#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
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| Rashi is Simple Version 2.0 |
| (C) RashiYomi Inc., Dr Hendel President |
| http://www.RashiYomi.Com |
| PERMISSION to reprint WITH this header if NOT for profit |
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VERSE: Gn41-43b
RASHIS COVERED: Gn41-43b Gn41-40c Gn41-34a Ex13-18c
Gn18-25b Gn44-07a Gn27-37b Gn43-11a
Gn43-16a Gn27-33b
====================== AVRAYCH = GOOD LEADER ===============
VERY BRIEF SUMMARY:
-------------------
In this posting we present 4 methods by which Rashi presents
dictionary meaning. The variety enriches our insight to Rashi
- 4 LETTER ROOTS: AVRAYCH means GENTLE (Rch) LEADER (Av)
- NUANCES: KISAY does NOT mean CHAIR;it always means THRONE!
We examine all verses with KISAY & show it means THRONE!
- UNIFIED MEANING: Ch-m-sh always relates to the number 5
There appears to be 5 verses where Ch-m-sh means ARMED
We give elegant arguments that it means FIFTH.Details below
Similarly we show that AYFO always means MORE/FURTHER
- IDIOMS-NEW MEANINGS: ChaLiLah means GOD FORBID
-------------------------------------------------
TODAYS RASHI RULE: WORD MEANINGS
TODAYS RASHI SUBRULE: WORD MEANINGS
-------------------------------------------------
STANDARD REFERENCES FOR TODAYS RULE
-----------------------------------
The RashiYomi dictionary http://www.Rashiyomi.com/words.htm
The 6 Rashi goals: http://www.RashiYomi.com/rules-01.htm
THE FIRST LIST
--------------
See url http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h5n23.htm. We present
a list of 4 letter roots and their meaning.
============================================================
4 LETTER ROOT MEANING 1st 2 LETTERS LAST 2 LETTERS
============= ============ =============== =================
AVRAYCH*1*4 Good leader Father Gentle/soft
MMZR*1 Illegitimate Blemished (From a)Stranger
ARAL Angel Lion (of) God
BLAD Except Without (BLi) Others
BRZL Iron Strong (BRi) Branch (ZLZL)
ZLAF Fright Worthless (and) Fatigued*3
SRAF Branches A Pot (ie nest) (for) Birds *2
NOTES:
------
*1 There are two approaches to 4 letter roots. Sometimes we
try and see them as 2 two letter roots and sometimes we try
and see them as a 3 letter root with an extra letter. Thus
ASTR is explained in the Talmud as ASR. Rav Hirsch stuck to
the 3 letter approach even in obvious cases--thus he takes
MMZR from MZR a rare word in Job.
Similarly Rashi cites a controversy on AVRAYCH:
-- A double 2 letter approach would yield:
AVRAYCH=Gentle(Rc) Father(Av)
-- A 3 letter approach would yield:
AVRAYCH=Kneel (Brch) to me (Aleph)
*2 Note the poetic lisence in e.g.
SRAF = BIRD(AF) POT (SiR)= Something for Bird nests
This type of small poetic lisence is common in etymologies
and makes their study difficult
*3 Note the finer nuances in some translations. For example ZLAF
occurs rarely in TNACH and its meaning is inferred from its
context. The RDQ in his book of ROOTS says its meaning is SOME
TYPE OF FRIGHT....this could go well with the verse cited by
RDK: "fright has overtaken me"
But perhaps a BETTER translation is
feeling worthless and tired So that the verse with
ZLAF would mean WORTHLESSNESS & FATIGUE HAS OVERTAKEN ME
Then again perhaps there is no way to see which translation
is better
*4 Rashi Gn41-43b
=================================================================
========================= KISAY means THRONE ===================
Surprise!
I bet you thought KISAY means CHAIR.
However throughout the Bible KISAY is always associated with
the CHAIR of kings -- the THRONE. Here is a list.
We use here the Rashi method of SYNONYMS/NUANCES--that is we
use lists of verses to give a more detailed meaning to a root
================================================================
VERSE WITH WORD KISAY(Chair/Throne) King involved
===================================== ==========================
1Ch29-23 Solomon
Ex11-05 Pharoh
Ps122-5 David
Jr17-12 God
Gn41-40c Joseph
================================================================
====================== CHIMAYSH = 1/5 ==========================
All agree that CHMAYSH means 5.
From this we get words meaning fifth and fifty.
There are about 5 verses where CHIMAYSH appears to mean
ARMED.
However as can be seen below a preferable interpretation is
FIFTH!!!. This is based on the principle of UNIFIED TRANSLATION
================================================================
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH chimaysh INTERPRETED AS 20%
======== =======================================================
Gn41-34a Take a 20% (1/5) tax in years of saiety*1
Ex13-18c Only 20%(1/5) of the Jews left Egypt*2
Jos1-14 & you -- 1/5th the nation -- will go to war with them*3
Nu05-07 He should add a 20% fine*4
Ju07-11 They approached the elite fifth*5
NOTES
-----
*1 Cf Gn47-26. Josephs plan was to take a 20% tax during years
of plenty and use that to feed nation during famine.
Note Rashi states
---------------------
STRENGTHEN the nation
---------------------
But this does NOT mean that Rashi interprets CHIMAYSH as
STRENGTHEN. Rather Rashi uses an intermediate variable:
---------------------------------------
Take a 20% (CHIMAYSH) tax on the nation
(and thereby strengthen them)
---------------------------------------
In other words: Rashi was not explaining the MEANING of
CHIMAYSH but rather Rashi was explaining the CONSEQUENCE
of Joseph taking 20%
*2 See http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn41-34a.htm for a more
thorough discussion. We point out there that Ex13-17
explicitly states that Jews were afraid of war--hence
Rashi is Simple--it would not make sense to interpret
CHIMAYSH as being armed (Since you dont arm frightened
people) See the above posting for further details
*3 Based on the census in Pinchas the 2.5 tribes had 110,000
people which (rounded to the nearest integer) was 1/5th
the entire nation. Hence, a preferable interpretation
in this verse is not -- you should go ARMED -- but rather
-- you should go as the leading fifth of the nation.
*4 The talmud explains that if you stole $100 then the 20%
find is $125 ($25 is 20% of $125)
*5 So every army had an ELITE FIFTH that went out before
the others
================================================================
====================== CHaLiLa means GOD FORBID =================
The translation of ChaLiLa illustrates an important point about
translations. The traditional Rashi on Chalila is
---------------------------------------------
CHALILA has a connotation PROFANE (from CHOL)
---------------------------------------------
A literal reading of Rashi leads to 2 misunderstandings
-- First, we are not told the translation! A best translation
into English would be GOD FORBID
-- Second, Rashi makes it appear that Chalilah means the
SAME as Chol (which means PROFANCE not HOLY)
A better approach to Rashi is the following
--------------------------------------------
- CHALILAH means GOD FORBID.
- CHALILAH is an INTERJECTION
- INTERJECTIONS have not only MEANING but EMOTIONAL CONNOTATION
- Hence CHALILAH not only negates what follows, it also expresses
strong objection
- This meaning of Chalilah is NOT inferred from ETYMOLOGIES
(e.g. its relation to CHOL profane) but rather it is inferred
from its USAGE. The verses in the list below all clearly show
the two nuances of CHALILAH that we just indicated
These verses show both NEGATION and PROTEST of what follows
Almost all verses also show an EMPHASIS (Added support
for what they are protesting)
--------------------------------------------
The point here is that
-- the MAIN issue is MEANING (Chalilah = GOD FORBID)
-- a SECONDARY issue is ETYMOLOGY (CHOL=profane)
Thus Rashi should not be seen as DEFINING CHALILAH but
rather as using other meanings of the root (PROFANE
vs HOLY) to add COLOR to its connotations.
In passing we can think of other equally good etymologies:
For example: CHalilah could come from CHOLEH which means
SICKNESS. CHalilah would then be sort of a curse: Thus
1S27-11 could be translated:
--------------------------------------
May I become SICK if I strike the king
--------------------------------------
In summary I have emphasized that we must
see Rashi as commenting on the
meaning of CHaLiLah which should be translated as
GOD FORBID. Rashi was telling us HOW it came to mean this.
Here is the list of verses--the connotations should
be clear. The Rashi Rule used here is IDIOMS or NEW MEANINGS
Rashi basically shows how a root with a given meaning (PROFANE
or SICK) can come to mean GOD FORBID.
=================================================================
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH ChaLilah TRANSLATED AS GOD FORBID
======== ========================================================
Gn18-25b God forbid You(Who are Just) should do injustice
Gn44-07a God forbid we should steal (We even returned lost items)
1S27-11 God forbid that I should strike the King
2K20-20 God forbid that I (A General) should destroy a city
Jo22-29 God forbid that we(who respect God) should rebel on Him
=================================================================
===================== AYFO means MORE ===========================
What a Peach of a Rashi. This Rashi illustrates the technique
of UNIFIED MEANING. The classical grammarians like Radack simply
shrug their shoulders and say that AYFO is an all-purpose word
which changes meaning in each context! Radack states that the
word can mean NOW, WHERE etc.
Not so Rashi. Rashi-is-Simple. AYFO ending with HAY means WHERE.
AYFO ending with ALEPH is a new word whose fundamental
connotation is MORE (Rashi Gn43-11a).
This clearly shows a difference in approach -- one unified
meaning vs many on-the-spot disparate meanings-- between
Rashi and other Rishonim.
The list below explores how AYFO can mean MORE. Note the
punchiness of these translations.
=================================================================
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE WITH yeter TRANSLATED AS more
======== ========================================================
Gn27-37b what MORE can I do for you *1
Gn43-11a If you are right then we should do MORE: take gifts...*2
Gn43-16a What MORE could we want then for You to walk with us
2K10-10 FURTHER know that everything God says will come true*3
Gn27-33b You bring? Who are the OTHER people who brought*3 *4
NOTES
-----
*1 Compare this with the translation of the Radack
-------------------------
What can I do for you NOW
-------------------------
As remarked above Radack sees AYFO as having
disparate meanings WITHOUT a UNIFYING theme.
The above list gives us an appreciation of how
Rashis approach gives simplicitly and vibe to the
verses.
*2 This Rashi explicitly identifies AYFO with MORE
*3 FURTHER and OTHER evolve from the unifying meaning
of MORE
*4 Rashi does suggest an alternate meaning: WHERE
However WHERE corresponds to the Hebrew word AYFOH
ending in HAY. The above list on AYFO (ending with
ALEPH) clearly shows that AYFO with aleph is distinct
from AYFO with HAY---AYFO with ALEPH means MORE;
AYFOH with HAY means WHERE.
Thus the proper approach to this alternate explanation
in Rashi -that AYFO with ALEPH means WHERE-is that if there
were ONLY one verse of AYFO with ALEPH we would be
justified in interpreting it as WHERE (AYFO with HAY)
However in light of the many verses with AYFO (with ALEPH)
it becomes preferable to seek a unified meaning (MORE)
This is why Rashi only states this explanation on the
first occurence of AYFO in the Bible. Here Rashi shows
his great sensitivity as a commentator.
=================================================================
RASHI RULE USED: WORD MEANINGS
---------------------------------------------------
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 16 Number 6
#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
Volume 16 Number 6