Ideas and Model Lessons in Learning Rashi-#20 Copyright RashiYomi Inc 7-30-2005 Adapted From Rashi-is-Simple http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
Written by Dr. Russell Jay Hendel;
A: REVIEW
This is the 20-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. In chapter 17 we showed how the effects of bold, italics, and underline can be indicated by word or phrase repetition. In chapter 18 we presented the bullet sub-method. In that chapter we focused on Biblical texts that indicate bullet effects by repeating keywords. In chapter 19 we presented advanced examples of bulleting. More specifically we presented examples of bulleting where the repeating keyword motif is absent. We also showed that use of evolving climactic structure significantly enhances the interpretation of bulleted passages. In this final chapter on the formatting method we show that climax is an interpretive sub-method in its own right. Presence of the climax sub-method always presupposes the bullet sub-method. As shown in the last chapter a bulleted interpretation that also possesses climax is of superior quality to an ordinary bulleted passage. Climax need not be a method requiring advanced acumen. We therefore provide many exercises in this chapter.

C: EXAMPLE 1: Nu09-22a
The following Biblical paragraph deals with the duration of the Jewish campings. Pay special attention to the underlined passages indicating various durations of stay.
Text: Nu09-20:22
- And so it was, when the cloud abode from evening to the morning, and the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed;
- or if it was by day and night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.
- or whether it was two days,
- or a month,
- or days,
As long as the cloud stayed upon the tabernacle the people of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not; but when it was taken up, they journeyed.
Rashi (paraphrased): Notice the climactic progression of the durations:
- evening to morning
- day and night
- two days
- month
- days
Because of the climax we interpret the last item, days, as meaning year, since the five phrases show a continual increase in duration (Climax).

D: WORD MEANING vs CLIMAX
This Rashi is a clear illustration of the climax method: Clearly, the word days, by itself, does not mean years. It could easily mean a few days. However, and this is the main point, because of the climax structure, the simple meaning of the textual phrase, days, must be a unit of time bigger than a month, that is, a year.
As pointed out above the climax and bulleting methods always co-occur. In the above passage the bulleting is clearly indicated by repeating connective keyword, or.

E: EXAMPLE 2: Lv26-03a,b
In the following verse Rashi again uses climax to give specific meaning to words and phrases that in and of themselves do not necessarily have such meaning.
Text: Lv26-03
- If you walk in my statutes
- and watch my commandments
- and perform them
Rashi:
[The text indicates three activities related to commandment performance]
- Perform them clearly refers to performance
Therefore because of the climax structure we must interpret
- walk in to mean study
- watch to means set up communal safeguards to facilitate observance and prevent commandment violations

F: FURTHER DEFENSE OF RASHI
Rashi makes two comments
- walk in means study
- watch means set up communal safeguards to prevent violation.
It is instructive to study the meanings of the two verbs, walk and watch, in other verses: Walk typically does not mean study while watch typically does indicate setting up safeguards.
For example: walk does not mean study in the following verses: Gn06-09, Noach walked with God, or, Gn17-01, God appeared to Abraham and said to him....walk with me...and I will establish a covenant. In fact, walk never connotes study: Rather it is the climax method, not the word meaning, that requires interpreting walk in Lv26-03 to mean study in order to exhibit the climax: study-safeguard-observe.
On the other hand watch typically indicates extra care; one example of extra care is setting up safeguards to avoid violations. This idea that watch indicates extra care, watching out to prevent violations, is clearly seen in the following verses: Ex34-11:16 states Watch, what I command you....watch out lest you make a treaty ....and intermarry, or, Lv22-01:09 ....Priests should not eat sacred items in ritual impurity.....watch my watches [lest] they incur death when they desecrate it.

G: SUMMARY OF CLIMAX METHOD
We can summarize the above examples as follows: Climax, by itself, imposes an interpretation on words or phrases that ordinarily do not have these meanings. The interpretations imposed by climax may have further support from other verses. In reading Rashis using the climax method one should first identify the climax structure. Then as other sources permit, additional supportive defense can be provided.
Also note that the interpretations of the climax method always bear flexibility and a subjective taste. For example, in Lv26-03 we could easily interpret watch as equally meaning either: a) watch out to do (extra care), b) create safeguards to perform, or c) create community structures. The important point in understanding Rashi is to emphasize the climax structure as the driving force for the interpretation.

H: EXERCISES: EXAMPLE #3: Dt22-14a
In the remainder of the chapter we present exercises illustrating the climax technique. We present the exercises at 3 student levels. Surprisingly Rashi sometimes uses the simplest, elementary level:
Biblical text: Dt22-14:15 If any man takes a wife, and has relations with her, and hates her, and gives accusing speeches against her, and brings an evil name upon her, and says, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I did not find in her the signs of virginity;
The (Very) Advanced Student Level--Instructions to student:
- Bulletize Dt22-14:15--How many bullets do you use
- Identify each bullet with a stage in marital strife and breakup
- State conclusions: What bad behaviors do certain emotions lead to
The Intermediate Student Level - Instructions to student:
- Bulletize Dt22-14:15--How many bullets do you use
- State conclusions: What bad behaviors do certain emotions lead to
The Elementary Student Level - Instructions to student:
- Carefully review the verse and identify in the verse one a) hostile emotion and one b) hostile behavior
- Using the principle of climax reach a conclusion on the likely bad behaviors that certain bad emotions generate

I: SOLUTION TO EXERCISE #3
The bulletized text is presented below in italics. The stage in marital strife corresponding to each bullet is indicated in parenthesis in bold underline.
Text: Dt22-14
-If any man takes a wife, (marriage)
-and has relations with her, and (physical relationship)
-hates her, (beginning of marital problems)
-And gives accusing speeches against her, and (abusive language)
-brings an evil name upon her, (slander)
and says, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I did not find in her the signs of virginity;
Rashi: The climax structure shows that the emotion hatred, if not dealt with, leads to slander
Notice how Rashi does not deal with the entire bulleted structure. He only focuses on one aspect of it: The fact that hatred leads to slander. We can reformulate this Rashi in terms of a two-bullet structure to the verse as follows:
Text: Dt22-14
-If any man takes a wife, and has relations with her, and hates her, (beginning of marital problems)
-And gives accusing speeches against her, and brings an evil name upon her, (slander)
and says, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I did not find in her the signs of virginity;
To more fully appreciate Rashi we have reviewed the entire bulleted structure. Consistent with the climax principle, we have therefore interpreted the cryptic phrase, accusing speeches, as indicating abusive language. The resulting climactic sequence, hatred-abusiveness-slander has more detail and focus.
It is noteworthy however, that Rashi sufficed with simply selecting one aspect of the climax structure. Thus the student who, at the elementary level only uses two bullets, as shown above, will have successfully understood Rashi.

J: EXERCISES: EXAMPLE #4: Dt19-11a
Biblical Text: Dt19-11 When a person hate his friend and he ambushes him and arises on him and kills him.
The (Very) Advanced Student Level--Instructions to student:
- Bulletize Dt19-11--How many bullets do you use?
- Identify each bullet with a stage in murder
- State conclusions: How does murder happen?
The Intermediate Student Level - Instructions to student:
- Bulletize Dt19-11--How many bullets do you use?
- State conclusions: What emotions lead to murder?
The Elementary Student Level - Instructions to student:
- Carefully review the verse and identify in the verse a hostile emotion
- Using the principle of climax reach a conclusion on the emotion most likely to lead to murder.

K: SOLUTIONS TO EXERCISE #4: Dt19-11a
Text: Dt19-11
- When a person hate his friend
- and he ambushes him
- and arises on him
- and kills him.
Rashi: The sequence doesn't make sense [that is, it doesn't follow climax]. The following sequence is more satisfying [that is, it does satisfy climax]
Text: Dt19-11
- When a person hate his friend
- and stalks him
- and arises on him
- and kills him.
From this text we infer that the emotion, hatred, leads to murder.
Rashi makes two inferences from the text:
- he infers that hatred leads to murder (the derivation of the elementary level---Rashi explicitly states this conclusion)
- he infers that the Hebrew word Aleph-Resh-Beth, arav, which normally means ambush, instead, in this verse means to stalk (the advanced level---interestingly, Rashi does explicitly ask the question but does not answer it).
In other words, Rashi identifies the following stages leading to murder:
- first you hate someone
- then you spy and stalk on his whereabouts
- finally you confront him
- this leads to murder.

L: EXERCISES: EXAMPLE #5: Ex18-06b
Biblical text Ex18-06b: Jethro sent a message to Moses: I, your father-in-law, Jethro am coming to you, your wife and your two children are with her.
The (Very) Advanced Student Level--Instructions to student:
- Bulletize Ex18-06--How many bullets do you use?
- Identify each bullet with a stage in family reunion.
- State conclusions: For which family members are reunions more important?
The Intermediate Student Level - Instructions to student:
- Bulletize Ex18-06--How many bullets do you use?
- Identify each bullet with a stage in family reunion
- For which family members is reunion least important? For whom is reunion most important?
The Elementary Student Level - Instructions to student:
- Ex18-06 describes a reunion--bulletize the family members mentioned? How many bullets do you use?
- For which family members is reunion least important? For whom is reunion most important?

M: SOLUTION TO EXERCISE #5:
Text Ex18-06b:
Jethro sent a message to Moses
- I, your father-in-law, Jethro am coming to you
- your wife
- and your two children
are with her.
Rashi: The text indicates the following hierarchy of family members in a reunion
- father in law
- wife
- children.
The sequence reflects a climax structure. The children need the father the most, the wife 2nd most and the father-in-law the least.

N: THE RASHI WEBSITE AS A RESOURCE
The Rashi website can be used as a resource to provide examples for the climax 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 RABBI ISHMAEL STYLE / Climax
Click on the link
The right frame will now contain the links to examples of the climax method
An alternate but equally valuable source is http://www.Rashiyomi.com/example9.htm