Why are words REPEATED REPEATED:#7 of 14
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# 10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# Dec 31 2000 #
# Rashis 488-490 Of 7800 (6.3%) #
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OVERVIEW:
========
This module deals with Rashis which comment on verses with
>REPEATED WORDS<. The basic technique for >REPEATED WORDS<
was succinctly formulated by the MALBIM
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When a word is >REPEATED< unnecessarily then the
sentence with that word refers to >NON-STANDARD NUANCES<
The examples will illustrate how this is implemented
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TODAYS UNIT
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In today and tomorrows unit we review two unusual cases.
In one of them Rashi only states the interpretation
implicitly instead of explicitly. In the other verse Rashi
uses a non-standard nuance of the Hebrew root.
REFERENCE:
=========
Material in this module comes from a variety of postings.
Please check the following items which might be a bit
more lengthy.
Example 13: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h6n4.htm
Example 14: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h1n2.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/dn.htm
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EXAMPLE 13: Dt16-20a
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The verse, Dt16-20, says >RIGHTEOUSNESS RIGHTEOUSNESS PURSUE<
Rashis treatment of this >REPETITION< is most interesting
On Dt16-20a Rashi simply comments on the Repetition by saying
>MAKE A NICE COURT<
Such a statement is >NON-SPECIFIC< since it doesnt tell us how
to be >NICE<. However an explicit statement of this >NICENESS<
occurs in Rambam, Sanhedrin Chapter 11, Paragraph 1: Rambam
explicitly gives a law which would nicely follow from the
REPEATED word
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If it had just said >PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS< I would interpret
it to mean that we should see to it that courts acquit
>RIGHTEOUS< people. However the repeated word suggests an
interpretation with a NON STANDARD NUANCE of pursueing
rigtheousness--Here is the law: If you accidentally acquit a
guilty person do NOT retry him but rather pursue righteousness
and let the acquital(of the guilty person) be upheld
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In summary >RIGHTEOUSNESS RIGHTEOUSNESS PURSUE< means pursue
righteousness even when it happens accidentally(that is even
when you acquit a guilty person by accident). Rashi however
simply says >be a NICE court<. While there are difficulties
with Rashis language I think the above interpretation consistent
with the way we have been treating >REPEATED WORDS<
EXAMPLE 14: Gn39-11b
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BACKGROUND
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The Bible is discussing the attempted seduction of Joseph by his
masters wife. Gn39-11 says
VERSE
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And she grabbed him by his >CLOTHING< saying SLEEP WITH ME and he
left his >CLOTHING< in her hand and ran out
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THE REPEATED WORD
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It could have just said >And he left IT in her hand and ran out<
Indeed, the rules of style REQUIRE that a second repeated noun
be referenced by a pronoun.
NON STANDARD NUANCE
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The Midrashs way of dealing with the repetition is to give
a NON-STANDARD-TRANSLATION of the Hebrew word >Beth-Gimel-Dalet<
which can mean both GARMENT and DOUBLE-CROSS. Hence the Midrash
translates the verse as follows
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And she grabbed him as he was >DOUBLE CROSSING(his religion)<
saying SLEEP WITH ME and he left his >CLOTHING< in her hand and
ran out
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In other words there is a strong opinion in the Midrash that
Joseph had actually planned to sin with her (After all he was
a teenager, his brothers had tried to murder him, his brothers
actually sold him into slavery, & his masters wife had been
playing with him---here was his perfect opportunity to advance)
Hence the verse says >And she grabbed him during his time
of DOUBLE CROSSING (Since he had come into the house to sin,
not to work)<
COMMENT
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As already indicated this is an unusual application of the rule
of REPEATED WORDS. For we are not broadening the meaning of the
word to include non-standard nuances. Rather we are broadening
the word to include non-standard translations of the underlying
root.
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