Overview: The purpose of this monograph is to provide a short, quick but comprehensive guide to the literary techniques and skills needed to produce mature, intelligent and correct literary commentary. The rules we present have wide applicability but their immediate application will be the review, understanding and classification of the comments of the first of the Biblical commentators, Rashi. This monograph will provide useful new material to a diverse audience including Rabbis, elementary school teachers, students, laymen, and professors and graduate students in either general literature or Biblical studies. This monograph will be equally useful to both those who have facility in reading Hebrew as well as those who just speak English. While this monograph is directed to those who believe in the Divinity of the Torah, such a belief is never assumed in this monograph and is not a prerequisite to mastering the methods presented in this monograph.

The purpose of this introductory section is to clearly state our goals, targeted audiences, prerequisites, online resources, future publications, how to read and use the monograph, and also to clarify our particular contribution to learning Rashi, as presented in this monograph.

Goals: We first give some background. The Bible or more specifically the Torah refers to the five Books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Numerous commentators during numerous periods spanning several centuries have written commentaries on the Bible. Rashi, Rabbi Sholomo the son of Rabbi Isaac, was the first of the Biblical commentators. In producing his comments Rashi was in large part guided by the Biblical comments contained in the entire Talmudic, Mishnaic and Midrashic eras which preceded him. All Rashi comments whether original or derived reflect the simple intended meaning of the text.

We can now state our basic thesis: All Rashi comments focus on the simple intended meaning of the text. There are 10 groups of skill competencies needed to understand all Rashis. These 10 groups subdivide into 30 skill competencies. A person who has mastered these skill competencies will be able to successfully reproduce all Rashi comments.

A short word about our citation of actual Rashi comments. Since our goal is presentation of skill competencies the student should regard all citations of Rashis as paraphrases that help the student to understand only one component of the Rashi. We do not further comment on the various other aspects of the Rashi comments. From time to time we will illustrate how our explanations tie in with the full Rashi comment. As a simple example of what we don't do in this monograph consider the pea example brought above: A natural tendency of Rabbis, professors and historians would be to dwell on the horrible conditions of the concentration camp inmates--only one pea per inmate! This is certainly a worthwhile avenue of study - however in this monograph we focus only on the underlying skill competencies and do not dwell on the moral/historical consequences associated with Rashi comments. Consequently we would simply explain the pea example above as illustrating the plural formation rule and would not further comment on the implications of one pea per inmate.

What is new--the contribution of this monograph: A successful author once told me that an author writing a new book on an old subject should only do so if they are making some new contribution. There are many books on reading Rashi, understanding Rashi, and discussing his methods. There are three new items in this monograph:
• The use of visual formatting to clarify Rashi's focus:Throughout this monograph we use bold, underline, italics, tables, spreadsheets, and bulleted lists to clearly expose Rashi's focus in a verse. The idea of using visual formatting to clarify Rashi is presented in my article Biblical Formatting to appear in the journal, the Jewish Bible Quarterly at the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007.
• An emphasis on the intuitiveness and naturality of every Rashi: Many authors have defended Rashi as logical. We have added that Rashi comments are natural and effortlessly flow from the text. The idea of Rashi as intuitive and natural may be found in my article Peshat and Derash published in the journal Tradition and found on the world wide web at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rashi.pdf. A further emphasis is that every Rashi without exception is logical, natural and intuitive, a spontaneous response to the Biblical verse:
• A comprehensive complete list of literary rules and skill competencies by means of which every Rashi can be understood: We present 30 methods or skills that if consistently applied to Biblical texts will produce all Rashi comments. Many authors have presented Rashi principles. What we have added to the idea of Rashi principles is completeness, an emphasis on their literary nature, and an emphasis on a focused reproducible skill competency. For example Rashi translates Nu04-13b as meaning ...he shall ash the altar. We explain this Rashi using the concept of transforming a noun or object (such as ash) into a verb form such as to ash. The Biblical to ash is similar to the English verb-noun transforms to dust, to uproot, to hammer. What we have done here is taken the Rashi and classified it with other examples illustrating a technique that any person can learn. In other words we have explained the Rashi using a reproducible skill competency. This approach, that exegetical principles are accessible to all people who wish to practice them is explicitly stated in the Bible itself (Dt30-11:14). The 30 skill competencies are listed in an appendix to this book. The application of these 30 skill competencies to Rashi may be found on the Rashi website located on the World Wide Web at http://www.RashiYomi.com.

Prerequisites To fully master this monograph a student should have a good English translation of the Bible and a solid high school education. In an appendix I indicate how the methods of this monograph can be applied to teachers of elementary school children.

Online Resources: Today many learning resources are free. The English and Hebrew Bible as well as English translations of Rashi are available over the world wide net. URLs are presented below. This monograph is also free. It is located on the world wide web at the RashiYomi website whose url is below. Although this monograph is free it is governed by US copyright law. It is expected and appreciated that citations and links give appropriate acknowledgement.

The English citations in this monograph by and large come from the Davka CD roms with minor emendations by me. The numberings of the Rashi on each Biblical verse (Rashi a,b,c,d...of a particular verse) also follow the Davka CD rom. Davka has produced many electronic resources for the Bible and Rashi in both English and Hebrew. You can find a list at http://www.Davka.com.

Acknowledgement: The contents of this monograph were first presented in January - March 2006 in the Adult Education series at the Ner Tamid synagogue in Baltimore, Maryland. The students had varied backgrounds. There was significant participation which will be acknowledged in the examples. Based on the positive response of the class I decided to write the monograph as a record of the lectures. Acknowledgement is given to Rabbi Landau for strongly advocating the adult education series, to the Ner Tamid synagogue for hosting the series and to my students for many lively and stimulating diaglogues.

Acknowledgement is given to the recently deceased, Mrs. Perl Hendel, Vice President for the RashiYomi Corporation and her husband, Abraham Hendel, Vice President for the RashiYomi Corporation, for numerous advice, support and instructive ideas.

The Structure of this monograph:
• There were six lectures or lessons.
• Each lecture consisted of a collection of examples
• Each example illustrated a basic literary Rashi method.
• For illustrative purposes the examples by and large followed the sequence of weekly Parshahs for the winter season.
• Lessons frequently reviewed methods from previous lessons.
• An appendix, Teaching Rashi to Young Children gives helpful tips on using the methods of this monograph with young children. In fact, I home schooled young children (Ages 5-12) for 2 years and produced over 400 pages of notes prior to writing this monograph.
• There is a Lightning Summary of the entire monograph located in an appendix. This Lightning summary reviews every lesson, example and Rashi by indicating the Rashi method and sub method used as well as brief summaries of Rashi's comment. This summary will prove very useful to everyone. This summary will be useful to someone who has gone thru the book once and wishes to refresh his or her memory. This Lightning Summary can also be studied as a stand alone guide.
• A final appendix contains The 30 Rashi Methods with examples.
• Future Updates: Over the next few months we will hyperlink cross references in this monograph as well as provide a user friendly html book form. The comments I receive on this monograph will lead to future updates. Please refer to the Rashi website for future updates.

Use of this monograph: I give the same advice that the great Rambam gave in his introduction to the Sacrificial order of the Mishnah. A student wishing to maximally benefit from this monograph should sit down and read this monograph example by example. Full citations are given. Further references to the full Rashi texts as well as to full Hebrew Biblical texts will add dimension to the understanding of this monograph but are not necessary. After completing the monograph the student may wish to review using the lightning summary in the appendix. The student should repeat reviewing the Lightning Summary every day the same way (s)he reads the Shma and other prayers every day till they have committed it to memory. The student will then find that all Rashis are easy to understand using the methods of this monograph.

Other resources: The Rashi database(whose URL is above) has as its goal the classification of all 7000 Rashi comments using the 30 Rashi methods presented in this monograph. There is also numerous material explaining each Rashi. The expected completion date of the Rashi database is 2010. Currently 60% of all Rashis have been explained. There are three newsletters explaining about a dozen Rashis every week. Those who wish to sign up may do so by contacting RJHendel@Juno.com.Finally, I am available for lectures to lay and teacher audiences.

Since this is our first example we will use it to illustrate the anatomy of a Rashi and our notation.

We begin with the citation of a Biblical verse. This verse is located in the 5th verse of the 26th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. We abbreviate this using a 7 character notation: Dt26-05. We use two letter notations to refer to the 5 books of the Bible:Gn,Ex, Lv,Nu,Dt refer to Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy respectively. This verse Dt26-05 states as follows And you shall speak and say before the Lord your God, A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a tiny number of people, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous;

Rashi made several comments on several of the phrases in this verse. We are interested in the 4th Rashi comment. Notationally we refer to the first Rashi comment as comment a, to the second Rashi comment as comment b and to the 4th Rashi comment as comment d. The full notation for the verse and Rashi is consequently Dt26-05d, the d th Rashi on the 5 th verse of the 26 th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy.

The actual Rashi comment on Dt26-05d is as follows: With a tiny number of people: 70 people.

We now dissect this Rashi comment
• The Rashi begins with a bolded phrase: With a tiny number of people This is called the Rashi Header. The Rashi header is that part of the verse that Rashi is commenting on. Since we cited Dt26-05 above you can check that this bolded phrase occurs in the verse. Almost all books use the convention that the Rashi header is bolded. We shall occasionally use underline.
• After the Rashi header we find the Rashi body which states with seventy souls. It is immediately understood that the Rashi body, with seventy souls is commenting and explaining the Rashi header, with a tiny community
• In summary Rashi is explaining that the Biblical word tiny in Dt26-05 refers to 70 people.
• We don't however know how Rashi arrived at his conclusion. There are several avenues of approach that may be used here. Some Rashi super-commentators identify the Talmudic, Mishnaic, or Midrashic source that Rashi used. The identification of primary sources used by Rashi is important. However the focus of this monograph is on the 30 skill competencies used either by Rashi or his primary sources to arrive at conclusions.
• Before we present the reason for Rashi's comment we take note that Rashi himself did not explicitly state his reason. This leaves room for dynamic interpretation as well as error! All we can do is guess at Rashi's reason. However the 30 methods I present in this monograph all have intuitive appeal and can be used without Rashi to obtain meaningful comments. I therefore believe that these methods have a certain degree of soundness.
• We explain this Rashi comment using an Other verse, Gn46-27 which states And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls; all the souls of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy. As can be seen from the underlined words in this Other verse the Rashi comment that tiny means 70 people is inferred from the explicit statement in the other verse.

We can summarize the above as follows: Rashi explains the word Tiny in Dt26-05 by using the other verse method which clarifies, using the other verse Gn46-27 that the meaning of Tiny in Dt26-05 is 70.

Since this was our first example we went over it slowly. In future examples of the other verse method we will simply cite the two verses and show how they naturally lead to the Rashi comment. We will frequently use formatting such as underline to indicate correspondences.

The Other verse method is the first of our skill competencies that we are presenting. We call it a skill competency because every time you see a Biblical verse you should attempt to provide further details using other Biblical verses. The inferences you arrive at may or may not be present in Rashi and other commentaries. But you will have the confidence of knowing that they are true comments.

Acknowledgement I traditionally begin all Rashi classes and written works with the above Rashi because this identification of tiny with 70 occurs in the Passover Hagaddah. The Passover Hagaddah records the attempts once a year to arouse interest in Jewish education whether to those who are wise, rebellious, simple or apathetic. It seems that the Talmudic sages felt that the other verse method was just the right place to begin. We have therefore followed their lead.

Example 2.1a: For purposes of completeness we recap the summary of the Rashi we just did. Verse Dt26-05d states And you shall speak and say before the Lord your God, A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a tiny number of people, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous; Rashi clarifies the underlined phrase Tiny by citing an other verse Gn46-27 which states And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls; all the souls of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy. Hence the Rashi comment Tiny in Dt26-05 means 70.

Some words about notation. We have labeled this example 2.1a:. Other examples, presented in this lesson, of the OTHER VERSE - further details method will be labeled example 2.1b, Example 2.1c, etc. Other examples of the OTHER VERSE - further details method presented in future lessons will be labeled example 2.2a, 2.2b,..., 2.3a,.... In other words
• the "2" in "2.1a" refers to the number of the underlying method
• the ".1" in "2.1a" refers to the Lesson # in which an example of this method is being presented
• The "a" in "2.1a" refers to the sequence of examples --a,b,c,..--presented in any one lesson on any particular method.

This notation will allow us to review methods taught in previous lessons and keep track of our examples. If a student wishes to see all examples of a Rashi method they can do a search on e.g. "example 2.". If a student wishes to see all examples in say lesson 3 they can do a search on ".3". This will enable quick cross referencing of examples.

Example 2.1b: Verse Gn48-05b states And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you to Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Rashi clarifies the meaning of the underlined phrase as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Rashi clarifies this by citing an Other verse, Nu13-04:16
• And these were their names; from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
• From the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
• From the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
• From the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
• From the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.
• From the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
• From the tribe of Zebulun, Gadiel the son of Sodi.
• From the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gadi the son of Susi.
• From the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
• From the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
• From the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
• From the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Joshua.

Hence the Rashi comment Recall that the Patriarch Jacob had 12 children. Each of these children leads a tribe. For example we speak about the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Yissachar and so forth. The tribal units each had their own plot of land in Israel; similarly they each had separate military service. Tribal status was transferred patrilinearly (The children of a Judaean were also Judaean) Technically therefore Joseph who was a son of Jacob should have been a tribe. But Jacob states that instead Ephraim and Menasheh, Josephs' children will have tribal status. Thus Ephraim and Menasheh are the only grandchildren of Jacob with tribal status. Hence the underlined phrase ...will be to me like Reuven and Shimon means ...will head tribes like Reuven and Shimon head tribes.

The interested read can peruse several other verses such as Nu13, Nu02, Nu26 which similarly list Ephraim and Menasheh among the tribes. It should not surprise us that Rashi's inference is justified by several other verses; this is typical.

As indicated in the introduction these Rashi comments do not require knowledge of Hebrew. The other verse method can be fully appreciated using only English texts.

A major method of any commentator is to explain word meaning. Word meaning is not something simple; it is not looking up words in a dictionary; on the contrary word meaning is dynamic. Rashi had 10 word meaning methods. Today we will review three such methods.

Words can acquire meaning thru grammatical transformations. In general nouns (objects) can become verbs (activities) in one of three ways (This is true in all languages).
• Removal: e.g. From the noun dust we have the verb to dust which means to remove dust
• Creation: e.g. from the noun flower we have the verb to flower which means to to create/bring forth flowers
• Usage: e.g. from the noun hammer we have the verb to hammer which means to use the hammer in its traditional manner.

Example 3.1a: Ex16-20b states However they listened not to Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank; and Moses was angry with them. Rashi applying the noun-verb method translates this verse as follows However they listened not to Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it wormed worms, and stank; and Moses was angry with them. Notice how the resulting translation using wormed vs. bred is punchier and more succinct.

Example 3.1b: In the previous Rashi we had to amend the translation to reflect the noun-verb transformation. However in the following Rashi, Nu31-03b, the English translation has already captured the desired noun-verb translation: And Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves for the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and do the Lord’s vengeance in Midian. Here the verb to arm comes from the noun arms. This example shows how a good English translation incorporates Rashi comments.

Example 3.1c: In the following example we again have to amend the English translation by coining a term to reflect the Rashi noun-verb translation. Gn13-12a Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and tented toward Sodom. Here the verb to tent comes from the noun tent and means to pitch a tent.

Example 3.1d: Verse Ex29-05a states And you shall take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the finely done girdle of the ephod; Here the noun-verb rule, gird-girdle is nicely reflected in the traditional translation.

Example 3.1e: Amending the traditional translation of Nu04-13b we have And they shall ash the altar, and spread a purple cloth on it; Note the comparable English usage, to dust.

Example 3.1f: Verse Gn50-23a with appropriate emendations states And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation; the descendents of Machir the son of Manasseh were also childrened upon Joseph’s knees. Here the coined term childrened means to raise and play with children.

In Example 3.1 we have effortlessly explained half a dozen Rashis using a grammatical transformation principle which is common to all languages. As indicated in the introduction a goal of this monograph is to show how literary methods common to all languages can contribute to the understanding of Rashi.

On a final note the above example illustrates the dynamic nature of language. It is interesting that in the early days of computer science after grammar had been thoroughly understood, the expectation was that if we gave a computer a grammar code and a dictionary chip it could speak. Such a viewpoint looks on language statically instead of dynamically. Most 5 year olds can coin terms like to ash, to tent etc. and this natural productive ability of children shows that language is intrinsically dynamic. Such a perspective gives greater appreciation to Rashi who is therefore doing more than explaining words. We will have further opportunities as we go on to study other word meaning methods.

As mentioned above in Example 3 a major Rashi method is explanation of word meaning. Word meaning is dynamically treated by Rashi who had 10 distinct methods of explaining and presenting word meaning.

All languages have special connective words by means of which sentences and clauses are connected together. Typical connective words in English (or Hebrew) are if, then, because, also, perhaps, all, and, or, only, etc.

Today we analyze the word if, which in Hebrew is Lamed Vav. The Rashi can equally be understood in English or Hebrew. Rashi posits that there are three distinct meanings to the word if.
• If:: If can have its traditional meaning as seen in the following verses Gn18-24 If there are only fifty righteous inside the city will you also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it? Dt32-29 If they were wise, they would understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
• If only it were so: If can also connote an interjection, if only it will be so indicating unexpected happiness and content with an event that is about to happen. Some typical verses with this interjection are the following: Gn17-18 states And Abraham said to God, if only that Ishmael might live in your presence! Gn23-13 And Abraham spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, But if only that you hear me; I will give you money for the field; take it from me, and I will bury my dead there Gn30-34 And Laban said, if only that it would might be according to your word. In translating these verses we have amended the English translation to reflect the Rashi comments.
• Perhaps: Rashi suggests that if has a third meaning, perhaps which occurs only once in the Bible. Judge for yourself: Gn50-15c And when Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and will certainly pay us back for all the evil which we did to him. The meanings if and if only that it will be so simply do not fit in in the above verse. Therefore Rashi translates if as meaning perhaps a concept closely related to if which fits nicely with the verse's content.

The above example provides a paradigm on how other Rashis on special connective words should be approached. Rashi should be perceived as listing the several meanings and functions of the special connective word It is the student's job to precisely and clearly define the complete list. Sometimes Rashi helps by explicitly giving you the list. At other times the student must do considerable work.

The above example is particularly interesting in that Rashi assigns a meaning to a word just once (Gn50-15 is the only verse in the Bible where Lamed vav has the meaning perhaps). By reviewing the other meanings of the word we appreciate how Rashi was in effect forced to develop a new meaning since the traditional meanings do not adequately explain the verse.

Finally a word about notation: We headed this example as follows: WORD MEANINGS - special connective words. Here the lower case phrase, special connective words refers to the particular skill competency studied. By contrast the capped phrase WORD MEANINGS refers to the group of 10 skill competencies subsumed under the WORD MEANING method. As we go through this monograph we will have occasion to present other skill competencies -- such as the synonym or idiom skill competencies -- which are sub-methods of the group of WORD MEANING methods.

To explain the alignment method we illustrate it: Here is Gn48-11d in aligned format. Binding his foal to the vine, and his ass’s colt to the choice vine;
• he washed his garments in wine, and
•                   his Samech-Vav-Tauv in the blood of grapes;

As can be seen an alignment visually identifies word parallels between two clauses or two verses. These word parallels create identifications which can either indicate subtle nuances or clarify meaning.

In the above alignment we clearly understand why the two bolded phrases blood of grapes and wine are aligned with each other. It makes sense that blood of grapes means wine. What is new is the alignment of garments with the Hebrew word Samech Vav Tauv. Hence the simple but elegant Rashi comment The Hebrew word Samech Vav Tauv is a garment.

In summary: Rashi infers the meaning of unknown or rare Hebrew words from alignments of parallel clauses. Such inferences of meaning from alignments are common in the Bible especially in the poetic literature.

In class, after presenting the Rashi, I went a step beyond Rashi. I pointed out that the Biblical root Samech-Vav-Tauv means seduce. If we combine the idea presented by Rashi, that Samech-vav-Tauv means garment and my idea that this root means seduce we naturally come up with the idea of a nightgown or lingerie. The consequent vision of Gn48-11d is that in the Messianic era people will wash their lingerie in wine. Upon presenting this supplementary explanation several of the married people in the class offered further insights.

Such supplemental commentary to Rashi does not contradict Rashi but rather enriches our understanding of Rashi. Rashi's goal was to simply point out that the alignment sheds light on meaning. Rashi's commentary was not meant to be exhaustive; Rashi was not saying that all Samech-Vav-Tauv means is garment. Therefore the use of other Rashi methods to supplement a Rashi is always welcome.

In this case I have used the WORD MEANING - root rule which seeks to identify word meaning from the meaning of the underlying Biblical root. We will revisit this method below.

We start this 2nd lesson by reviewing one of the Word Meaning methods we learned last time---the noun-verb rule.

Recall that we outlined 3 methods by which nouns (objects) can become verbs (activities). Three illustrative examples are to dust which means to to remove the dust, to flower which means to create the flower, and to hammer which means to use the hammer.

Example 3.2: Verse Ex01-07a states And the people of Israel were fruitful, and Shin Resh Tzade, and increased and became exceedingly exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. Before turning to Rashi I asked the class to apply the noun-verb rule to the Hebrew Shin Resh Tzade.

The class, after a little bit of prodding, correctly identified Shin Resh Tzade as meaning insect. I next asked for a verb form of the noun insect which indicated prolific reproduction.

The class, after a little bit of prodding, correctly came up with the verb form to insectify or to swarm indicating prolific reproduction like insects. Hence we would translate the verse as follows: And the people of Israel were fruitful, and insectified and swarmed, and increased and became exceedingly exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Now let us turn to Rashi. Rashi literally says They had 6 children at a time. Rashi says nothing further about how he derived this. My opinion is that the primary derivation of Rashi is from an application of the noun-verb rule indicating that the Jews swarmed or insectfied. Since the maximum number of children that a women can have is sextuplets Rashi uses the production of sextuplets to illustrate the verses meaning.

Rashi could not have meant that every Jewess had sextuplets since we find that Amram, Moses' father had only 3 children! (This refutation of Rashi's literal meaning was suggested to my by my younger sister when she was in grade school)

One traditional approach to explaining Rashi uses a word counting approach. The verse Ex01-07 uses six distinct phrases to describe the reproduction of the Jews: And the people of Israel were
1. fruitful, and
2. swarmed and
3. increased and became
4. exceedingly
5. exceedingly
6. mighty and the land was filled with them.

The traditional defense of Rashi argues that Since the verse used six distinct phrases to describe the proliferation of the Jews we infer that the Jews had six children at a time.

I believe the explanation that I have presented above, the Jews insectified, connoting reproducing like insects, I believe that this explanation fully explains the Rashi and the associated facts. Furthermore it explains the Rashi in a meaningful and reasonable way using a simple grammatical rule that can be applied again and again.

As mentioned earlier a major concern of Rashi, or for that matter, any commentator, is the clarification of Word Meaning. Rashi had 10 methods by which to explain word meaning. In this example we review the synonym method.

When explaining words using the synonym method Rashi does not give us the meaning of an unknown word: Rather, Rashi contrasts the meaning of two known words with similar meanings--- that is, two synonyms. This clarification can equally take place in Hebrew or English. The examples will further clarify this principle.

Example 6.2a: Observe the two words for cooking utensil in the following verses. Lv02-05a And if your sacrifice is a meal offering baked in a frying pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil. Lv02-07a And if your sacrifice is a meal offering baked in a pot, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. The comments of Rashi have already been incorporated into the English translations of the text. A frying pan is a flat cooking utensil while a pot is a deep cooking utensil.

I have suggested the English translations pot vs. frying pan. However one of the (female) students in the class (with more culinary experience) suggested pot vs. griddle.

In this example we implemented our goal of understanding Rashi methods by seeking a nifty English translation that has just the right tone to capture what Rashi is saying. We call this the method of finding semantic models. This method was first advocated in my article, Peshat and Derash: A New Intuitive Analytic Approach which appeared in the journal Tradition and is located on the world wide web at http://www.RashiYomi.com/rashi.pdf.

Example 6.2b: A similar synonym example occurs in Ex05-07a,b You shall no more give the people gravel to make bricks, as till now; let them go and gather gravel for themselves. I would suggest the English synonyms bricks vs. gravel/mortar; that is the verse describes two components in the production of bricks-- (a) gravel-(b) bricks.

The synonym method is easy to apply and understand. Nevertheless it deeply enriches our understanding of the Biblical text. Note that in the above example we have slightly stretched the ordinary meaning of synonyms to include two distinct parts of one process ((a)gravel, (b) bricks).

Till now we have discussed meaning and grammar rules. These are the types of rules that you expect from a commentator.

In this next example we introduce the style rules. Here the inference is from the style of the verse rather then from word meaning or grammar.

Example 7.2a: Ex01-11b states Therefore they did set over them tax-masters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. To understand Rashi we first indicate the verse's style. Rashi in effect reads the verse as follows:
• General: They did set over them tax-masters to afflict them with their burdens.
• Detail: And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

Rashi's comment on this verse is as follows: General They did set over them tax-masters to afflict them with their burdens. And what was the tax they afflicted them with? Detail: And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.

We can reformulate this Rashi comment as a comment on style: In the above verse the general idea is that Egypt placed tax-masters over the Jews. This idea is general and could refer to many things such as monetary taxes, produce taxes, labor taxes. Rashi identifies this tax with a particular detail given by the verse---a labor tax to build cities

Let us give some other examples of this general-detail style rule.

Example 7.2b: Dt06-05:06a states
• General: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
• Detail: And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart.

Example 7.2c: Nu05-12d:13 states
• General: Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them, If any man’s wife goes astray, and commits a trespass against him,
• Detail: And a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and this is kept undetected, and she is defiled, and there is no witness against her, since she was not caught in the act.

Hence the Rashi comment Marital Trespass is a general concept. The verse therefore identifies the details of this trespass as consisting of adultery (a man lie with her carnally).

In each of the above verse examples a general concept was presented: taxing a nation, love of God, trespassing a marriage. The general idea has a wide variety of applicability. Rashi however identifies the general idea with the details provided by the verse: taxing by building a city, loving God by learning his laws, trespassing a marriage by committing adultery.

We can summarize this by stating that Rashi interprets the general-detail style as indicating a continuum: We don't interpret love God and learn his law but rather we interpret love God by learning his law We don't interpret She both trespassed her marriage and committed adultery but rather we interpret she trespassed her marriage by committing adultery We don't interpret they overburdened the Jews and had them build cities but rather interpret they taxed the Jews by having them build cities

The astute reader may have noticed that this style rule of Rashi is in fact identical with one of the Rabbi Ishmael exegetical rules. The Rabbi Ishmael exegetical rules may be found in the morning prayers of the daily prayer service. There we read If there is a general clause followed by a detail clause then the verse is interpreted according to the detail clause.

Perhaps the most famous of the 13 exegetical rules of Rabbi Ishmael, which are included in the Daily Prayers, and found in the early part of the morning service, is the Contradiction rule.

Quite simply the contradiction rule is applied when two Biblical verses (seem to) contradict each other. Rashi, following the Talmud had 3 methods for resolving these contradictions
• 2 Stages: The two contradictory verses could be resolved by seeing them as two stages of a process.
• 2 Aspects: The two contradictory verses could be resolved by seeing them as two different attributes of an item.
• Broad-literal: The two contradictory verses could be resolved by using broad vs. literal translations.

In teaching contradictions I find it helpful to see the contradiction, that is, to show the Biblical reader that (s)he really does not know which of two competing alternatives to apply. We present two examples.

Example 8.2a: Notice the contradiction in the following verses
• Ex01-12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And Egypt hated the people of Israel.
• Ex01-16 And Pharoh said, When you do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.

We see the contradiction! Which is it? Were all Jews hated or only the males?

Rashi resolves this contradiction by using the two aspects method of resolution
• The People hated all Jews
• But Pharoh, a leader could not indulge in emotions! He had to have a reason for hatred! Hence he killed males because he was politically concerned that a redeemer for the Jews would come from the males.

Notice how the resolution of Rashi uses two aspects of Egypt: a) the nation vs. b) the leader. Also notice how we used 2 aspects of hatred: the emotional vs. the political aspect.

Example 8.2b: Notice the contradiction in the following verse, Ex02-06a,b, which deals with the discovery by Pharoh's daughter of Moses who had been left in a casket on Nile.
• Ex02-06a: She opened the basket and saw the child
• Ex02-06b: and she heard a young man crying.

Which is it? Did she find a child or a young man.

Rashi resolves this contradiction by using the two aspects method of resolution
• in age Moses was a child or infant but
• in demeanor Moses was a young man.

I would explain Rashi as follows: Moses had been hidden for three months in his parents household. Undoubtedly Moses was prevented from excessive crying. Hence when Pharoh's daughter saw this child in the basket on the Nile, a child who hadn't eaten in a while, she was startled that his crying was with restraint, much like an adult and unlike an infant who doesn't know any better and cries excessively till (s)he obtains what (s)he wanted This restraint had a certain regality to it which struck the young princess and made her want Moses for her own.

To illustrate the FORMAT - bullet rule we present a verse reformatted in modern notation with bullets. The presentation will enable us to see how the Biblical Author indicates a bullet effect. It will also allow us to understand the basic idea of Rashi that the Bible was indicating a bullet effect.

Example 9.2a: Ex18-10: reformatted in modern notation states And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who has saved you
1. from the hand of the Egyptians, and
2. from the hand of Pharaoh

Rashi reformulated in modern notation states The bullets create an unspecified emphasis. The bullets teach us that two things are begin emphasized:
1. God saved the Jews from a terrible people the Egyptians and also
2. God saved the Jews from a terrible ruler Pharoh.

Ex18-10: in its original language and formatting states And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who has saved you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of Pharaoh

Rashi in his original language states Ex18-10a: From a hand of the Egyptians a terrible people, Ex18-10b: From the hand of Pharoh a terrible ruler.

We can summarize the above as follows. Rashi interprets the repeating verse keyword from to be the Biblical method of indicating a bullet effect. That is, when the Bible repeats a keyword like from it has the same effect as if a modern author used bullets. The effect of either the repeating keyword or bullets is to create emphasis: Two points are being emphasized--God saved the Jews from a terrible ruler and terrible people. The bullets are simply a fancy way of presenting the main point of Rashi in modern paraphrase and formatting.

Example 9.2b: Ex18-01d,e: in modern notation states Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done
1. for Moses, and
2. for Israel his people,

Rashi states Moses is equated with all of Israel. The verse speaks about the miracles at Amalayk, at the Manna, and at the well.

Rashi does not elaborate further. Using the bullet methodology we would elaborate further as follows: Jethro heard that God did equal miracles for both Moses and Israel at
• The manna: God gave the Jews food and also protected Moses and Aaron by showing the people that the lack of food was not their fault;
• The well: God gave the people water and also protected Moses from his fear of being assassinated;
• The war with Amalayk:God protected the people from the declared war by Amalayk and also protected the leadership of Moses.

Notice in this case how our explanation of Rashi supplemented the basic Rashi explanation and brought greater clarity. This is true in general---understanding Rashi principles very often enriches and supplements the actual language of Rashi which may be too terse.

Example 9.2c: Ex03-11a,b: And Moses said to God, Who am I,
1. that I should go to Pharaoh, and
2. that I should bring forth the people of Israel out of Egypt?

Rashi states
1. that I should go to Pharoh; a difficult king, ;
2. that I should bring forth the people of Israel out of Egypt; a difficult people

Notice, how in this example also, Rashi can best be understood using a model of bullets and several emphases.

We begin today' lesson by reviewing material from previous lessons. Recall that when Rashi uses the synonym method he focuses on nuances in meanings between two words with almost identical meanings. Rashi shows how these nuances influence the meaning of the text.

Example 6.3a: Ex06-09a states And Moses spoke so to the people of Israel; but they did not listen to Moses because of their anguished spirit, and because of the cruel slavery. Rashi points out the obvious: Obviously they physically listened. However they did not accept Moses' consolation.

Here Rashi uses the fact that the Hebrew root meaning listen also means listen, accept, hear, understand, and receive news. Rashi would therefore translate this verse as follows: And Moses spoke so to the people of Israel; but they did not accept Moses [consolations] because of their anguished spirit, and because of the cruel slavery. Notice that a knowledge of Hebrew is not necessary to appreciate this Rashi. The same Rashi comment-- listen means accept --can equally be made in Hebrew or English! This is an important point for people, who don't know Hebrew, but want to master Rashi methods.

There is a subtlety here: In English listen and understand are synonyms, 2 words with almost identical meanings. But in Hebrew we have one Biblical Hebrew root, Shin Mem Ayin which has 4-5 meanings, listen, understand.... Technically we don't call one word with several meanings a synonym. However for purposes of the Rashi methods we will be indifferent whether we deal with two words with almost similar meanings or one word with several similar meanings. We will also return to this issue below.

Some other Rashis and Talmudic examples of interpretations of listen occur in the following verses:

Example 6.3b: Gn41-15a, Gn41-15b: And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none who can interpret it; and I have heard about you, that you can understand a dream to interpret it. Here Rashi interprets listen as meaning understanding.

Example 6.3c: Gn11-07d: Come, let Us descend to earth, and confuse human language, so that they may not understand each other's language. Here again listen means understand.

Example 6.3d: Gn03-08b: And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Rashi states They [prophetically] heard the actual physical voice of God [the voice of prophecy] Here Rashi interprets listen as meaning physically hear.

Example 6.3e: Gn45-18a And the news reported in heard in Pharaoh’s house, was: Joseph’s brothers have come; and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. Rashi suggests the following Pharoh's house news report was that Joseph's brothers have come... Here listen refers to a news report. [Note: Some Rashi-ists, would see Rashi's comment as dealing with the meaning of the phrase, Pharoh's house.]

This collection of examples should make the reader aware how useful the simple technique of synonyms is.

We also review the connective word rule. Every language has connective words--words like if, then, because, also, when, that, .... The function of these words is to connect separate phrases and sentences. Most connective words have several meanings. Rashi's goal in dealing with connective words is to list all their meanings.

Today we study the word also. Consider a simple sentence While you are going into the kitchen get me cake also.

The word also has 3 possible meanings:
• Similar item: Besides getting me milk get me cake also.
• Similar relationship: Besides getting her cake get me cake also.
• Derived item: Get me cake and get me plates, knives, and forks.

Let us now look at Biblical examples based on the connective word also.

Example 4.3a: Ex18-18b states You will certainly wear away, you also, and also this people who are with you; for this thing is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it yourself alone. Rashi states: You and also Aaron; the people and also the High court. Here Rashi interprets also to refer to similar items.

Example 4.3b: Gn07-01:03 And the Lord said to Noah, Come you and all your house into the ark; for you have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every Kosher beast you shall take to you seven pairs, the male and his female; and of beasts that are not Kosher one pair, the male and his female. Of birds also of the air by seven pairs, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. Rashi paraphrased states The word also indicates that both birds and animals have 7 pairs (male-female) of Kosher animals and one pair (male-female) of Non-Kosher animals. Thus here Rashi interprets also to indicate a similar relationship. Even though the verse doesn't explicitly say that the 7 pairs of birds applies to Kosher birds, nevertheless Rashi, because of the word also, says that the 7 Kosher pairs and 1 non-Kosher pair applies to both birds and animals.

Example 4.3c: Dt22-22b If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they also shall die, both the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; so shall you put away evil from Israel. Rashi explains: The two adulterers will die as well as the fetus (if the adulterers are executed and there is a pregnancy we don't wait for the baby to be born but execute them as is). Here Rashi interprets also to refer to a derived item, the baby derived from the adulteress relationship.

Perhaps the most famous of the CONNECTIVE WORDS is the Hebrew letter Vav. This letter is traditionally translated as and. However like most Biblical special connective words it can mean and, or, if and in general can refer to any logical connection between two sentences. The meaning of and in any particular case is determined by its context.

The great Biblical commentator, the Malbim, a titan of the later authorities, in a beautiful and exquisite commentary on Lv20-09 analyzes two dozen Talmudic controversies between Rabbi Yonathan and Rabbi Yoshiah on the meaning of vav.

Malbim in typical fashion rejects a literal translation of the controversy since it would make these Talmudic Rabbis look like fools. Consequently in typical razor like sharpness Malbim distinguishes three cases:
1. Simple commands: Certainly in simple commands, a verse like Lv23-40 ....on the first day [of Succoth] take an ethrog and lulav and hadassim and aravoth the Hebrew letter vav means and.
2. Simple prohibitions: Certainly in simple prohibitions, a verse like Lv21-14 a priest should not marry a widow or a divorcee... the Hebrew letter vav means or. Malbim uses modern logic to carefully explain that when a vav is translated as or it means inclusive or (and/or) while when the Hebrew word Aleph-Vav or is used it means exclusive or.
3. Conditional Sentences: However Rabbi Yonathan and Rabbi Oshiah disagree on the translation of vav in a verse like Ex21-15:
   • One person holds it means or: He who smites his father or mother is subject to a death penalty.
   • The other holds it means and: He who smites [both] his father and his mother is subject to a death penalty. (So smiting only one of them would not subject you to a death penalty).

The above analysis should expose the reader to the complexity, richness and maturity of the CONNECTIVE WORDS rule. Malbim delicately traces the effects of this controversy on two dozen topics scattered throughout the Talmud and spanning the spectrum of Jewish law.

In connection with the special word rule I should also mention my recent paper The Meaning of Akh that appeared in the Journal of Biblical Literature,33#2,(2005). There I show that the Biblical connective word Akh means usually, probably, nevertheless. Some typical verses and examples are as follows:

Example 4.3e: Lv23-27a: On the tenth day of this seventh month there shall usually be a day of atonement; it shall be a holy gathering to you; and you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. Rashi comments: Usually there will be atonement---in commandments between God and man; but in inter-personal commandments forgiveness is a prerequisite to atonement.

Example 4.3f: Dt16-15a: Seven days shall you keep a solemn feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord shall choose; because the Lord your God shall bless you in all your produce, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shall usually rejoice. Rashi comments: Usually you shall rejoice---for most of the Holiday--but not on the first day(there is no obligation) when you are getting into the mood and still thinking about weekday matters. There is actually a controversy whether the usually excludes the first day, when we are getting into a mood, or the last day when we are preparing to resume ordinary life. Here again we see how a simple rule on word meaning heavily influences Talmudic controversy.

We continue our review of Rashi rules from previous lessons. Recall that one aspect of the grammar rule is the changing of nouns to verbs and vice verse.

In discussing the plague of hail Ex09-31a states And the flax and the barley were ruined; for the barley was springed, and the flax was fully-budded. Rashi paraphrased states springed is the verb form of the noun Spring. The word springed refers to something fully blossomed.

Here again a full knowledge of Hebrew is not necessary to appreciate the Rashi. The semantic transformation from noun to verb occurs in all languages.

Today we introduce a new rule, the climax rule. Unlike the word meaning and grammatical rules the climax rule is stylistic not mechanistic. As such the rule has a subjective flavor.

Example 10.3a: Nu09-21:22a discusses the possible number of days that the cloud of glory stayed on the Tabernacle.
• 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 it was by day and by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.
• Or whether it was two days,
• or a month,
• or a days, that the cloud stayed upon the tabernacle, remaining on it, the people of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not; but when it was taken up, they journeyed.

Rashi comments on the underlined sequence by day and by night, by day and by night, two days, month, days. Rashi focuses on the climactic nature of the list--the list items are increasing in numerical magnitude. For example two days is bigger than by day and by night; similarly month is bigger than two days. Hence the Rashi The underlined bold word days must, because of the climax principle, refer to a period bigger than a month. We conclude that days means a Year.

In understanding this Rashi it is important to emphasize what is not happening. Rashi is not using the word meaning rule. Rashi is not saying that days can mean a year in other contexts. Rather Rashi is saying that days, although it usually means a few days in the above context it means a year. This interpretation of days as meaning a year happens because of the climax principle which requires that the terminal member of a list of climatically listed items be interpreted to mean something greatest.

Finally we note that in this example the climax principle actually overrode the normal meaning of a word! This power of the climax principle is typical. We again emphasize that the climax principle is not mechanical. For example, the interpretation of days as meaning year vs. half a year or quarter is not forced but reasonable and based on conventions of language. This subjective nature of the climax rule is also typical.

Example 10.3b: Ex07-28b:29 states And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come
• into your house, and into your bed chamber, and upon your bed, and
• into the house of your servants,
• and upon your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs;

Rashi does not add anything new to the verse but rather points out the climactic nature of the verse as indicated by the underlined phrases:
• The plague started with Pharoh who instigated the evil decrees;
• Next Pharoh's servants are mentioned who advised him on the evil
• Finally the punishment of the nation is mentioned who carried out the orders.

During class one of my students cited the very next verse in which the list is different.
• And the frogs shall come up both on you,
• and upon your people,
• and upon all your servants.

Here the order, you,people,servants is different from the order in the original verse that Rashi commented on you,servants,people. We had a lively discussion in class discussing why. Such discussions, arising from a consistent application of Rashi principles are a necessary component in learning Rashi.

We did not reach any definite conclusion. The most reasonable answer is that the people and servants form a group--- even in a monarchy the servants have to be sensitive to the feelings of their constituency, the people. Similarly the people have to comply with the wishes of their leaders, the servants. Thus it would appear reasonable that Pharoh is mentioned first since he instigated everything and then the unit of people-servants was punished second. Hence Pharoh is listed 1st in both verses while the people, servants are listed in different orders.

In Example 6.3 we showed how the Hebrew or English word listen could also mean listen, accept, understand, or news report. We classified this as a synonym method. We would now like to more closely examine this example of synonyms.

Technically a synonym refers to two different words with almost similar meanings. A simple example Example 6.2 is pot vs. frying pan. By contrast example 6.3, studying the possible nuances of listen as meaning hear, listen, understand, accept, report studies one word with several meanings.

Strictly speaking the word synonym does not refer to one word with several meanings. However, as a matter of convenience we classified both these examples as synonyms since they both deal with a collection of almost similar meanings (but differ as to whether the multiple meanings come from one or several words). From time to time we will use such poetic license in the classification scheme.

However there are several literary techniques available in all languages which describe how words can change meaning. The most general of these principles is the metonymy principle. Metonymy refers to naming an item by a related item. Metonymy is a very broad principle which frequently covers examples explained by other more specific methods. Let us review several ways metonymy can be used:
• People-land relations: The sentence America defeated Iraq really means The American people defeated the Iraqi people. Here the land, America metonymically refers to the related item, the people of the land, the American people.
• One root with several related meanings: In example 6.3 we saw how the word listen can refer to the related activities of understanding, acceptance, hearing news.
• Noun-verb transforms: In the introduction to example 3.1 we showed how the activity to hammer means to do the activity that is typically related to the item, hammer.
• Synecdoche: We often name a whole group of items by an exemplary member of that group. For example in most languages honey can refer to anything sweet. This is also an example of metonymy since honey and sweetness are related.
• Form, function, feel (FFF): The Pentagon is named by its related form, the pentagonal shape. The United Nations is named by its related function to unite nations. A hardship is named by how it feels-- it feels hard. A similar word-naming mechanism is the naming of glasses, for either seeing or for drinking, by their substance, what they are made of. For convenience I refer to this as the triple FFF rule (naming by Form, Function, Feel). Naming by form and function is universal in most languages and is an example of metonymy.

The student may be overwhelmed by all the terms used. But our approach is very simple. When we can use a specific and focused rule such as the noun-verb transform we will do so. When no other specific rule covers the word meaning but the items are related we will use the metonymy(FFF) rule. Consequently we agree (as a matter of convenience) to use the term metonymy(FFF) to include synecdoche,naming by form, function, feel etc. Many literary scholars also use the term metonymy to refer to all methods involving related items including synecdoche.

Example 11.4a: As just pointed out the word honey is closely related to sweet fruit juices (See Rashi Lv02-11a).

Example 11.4b: An example of naming by form is Lv13-02a. Rashi explains that the Hebrew word Sin Aleph Tauv is a whitish form of leprosy. We can explain this Rashi using the triple FFF principle. The root of Sin Aleph Tauv is Nun Sin Alpeh which among other meanings, can mean cloud. Hence sin aleph tauv would mean cloud-white leprosy. Here we name a color by an object with that color. This is similar to the English name for the color orange. Since form refers to the physical appearance of an object, therefore, naming by the color of an object is naming by form. Some readers may consider this too technical; if so they can follow the method of literary scholars and classify this etymology as a metonymy--the color white is named by a related object with the same color-- the cloud.

Example 11.4c: The word eyes can refer to the related meaning of appearance. A simple example would be Lv13-05a And the priest shall inspect the leprosy on the seventh day; and, behold, if its appearance is the same, and it has not spread over the skin; then the priest shall confine him for seven further days. This use of the word eye to refer to appearance is another example of metonymy. [Note: Many translations are more specific and translate eye as meaning color not appearance. However, in our opinion, the translations its appearance has not changed has almost the same connotations as its color has not changed.]

To further support this Rashi we can cite other verses where the word eye means appearance. Nu11-07 And the manna was like a coriander seed, and its appearance was like the appearance of bdellium. Ez01-16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like the appearance of an emerald; and the four had one likeness; and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

Note, our previous Rashi examples did not require a knowledge of Hebrew. The metonymy examples can be appreciated if you have a good English translation; and a modest knowledge of Hebrew. For example if you knew that the Hebrew word Shin Mem Ayin means listen then you can suggest the translations understand, report, accept. An knowledge of Hebrew grammar would allow you to recognize that the root of the Hebrew word Sin Aleph Tauv is Nun Sin Aleph and that Nun Sin Alpeh means cloud. Then you could translate Sin Aleph Tauv as meaning cloud-white.

Example 11.4d: The metonymy principle can be useful in explaining phrases as well as words. Lv19-16b states You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people; nor shall you stand on the blood of your neighbor; I am the Lord. Rashi explains If you see your neighbor in danger and you are able to save him, do so. Here Rashi interprets don't stand on the blood of your neighbor to means don't stand idly on the blood of your neighbor. Here standing idly is related to abstaining from helping. Rashi also translates blood as meaning the related danger.

It is important to emphasize that we are treating this Rashi as a translation. Rashi would translate Lv19-16b You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people; nor shall you abstain from helping your neighbor during an emergency; I am the Lord. There is a philosophical point here: If the verse uses the words standing and blood does Rashi or we have the right to translate this as abstaining and emergency? We do not further discuss this philosophical but point it out as something a student should think about.

Example 11.4e: The metonymic translation of stand as remain also occurs in the following Rashi Ex10-24a And Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds stand; let your little ones also go with you. Rashi states stand means remain. Hence Rashi would translate as follows: And Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds remain; let your little ones also go with you.

Example 11.4f: As a final example of metonymy we bring Ex12-05b Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male the son of the first year; you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats; Rashi explains The phrase the son of the first year means one year old, that is, anytime during its first year of life. Here the word son refers to possessing an attribute. Rashi would translate this verse as follows Ex12-05b Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male one year old; you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats; Note that almost all English translations use the Rashi comment one year old. I have not been able to find any English translations that translate son of a year. Here again we see the fine line between translation and commentary.

We continue our review of previous lessons by studying the connective word, all. The word all can mean
• all parts
• no exceptions
• all subgroups even borderline cases that you don't expect to be included.

Example 4.4a: Let us now review examples of each of these meanings. Verse Gn19-04b states But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both old and young, all the people from every quarter; Rashi states all implies no exceptions. No one protested. There was not even one righteous person in the city.

Example 4.4b: Verse Lv21-11b states Neither shall he go to any dead body, nor defile himself for his father, or for his mother; Note that the Hebrew word Caph Lamed is equally translated as all or any. Rashi paraphrased states Any implies any part. Hence a log (about a pint) of blood from the deceased confers ritual impurity on all those in the same tent or house with it.

Example 4.4c: Verse Nu21-08b discusses a response to a punishment of the people who complained excessively against God. The people were punished with snake bites. When they repented the verses states And the Lord said to Moses, Make a copper serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that anyone who is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live. Rashi comments anyone refers even to those bit by dogs To appreciate Rashi observe that the primary focus of the Biblical chapter is on the bites of snakes. Hence the natural interpretation of the verse is that those bitten by snakes were cured when they looked at the copper serpent. We don't expect the verse to be speaking about other types of bites. For this reason Rashi interprets the word anyone as referring even to people bitten by dogs vs. snakes. This Rashi shows how all can be interpreted emphatically as referring to non-expected cases.

We have only explained one comment of the Rashi at Lv21-11b. There are other comments in this Rashi but they are explained by other Rashi methods. Hence we only presented the methods we are focusing on in this lesson.

Example 4.4d: The following example illustrates how multiple Rashi methods may converge to provide a single explanation. It also unexpectedly illustrates how a Rashi commentator may focus on only one method when in fact several are needed.

Nu14-01b discusses the response of the Jewish people to the slanderous report of the spies. The verse states And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. Rashi states The word all the congregation includes all subgroups of the congregation, such as the judges and leaders. (Without the word all I would think that only the people complained but the national leaders like judges and leaders who were more mature did not complain).

While presenting this example a student pointed out how using the Alignment method (Example 5.1) further supports Rashi. We can align the verse's two component phrases as follows
• And the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried;
• and the people wept that night.

The above alignment exposes two contrasts
• congregation vs. people
• That night

A simply way of explaining this contrast is that congregation refers to the structured community, and hence refers to the judges, leaders etc. By contrast the people would refer to the masses. Perhaps we can even see a progression
• First the spies who were the leaders of each tribe slandered Israel
• Then the congregational leaders cried
• Then at night, after their leaders and judges had cried, the people also cried.

In summary both the connective word also as well as the alignment points to several components of the community complaining: The judges, leaders, and people.

Because use of alignment to extract nuances is a new method (previously we have used alignment to explain meaning) we will revisit this example below.

Two basic jobs of any commentary are to explain word meaning and grammar. We have additionally listed 8 other groups of tasks of Rashi including derivations from other verses, alignments and style.

The Grammar rule has 3 main sub methods
• The goal of the root sub method is to explain all conjugations and meanings of Biblical roots. Biblical roots are conjugated with letter prefixes and suffixes to indicate (i) tense (ii) person (iii) gender (iv) plurality (v) mode (vi) object (to whom the activity is done) and (vii)mood or modality. Each of these conjugations has a specific meaning. Furthermore, these conjugations take on different forms for roots with weak letters.
• The sentence sub method deals with grammatical attributes of sentences such as (i) word arrangement (Verb Subject vs. Subject Verb) (ii) sentence type (interrogative, command) (iii) compound sentences (iv) apposition and (v)methods of paragraph / sentence development.
• The miscellaneous grammatical methods deal with (i) agreement (in gender and plurality), (ii) the construct (iii) pronoun reference (iv) ellipsis (v) noun-verb transforms (e.g. to dust) (vi) special word usage(e.g. how to use numbers) (vii) suffix-prefixes (e.g. terminal Hey means towards).

It is important to emphasize that formal grammar as we know it today was just beginning to be developed in Rashi's time. Consequently very often Rashi was the only source of Hebrew grammar to Biblical students. Although today there are many good grammar books Rashi's comments often offer insights not found in conventional grammar books. Today we examine grammatical examples where Rashi indicated a rare grammatical conjugation. These rare grammatical conjugations can be learned today from modern Hebrew grammar textbooks.

Recall that the hafal tense indicates a passive recipiency of someone causing an action. The following two Rashi examples illustrate this.

Example 12.4a: Verse Ex10-08b states And Moses and Aaron were returned to Pharaoh; and he said to them, Go, serve the Lord your God, but who are they who shall go? Rashi comments Returned indicates the passive-causative--that is, someone caused Moses and Aaron to return. Here Rashi's goal is to explain the rare conjugation (the Hafal). Notice, how a good English translation enables appreciation of the grammatical point made by Rashi without further knowledge of Hebrew. However while most of the Rashis in the previous lessons can be understood without knowledge of Hebrew, the grammatical Rashis frequently require, as a prerequisite, knowledge of Hebrew.

Example 12.4b: Verse Ex10-24a states And Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds stay; let your little ones also go with you. Rashi comments Cause them to stand in their places. Here Rashi interprets the passive-causative, hafal of the verb to stand as meaning to let remain, to cause someone to stand in their place.

We continue our review of Rashi rules from previous lessons. Verse Ex12-14c states And this day shall be to you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord
• General: throughout your generations;
• Details: you shall keep it a feast an ordinance forever.

Rashi paraphrased comments on the general-specific style: The general-specific style teaches us that the Passover commemoration is eternal, forever. The word generations is general. For example, it could mean 1-2 generations, those who personally knew of God's miracles. The law would then be that only those who personally knew of the exodus miracle are required to observe Passover. But the future descendants who did not personally see God's hand are not required to observe it. Consequently, the general term generations is given specific meaning with the details clause: an ordinance forever. This detail clause indicates that the general term generations means for all generations, eternally. Here we follow the Rabbi Ishmael Style rules that a general-specific style is interpreted so that the specific clause sheds light on the particular meaning of the general clause.

Next we introduce a new method, the Spreadsheet rule. The Spreadsheet method has 3 sub methods.
• Spreadsheet: The basic form of the spreadsheet rule occurs when Rashi clarifies a complicated numerical or verbal computation; these clarifications can typically be easily understood using a spreadsheet. An example is given below. Any use of examples to clarify the meaning of a verse is classified as a spreadsheet method.
• Geometric: Rashi will sometimes clarify geometric constructions. Here Rashi verbally describes a picture. Since Rashi is clarifying something complex we classify this as a Spreadsheet rule.
• Consequences: Sometimes Rashi will take a verse that is perfectly understood and derive a consequence of the verse. Since the verse was understood and Rashi simply adds a consequence to the verse's meaning we classify this as use of the Spreadsheet method. Note that very often spreadsheets are used to derive consequences of data.

Rashi on the following verse uses the spreadsheet method. Verses Ex10-08:11a states
• And Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh; and he said to them, Go, serve the Lord your God, but who are they who shall go? And Moses said, We will go with
  • our lads and with
  • our seniors, with
  • our sons and with
  • our daughters, with
  • our flocks and with
  • our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast for the Lord.
• And he said to them, Let the Lord be with you,
  • if I will let you go,
  • and your infants. Look, evil is before you.
  • Not so,
  • go now you who are warriors, and
  • serve the Lord; for that is what you desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

As indicated by the underlined words Moses requested that the lads,seniors,sons,daughters,flocks,herds be allowed to go. But as the underlined words in Pharoh's response show Pharoh said no to infants and said yes to warriors serving God. It is not clear how Moses' request and Pharoh's response line up. Rashi clarifies this line up. This clarification can most elegantly be done using a Spreadsheet table.

In this example Rashi focused on Pharoh's phrases no infants can go but warriors can go because that is what you seek. Indeed a further Rashi Ex10-11b comments on the Biblical phrase because that is what you seek Pharoh said: You, Moses, asked to offer sacrifices. But infants don't offer sacrifices. So we won't let the infants go. This second Rashi explains how Rashi made the decisions in the spreadsheet table. It would appear from this Rashi that Pharoh (on this occasion) allowed the animals to go also, since they were needed for the sacrifices.

We close today with a new Rashi method, the database method. In a certain sense every Rashi is the consequence of a database query. For example you might ascertain the meaning of a word by reviewing all verses with that word. However such a database query is simple and straightforward. When a database query has a certain degree of richness and complexity we say the database method is being used. The flavor of database Rashis is a flavor of discussion on something not completely finished.

Before presenting examples we note that modern database theory has greatly clarified the concept of a database. The Structured Query Language, SQL is a standard that was reached by consensus from many disciplines and clearly presents the essence of a database query. Fortunately the Rashi student need not understand technical database theory. However it is enriching to know that such queries follow specific and standard rules.

Today we ask the following query: What is associated with God's loss of temper To answer this query we must collect all verses where God loses his temper and seek an underlying pattern of consequence.

Here is a short list of verses where God loses his temper

 
Verse    
Go out 
Redeem 
Egypt     
SlaveHouse 
Pharoh
 


Ex13-03  
Go out 
       
Egypt     
SlaveHouse 

Ex13-14  
Go out 
       
Egypt 
     SlaveHouse

Ex20-02b  
Go out
  
      EgyptLand 
SlaveHouse

Dt05-06  
Go out 
       EgyptLand 
SlaveHouse

Dt06-12a 
Go out        
EgyptLand 
SlaveHouse

Dt07-08  
Go out 
Redeem
 
          SlaveHouse
 From Pharoh King of Egypt

Dt08-14 
 Go out
        EgyptLand 
SlaveHouse

Dt13-06b 
Go out 
Redeem 
EgyptLand 
SlaveHouse

Dt13-11  
Go out  
 
     EgyptLand 
SlaveHouse