The Rashi Rule of FILL-IN-(Lv25):#4 of 5
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# 10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# May 20, 2001 #
# Rashis 751-752 Of 7800 (9.6%) #
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GOALS:
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In this short module we illustrate a NEW RASHI RULE--the
rule of the FILL IN. This rule deals with a paragraph
of Chumash where Rashis' commentary's job is simply
to clarify short or ambiguous phrases.
We will illustrate this rule by going thru
Lv25-25 thru Lv25-28
TODAYS UNIT
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In todays unit we finish the last 2 Rashis on this
Parshah. These Rashis have nothing to do with the
new principle we are learning, with the rule of
FILL-IN, but we bring them to complete the
Rashis on this paragraph.
REFERENCE:
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This module comes from the following references in the
Rashi-is-Simple series.
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h10n5.htm
#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#
BACKGROUND
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We first review the case of the Bible and the situations
that the Bible is talking about.
------THE CASE-------------
If your brother becomes poor
and sells [PART of] his estate
------SITUATION #1---------
A relative redeemer comes to redeem the field
------SITUATION #2---------
The original owner makes money and redeems his own field
------SITUATION #3---------
Neither a relative nor the owner can redeem the whole
field. As we shall see, in such a case the field
reverts back to the owner in Jubilee year.
Let us now examime the Biblical verses and the Rashis.
THE VERSES AND RASHIS
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EXAMPLE 8: Lv25-28a
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THE VERSE:But if the owner cannot find enough to redeem the field
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THE RASHI
=========
Recall that we allow REDEMPTION. For example, if the field
cost $400 and half the time had elapsed you need $200
to redeem it.
But you need $200 to redeem the WHOLE FIELD.
Can the owner pay $100 to redeem HALF OF THE FIELD?
In other words is REDEMPTION an ALL-OR-NOTHING option.
Rashi answers this by using the rule of DOUBLE PARSHAS
and aligning the two verses that speak about redemption
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Lv25-26 And he acquires money and finds enough to redeem
Lv25-28 --------------------- finds enough to redeem
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The alignment clearly suggests that the issue is NOT
* acquiring money, but rather
* FINDING ENOUGH to redeem
Hence the rule brought down in Rashi:
REDEMPTION is an ALL-OR-NOTHING option.
EXAMPLE 9: Lv25-28b
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THE VERSE:
==========
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Then The buyer shall keep the field UNTIL THE JUBILEE YEAR
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THE RASHI
=========
This is one of the Rashis that causes the greatest confusion
The verse simply says
This could have 2 interpretations:
* The buyer keeps the field TILL THE BEGINNING of Jubilee
* The buyer keeps the field TILL the ANNIVERSARY of buying
(So if he buyer bought the field on Purim then the buyer
keeps the field till Purim of Jubilee)
Rashi says that the buyer keeps the field till
the BEGINNING OF JUBILEE
The question is how does Rashi know this?
Many people seek to find some obscure grammatical
point.
I would however use the Rashi rule of REASONS/IMPLICATIONS
Rashi is not bothered by anything, he has no problem
and he is not deriving anything from the verse.
Rather Rashi is simply reporting something EXTRA.
In other words the interpretation of the verse as referring
to the beginning of the Jubilee year is NOT a derivation
from the Bible. Rather it is derived from the following
Talmudic logic found in Chapter 25 of Rambam, Loans.
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A general principle of Jewish law is that a contract
is always interpreted restrictively. Indeed, the person
who owns the contract is using the contract to obtain
funds or objects from this fellow man. The general
principle then is that the burden of proof is on the
person who wants to extract money. For this reason
all contract language is interpreted restrictively
since the owner of the contract seeks to extract funds,
then it is he who must prove his case (and if not he loses)
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So we now easily understand Rashi.
There are two intepretations to BUYER KEEPS THE FIELD
TILL JUBILEE YEAR and therefore, BECAUSE OF THE ABOVE
PRINCIPLE OF CONTRACT LAW, we interpret this
phrase restrictively and make him return it at the
Beginning of the Jubilee year. True, there is another
possible interpretation, but we have no proof for it
Thus Rashi is Simple: The derivation is something extra
beyond the Biblical text and is derived from contract
law
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