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#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2008, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
      8. RASHI METHOD: DATABASES
      BRIEF EXPLANATION:Rashi makes inferences from Database queries. The precise definition of database query has been identified in modern times with the 8 operations of Sequential Query Language (SQL).
      This example applies to Rashis Nu12-13c
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n22.htm
      Brief Summary:

Today we ask the database query: How long were Moses' prayers? The query uncovers 9 examples. An examination of these examples justifies the Rashi assertion that Moses did not want people saying that he was spending alot of time in prayer over a relative.

The table below presents results of the query along with illustrations of Rashi's comment.

Verse Occasion # Words / Verses
Ex32-11:14 Asked forgiveness for nation after Golden calf sin 4 verses
Ex32-31:32 Ask forgiveness for nation after Golden calf 1.5 verses
Ex05-22:23 Pray for nation in Egypt after persecution intensifies 1.5 verses
Nu11-02 Pray for himself when harassed / insulted by nation 0.5 verse
Nu12-13 Pray for sister when she gets leprosy 0.5 verse
Nu14-13:19 Pray for nation after sin of spies 7 verses
Nu16-15 Pray against Korach after being insulted 0.5 verses
Nu27-16:17 Pray for national leader (replacement) 2 verses
Dt03-24:25 Pray for himself (ask to enter Israel) 2 verses

    Advanced Rashi: By reviewing all examples we appreciate Rashi more.
    • Moses' prayer for himself lasted 2 verses about the same length for many prayers for the community.
    • However prayers for personal insults or for family members were short (0.5 verse).
    • Prayers for the community while sometimes short could also be long.
    Thus the Rashi explanation appears somewhat conjectural and not tight. Perhaps Rashi picked up on Moses' neglect of his own personal life in favor of the community. Thus Moses separated from his wife and spent more time educating Aaron's children then his own. Thus Rashi's present interpretation He didn't want to create an appearance of praying excessively for a family member appears accurate and supported.

Our current editions of Rashi have an additional reason enclosed in parenthesis: People shouldn't say he prays long for his sister but not for us. This reason however is inconsistent with the above set of examples since e.g. Moses did pray long for the nation(sometimes) and also prayed long for himself. We conclude that this parenthetical remark is not true Rashi. Based on the set of examples Rashi's comment on Moses' neglect of family members seems most accurate.

Notice how in this case we can identify the true Rashi text by examining, not Rashi manuscripts, but biblical verses and Rashi's underlying reasons.


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