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OTHO means ONLY IT; Suffix O means IT |
EXAMPLE 97: Lv23-03b ONLY place OIL FOR WHOLE night
EXAMPLE 98: Lv14-06b 4 items used in ceremony: ONLY bird taken
BACKGROUND
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If you wish to indicate that a verb, or activity, is being done
to something then you append a suffix VAV to the word(pronounced
OH) thereby indicating that the activity was done to it.
THE TEXT
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For example: SHaCHaT means SLAUGHTER; SHaCHaTO means SLAUGHTER IT
THE RASHI
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But there are two ways to indicate IT
- APPEND A VAV: SHaCHaTO means SLAUGHTER IT
- ADD THE WORD OTHO: SHaCHaT OTO also means SLAUGHTER IT
THE MALBIM
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A beautiful MALBIM distinguishes between these two methods
-- SHaCHaTO is the normal way of saying SLAUGHTER IT
-- SHaCHaT OTO should really be translated SLAUGHTER ONLY IT
In other words SHaCHaT OTO denotes some type of EXCLUSIVITY
As we go thru the examples we will develop a feel for the
OTO form. Malbim applied this principle to both Rashi & Sifrah
THE LIST
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This list will develop over 2-3 days. We will take verses
with the OTO form and show how Rashi interpreted IT
with a nuance of exclusivity.
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| VERSE |
TEXT |
RASHI |
| Lv23-03b |
he'll prepare ALL OF IT *2 |
One fill; don't refill |
| Lv14-06b |
The bird: Take only it*3 |
But not the wood/scarlet |
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COMMENTS |
*2 The actual verse says about the Candellabrah "..prepare ALL
OF it for lighting from eve to morning" However eg this could
allow placing 5 hours of oil at the beginning of the evening
and then refilling it for the last half of the night later
By saying FILL ALL OF IT for lighting we infer that a whole
supply of oil for the entire night must be put in at the
beginning (Rashi cites the talmud that this is the volume of
oil in 3 eggs--I have experimented with this and found it
to be true and use these principles in my Chanukah menorah)
*3 The actual verse is speaking about the Lepor sacrifice which
consists of a bird, cedar wood, hyssop and wool. It says
"The bird:Take ONLY IT and the cedar hyssop and wool and
DIP them and the slaughtered bird ...."
The law therefore is that
--you take the bird by itself
--you bind the wood, hyssop and wool and take them
(So the point is that you don't bind the bird with them)
--But even though the binding separates them nevertheless
you dip ALL 4 of them (bird, wood, hyssop, and wool)
There are a variety of ways of learning this law-for example
we could learn it from the contrasting phrases
"Bird: take it and them" vs "dip them and the bird"
But you can also find support for this law in the phrase
"the bird:Take ONLY IT"--so you don't bind with the others
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