*1 Please see some postings below. Note the new form
   ALso note the new QUESTION and ANSWER FORMAT
   Send in your questions. This is your email list.

*2 See below for posting on subject

*3 Over the next year or so we will be writing modules for
   the 2-4 dozen basic Rashi skill competencies needed for
   learning Rashi. These modules will then be gathered into
   a workbook which can be used at home or in schools In
   the meantime each of these modules is usable in actual
   schools or home-schooling situations.

          MAY GOD CONSOLE YOU, AVI
          AMONG THE MOURNERS
          OF ZION AND JERUSALEM

          MAY GOD CONSOLE YOU, AVI
          AMONG THE MOURNERS
          OF ZION AND JERUSALEM

          /s/ Russell Hendel; On Behalf of Rashi is Simple

In todays message you refer to a konkordance or search engine. Is their a
search engine for searching for english words in rashi=B9s chumash
commentaries or rashi=B9s bible commentaries?I have tes software but its a
little awkward for searching rashi [the concordance works only for the
chumash text]; and it only covers the chumash, haftarahs and megillahs, not
the whole bible.

Thanks

M

Mike
Great idea

I will start adding notes on WHAT SEARCHES YIELD MY RASHI
RESULTS.

Two good search engines are

- Davka (visit www.davka.com--also can search in English)
- BarIlan

See the SEARCH KEYS in todays postings

FWIW, Reform biblical critic Benno Jacob followed along those lines, as did
Nechama Leibowitz.  I followed their lead in explaining this verse in the
following essay: http://www.aishdas.org/toratemet/en_mishpatim.html

Gil Student

Gil
Thanks for the references

FYI My posting appeared before yours but we always welcome
further references. Also the point of my email group is to
base all Rashis on database analysis. Finally
-- your analysis looks at OTHER torts
-- my analysis looks at
----- a)PUNISMENT in GENERAL
----- b)The 5 Payments categories connected with EYE for EYE
-- Hence I am a bit more specific and more general

Finally I make more explicit than either Jacob or Leibowitz the
distinction of MEANING IN CONTEXT and MEANING BY ITSELF. This
helps make it clear that EYE FOR EYE=MONEY is the NATURAL
MEANING OF THE TEXT

Again Thanks for the references


Russell Hendel; Moderator

*1 By law if a man dies without children his brother must
   either marry the widow or undergo a ceremony (YEVAMAH
   CEREMONY) to break his potential bond to her. This
   ceremony is done IN THE GATE (=COURT)

*2 The expression JUDGE HIM IN THE GATE (which means
   JUDGE HIM IN COURT occurs frequently in the Bible.
   See *10 for further nuances

*3 Rashi makes two points
   - Lot was Judge
   - He was appointed that day

   Rashi knew that Lot was a judge from the phrase SHAAR
   which means GATES & which is used to denote JUDICIAL PROCESS
   For the explanation of how Rashi knew it was that day
   see *11

*4 The verse says to sell the non-Kosher meat to ALIENS IN
   YOUR CITY. Rashi explains that these people are
   - ALIENS (not full fledged Jews)
   - RESIDENTS OF YOUR CITY
   Hence Rashi explains them as Noachides who accept the
   noachide laws and dont worship idols (Thus they are both
   ALIENS and RESIDENTS). (If they did worship idols it
   would be prohibited to let them live in your city)


*5 Here is the exact verse
   ----------------------------------------------
   Dt09-06 Write MEZUZTH on your HOUSES and CITY
   ----------------------------------------------

   Clearly, WRITE..ON YOUR CITY means that the CITY GATES
   and COUNTRY Gates must have MEZUZOTH (Dt09-06b).

   Rashi derives two other inferences in Dt09-06a
   -- You place MEZUZOTH on HOUSES & APARTMENT BUILDINGS
   -- You need MEZUZOTH on only 1 (of the 2) doorpost

   This involves other Rashi principles. See *12

*6 Rashi makes two points
   - SHAAR means CITY (POOR OF YOUR CITY)
   - The verse reflects a hierarchy

   Here is the hierarchy
   -----------------
   When you have poor
   -from your BROTHERS
   -from your CITY
   -from your land
   --that God gives you
   then give charity
   -----------------

   Rashi uses the principle of CLIMACTIC development
   If you have 4 poor people before you and only have
   money for one of them then
   -- your relatives-BROTHER-comes first
   -- your CITY poor comes next
   -- your COUNTRY poor comes next
   -- Jews all over the world come last

   For other examples of climax visit
   http://www.RashiYomi.com/example9.htm

*10 Rashi makes an additional point. We know GATE=COURT but
    - it could mean the COURT of the city of RESIDENCE
    - it could mean the COURT of the CITY of IDOL SIN

    In other words if John from Brooklyn worships idols
    in Baltimore (and is found in Baltimore) do we try him
    in Baltimore or Brooklyn?

    Rashi answers that we try him in Baltimore (The city
    of sin).

    Rashi technically learns this from the word analogy
    ----------------------------------------------------
    Dt17-02 When you find someone... in your CITY sinning
    Dt17-05 then judge him in the CITY COURT
    ----------------------------------------------------

    Both verses use the Hebrew word Shin-Ayin-Resh (GATE)
    which can mean CITY or COURT PLACE. Hence, Rashi
    concludes, the CITY of the COURT is IDENTICAL with
    the CITY OF SIN

    The Rashi commentator Sifsay chachamim tries to
    find support for Rashi by noting extra words
    ------------------------------
    Dt17-02 When you find someone
            IN YOUR MIDST
            IN YOUR CITY
    ------------------------------

    So, says the sifsay chachamim, it looks like the word
    CITY is extra and put in to emphasize that CITY OF COURT
    is identical with CITY OF SIN.

    However I would be less technical in my approach.

    I would simply say that JUDICIAL PROCESS requires people
    who know the circumstances of sin. Hence it is LOGICAL
    that the CITY OF JUSTICE be the CITY OF SIN--since the
    witnesses found him sinning in a particular city ----
    they should therefore be cross examined by a court who
    knows the city.

    I think this logical approach preferable to a technical
    emphasis on WORD ANALOGIES.

*11 The following footnote summarizes ANOTHER RASHI RULE
    which we previously dealt with. Hence this is terse
    For full details read the references. The reader
    can skip this footnote on a first reading.

    The verse says LOT SAT IN THE COURT.
    The Hebrew word for SAT is spelled defectively in Hebrew
    (It should spell Yud-VAV-shin-beth) but is instead
    spelled Yud-shin-beth and is missing a vav)

    We have analyzed defectively spelled words in
    http://www.Rashiyomi.com/fd-12.htm

    We explained there 3 methods for dealing with these
    defectively spelled words.

    One of these methods is that the defective word
    may look like another word--hence there is a pun in
    the verse--this pun is intentional and the sentence
    should be interpreted to reflect this intentional pun

    In this case--Yud-Vav-Shin-Beth means WAS SITTING
    --------------Yud-----Shin-Beth means SAT
    So Lot was both SAT(PAST) and SITTING (PRESENT).

    Rashi plays on this pun and says he was appointed
    judge that day--hence the present tense (WAS SITTING)
    denoting an action that just happened combined with
    a past tense (SAT) denoting someone established.

    Please see the above posting for more details
    and examples of this rule.


*12 The following footnote summarizes ANOTHER RASHI RULE
    which we previously dealt with. Hence this is terse
    For full details read the references. The reader
    can skip this footnote on a first reading.

    We have analyzed defectively spelled words in
    http://www.Rashiyomi.com/fd-12.htm

    We explained there 3 methods for dealing with these
    defectively spelled words.

    One of these methods is that an OBJECT WHICH
    HAS A PLURALITY when Spelled DEFECTIVELY may
    be MISSING part of that PLURALITY. For example

    ---TABLE would denote a TABLE with 4 legs
    ---TABL (Wihtout the E) could denote a table with 3 legs

    Similarly
    -- DOORPOSTS would denote BOTH doorposts
    -- DO RPOSTS could denote ONE doorpost.

    In Dt09-06 the Hebrew word MEZOZTH is spelled
    Mem-Zayin-Vav-Zayin-------Tauv without a 2nd vav
    between Zayin and Tauv. Hence the word is spelled
    defectively.

    Hence when the verse says WRITE THEM ON YOUR MEZOZTH
    it requires writing on only ONE doorpost.

    But the verse still uses a plural (It could have said
    WRITE THEM ON THE DOORPOST OF YOUR HOUSE).

    The PLURAL DOORPOSTS would apply if eg you lived in
    an apartment building (So you have 2 doorposts--
    the door to your apartment and the door to the
    apartment building)

    Please see the above posting for more details
    and examples of this rule.