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(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000
Volume 4 Number 20
Produced Jan. 1, 2000
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (COURIER (NEW) 10)
*******NEW NEW NEW FORMAT NEW NEW NEW*********
| |
|->THE BRIEF EXPLANATION SECTION has been made |
| BRIEFER. We now have STOP signs in this section|
| STOP STOP |
| which warn the reader where the reading gets |
| technical--this will allow smoother reading |
| | NEW
NEW |->We also have QUESTION hilights which focus |
| on how the LISTS we use are produced. |
| |
|->The INFORMATION on the mailing list, its goal |
| and its methods has been shortened and updated |
| |
NEW |->Within the next month the RULES LIST we use | NEW
| will be updated and posted at the bottom |
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|->Thanks to everybody for their suggestions on |
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NEW | |
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---------------------------------------------------
NEW NEW NEW
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------
v1b49-29
EL =: a) TO b) ON (eg he smote the Philistine ON his
head), c) BECAUSE (eg I'll go down to my grave BECAUSE
of my sons death), d) WITH (eg don't take a woman WITH
her sister, e) MORE/FROM (eg You prostituted more than
Canaan), f)IN (eg Bury me IN the cave
v1d49-10
YIKHAT = DETERIORATION.Rashi derives this as follows: a)
Many roots beginning with a YUD have the same meaning as
the last two letters of the root; b) KHH = Rot/Rust;
Hence c) YKH = Deterioration. Rashi on Prov clearly
states that DETERIORATION is meaning
------------APOLOGIES FOR ERRORS IN v4n19 HEADERS----------
Last Thursday the QUICKIE INTRODUCTION to the digest had
incorrect summaries of the postings (Computer error). But
----THE POSTINGS THEMSELVES WERE PERFECTLY CORRECT------
I am posting here in Volume 4 number 20 the the QUICKIE
INTRODUCTIONS to these postings in Volume 4 Number 19.
If you erased Number 19 you can visit the website and get
the corrected version.
v1a34-31
A standard symbolic technique is to communicate an
abstract concept using a GOOD EXAMPLE. eg The Psalmist
said(113-7) 'He lifts poor from the dust' (clearly God
helps people not in the dust also). In our verse
DEGRADATION is indicated by PROSTITUTE.
v1b48-7 has 4 verses as follows
v1b48-7
The NOUN, ROAD is repeated twice(She died on ROAD, I buried
her on ROAD). Repeated nouns generalize the concept. Thus
the 2nd ROAD refers to BEING OUT IN THE OPEN, VULNERABLE.
Jacob buried Rachel in the open to inspire vulnerable people
v1a48-7
The word CVRATH ARETZ=MEASURE OF LAND=The standard measure
of land that could be SIEVED(CVRAH)=PLOWED in one day. We
show that Rashi agreed with the Midrash Rabbah using
semantic rules. ALIGNMENT of 1-35-16 vs 1-48-7 helps shed
further light.
v1-35-16
The word CVRATH ARETZ=MEASURE OF LAND=The standard measure
of land that could be SIEVED(CVRAH)=PLOWED in one day. We
show that Rashi agreed with the Midrash Rabbah using
semantic rules. ALIGNMENT of 1-35-16 vs 1-48-7 helps shed
further light.
v1b44-13
You can say TO A PLACE by eithr a) Using a PREFIX LMD=TO
(LMITZRAYIM), b) Using a SUFFIX HAY(Mitzraymah). The
suffix HAY has a connotation of going to the OUTSKIRTS
of the place while the PREFIX LAMED indicates going to
the heart of the place
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
THE RASHI IS SIMPLE MAILING LIST
--------------------------------
GOALS: To grammatically defend all 8000 Rashis on Chumash.
METHOD:Every Rashi will be defended with a LIST of comparable cases
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Laymen, Academicians, Rabbis, Yeshiva students
COMMENTS,QUESTIONS: EMail to address below; (minor edits may occur)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:Always given unless 'anonymous' is explicitly asked
(UN)SUBSCRIBE: Email to above with keyword "(UN)subscribe"
JOURNAL REFERECE: Pshat & Drash, TRADITION, Win 1980, R Hendel
NOTATION: eg v2b1-8 refers to Ex(Book 2) Chap 1 Verse 8 Rashi b(#2)
SPECIALS:...on Rambam,Ramban,Symbolism,Pedagogy,Daily Questions
EMAIL: RJHendel@Juno.Com,rashi-is-simple@shamash.org,
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1b49-29
======
v1b49-29 Bury me TO my fathers:RASHI:Bury me WITH my fathers
v1c37-35 I'll go down TO my son:RASHI:I'll go down BECAUSE of him
v2b6-13 God commanded Moses TO the Jews:RASHI:commanded ON the Jews
v3-18-18 Don't take a woman TO her sister:RASHI:WITH her sister
v4b13-30Calev quieted the nation TO Moses:RASHI:By talking ON Moses
RASHI TEXT:
===========
v1b49-29 Bury me TO my fathers:RASHI:Bury me WITH my fathers
v1c37-35 I'll go down TO my son:RASHI:I'll go down BECAUSE of him
v2b6-13 God commanded Moses TO the Jews:RASHI:commanded ON the Jews
v3-18-18 Don't take a woman TO her sister:RASHI:WITH her sister
v4b13-30Calev quieted the nation TO Moses:RASHI:By talking ON Moses
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
=========================================
The verse literally says
>Bury me (Jacob) TO my fathers
Rashi explains that the Hebrew word
>EL normally translated as TO
can also mean
>EL= WITH
So the verse really means
>Bury me (Jacob) WITH my fathers
So indeed, Rashi Is Simple.
Ramban does not DISAGREE with Rashi but AMPLIFIES him.
Ramban points out that the Hebrew word EL in the exact same
sentence, one phrase later, says
>Bury me,....TO the cave
Clearly this should be translated
>Bury me ....IN the cave
So that we translate
>EL = IN
Ramban goes on and finally states that
>EL has many meanings.
We are certain that the Ramban does not disagree with Rashi
since the Ramban uses examples which Rashi himself commented on!
For example Rashi, Radack, and Ramban all bring 3-18-18
>Don't take a woman WITH (EL) her sister
as an example that
>EL can mean WITH.
Thus it is clear that the Ramban is merely clarifying Rashi.
---------------------------------------------------
|QUESTION 1: |
|========== |
|How would you find all the meanings of EL? |
|What tools would you use? How would you find |
|examples? |
---------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------
| QUESTION 2: |
| ========== |
| Using your answer to question 1, how many |
| meanings are there to EL? How would you justify |
| your answer? |
---------------------------------------------------
{LIST1} below contains examples from Rashi, Ramban and Radack
on the multiple meanings of EL. Although this is accepted by
all grammarians nevertheless many people are surprised that
EL does not always mean TO. {LIST2} further summarizes {LIST1}
and presents all 6 meanings of EL--
>EL = TO--eg God spoke to Moses
>EL = ON--eg He smote the Philistine ON his head
>EL = because--eg He named him NoHonor BECAUSE of the defeat
>EL = with--eg Don't take a woman WITH her sister
>EL = in -- eg they buried her IN the cave
>EL = FROM/MORE--eg You prostituted MORE than Canaan
From a deeper perspective there is a difference in pedagogy here.
Ramban believes that
>You teach by gathering together all cases
while Rashi believes that
>You teach each case separately. When the student is
>ready (s)he will organize the cases themselves
Both approaches have validity. Ramban's approach may be called
>TOP DOWN
The Ramban starts with the TOP-the whole principle,and then
develops it on each particular verse.
By contrast, Rashi's approach is
>DOWN UP
Rashi starts with each particular case. It is then the students
job to gather them together and see a comprehensive total theory
Both these approaches are used in teaching and both have validity
(Roughly speaking, different students learn better from different
approaches).
------------------------------------------------
| STOP! STOP! |
| The remainder of this section is technical! |
| On a FIRST reading you may wish to scroll to |
| the next section which begins with the word |
| VERSE: You can scroll quickly by using the |
| FIND feature in the main menu of your browser|
| or word processor (FIND "VERSE:"). More |
| ambitious readers (or on a 2nd reading) are |
| encouraged to continue for many more |
| interesting details and lists. |
------------------------------------------------
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
=========================
I am a bit startled at the Ramban who stated
>Rashi interpreted BURY ME **WITH** my fathers
but did not so interpret the next clause.
Does the Ramban think the next clause means
>BURY ME **WITH** the cave.
In fact a better translation is
>BURY ME **IN** the cave.
Many of the examples that the Ramban brought are translations of
>EL = IN
Hence I am at a loss why EL=IN should have a bearing on EL=WITH!!
Note that Rashi could NOT have translated
>BURY ME **IN** MY FATHERS
Perhaps that is Rashis point--that EL can have many meanings
>TO - NORMAL Meaning
>IN - BURY ME IN THE CAVE
>WITH - BURY ME WITH MY FATHERS
>ON - The famine happened ON ACCOUNT of Saul
See the LISTS below.
At any rate the above is a mere technicality. The Ramban is
clear that
>EL can have many meanings.
Rashi is clear on this point also but scatters the many meanings
over his commentary. As we indicated this is a difference in
pedagogy not in content.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
===========================================================
{LIST1} {Meanings of the Hebrew word EL. SOURCES: Ramban on this
verse; Rashi on a variety of verses (you have to laboriously
read thru all Rashis); RDK in the book of ROOTS. The last
column, WHO, cross references the Rishon involved--R=Rashi,
N=RambaN, K=RadacK--thus "RNK" on 3-18-18 means that all
3 Rishonim, Rashi, Radack and Ramban use 3-18-18 as an
example that EL = WITH}
VERSE MEAN TEXT WHO
======== ==== ================================================== ===
4-1-1 TO God spoke TO Moses
2S21-1 ON*4 The famine happened ON ACCOUNT of Saul R
1S4-21 ON She named her son NoHonor ON ACCOUNT of the defeat R
1-37-35 ON I'll go down to my grave BECAUSE of Josephs murder R
2-6-13 ON God commanded Moses CONCERNING the Jews R
4-13-30 ON Calev quieted the nation AGAINST Moses*5 R
1S-17-49 ON He smote the Philistine ON his head K
2S-2-9 ON He gave him reign on Gilad and Shuri K
1S26-14 ON Who is it that calls ON (ABOUT) the King K
1-49-29 WITH Bury me WITH (EL) my fathers R K
3-18-18 WITH Don't take a woman WITH her sister RNK
Jos11-19 WITH They didn't make peace WITH the Jews K
2S18-27 WITH He is a good man and comes WITH good news *4 K
1-23-19 IN They buried them IN the cave *1 NK
2-25-21 IN And IN the ark give the Two Tablets NK
1S-10-22 IN ..behold, Saul is hidden IN the utensils NK
1-37-36 IN And the Medanim sold him IN Egypt *3 K
Jos5-3 IN Joshua circumcised them IN the ..valley K
Ez44-30 IN Give .. so you will have blessings IN your house K
1-41-57 FROM They came to buy food FROM Joseph *2 K
Ez15-29 MORE You prostituted more than the Canaanites K
FOOTNOTES
*1 'Bury IN the cave' also occurs in 1-49-29
*2 RDK also suggests 'They came TO Joseph to buy food' using
an inversion of the sentence
*3 The verse (in my opinion) could also read
>The Medanim sold him TO the Egyptian (Empire)
*4 RDK points out that the preposition ON can mean both
>ACCOUNT OF / CONCERNING
>PHYSICALLY ON
RDK also gives 3 mores meanings
>ETH
>BECAUSE + ON
>B when it means WITH (But these are all covered here)
*5 In other words he quieted the people by beginning
>Is this the only thing that Moses did to us
At that point they quieted expecting to hear more complaints
He then continued
>He took us out of Egypt
>gave us the Manna
>So he can help us conquer Israel
{LIST2} {A list of the 6 meanings of EL. SOURCE: We simple took
{LIST1} and selected one row for each distinct meaning
with one good example. Note how EL=AL=PHYSICALLY ON or
EL=AL=PHYSICALLY BECAUSE, because AL itself has two
meanings}
VERSE MEAN TEXT WHO
======== ==== ================================================== ===
4-1-1 TO God spoke TO Moses
1S4-21 ON She named her son NoHonor ON ACCOUNT of the defeat R
1S-17-49 ON He smote the Philistine ON his head K
3-18-18 WITH Don't take a woman WITH her sister RNK
1-23-19 IN They buried them IN the cave NK
Ez15-29 FROM You prostituted more than the Canaanites K
CROSS REFERENCES:
=================
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
=================
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
===============================================================
SPECIAL WORDS
SPECIAL WORDS
SPECIAL WORDS
SPECIAL WORDS
SPECIAL WORDS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v1d49-10
======
v1d49-10 and to him belongs the YIKHAS of nation
RASHI TEXT:
===========
v1d49-10 [Moderator: This is a long Rashi..I am
condensing it and summarizing the basic idea]
YIKHAS=The gathering of nations (cf Isa11-10)
In Prov30-17 ..despise the YIKHAS of the mother-
YIKHAS=The gathering of wrinkles in old age
[Rashi spends some time showing the Y of YIKHAS
is part of the root but concludes that it could
have equally said KHIIYATH AMIM. Rashi also cites
some Talmudic uses of the word]
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
=========================================
The Hebrew word YIKHAT occurs only twice in Tnach
>1-49-10 The YIKHAT of nations
>Prov30-17 The YIKHAT of the mother
When there is such a small statistical base we expect
controversy since there is no LIST to prove any position.
Nevertheless Rashi has an ingenious method to prove his position
which incorporates several features of other Rishonim positions.
In volume 2 Number 25 we have seen about a dozen examples where
a root beginning with YUD has the same or similar meaning to
the last two letters of the root without the YUD. Thus
>YAL and ALH both mean to curse
>YAZ and AZ both mean to behave brazenly
>YSHMM and ASHMM both mean to destroy
----------------------------------------------------
| QUESTION 1: |
| =========== |
| How would you make a list to prove that the |
| meaning of a [YUD-2-3] verb can be obtained from |
| the meaning of its last two letters? |
| What sources would you use? |
----------------------------------------------------
See {LIST1} for about a dozen examples.
Using this principle Rashi extends the list of verses with
>YKH
to the list of verses with
KHH = dull, rotting, rusting
Thus we have the Biblical phrases
>the DECAY of teeth
>the RUSTING of iron
So Rashi is Simple, elegant and beyond controversy. If
>KHH = Decay/rust
and if
>YKH = KHH
Then we must have
>YKH = decay/rust
Thus Rashi translates
>...despises the OLD WRINKLED MOTHER
>...the WORN OUT NATIONS will surrender to King Mesiah
In other words Rashi says
>MOTHER'S YIKHAT = accumulation of wrinkles in old age
Similarly Rashi would interpret 1-49-10
>the nations will surrender themselves to King Mesiah
>when their strife and failures accumulate
This completes our analysis. For those interested in a technical
scholarly discussion see the 4 way controversy in {LIST3} on the
meaning of YKH. We have that
>Rmbn: YKH = weak (like Rashi)
>RDK: YKH = Obedience
>Ibn Ezra: YKH = Assemblage
Rmbn gives a fascinating list of occurences of YKH in Talmud and
Midrash. For further comments see the COMMENTS ON RASHIS FORM
SECTION.
------------------------------------------------
| STOP! STOP! |
| The remainder of this section is technical! |
| On a FIRST reading you may wish to scroll to |
| the next section which begins with the word |
| VERSE: You can scroll quickly by using the |
| FIND feature in the main menu of your browser|
| or word processor (FIND "VERSE:"). More |
| ambitious readers (or on a 2nd reading) are |
| encouraged to continue for many more |
| interesting details and lists. |
------------------------------------------------
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
=========================
We have suggested that Rashi translates
>YKH = Accumulated rotting
To be precise in Proverbs Rashi says
>The wrinkles that ACCUMULATE & are WORN OUT in old age
But on Genesis Rashi says
>wrinkles that ACCUMULATE
>nations that ACCUMULATE
This leads Ramban to suggest that Rashi believed that
>YKH = ACCUMULATE
since that is all he mentions in Genesis. However in light of
Rashis EXPLICIT statement in Genesis that
>YKH = KHH
and in light of Rashis EXPLICIT statement in Proverbs
>accumulate AND WORN OUT
we argue that Rashi really held the same position as the
Ramban.(Note that in any event Rashi is not that clear
in his commentary on Genesis as he was on Proverbs)
This verse illustrates another example in which
>Rashi in Nach illuminates over Rashi in Torah
>Rashi is precise with lists but not as precise in form
(For he should have said both ACCUMULATED and WORN OUT
in Genesis the way he did in Proverbs SOURCE: Browse
thru the book of ROOTS, LETTER YUD. The RADACK himself
explicitly gives some of these pairs).
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
===========================================================
{LIST1} {Roots beginning with YUD that have the same meaning
as the Last two letters of the Root *4.SOURCE: Browse
thru the book of ROOTS, LETTER YUD. The RADACK himself
explicitly gives some of these pairs }
ROOT1 ROOT2 MEANING RDQs STATEMENT OF EQUAL MEANING FOOTNOTE
===== ===== =========== =============================== ========
YAL ALH Curse/swear YAL and ALH have similar meaning *1
YZM ZMM Plot The meanings of YZM ZMM are equal *1
YTV TOV GOOD Two Roots with one meaning *1
YAZ AZZ Brazen YAZ AZZ have the same meaning *1
YAT ATH Enwrap YAT ATH have the same meaning *1
YShM ShMM Destroyed YShM has a meaning of ShMMaH *1
YAV AVH Desire *2
YGR GOR Fear *2
YZN ZON Weapons *2
YLCh HLCh Walk *3
YChD EChD Unique/One *3
YRA RAH SEE/REVERE *3
YShN ShNH OLD/REPEAT *3
FOOTNOTES
*1 The RDQ explicitly says the two roots have the same meaning
*2 The RDQ translates each root the same way (but does not
explicitly connect them
*3 The two roots do not have identical meanings but do have
similar meanings. Thus something UNIQUE is ONE of a king.
Similarly to REVERE someone is to constantly see him/her
before you in your mind (cause-effect). Similarly a person
(or object) becomes WORN OUT by REPEATED USE.
*4 (As I have explained many times Rashi is
not rejecting the 3-letter root theory For Rashi believes that
GRAMMATICAL FORM is determined by 3 letter roots. Nevertheless
SEMANTIC MEANING of roots can be determined by a decomposition into
a one letter and 2 letter root. By one-letter and two-letter roots I
mean a 3 letter root with 2 or 2 weak letters.)
{LIST2} {All verses with root KHH or YKH. SOURCE: The Konkordance}
ROOT VERSE PHRASE
==== ===== ======
YKH 1-49-10 The YIKHATH of nations
YKH Prv30-17 The YIKHATH of the mother
KHH Jer31-28*1 The YIKHATH of teeth
KHH Ecc10-10 YIKHATH of iron
FOOTNOTES
---------
*1 Same phrase occurs in Jer31-29 and Ez18-2
{LIST3} {4 approaches to the meaning of YKH in 1-49-10. As seen
above the Rashi-Ramban approach seems the most logical
since it is based on an enhanced list}
RISHON MEANING 1-49-10 Prv30-17
====== ======= ======= ========
RDK Obedience Obedience of nations Obedience of mother*1
IBN EZRA ASSEMBLAGE United nations Mother-son gatherings
RMBN WEAKNESS when nations are weak mothers admonitions*2
RASHI DULLNESS when nations are dull when mother is dull*2
FOOTNOTES
*1 So the verses mean "To Messiah will belong the obedience of
nations"; "..despise the obedience to mother"
*2 Ramban cites Talmudic usages---KHH is used to denote REFUTATIONS
of arguments which WEAKEN the logical stand of the other person.
Hence he interprets Prv30-17..."despising the motherly admonitions"
Rashi is consistent and interprets YKH=ACCUMULATED DULLNESS--in
other words the child despises the mother when she is old and all
wrinkled.
CROSS REFERENCES:
=================
Volume 2 Number 25, v5-4-25
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
=================
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
===============================================================
WORD MEANINGS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
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