#######################################################
#       12 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE         #
#                    Apr 07, 2008                     #
#                    YEAR 9 of 12                     #
#                                                     #
#           VISIT THE RASHI YOMI ARCHIVES             #
#           -----------------------------             #
#         HOME   http://www.RashiYomi.Com             #
# WEEKLY RASHI   http://www.RashiYomi.Com/rule.htm    #
#  DAILY RASHI   http://www.RashiYomi.Com/calendar.htm#
#                                                     #
#  Reprinted with permission from WEEKLY RASHI,       #
#  (c) 1999-2008, RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President #
#   Permission to reprint with this header PROVIDED   #
#          it is not printed for profit               #
#                                                     #
#######################################################
#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2008, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
      3. RASHI METHOD: GRAMMAR
      BRIEF EXPLANATION: Rashi explains verses using grammar principles, that is, rules which relate reproducable word form to word meaning. Grammatical rules neatly fall into 3 categories
      • (a) the rules governing conjugation of individual words,Biblical roots,
      • (b) the rules governing collections of words,clauses, sentences
      • (c) miscellaneous grammatical, or form-meaning, rules.
      This examples applies to Rashis Ex05-16b
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n6.htm
      Brief Summary: English uses the word OF for construct. Hebrew construct is indicated by O-A vowel differences.

Verse Ex05-16b discussing the greater taxing work that the Jews were given by Pharoh states There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us: Make brick; and, behold, thy servants are beaten, and your nation has become [a paradigm of] fault.

    Rashi on the above passage states: There are two ways of interpreting this verse.
    • We can interpret using a construct: and this (the lack of production) is considered the fault of your nation of slaves.
    • We can interpret it without using a construct: and this (the lack of production) makes your nation [a paradigm of] fault.
    Since the Komatz vowel is used rather than the patach vowel (Chototh vs. Chatath) we infer that a non-construct is intended.

Advanced Rashi: But it is the construct interpretation - this lack of production is the fault of ourselves - that makes sense. What sense does the non-construct mean - we are fault. I have interpreted this to mean we have become the paradigm of fault. Thus a person who wanted to criticize a fellow person would rank him out you are a Jew by which he means you are full of faults. Such identifications of people with their attributes is a powerful poetic technique: Perhaps the most famous example is P109-04, in which King David says I am prayer. That is, instead of saying I am a person who prays King David says I am prayer. In a similar manner the Jews say we are fault which has a similar construction to I am prayer. Here the Jews indicate that they have become a paradigm of ridicule and fault.


#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2008, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#