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      7. RASHI METHOD: FORMATTING
      BRIEF EXPLANATION:Inferences from Biblical formatting: --bold,italics, and paragraph structure.
      • Use of repetition to indicate formatting effects: bold,italics,...;
      • use of repeated keywords to indicate a bullet effect;
      • rules governing use and interpretation of climactic sequence;
      • rules governing paragraph development and discourse
      This example applies to Rashis Nu04-15a, Nu04-15b
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/rule1414.htm
      Brief Summary: a) The HOLY = Ark and Altars b) The HOLY UTENSILS = Candellabrah, Table, and their utensils

We have explained in our article Biblical Formatting located on the world wide web at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/biblicalformatting.pdf, that the Biblical Author indicated bullets by using repeating keywords.

That is, if a modern author wanted to get a point across using bullets - a list of similar but contrastive items - then the Biblical Author would use repeating keywords. Today's verse illustrates this principle.

Bullets whether indicated through modern notation or through the Biblical method of repeating keywords always indicate contrastive emphasis - that is, each bullet is presumed to be a distinct item contrasted to the other items on the list. Very often the bullets are also used to indicate that the entire list of exhaustive of some spectrum.

    Verse(s) Nu04-15 discussing the carrying of the Holy objects states And Aaron and his sons will complete the covering
    • of the Holies, and
    • of all the utensils of the Holies
    and afterwards the Kehatites will come to carry ...     The repeated underlined phrase of creates a bullet effect. The bullet effect in turn creates an emphasis on the distinctness of all enumerated items. Rashi interprets the distinctness as follows
    • Holies refers to the A) ark, and B) altars
    • Utensils of the Holies refers to C)candellabrah (and utensils) D) the table (and utensils) .

    Advanced Rashi:Several supporting comments are in order. First: Rashi reviewed the list of items to be covered, presented in verses Nu04-04 through Nu04-14:
    • (Verse 5,6) The Ark and dividing curtain, (Item A),
    • (Verse 7,8) the table and its utensils (Item D),
    • (Verse 9,10) the Candellabrah and its utensils (Item C),
    • (Verse 11-14) the Golden and Copper Altar and their utensils (Item B),
    Rashi took each of these enumerated items and classified them. Items A, B, the Ark and the altars, were classified as Holy, while items C,D the Table, Candellabrah and their utensils, were classified as Holy utensils.

A perhaps more important question is why? Why are some objects called holy while other objects are called holy utensils? I would suggest that the main goals of Judaism, Torah knowledge and the respect for prophecy symbolized respectively by the Ark and the Altar-fires symbolizing prophetic fire visions, are the main Holy objects. By contrast, the Table and Candellabrah, symbolizing learning and dependence on God for food are means to the end of Torah knowledge and prophecy; hence, they are classified as utensils to the holys. The verse by bulleting separately the Holies and the Utensils of the Holies indicated two stages of Temple utensils. 


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