Ideas and Model Lessons in Learning Rashi-#8
Copyright RashiYomi Inc 2004 Adapted From Rashi-is-Simple http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
Written by Dr. Russell Jay Hendel;
A: REVIEW
This is the 8-th in a 30 part series on the Methods that are useful for teaching Rashi. Chapters 1 - 7 may be accessed on the Rashi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ in the workbook series. Chapter 1 contains useful information on our notation and methods - to best understand this issue the reader should be familiar with our conventions.

B: THE MEANING METHODS
Chapter 5 began a 3-4 part subseries reviewing the 10 Rashi methods for explaining meaning. The background and examples provided by Chapter 5 will also be extremely useful for understanding todays chapter. In todays chapter we pick up some themes from Chapter 7 where we presented the method of unifying meanings.

C: REVIEW OF HEBREW ROOTS
It is well known and presented in almost all Hebrew Grammar Books that Hebrew consists of 3 letter roots. Each root can be conjugated. The conjugations indicate such things as
- person (I, you, he)
- plurality (I-we; he-they)
- Time (I drank, I am drinking, I will drink)
- Gender (In Hebrew, male and female noun-forms are conjugated differently)
- Grammatical Mode (Active, Passive, Causative, Interactive etc.)
As a simple example the root Shin-Mem-Resh means to watch. The conjugation Sha-Mar-Ti means I watched while the conjugation Es-Sha-Mayr means I will be watched.

D: THE ROOT+PREPOSITION METHOD
The Grammatical mode often affects meaning. That is, the same root in two different grammatical modes can be translated in say English, as two distinct words. The great Jewish Commentator, Malbim, points out in his commentary on Lv01-01that just as grammatical mode can affect meaning, so too, choice of prepositional connectives can affect meaning.
Recall that in Chapter 7 we introduced the unifying meaning Rashi method. When using the unifying meaning method we show a single theme to diverse meanings of the same root. We now introduce the root+preposition method. When using the root+preposition method we show how the same Hebrew root can have different meanings depending on the connective preposition used. Thus the root+preposition method is an example of the broader unifying meaning method.

E: EXAMPLE 1 - THE ROOT ChaZaK
We illustrate the root+preposition method by using the Biblical root ChaZak. We present the example at 3 student levels. Recall first that the Hebrew root ChaZaK is traditionally translated as to be strong.
The (Very) Advanced Student Level--Instructions to student:
- Find many verses and/or Rashis using the root ChaZak.
- Suggest several different translations to the Hebrew root ChaZak.
- Do these new proposed translations fit the verses better?
- Illustrate.
The Intermediate Student Level - Instructions to student:
- Review the dozen verses and one Rashi listed below.
- Verify that Rashi proposes a translation of ChaZaK different than strong.
- What is this new translation?
- Suggest other new translations of Chazak to the verses below
- Do your new translations fit the verses better?
- Illustrate.
The verses and one Rashi on ChaZaK are as follows:
- 1K02-02 Gn41-57 Ex12-33 Ma03-13 1K20-23 1K10-11 2K12-13
- Dn10-19 Nu13-20 Gn48-02 Ex04-04a Ju19-04 2S15-05 1K02-02 Gn41-57
The Elementary Student Level - Instructions to student:
- Review the dozen verses and one Rashi listed above
- Using these verses show that besides meaning
- - to be strong,
Chazak can also mean
- - pressing / urgent
- - to overpower
- - to strengthen (either strengthen someone or strengthen something)
- - to appear strong
- - to grab
- - to hug
- Show how the verses sound better when the different translations are used.
- Using these verses identify how to recognize when each translation should be used. That is, identify
-- the grammatical mode and/or
-- the prepositional connective
associated with each translation.

F: SOLUTION TO EXAMPLE 1
Active Mode: The traditional meaning of ChaZaK is to be strong. This translation is used when the root is in the active mode without any special prepositional connective. For example
- 1K02-02 be strong--act like a man
- Gn41-57 the famine was strong in the land
Active Mode+From: When the root ChaZaK is used in the active mode with the prepositional connective Mem which means from then it means to overpower. For example
-1K20-23 therefore they overpowered us
-1K10-11 If Aram overpowers me then come to my rescue
Intense Mode: When the root ChaZaK is used in the intense (Piel) mode with no special prepositional connective it means to strengthen other people or objects. For example
- 2K12-13 to strengthen the repairs of the House
- Dn10-19 Please speak because you have strengthened me
Interactive Mode: When the root ChaZaK is used in the interactive mode (Hithpael) with no special prepositional connective it means to appear strong -- to put up a front. Some examples are
- Nu13-20 appear strong and take from the fruit of the land
- Gn48-02 Jacob, who was sick, appeared strong and sat up
Causative mode+In: When the root ChaZaK is used in the causative mode (Hiphil) with the prepositional connective Beth which means in, it means to grab / hold. Some examples are
- Ex04-04a He grabbed the stick
- Ju19-04 His father-in-law grabbed him

G: RASHI vs THE STUDENT
Notice how Rashi only gives one of these half-dozen meanings: To Grab (Ex04-04a). It is the student's job to research the verses and identify other meanings! Fuller appreciation of Rashi is obtained when Rashi is perceived, not as giving the whole story, but rather as identifying one piece of an entire story. Although Rashi did not explicitly give these other meanings he should be seen as a sort of artist painting one of many flowers in a forest---the viewer, to fully appreciate the art-work, mentally fills in the other missing flowers.

H: THE RADAK AS RESOURCE
The RaDaK's, Book of Roots, mentioned in earlier parts of our series, is an invaluable resource in identifying different nuances and subtleties in meanings. The RaDaK provides many verse examples and also frequently indicates grammatical mode. Very often reading the RaDaK can be more productive then using a Biblical Concordance or search engine.

I: THE RASHI WEBSITE AS RESOURCE
The Rashi website is also a resource of verses, Rashis and suggested meanings. Many of the verses listed above may be found at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex04-04a.htm
A good list of examples where Rashi uses the root+preposition method may be found on the Rashi website on the rules page at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/by-rule.htm. Click the pulldown and scroll till you find root+preposition.
A further resource is the Rashi lists page located at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/lists.htm. Scroll down the left frame till you find ROOT+PREPOSITION and then click. Several examples are presented.

J: COMPLETE vs CONJECTURAL ANSWERS
Finally, we note, that it is not necessary for every exercise to end in a complete and full answer. Sometimes there are not enough verses to fully prove and/or identify a meaning.

For example, the root ChaZaK occurs in the causative mode (hifil) with the prepositional connective Lamed, which means to, only once in the Bible: In 2S15-05 we read that Abshalom HeCheZiK to passersby and kissed them. One could translate this as he grabbed and kissed them. I would however suggest translating the causative mode with prepositional connective to as meaning to hug: Abshalom hugged and kissed passersby. But there is no way of proving this since we have no other verses using this form.

K: EXAMPLE 2: HOMEWORK EXERCISE
We study the root Yud-Resh-Shin. The exercise can be presented at 3 student levels.
The Advanced student level - Instructions to student:
- Research the Bible using a Concordance or search engine,
- discover verses,
- identify all meanings of this root;
- present illustrative verses
The Intermediate student level - Instructions to teacher and student:
The teacher first presents the various verses and Rashis.
The student is then asked to identify the meanings of this root.
The Elementary student level - Instructions to teacher and student:
The teacher
- presents the verses, Rashis and also
- identifies the various meanings.
The student is asked to
- identify how to recognize when each meaning is used.

L: SOLUTION TO THE HOMEWORK EXERCISE
In the active, intensive and causative mode, the Hebrew root Yud-Resh-Shin can mean inherit, conquer, or to impoverish respectively. Rashi mentions this principle at Dt28-42a, Dt28-42b, and Dt28-42c.
Some further verse examples of this root are presented on the Rashi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h1n11.htm which lists the verses Gn21-10, Gn15-03, Gn45-11, Pr20-13, Nu21-32, and Dt11-23.