Dt21-13a
(C) Dr Hendel, Jan-03
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Part 4 of a 5 part series
SUCCINCT SUMMARY
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One of Rashis 6 main goals is to explain MEANING the
same way a dictionary explains meaning. Rashi however
had a variety of vehicles for explaining meaning.
One important vehicle is the explanation of IDIOMS.
An IDIOM is a COLLECTION of words whose meaning is NEW
and different than the meaning of its component words.
EXAMPLES
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- ON THE FACE OF means DURING THE LIFETIME
- FROM DAYS TO DAYS means YEARLY
- DAY DAY means 24 hour period
- THE SUN SHINES ON HIM means HIS POSITION IS CLEAR
- SPREAD THE GARMENT means PROVE THE POINT
In todays list we seek NOUN-ADJECTIVE
idioms: For example A TIMED PERSON
refers to an APPOINTED PERSON (cf
the English idiom APPOINT APPOINTMENT)
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VERSE
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BIBLICAL PHRASE
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TRANSLATION
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NOTES
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Lv16-21a
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TIMED person
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An APPOINTED person
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*8
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Ex21-02a
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JEWISH SLAVE
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a slave AND Jewish
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*7
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Lv13-39a
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DULL WHITE
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DULL WHITE
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Lv23-40a
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GORGEOUS FRUIT
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Ethrog
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*10
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COMMENTS
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*7 Contrast Ex20-03a OTHER GODS=GODS OF OTHER PEOPLE
vs Ex21-02a JEWISH SLAVE = SLAVE AND JEWISH
Technically the possessive --OF-- can mean
- OWNED BY (eg OTHER GODS = gODS of OTHERS)
- PROPERTY (eg JEWISH SLAVE=SLAVE who is JEWISH)
- ASSOCIATED WITH (eg BELT OF GARMENT=Belt USED
with Garment)
Note Rashi proves the JEWISH SLAVE=SLAVE WHO
IS JEWISH by citing an other verse Dt15-12 *11
*8 For the relationship between TIME and DESIGNATION
cf the English APPOINT-APPOINTMENT
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LONGER FOOTNOTES
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*10 (The following comes from my article PSHAT & DRASH
TRADITION Winter 1980)
We must distinguish between
- HOW we know what the idiom means
- WHY the idiom means this
HOW we know what the idiom means comes from USAGE
It can usually be inferred from context. Thus
the Biblical verses here state
when a person slanders his newly married
wife...then the womens parents shall sue
him and SPREAD THE GARMENT before the judges
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Hence SPREAD the GARMENT is simply an idiom
for PROVING ONES POINT.
By contrast the question of WHY the idiom
means what it does is something more
speculative--maybe I am right that frequently
in sexual fights a SPREAD GARMENT proved a
point. But maybe I am wrong...in such a case
I am still sure about WHAT the idiom means.
I am just not sure about WHY it means this.
Another example occurs at Lv23-40a and Lv23-40b.
I am certain that the ETHROG was called the
GORGEOUS FRUIT but I am not quite sure why. Rashi
offers two explanations
EXPLANATION 1:
The ethrog is an EVERGREEN and DWELLS YEARLY
(This uses a pun on EVERGREEN=HADAR vs
HODOR=GORGEOUS)
EXPLANATION 2
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The TREE and FRUIT taste the same; Hence
the tree is Gorgeous.
EXPLANATION 3
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Rav Hirsch offers a 3rd explanation. Rav
Hirsch reviews botanical classifications and infers
that the Ethrog is one of the more advanced
fruits in the tree Kingdom.
I am still not sure WHY the phrase GORGEOUS
FRUIT means ETHROG but I am sure that this
phrase was used to denote the ETHROG
*11
Here is another example:
GARMENT OF CAPTIVITY does NOT mean
- the GARMENT she wore WHEN captured
(That is the GARMENT with the PROPERTY that
it was worn at the time of capture) but rather means
- the GARMENT she put on in case she is captured
(That is the garment ASSOCIATED with the
possibility of CAPTURE)
Rashi explains that non-jewish women would have
special garments they wore in case they were
captured during a war in order to seduce their
captors and prevent themselves from being murdered.
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