#######################################################
#       12 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE         #
#                    Dec 4th,   2006                  #
#          Rashis 3775-3775 Of 7700 (49%)             #
#                                                     #
#           VISIT THE RASHI YOMI ARCHIVES             #
#           -----------------------------             #
#            http://www.RashiYomi.Com/                #
#                                                     #
#    Reprinted with permission from Weekly Rashi,     #
#  (c) 1999-2006, RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President #
#   Permission to reprint with this header PROVIDED   #
#          it is not printed for profit               #
#                                                     #
#    WARNING: READ with COURIER 10 (Fixed width) FONTS#
#                                                     #
#######################################################




#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc. 2006, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#
1. RASHI METHOD: OTHER VERSES
BRIEF EXPLANATION: Rashi explains one verse by citing an other verse
This examples applies to Rashis Gn28-22b
URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn28-22b.htm

Verse Gn28-20:22, presents a prayer of Jacob: And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me ...\ then shall the Lord be my God; And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth to you. Rashi provides further details to the underlined words shall be God's house by cross referencing an other verse

Gn35-01:07 which describes the fullfillment of this vow And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-El, and live there; and make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother. Then Jacob said to his household, and to all who were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments; And let us arise, and go up to Beth-El; and I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. ... So Jacob came to Luz, ... that is, Beth-El, And he built there an altar, and called the place El-Beth-El; because there God appeared to him, when he fled from the face of his brother.

Sermonic points: Judaism in general frowns on oaths and vows. However the above Rashi shows us one instance in which vows are welcome and encouraged. Jacob, had to flee his home and avoid a brother who wished to kill him. He had to go to a strange place and deal with a crooked father-in-law. Such stresses typically create doubts and lapses in religious behavior. To strengthen himself Jacob made a vow that after surviving all this he would make an altar and a house of God. The thought of fulfilling this vow created a psychological focus point which helped Jacob thru this difficult period.

The Talmud explicitly states that Patriarch stories are role models for all Jews. Thus the Bible here, teaches the Jewish people how to deal with periods of enormous stress by vowing to dedicate oneself to God, in some specific manner, after surviving the stressful period.

#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2006, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#