#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
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| Rashi is Simple Version 2.0 |
| (C) RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President |
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VERSE: Ex20-01a
RASHIS COVERED: Ex20-01a Ex06-01a Gn08-16a Gn07-07a
======================== ELOHIM vs HASHEM ======================
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY
------------------
There are 293 Biblical paragraphs. Many of these paragraphs
present commandments by God to the Jews. These commandment
paragraphs begin with the introductory sentence
------ GOD SPOKE TO MOSES ... -------------
-- The usual Hebrew word for God is HASEHM.
-- However in 9 instances the Bible uses the word ELOHIM.
These 9 rare cases all are associated with PUNISHMENT. The
word ELOHIM, itself, can also mean, besides, GOD, JUDGE--
a person who administers PUNISHMENTS. Hence the Rashi in
these 9 instances that the commandment carries PUNISHMENT
----------------------------------
TODAYS RASHI RULE: ALIGNMENT
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE: TWO CASES
----------------------------------
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF RULE
-------------------------
Many Rashis do NOT focus on an internal analysis of the verse.
There may be nothing bothering Rashi in THAT verse. The words
used may all be normal.
But when the given verse is compared with another verse--that
is, when the two verses are ALIGNED together-- we see blatant
differences.
The ALIGNED verses therefore suggest that these ALIGNED
DIFFERENCES were deliberately placed there to emphasize
certain nuances.
A nifty way of explaining the ALIGNED verses is to think
of ALIGNMENT as the vehicle that the Biblical Author uses
to indicate FOOTNOTES. That is, a modern writer might use
FOOTNOTES to indicate details; the Biblical Author instead
used REPEATED ALIGNED VERSES with DIFFERENT DETAILS.
The simplest case of ALIGNMENT is when the differences
CLEARLY and EXPLICITLY show that we are dealing with
two cases each with different details. The STANDARD
example below from the 10 commandments illustrates this
STANDARD EXAMPLE
----------------
Perhaps the simplest example of an alignment revealing
two cases and two laws occurs in the 10 commandments.
Ex01-02:03 states
----------------------------------------------
Ex20-02 you shall NOT HAVE the gods of others
Ex20-03 you shall NOT MAKE idols
----------------------------------------------
STUDENT EXERCISES:
------------------
-- What is the SAME in the ALIGNED verses
-- What is DIFFERENT in the ALIGNED verses
-- State the 2 CASES you infer from the aligned differences
RASHIS SOLUTION
---------------
- Both verses begin YOU SHALL NOT. In other words
they are negative prohibitions.
- One verse prohibits HAVING idols while the 2nd verse
prohibits MAKING idols
- THere are 2 separate idolatry prohibitions: MANUFACTURE
(even if you dont keep them) and OWNERSHIP/POSSESION
(even if you dont make them)
STANDARD REFERENCES FOR THIS RULE
---------------------------------
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/align-58.htm
This summary may be a bit too terse. You can browse the
57 postings leading up to by going to
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/align-1.htm
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/align-2.htm etc.
Or you can visit the Rashi Yomi Calendar at
http://www.RashiYomi.com/calendar1.htm
This calendar presents a day by day listing of Rashis.
The ALIGNMENT series occurs between 7-28-01 and 10-10-01.
HOW TO USE THESE LISTS FOR SCHOOL PROJECTS
------------------------------------------
You can use the LISTS referenced above for
school projects. Here is how. If you are a
teacher then you can present the two aligned
verses and ask the students to perform the
3 student exercises listed above.
The students can then compare their analysis with that
of Rashis. This leads to greater appreciation of Rashi.
TODAYS EXAMPLE
--------------
Most commandment paragraphs begin with the introductory
verse: GOD SPOKE TO MOSES. The standard Hebrew word for
God is HASHEM. However in 9 instances the word ELOHIM is used
Each of these 9 instances has some aspect of punishment as
indicated in the lists below. The word ELOHIM, itself, besides
meaning GOD also means JUDGE. Hence the Rashis that these
9 verses are connected with PUNISHMENT
==============================================================
VERSE PHRASE1 PHRASE3
======== ======================= ===============================
Gn17-09 Circumcision convenant Uncircumcision punishable*1
Gn17-15 Sarah will have child Avimelech punished*2
Gn35-01 Lone Jacob journeys Fear of God prevents ambush*3
Ex03-14 God will always be New Moses punished for refusal*4
Gn22-12 God prohibits Bilam Bilam murdered for attempts*5
Ex06-02 God promises redemption Moses punished for doubting*4
Ex20-01 The 10 commandments All punishable offenses!*6
Gn08-15 Noach told to reproduce Noah punished for abstention*7
Gn21-12 Promise of Ishmael *8
NOTES
-----
*1 The punishment for non circumcision is explicitly mentioned
in Gn17-14
*2 Sarah was old. To conceive she had to recover her youth.
This attracted Avimelech who tried to marry her. Avimelech
was severly punished (See Gn20-17)
*3 Explicitly stated in Gn35-05
*4 See the Rashi on Ex06-01a. Moses had doubts whether God would
effectively redeem the Jews and for this he was punished
and wasnt allowed into the land of Israel. Also see Gods
anger at Moses at Ex04-14
*5 Explicitly stated in Nu31-08
*6 The commandments in the 10 commandments (eg Theft murder)
are all commandments for which punishment is mentioned
By contrast other important commandments (like the
commandment to wear Tzitzith mentioned in Nu15-37)
*7 These last two examples of ELOHIM have a more hidden
statement of punishment. For the Noach example
see Rashis on Gn08-16a and Gn07-07a. These two verses use
different orders
--------------------------------------------
YOU YOUR SONS YOUR WIFE YOUR SONS WIVES
YOU YOUR WIFE YOUR SONS YOUR SONS WIVES
--------------------------------------------
Rashi seems to infer from the different orders that
in the ark the MEN vs WOMEN were separate while after
leaving the ark they could go back together.
I too defended this derivation. But my present thoughts
are that the content of Gn08 is clear and explicit.
God spends the whole paragraph and next chapter Commanding
Noach to reproduce and blessing him. The alignments brought
by Rashi would thus be SUPPORTIVE and CONSEQUENCES of this
explicit statement requiring reproduction.
Noach apparently did not want to take the risk of populating
the world again. This would support the interpretation of
Gn09-24 (AND NOACH KNEW WHAT HIS SON DID) that his son
homosexually abused him while drunk (in order to get him
in the mood). Thus Noach was punished for abstaining from
reproduction--a nuance hinted at by the word ELOHIM in Gn08-15
*8 There is no verse that explicitly states that those who
try to murder the Arabs will be punished. However Gn17-20
is very explicit that the existence of the (true) Arab
people who follow in the ways of Ishmael
is protected by God.
=================================================================
RASHI RULE USED: ALIGNMENT
---------------------------------------------------
WARNING: The following additional references may be too wordy
However they frequently contain additional information & lists
The hyperlinks only work on the main website
Volume 14 Number 1
#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
Volume 14 Number 1