Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 1999
http://www.shamash.org/rashi
Volume 3 Number 15
Produced Sep, 09 1999
Topics Discussed in This Issue
------------------------------
v1b21-23 Subtleties in confirming 1 verse with another(CBrown)
v1a22-3 MORNING=a) Eagerness, b) After a prophetic dream.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
***************************
*** READING TIPS ***
***************************
IF YOU ARE IN A HURRY WE RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS:
* VERSE:
* RASHI TEXT:
* BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
"HOW DO I FIND QUICKLY A SPECIFIC SECTION?"
ANSWER: Use your FIND menu
For example: FIND VERSE:
takes you to the beginning of the next section.
Similarly
FIND NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
takes you to the brief explanation of Rashi.
"IS THERE AN EASY WAY TO GO TO EACH VERSE AND POSTING?"
Yes. Use your FIND menu.
"FIND #*#*#*#" takes you to the next posting
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1b21-23
v1b21-23 ..(Avimelech asked Abraham to make a treaty
that he (Abraham) should be nice..)
The way we treated you nicely
v1-21-22 (Avimelech tells Abraham)
I see God is with you
RASHI TEXT:
v1b21-23 Avimelech's statement "The way we
treated you (Abraham) nicely" refers
to Avimelech's offer
>>My land is before you (1-20-15)
v1-21-22 The statement
>>God is with you (Abraham)
refers to {LIST3}
--Sarah his wife giving birth(1-24)
--Conquest of 5 kings(1-14)
--Escape from Sedom(of Lot)-1-19
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
This posting is dedicated to Chaiim Brown's question regarding
my suggestion that
>> Rashi frequently uses OTHER VERSES to confirm
>> a Biblical statement
Chaiim protested on the grounds that
>>This is too simple
>>Rashi can't only be giving us other verses to confirm
Thus the underlying concept in Chaiim's question is that
--Confirming one verse with another is simple
--We don't need Rashi to do something totally simple
I agree that
--we don't need Rashi to do something totally simple.
I disagree that
--confirming one verse with another is simple.
Let us look at the two examples before us.
In 1-21-23 Avimelech says
>>Treat me nicely the WAY I TREATED YOU NICELY
We can approach this on 3 levels.
THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL: We ask for something nice by which
>>Avimelech TREATED ABRAHAM NICELY
We find one such example in 1-20-15. Avimelech told Abraham
>>My land is before you
Indeed! If this was the ONLY example of Avimelech treating
Abraham nicely then we wouldn't need Rashi.
THE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL: We ask for the {LIST1} of ALL things
that Avimelech did for Abraham. This list includes
several items such as
--my land is before you
--you can settle wherever you want (even if you aren't a citizen)
--he gave him a $1000
Notice how Rashi is no longer so simple. True, he only gave one
example in his commentary but {LIST1} has several examples. Thus
Rashi was using WORKBOOK METHODS:
--He presented us with the simplest example
--He encouraged us to fill in with other examples
Furthermore we could ARGUE over which examples belong in {LIST1}.
For example, Avimelech was quite angry at Sarah for not telling
him she was Abraham's wife. Thus we have the right to perceive
the $1000 present in 1-20-16 as a curse not a blessing. Even
if this were true, we still have more examples of Avimelech being
nice to Abraham then Rashi brought. We conclude that Rashi is
not being overly simple
THE ADVANCED LEVEL: At this level we ask for a LIST of LISTS. We
ask for the {LIST2} of all people who sojourned in someone
elses land, and COMPARE how they were treated. Some examples are
--Avraham was BANISHED from Egypt (1-12-10:20)
--Sedom attempted to RAPE some visitors (1-19-3:9)
--Avimelech only agreed not to molest Isaac & wife (1-26-9:11)
--BUT Avimelech allowed Abraham to settle where he wanted(1-20-15:16
We see Rashi's profoundity. Rashi is anything but too simple. Rashi
is showing the legitimacy of Avimelech telling Abraham
>>I treated you nicely.
Against a background of RAPE, BANISHMENT, NON-MOLESTATION,
Avimelech stands out as HELPING Abraham.
We conclude that the technique of
>>Confirming with other verses
is not simple, but requires careful thinking and is advanced.
Let us now go to the 2nd Rashi in this posting--1-21-22.
Here Avimelech says to Abraham
>>God is with you
A simple enough phrase. I wouldn't even think of confirming
this with other verses...maybe Avimelech simply recognized Abraham
as a spiritual person.
Rashi gives 3 examples of how Abraham was miraculously saved by God
--Sarah his wife giving birth(1-24)
--Conquest of 5 kings(1-14)
--Escape from Sedom(of Lot)-1-19
Again Rashi is not being overly simple. In fact, having participated
in the International Bible contest in Israel, I can attest that
it is precisely questions like this
>>Give 3 examples that show that God was with Abraham
that differentiate the winners from the runner ups. These types
of questions require certain skill competencies not currently
taught in our classrooms.
Finally from a data point of view this question cannot be answered
with a CD ROM. For it is not a search on WORDS but rather a search
on CONCEPTS: We ask for all texts WHICH ILLUSTRATE God being nice
to Abraham. There is no common word to these texts. It is doubtful
that an Artificial intelligence program would help.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
Again we note how Rashi used WORKBOOK methods. He gave one example
>>My (Avimelech's) land is before YOU (Abraham)
and expected us to fill in the other examples
>>settle wherever you want
as well as compare with other leader's treatments of visitors.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {List of how many ways Avimelech treated Abraham nicely.
Notice how Rashi only gave the first example. Further
information is presented in the footnotes}
VERSE EXAMPLE AVIMELECH TREATING ABRAHAM NICELY
======= =========================================
1-20-15 Behold my land is before you
1-20-15 You can settle wherever you want *1
1-20-16 He gave him a $1000 *2
FOOTNOTES
*1 Even though you are not a citizen
*2 Some people may consider this a curse. If so the
item should be deleted from the list.
{LIST2}{List of GUESTS visiting some HOST and how they were
treated. Notice how ONLY Avimelech treated his guest
Abraham nicely by allowing him to settle where he
wanted. This LIST is used to justify the idea that
finding confirming verses is not a trivial exercise
and requires skillful comparisons}
GUEST HOST TREATMENT TEXT VERSE
======= ======= ========== =========================== ==========
Avraham Pharoh BANISHMENT Avraham BANISHED from Egypt 1-12-10:20
Angels Sedom RAPE Sdm attempted RAPE visitors 1-19-3:9
Isaac Avimlch NonMolest Agreed not to molset Isaac 1-26-9:11
Avimlch Abraham PRESENTS settle where you want 1-20-15:16
{LIST3} {List of miracles which God publicly did for
Abraham}
MIRACLE CHAPTER
=========================== =======
Sarah,his wife,giving birth 1-24
Conquest of 5 kings 1-14
Escape from Sedom(of Lot) 1-19
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
To Chaiim Brown for another good question (which took me a
few weeks to answer). Chaiim has consistently asked thought
provoking questions which require careful documentation and
illustration to answer.
Since the New Year is upon us I urge other readers to similarly
ask thought provoking questions. This is your email list and
questions like the above are strongly encouraged.
Chaiim, may God inscribe you and your family for a year and
life of thought provoking questions.
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
OTHER VERSES
OTHER VERSES
SQL {Database query comments for those who know Database theory}:
SELECT FROM Bible WHERE
Chapter.Meaning 'God Helped Abraham'
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1a22-3
v1a22-3 And Abraham got up in the morning
v1b22-3 and he harnessed his donkey
v4a22-21 And Bilam got up in the morning and
harnessed his donkey
v2-7-15 Go to Pharoh in the morning, behold
he goes out to the Nile
v1-46-29 And Joseph harnessed his donkey
RASHI TEXT:
v1a22-3 "Abraham got up in the morning"
>>Morning means early
He(Abraham) was eager to do the Mitzvah
v1b22-3 '**HE** harnessed his donkey'
>>HE himself without any help
This shows that EAGERNESS whether for LOVE
or HATRED overturns power (ie he didn't
ask his servants to harness but did it
himself because of his eagerness)
v4a22-21 'Bilam go up and harnessed his donkey'
He did it himself without any help
This shows that EAGERNESS overturns power
v2-7-15 Pharoh claimed that he was a God.
To prove this he abstained from bathroom functions
all day.
To accomplish this he went to the bathroom by the
Nile in the morning (when no one could see him).
v1-46-29 Joseph himself harnessed his donkey (even
though he had many servants) in order to meet his
father.
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
These Rashis are a peach on how to learn Rashi.
One traditional approach to Rashi suggests that
>>No word in the Torah is waisted
Another traditional approach to Rashi seeks the PROBLEM of Rashi
>>Why mention he got up in the Morning.
Both these approaches are unsatisfactory. They don't help the
student learn Chumash in general.
A more satisfactory approach is to look at LISTS.
{LIST1} contains all (or most verses) in the Torah of events
that were done in the Morning.
We are not BOTHERED by the word MORNING. Nor is it extra.
But it is a style. We can ask what this style indicates. What
does the Chumash (or any Author) indicate when it says that
something happened in the morning.
A perusal of the list shows that the rule is as follows:
>>MORNING connotes EAGERNESS
>>or
>>MORNING is used after a (prophetic) dream happened
>>on the previous night.
We immediately see that
---Abraham was eager to perform the mitzvah to bind Isaac and
>>Got up in the morning
even though it hurt him to sacrifice Isaac
The important point about using our approach of LISTS is that
IT GENERALIZES to ALL EXAMPLES.
Thus
--Abraham was eager to Banish Ishmael, even though it hurt him,
since it was a prophetic order (1-21-14)
--Isaac was eager to make a treaty even though he was hated(1-26-31)
--Moses was eager to receive the Torah (2-24-4)
--The Jews were eager to repent and obtain Israel(4-14-40)
Notice how our LIST enables us to APPLY a principle (MORNING
connotes EAGERNESS) to many new cases and learn new ideas.
Continuing with this theme we see that
--Bilam was EAGER (got up in the morning) to curse the Jews(4-22-13
Is this a correct inference?
Yes. For another Midrash Rabbah (cited by several Rashis) shows
us that 4 wealthy people in the Torah harnessed their donkey
themselves (rather than use their servants) because of their
eagerness. These 4 eager people are
---Abraham harnessed the donkey himself to do Gods commandment1-22-3
---Joseph harnessed the donkey himself to meet his father 1-46-29
---Bilam harnessed the donkey himself to curse the Jews 4-22-21
---Pharoh harnessed the donkey himself to curse the Jews 2-14-6
We see from these 4 examples that EAGERNESS whether for
--LOVE (Abraham, Joseph) or
--HATRED (Bilam Pharoh)
can lead to personal actions and non use of power (servants).
This of course is simply a MORAL LESSON learned from the Torah
which Rashi does on occasion (Provided it is backed up by a list).
To finish we examine the other cases where something happened in
the morning.
We see several examples of GETTING UP IN THE MORNING after a
prophetic dream even though no EAGERNESS is present
--Pharoh 1-41-8
--Avimelech 1-20-8
Thus even though the Midrash doesn't say this explicitly we
propose a second rule for when GETTING UP IN THE MORNING IS
USED--namely, after a prophetic dream.
Again we can apply this to new situations. We infer from 1-40-6
that Joseph would deliberately get up early in the morning to
help inmates by interpreting their dreams.
Finally, {LIST1} has 3 exceptions---verses which show no
>>EAGERNESS or
>>AFTER A DREAM
Because of the success of the MORNING RULE in other verses
we therefore seek to harmonize the rule in these 2 cases.
---In 2-7-15 we should bring in the OTHER VERSE Ez29-3
>> To me (Pharoh) is the Nile, I have made it
(ie I am a god)
Building on this theme that
>>I am a god<<
Rashi hypothesizes that Pharoh proved his divinity by not going
to the bathroom. He in turn abstained from not going to the
bathroom by going to the nile in the morning.
An alternative explantion is that Pharoh got up early to worship
the nile--the verse shows his eagerness to worship the nile just
as the verses show Bilams eagerness to curse the Jews.
I believe both these interpretations are good.
---In 1-32-1 we have the most difficult case.
>>Laban got up early
But it was NOT
>>the aftermath of any dream
>>because of eagerness to leave his family!!
Since this verse is the ONLY exception to the rule the Midrash
Rabbah (on this verse) felt compelled to harmonize the rule
>>MORNING denotes EAGERNESS or
>>MORNING denotes AFTERMATH of a dream
with the verse
>>Laban got up in the morning.
The obscure Midrash on this verse states that
>>Bandits had robbed his house from all its wealth
>>and this was bothering him all night so he couldn't
>>sleep. (Because he only had wealth because of Jacob
>>so that when Jacob left he lost it).
Because this Midrash is so fanciful Rashi left it out. It is
conceivable there are other explanations. At any rate the
other examples in the list are OK.
Let us summarize the methodology here
---If you see a Rashi confirm it with a LIST
---Do not confirm it with 'Why is there an extra word' unless
this extra word is always used in this way
---Once you make the list you can learn new applications of
the rule (This is an important benefit of learning using lists)
---You also have the right to observe new subrules (like the
MORNING AFTER A DREAM subrule)
---Finally the exciting thing about lists is the rich attempts
at accounting for exceptions.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
This is an important Rashi on techniques. We show that
even if Rashi gives one example we can still
---make lists that apply to many cases
---apply the rule to the other cases
---develop new subrules
---study exceptions.
The student who wants to UNDERSTAND RASHI AND MIDRASH
should read this posting over several times till the
methods and reasons for each Midrash and Rashi become
clear.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
{LIST1} {Of verses where people GOT UP IN THE MORNING. The rule
is that GETTING UP IN THE MORNING is a stylistic method
of indicating
>>EAGERNESS TO DO SOMETHING
>>The MORNING AFTER A (PROPHETIC) DREAM
There are 3 exceptions to this rule which are dealt
with in the footnotes. Rashi used workbook methods here..
Rashi explained a few of the examples and let us complete
the rest}
VERSE WHAT WAS DONE WHO WAS EAGER & WHY NOTE
======= ===================== ================================= ====
1-19-27 Prayer for Sedom Abraham eager to help others *1
1-21-14 Banishment of Ishmael Eager to perform a prophetic order *1
1-22-3 Sacrifice of Isaac Eager to perform a prophetic order *1
1-26-31 Treaty of Beer Sheva Isaac was eager even though hated *1
2-24-4 Receipt of Torah Moses was eager to do a Mitzvah *1
4-14-40 Repentance from Spies Jews eager to go to Israel *1
4-22-13 Curse of Jews Balak was eager to curse Jews *1
1-40-6 Aftermath of a dream Jsph helped to interpret dreams *2
1-41-8 Aftermath of a dream Pharohs dream on 7 years of pleny *2
1-28-18 Aftermath of a dream Gods promise to be with Jacob *2
1-20-8 Aftermath of a dream Warning by God not to molest Sarah *2
1-24-54 Eliezer leaves Laban Afraid of being double crossed *3
1-32-1 Special case Midrash claims he was robbed *3
2-7-15 special case Didn't want anyone seeing him *3
FOOTNOTES
*1 In all these cases the person who got up were eager to
do a prophetic order EVEN THOUGH it might not be beneficial
to them. Thus Abraham was eager to get up even though he had
to Banish Ishmael. The application of this principle to 1-19-27
is not explicit in any commentary but fits in perfectly with
the list...Abraham wanted to pray for the welfare of others.
*2 In all these cases the getting up in the morning is the
aftermath of a dream. Furthermore no EAGERNESS is present.
Hence we consider this a second reason for mentioning MORNING.
*3 These 3 verses are exceptions to the rule
>>MORNING denotes EAGERNESS
>>MORNING denotes the aftermath of a dream
---In 1-24-54 it is clear from the verses that Eliezer was
worried that Laban would double cross him and therefore wanted
to leave early.
The other two verses are difficult.
---In 2-7-15 we should bring in the OTHER VERSE Ez29-3
>> To me (Pharoh) is the Nile, I have made it
(ie I am a god)
Building on this theme that
>>I am a god<<
Rashi hypothesizes that Pharoh proved his divinity by not going
to the bathroom. He in turn abstained from not going to the
bathroom by going to the nile in the morning.
An alternative explantion is that Pharoh got up early to worship
the nile--the verse shows his eagerness to worship the nile just
as the verses show Bilams eagerness to curse the Jews.
I believe both these interpretations are good.
---In 1-32-1 we have the most difficult case.
>>Laban got up early
But it was NOT
>>the aftermath of any dream
>>because of eagerness to leave his family!!
Since this verse is the ONLY exception to the rule the Midrash
Rabbah (on this verse) felt compelled to harmonize the rule
>>MORNING denotes EAGERNESS or
>>MORNING denotes AFTERMATH of a dream
with the verse
>>Laban got up in the morning.
The obscure Midrash on this verse states that
>>Bandits had robbed his house from all its wealth
>>and this was bothering him all night so he couldn't
>>sleep. (Because he only had wealth because of Jacob
>>so that when Jacob left he lost it).
Because this Midrash is so fanciful Rashi left it out. It is
conceivable there are other explanations. At any rate the
other examples in the list are OK.
{LIST2} {List of people who harnessed donkeys themselves even
though they had many servants. This list shows that
EAGERNESS whether out of LOVE (Abraham, Joseph) or
HATRED (Bilam Pharoh) overturns POWERS and leads
people to do things themselves. This list was
actually compiled by the MIDRASH RABBAH on 1-22-3.}
HARNESSED
DONKEY WHY WERE
PERSON KING/WEALTHY HAD SERVANTS HIMSELF THEY EAGER
======= ================= ============ ======= ==========
Abraham Wealthy 1-12-16 1-22-3 Do Mitzvah
Bilam Didn't need money 4-24-13 4-22-21 Curse Jews
Joseph King 1-41-42:44 1-46-29 Meet Father
Pharoh King 2-14-6:9 2-14-6 Destroy Jews
CROSS REFERENCES:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
USAGE | STYLE | MORNING
MORAL LESSONS/REASONS
USAGE | STYLE | MORNING
MORAL LESSONS/REASONS
MORAL LESSONS/REASONS
SQL {Database query comments for those who know Database theory}:
SELECT Verse FROM Bible WHERE
Verse.Meaning 'Getting up in Morning'
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
COMMUNICATIONS
--------------
Send via email SUBMISSIONS/responses/contributions to
rashi-is-simple@shamash.org
If you want your communication published anonomously (without
mentioning your name) simply say so (and your wishes will be
respected). All other submissions (whether thru Shamash or ANY
of my email addresses are made with the understanding that
they can be published as is or with editing)
NOTATIONAL CONVENTIONS
----------------------
e.g. v5b2-1 means as follows:
The "v" means verse
The "5" means Deuteronomy--the 5th book
The "2" means The 2nd chapter
The "1" means The 1st verse
The "b" means The second rashi on that
verse ("we rounded mount
Seir)
Similarly v5-2-1 would mean Dt 2:1 and probably refer to all
Rashis. (These conventions start with issue 14---beforehand
the notation is similar and will be updated retroactively
in the future)
Asterisks (*,#) in a list usually refer to footnotes that follow it
Parenthesis with the word List and a number--[LIST3] refers to
LISTS in the LIST section of each posting.
THE WEB SITE
------------
To review all past issues as well as to see all principles go to the
web site HTTP://WWW.Shamash.Org/Rashi/Index.Htm. You can download all
past issues from this website.
THE ARCHIVES
------------
Alternatively to get PAST ISSUES goto
http://www.shamash.org/listarchives/rashi-is-simple/
To retrieve a specific past issue email to listproc@shamash.org and type
in the body of the message: get rashi-is-simple rashi-is-simple.v#.n#
Issues 5,10,12 are not located here but can be retrieved from the
web site.
SUBSCRIBE & UNSUBSCRIBE
-----------------------
To UNSUBSCRIBE send mail to listproc@shamash.org and type in the body
of the message: unsubscribe rashi-is-simple email-address.
To SUBSCRIBE send email to listproc@shamash.org, and type in the body
of the message: subscribe rashi-is-simple email-address FName LName
OUR GOALS
---------
RASHI-IS-SIMPLE
* will provide logical explanations to all 8,000 Rashis on Chumash.
* the preferred vehicle of explanation is thru list of verses and exceptions
* These postings will be archived in Shamash in Quartuplet
-- By Volume and Number
-- By Verse
-- By Grammatical Rule
-- By quicky explanation
* Rashi-Is-Simple should prove useful to
layman, scholars, rabbis, educators, and students
* Although this list is orthodox we welcome all logical
--explanations
--contributions
--modifications
--questions
--problems
provided they are defended with adequate examples.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
----------------------
For further information on the character of this list
* read your welcome note from Shamash
* read PESHAT and DERASH: TRADITION, Winter 1980 by Russell Hendel
End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*