not eat till THAT [TIME] when I have spoken
RASHI: We see here that the Hebrew word for IF is used
to indicate THAT or WHEN. A similar example occurs in Gn49-10
...sovereignty shall not depart from Judah till THAT TIME when
he arrives in Shiloh. This is what our sages say: KI HAS 4 MEANINGS.
One of these 4 meanings is IF [and IF can also mean THAT and WHEN].
Thus we see that Rashi himself interprets the 4 meanings of KI - if, rather, perhaps, because - as really being 6 meanings - if-when-that, rather, perhaps, because.

J: A SUBTLETY
We have suggested there are 7 meanings to KI. Rashi citing the sages suggests there are 4 but then shows that these 4 become 6. It is a moot point whether there are 6,7, or even 8 meanings. For example, it is conceivable that Rashi translates Gn29-15 as follows: Because you are my relative you should work for nothing? Thus there would only be 6 meanings. Similarly we brought verses above where KI is best translated as lest -- although this is similar to perhaps such verses could justify adding an extra meaning.
The general idea we should take from this analysis is that through use of lists we can clarify the meaning of Rashi and Talmudic statements --- the lists show us that KI indeed has more than 4 meanings -- different individuals may in fact count the total number differently. The important issue is that readers should make their own lists; these lists clarify the usage of KI and also clarifies the Talmudic statement that there are only 4 meanings to KI.

K: EXAMPLE 2 -- HOMEWORK EXERCISE
Gather all Rashis that discuss the meaning of AL (Ayin-Lamed)
- How many meanings did you find?
- Can you provide Rashis supporting each meaning?
- Can you find further verses supporting this meaning?
A teacher should have no trouble adapting these exercises to advanced, intermediate and elementary levels. For example, to adopt this to the elementary level explicitly tell your students the Rashi locations and ask them to list the corresponding meanings.

L: EXAMPLE 3 -- HOMEWORK EXERCISE
Gather all Rashis on the Hebrew word, Kol, Kaph-Lamed.
- How many meanings did you find?
- Can you provide Rashis supporting each meaning?
- Can you find further verses supporting this meaning?

M: BRIEF ANSWERS TO EXERCISES
AL (Ayin Lamed) can mean on, with, in, to near, after -- these meanings are exemplified in the following verses: Gn03-14, Ex12-09e, Ex29-03, 1S01-10, Gn18-08, Lv03-05a.
The Hebrew word KoL (Kaph-Lamed) can mean all individuals, all groups, all parts, even similar items, even border line cases which we might exclude -- these meanings are exemplified in the following verses: Gn19-04b, Gn06-12a, Lv21-11b, Lv06-32b, Nu14-01a
Different individuals may organize these varied meanings slightly differently. Not all meanings are given by Rashi -- for example Rashi never explains that AL means on, since that is its typical most frequent meaning. Notice that while there is no explicit Rashi stating that AL has 6 meanings, nevertheless all five non-standard meanings can each be explicitly found in Rashi -- this is another example of how using LISTS enhances the learning of Rashi.
N: ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The great Torah Commentary, Malbim, pioneered listing Rashi rules governing meaning. He in fact lists several hundred such principles in his Ayelet Hashchar which summarizes his rules. We have modified Malbim by breaking up the several hundred cases into small chewable portions -- thus today we restricted ourselves to relational words like KI, AL, GAM, ACH, AL, etc. which occur very frequently in the Bible. Other cases will be discussed in future sections of the workbook.