Ideas and Model Lessons in Learning Rashi-#18 Copyright RashiYomi Inc 7-10-2005 Adapted From Rashi-is-Simple http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
Written by Dr. Russell Jay Hendel;
A: REVIEW
This is the 18-th in a 30 part series on the methods that are useful for teaching Rashi. Parts 1 - 16 may be accessed on the Rashi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/wbook.htm in the workbook series. Part 1 contains useful information on our notation and methods - to best understand this chapter the reader should be familiar with our conventions.

B: THE FORMATTING METHODS
Chapter 17 began a multi-chapter series discussing the Rashi formatting method. Every English author knows that if they wish to create contrastive emphasis they use bullets. The bullets indicate that (a) each bullet is a distinct item and (b) the separate bullet items contrast with each other. The Bible indicated the bulleting effect by repeating connective keywords. The examples below clearly illustrate this.
C: EXAMPLE 1: Ex20-10a PROHIBITION OF WORK ON SABBATH
An almost explicit use of this Rashi rule of bullets occurs at Ex20-10a.
Text: On the seventh day there will be a Sabbath; do not do any work
you
and your son
and your daughter
Rashi: When the Torah prohibits work to your son and your daughter, is the Torah prohibiting work to your adult children or to your minor children. Answer: You must admit that the adult children are already mentioned (when the Torah prohibits you from doing work; the you includes every adult male Jew). We therefore conclude that the Torah when it prohibits work to your son and your daughter is prohibiting work to minors [Rashi also points out that since minors are not morally responsible, the prohibition of work on minors must refer to a prohibition on the adults to prevent minors from doing work (that is, the obligation to train children)]
Using our model of bullets we would formulate this Rashi as follows:
The bulleting of you, your son and your daughter creates a contrastive emphasis. The word you refers to all adults while the phrase your son and daughter refer to minors.

D: EXAMPLE 2: Ex03-11a THE CHALLENGE OF THE EXODUS
Text: Ex03-11a states And Moses said to God: Who am I
that I should go to Pharoh and
that I should bring the Jews out of Egypt
Notice the repeated keyword that: A modern author would use two bullets as shown. The bullets create an unspecified contrastive emphasis: The repeated keyword that, or alternatively, the bullets, suggest that
challenging Pharoh and
redeeming the Jews from Egypt
are two distinct items.
Rashi comments:Moses asked who am I
to negotiate with a ruthless leader like Pharoh
to redeem the Jewish people who are notoriously obstinate and argumentative.
Here Rashi identifies the emphasis of the two bullets with the difficulties of
confronting a difficult leader
leading a difficult people

E: EXAMPLE 3: Gn37-08a THE HATRED OF JOSEPH
In the previous example the bullet method highlighted a known contrast--difficult leader, difficult nation. In the following example the bullet method uncovers unknown facts and leads to novelty.
Text: Gn37-08a [After Joseph told his brothers the dream] they [the brothers] continued to hate him
account of his dreams
account of his speech
Without the bullets I would simply have interpreted the phrase account of his dreams and speech as account of his talking about this dreams. By using a bulleted structure the Bible creates an unspecified contrastive emphasis.
Rashi comments: From this bulleted structure we infer two reasons for hating Joseph
The brothers hated him because of his dreams of reign
The brothers hated him because of his slandering them.
This last point-that Joseph slandered his brothers-is indicated in an other verse, Gn37-02
Joseph was 17 years old..he use to shepard the sheep....Joseph brought bad talk about his brothers to his father.
Thus Rashi identifies the two phrases beginning with the word account as indicating two problems Joseph had:
Joseph's dreams of reign
Joseph's slander.

F: REPETITION
The above two examples both use a repeated connective keyword.
Gn37-08 could have said They continued to hate him account of his dreams and his speech but instead Gn37-08 states They continued to hate him account of his dreams and account of his speech Similarly Ex03-11 could have said: And Moses said to God, who am I that I should go to Pharoh and free the Jews from Egypt. But instead Ex03-11 states And Moses said to God, who am I that I should go to Pharoh and that I should free the Jews from Egypt.
It is the repetition of the connective keyword that creates the bulleting effect.

G: HOMEWORK EXERCISES - THREE LEVELS
The keyword repetition method is extremely simple to recognize and apply. We present below several homework exercises. Students at different levels should attempt different approaches:
All levels - elementary, intermediate, advanced
At all levels students should identify the repeating keyword
Advanced Level
Students at the advanced level, whom have experience with Talmudic learning, should attempt, without looking at Rashi, to identify the contrast highlighted by the bulleted phrases.
Intermediate and Elementary Level
Students at the intermediate and elementary level will probably find the advanced level exercise--formulating by themselves the contrast highlighted by the bulleted phrases--too difficult. Instead, the students at the intermediate and elementary level should instead
read Rashi
summarize the Rashi text by indicating the contrast highlighted by the bulleted phrases
connect Rashi's understanding of the contrast with the Biblical words used in the bulleted phrases.
These homework examples have been carefully selected to illustrate further principles about bullets.

H: HOMEWORK: VERSES WITH REPEATING KEYWORDS
Example 4: Nu12-08d [God to Aaron, Miriam] Why have you spoken against my servant against Moses
Example 5: Gn37-23a: When Joseph came to his brothers they stripped him of is coat, of the special coat on him
Example 6: Nu10-30a: [Moses had asked his father-in-law Jethro to stay with them] He [Jethro] replied: No. Rather I will return to my land and to my birthplace
Example 7: Nu20-15b The Egyptians were bad to us and to our fathers
Example 8: Ex04-09b [God to Moses--In giving him signs to do in Egypt] Take water from the Nile and spill it on the ground---and it will be, the water you take from the Nile, and it will be blood on land

I: ANSWERS TO EXERCISE 4
Nu12-08d [God to Aaron, Miriam] Why have you spoken
against my servant
against Moses
Rashi: The slander had two components
Moses was God's servant; he was chosen by God; presumably God did not chose an arrogant person
Even if God had not chosen Moses, still, Moses, the person, was known as an extremely humble person and should not have been accused of arrogance.
In other words they had slandered
Moses the servant
Moses the person
Notice in this example how the bulleted phrases are not connected with the word and. (In most of the other examples the bulleted phrases are connected with the word and)

J: ANSWERS TO EXERCISE 5
Gn37-23a: When Joseph came to his brothers they stripped him
of is coat,
of the special coat on him
Rashi: The Bible indicates two crimes of violence against Joseph
They degraded him (Stripped him) to make him look like a slave
They teased him by stealing the special coat his father had made for him
This example illustrates use of the Hebrew keyword, eth (which typically has no English translation) to indicate a bulleted effect.

K: ANSWERS TO EXERCISE 6
Nu10-30a: [Moses had asked his father-in-law Jethro to stay with them] He [Jethro] replied: No. Rather I will return
to my land and
to my birthplace
Rashi: Jethro indicates two reasons for returning
Birthplace: My family is there
My Land: My business contacts are there
Although normally the phrase My land does not indicate business contacts, in this verse, because of the contrastive emphasis indicated by the bullets, it is legitimate to interpret my land as contrasting with birthplace and family. Hence the Rashi interpretation, business contacts, since business and family are the two main reasons for staying or leaving a place.

L: ANSWERS TO EXERCISE 7
Nu20-15b The Egyptians were bad
to us and
to our fathers
Rashi: The Egyptians
hurt us by the enslavement
hurt our father who were prophetically aware of the enslavement
Rashi's actual language is: They hurt our fathers in their graves. However we need not be so literal. We know that the Patriarchs had prophetic visions about the enslavement in Egypt. It is perfectly reasonable to state the patriarchs upon being prophetically told that their children would be enslaved in Egypt were very upset. Rashi's statement that they were hurt in the grave is simply an exaggeration. By expanding Rashi's comment to include both the hurt on being prophetically told as well as the hurt in the grave we make Rashi more palatable.

M: ANSWERS TO EXERCISE 8
Ex04-09b [God to Moses--In giving him signs to do in Egypt] Take water from the Nile and spill it on the ground---
and it will be, the water you take from the Nile,
and it will be blood on land
Rashi: The verse clearly indicates three stages
First the water is in the Nile
Then the water is taken in the hand---at this point the water has not yet turned to blood
Then after being spilled on the ground it turns to blood
Rashi makes this inference from the bulleted list which emphasizes that the turning to blood happned on the land not on the Nile. Thus in this example the bullet method is used to indicate sequence.

N: THE RASHI WEBSITE AS A RESOURCE
The Rashi website can be used as a resource to provide examples for the contradiction method.
The Home page for the Rashi website is located at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/
The Main Rashi Database is located at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/lists.htm
Scroll down in the left hand frame till you find BULLET/PARAGRAPHS / keywords as bullets
Click on the link
The right frame will now contain the links to examples of the BULLET method
The examples include illustrations of both the keyword repetition technique as well as the paragraph structure technique.
Early examples of the keyword method may also be found at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn26-12a.htm