ACH means USUALLY:#1 of 6
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#               10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE           #
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In this series we review the meanings of the Hebrew word
        >ACH
This word occurs about 40 times in Chumash.
Its main three meanings are
        >ACH = USUALLY
        >ACH = MOST OF
        >ACH = PROBABLY
Some people might object that
        >But the English Translations translate ACH=ONLY
True! But the English translations are not Sinaitic--they were
not given by God. As we will see below the translations
        >ACH=USUALLY
        >ACH=MOST OF
        >ACH=PROBABLY
are fully consistent with our traditions and accepted methods of
translation. This will be documented below.




A person completing this module will have the skill competencies
necessary to UNDERSTAND and even REPRODUCE standard Talmudic
interpretations of ACH.




In the first few issues we review the Rashis that can be understood
as
        >ACH = USUALLY
        >ACH = MOST OF




In passing, the interpretation of ACH has a special fondness for
me personally---when I wrote my first article on Midrash
        >PSHAT and DERASH: A NEW INTUITIVE ANALYTIC APPROACH
        >Tradition, Winter 1980
I opened the article with the idea that
        >ACH = USUALLY.
The 3 examples presented below actually come from my article.
(People who wish a copy of this article should email me by
going to the Rashi website and hitting the QUESTION/COMMENTS button
in the RED ROW (ADMINISTRATIVE) and sending me their actual address
(You can also email me at RJHendel@Juno.COM)




#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
EXAMPLE 1: Ex31-13b
----------
        >Ex31-13b USUALLY(Ach) observe my Shabbaths
        >
        >RASHI:
        >
        >USUALLY observe them but not always
        >For example, the sabbath sacrifices were offered
        >in the temple on the Sabbath day even though
        >they involved slaughtering and other Sabbath prohibitions




EXAMPLE 2: Lv23-27a
----------
        >Lv23-27a ...USUALLY on the 10th of Tishray you
        >will have YOM KIPPUR--a day of atonement
        >
        >RASHI:
        >
        >USUALLY you will receive atonement--but not always
        >For example: If you sinned against your fellow man
        >you cannot get atonement till you ask his forgiveness




EXAMPLE 3: Dt16-15
----------
        >Dt16-15 You will be happy on MOST OF the Jewish Holiday
        >
        >RASHI
        >
        >You will be happy on MOST OF the Jewish Holiday--but
        >not on all of the holiday. In other words the Biblical
        >commandment TO BE HAPPY on the Holiday does not apply
        >to all 7 days of Passover and Succoth




First let us explain what it means to call this
        >a Biblical Commandment to be happy
For example, if a person God forbid lost a parent before the
holiday then that person does not have to mourn 7 days if it
overlaps with the holiday.  Using legal terminology we would say
        >the requirement of COMMUNAL HAPPINESS
        >overrides
        >the requirement of INDIVIDUAL MOURNING




The person from whom I learned Rashi, the Rav, Rabbi Joseph Baer
Soloveitchick, actually had a close relative die before a holiday
and he was not allowed to observe mourning. He said in public
lectures that this was the most difficult commandment he ever had
to perform.




Finally we point out that the ACH=MOST OF only tells us that we
need not be happy ALL 7 DAYS. This translation does not tell us
WHICH days we need not be happy on. There is talmudic controversy
on this. One opinion says that we need not be happy the FIRST night
(since we are just coming home from work and it is hard to be happy)
Another opinion is that we need not be happy the LAST day (since we
are thinking about what we will do after the holiday).




This example illustrates the delicate relationship between
        >SIMPLE BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
        >DYNAMIC TALMUDIC ANALYSIS
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