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(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000
Volume 5 Number 24
Produced Apr, 13 2000
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^ THE GOLDEN ^^
^^ Rambam Rashi Series ^^
^^ Gold series #5 ^^
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
======================================
HAPPY PASSOVER
PASSOVER SPECIAL ISSUE
SUMMARY OF ALL PREVIOUS PASSOVER RASHIS
=======================================
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------
v6d1-14
PASSOVER SPECIAL PASSOVER SPECIAL summary of all
previous rashis on passover URLS for previous rashis given
v2-3-13 INFINITIVE=GERUND;eg SHMOA does not mean LISTEN but rather
BE INVOLVED IN LISTENING--the Judge should have a thorough
process of review. REMEMBERING exodus means continually
involved in remembering Other examples brought
v5b6-7
The word CHILD can acquire the NEW MEANING of STUDENT.
Similarly FATHER can mean TEACHER (eg 2K2-12 My teacher
My teacher the driving force of Israel (Elishah said
this about Elishah). Cf 5-14-1, 2Ch29-11,5-6-7 )
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
RASHI IS SIMPLE
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)
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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
RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RULES...Complete set with examples ON BOTTOM
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VERSE: v6d1-14
======
======================================
HAPPY PASSOVER
PASSOVER SPECIAL ISSUE
SUMMARY OF ALL PREVIOUS PASSOVER RASHIS
=======================================
My thanks to
>Rabbi Yosef Braun
>Yosi Wetstein
for reminding me of the need to get out a
>SPECIAL PASSOVER ISSUE
which addresses Passover issues. In particular Rabbi Braun wanted
to know about the "400 year problem." This issue will contain a
brief
>SUMMARY of ALL PREVIOUS rashi is Simples ON PASSOVER
>URLS
>BRIEF SUMMARIES
Finally I give acknowlegement to my sister
>Amy Bassan
who is hosting over a dozen people at the seder and requested
that my Divray Torah be short (and punchy). Accordingly you
are all invited Sunday Evening Eastern Standard Time to the
Rashi is Simple website at
>http://www.shamash.org/rashi/
If you go to the
>CHEVRUTA LEARNING MODULES
you will see a special
>Passover Module
which will have
>10 short self contained units.
URLS FOR PASSOVER
=================
Volume 1 Number 8 http://www.shamash.org/rashi/h1n8.htm
Gen 15:13a http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1a15-13.htm
Nu 8:4 http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4-8-4.htm
Dt 26:5d http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5d26-5.htm
Dt 26:5b http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5b26-5.htm
Dt 23:19c http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5c23-19.htm
This issue http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2-13-3.htm
This posting You are already reading it!!
BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE 9 UNITS(LISTS are omitted &may be found on web
====================================================================
UNIT 1: The 4 sons
------------------
If we compare the 4 verses of the 4 sons then
>the WICKED (cynically) SAYS his question
>the SIMPLE, and WISE ASK questions
>the APATHETIC (can't ask) has no questions
Furthermore the
>SIMPLE asks WHAT IS THIS
>the WISE asks WHAT are the SYMBOLS,LAWS
Hence the names (the SIMPLE simply says THIS while the WISE gives
DETAILS; the WICKED doesn't ask but SAYS cynically)
UNIT 2: THE WICKED
-------------------
The wicked son
>SAYS his questions (he never asks)
>Belongs to a GANG (the wicked chapter is ALL PLURAL)
>
>In answering him be short (the wicked parshah is shortest
>Do not use symbols (No symbols are mentioned by the wicked)
UNIT 3: THE APATHETIC SON
--------------------------
This translation is due to the Rav, Rabbi Soloveitchick. You cannot
call this child
>the child who can't ask
since that is identical with
>the simple child
Rather you must call this child the child
>who doesn't care to ask
You cure him by
>being personal (the word FOR ME occurs frequently by him)
>emphasize the individual (there is no PLURAL in his chapter
>using many symbolic objects(more symbols in his chapter)
UNIT 4: THE SIMPLE-WISE CHILDREN
--------------------------------
SYMBOLS (like tefillin)
>are useful for the SIMPLE son (they occur in his parshah)
>but the WISE son needs more (no tefillin in his parshah)
EMPHASIS on INDIVIDUAL and COMMUNITY
>are useful for both the SIMPLE and WISE son since
>both singular and plural occur in both chapters
UNIT 5: BEGIN with SHAME(we were slaves); END with PRAISE(now free)
===================================================================
This is based on the Rabbi Ishmael method of
>2 contradictory verses
Indeed one verse says
>remember this day that you were REDEEMED
while another verse says
>remember that you were a SLAVE
So Rashi/Rambam/Halachah is simple
>you tell both--begin by saying you were a slave
> end by saying you are now free
UNIT 6: From an Aramaean my father (Jacob) lost his job
=======================================================
The famous verse 5-26-5 should be translated as
>(From an Aramaean) My father LOST HIS JOB
The Hebrew root
>OVAYD
can mean
>to lose ones job
Many verses support this eg
>Job4-11 Like a Lion without food
>Ps119-176 Seek me God like a sheep without food
Further details are available at v5b26-5
UNIT 7: The Biblical word THIS always denotes pointing
======================================================
Thus for example we have the following Rashis
>4-8-4 THIS is the Menorah (God showed Moses the Menorah)
>2-30-13 THIS is the half dollar tax(God showed it to Moses
>2-12-2 THIS moon is a new month(God showed Moses the moon)
>3-11-2 THESE are the Kosher animals(Moses showed them)
Hence we have the Rashi and law
>2-13-8 Because of THIS God saved me (Show the children
the Matzoh, Maror and Pascal lamb)
UNIT 8: The Exodus Process applies to all times not just to Egypt
=================================================================
It is interesting how this is derived. Rambam derives this from
>and "US" he took out of Egypt
from which we get the dictum
>in every generation you must see yourself as being in Egypt
We could find further support for this in that by ALL 4 sons it says
>God took US out of Egypt
A further support is found in 1-15-13; God spoke to Abraham saying
>Your Children will be aliens in a land not their own
>they will enslave and torture them
>and ALSO the nation they serve will I judge
The word
>ALSO
implies
>Egypt will be punished
AND
>any other nation that treats them that way
In particular
>the roman empire
>the mideval church
>nazi Germany
were all punished in a mannar similar to Egypt. In fact we review
20 verses where ALSO generalizes a verse to other cases(v1a15-13).
UNIT 9: THE "MY FATHER LOST HIS JOB FROM AN ARAMAEAN" CHAPTER
=============================================================
Why has this chapter (5-26-5:11) received such centrality in
the Seder? Why is it learned by finding cross references and
confirming verses for each phrase?
I suggest that the key of the seder night is educating the children
The ideal would be to make them all into sages. But we all know
that on the Seder night we have many simple people, apathetic people
etc. We only have one night! What is the best way to introduce them
to talmudic research?
Our sages suggested teaching them the most basic research technique
>Cross referencing
On the one hand this technique is accessible to all people. On
the other hand even scholars find it time consuming and laborious.
So that is exactly how the Hagaddah is constucted--for every phrase
in this chapter a corresponding verse is found in the Bible
For those into games and excitement you can convert this part of
the Hagaddah into an interactive dialogue game
>Who knows where it says THE JEWS WERE SMALL IN NUMBER
>Who knows where it says THEY BECAME GREAT IN EGYPT
>Who knows where it says THEY WERE TORTURED BY EGYPT
Etc. For each phrase in 5-26 we then must find the appropriate
verse eg
>WE WERE SMALL = WE WENT DOWN TO EGYPT AS 70(1-46-27)
>WE BECAME GREAT = WE MULTIPLIED IN EGYPT(2-1-7)
>WE WERE TORTURED= THE EGYPTIANS TORTURED US (2-1-10)
UNIT 10: THE 400 YEAR PROPHECY
==============================
In 1-15-13 we are told
>Your children will be
>aliens in a land not their own
>slaves
>tortured
>for 400 years
Yet the stay in Egypt was only about 200 years.
Rashi explains that
>the being ALIENS lasted 400 years
>the slavery and torture was less
Rashi finds support for this in the words
>aliens in a land not their own (not just egypt)
>it says they WILL BE strangers and the word WILL BE
in the Bible always denotes emphasis
>Historically Jews were strangers from the time of
the patriarchs; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were all
strangers (cf1-21-34, 1-23-4,1-35-27, 1-47-4,1-32-5..)
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2-13-3
======
v2-13-3 Be involved in remembering the exodus
v4-25-17 be involved in feeling uncomfortable with Midyan
v5-24-9 Be very careful about the laws of Leprous spots..
Be involved in remembering what God did to Miryam
v5-25-17 'Have proper scales, proper weights, ..measures..
'Be involved in remembering what Amalek did to you'
v5b6-7 And you shall teach your STUDENTS (lit Sons)
RASHI TEXT:
===========
v2-13-3 'Be involved in remembering the exodus'
BE INVOLVED = Remember it every day
v4-25-17 'be involved in feeling uncomfortable with Midyan'
BE INVOLVED=continually despise them for using
prostitutes to make you sin as part of a war effort
v5-24-9 'Be very careful about the laws of Leprous spots..
Be involved in remembering what God did to Miryam'
By perceiving leprosy as a punishment for slander
(Miryams sin) you can help avoid slander
v5-25-17 'Have proper scales, proper weights, ..measures..
'Be involved in remembering what Amalek did to you'
Be constantly concerned about honesty For if you
cheat with dishonest weights you will be punished
with military tragedies like Amalek
v5b6-7 'And you shall teach your STUDENTS (lit Sons)'
The word
>SON
can EQUALLY mean
>STUDENT.
This is proved by the following {LIST1}
VERSE TEXT WHERE son/father MEANS student/teacher
===== ===========================================
5-14-1 You (Jews) are Gods STUDENTS ..be holy
2K2-12 The STUDENTS of the prophets
2Chr29-11 My STUDENTS do not be lax (Said by King Chizkiyah)
2K2-12 My TEACHER the chariot of Israel(Said to ELIJAH)
5-6-7 and you will teach your STUDENTS
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
=========================================
This is unit #5 in the Rambam-Rashi Golden series. The purpose of
this series is to show how the Rambam and Rashi both approached
the interpretation of Biblical verses in the same manner using
the same techniques. Rambam can be as terse as Rashi;just as Rashi
can be as analytical as Rambam. There are analytic statements that
Rashi makes and that Rambam omits and there are midrashic comments
that Rambam makes and that Rashi omits. In this unit we analyze
chapter 7 of the laws of bread and Matzah. This chapter is based on
5 sets of Biblical verses.
The full and detailed explanation of this chapter of Rambam may
be found in {LIST8}. In this BRIEF section we go over the chapter
from the point of view of verses (A sort of Rashi overview of Rambam
This chapter of Rambam is based on 5 verses/commandments. They are
>2-13-3 Be involved in REMEMBERING the Pesach
>5-15-5 REMEMBER you were a slave in Egypt
>2-13-8 Tell to your students: Because of THIS(Mazoh) God..
>6-6-23 It is **US** that God took out of Egypt
>The 4 Biblical chapters where we are told to tell
our children about the exodus (the 4 sons)
>Wicked 2-12-26:27
>Apathetic 2-13-8:10
>Simple 2-13-14:16
>Wise 5-6-20:25
Let us now go over each of these commandments and see what
Rambam derives.
>2-13-3 Be involved in REMEMBERING the Pesach
=============================================
From the emphasis of CONTINUALLY BEING involved we have
the following Rabbinic commandments
EXAMPLE 1
---------
Snatch matzoh (hide the afikoman) to encourage children to ask
EXAMPLE 2
---------
Make CHAROSETH which resembles the mud we worked in
EXAMPLE 3
---------
Eat Bitter Herbs and Matzoh EVEN today when we are not
Biblically required (because there is no Pascal lamb)
In other words DO ACTIVITIES so that you
>"are involved in remembering"
>2-13-3 Be involved in REMEMBERING the Exodus
>5-15-5 REMEMBER you were a slave in Egypt
==============================================
We just finished a series on Rabbi Ishmaels rule of
>2 verses that contradict each other
This applies to the present case. One verse says(2-13-3)
>remember the EXODUS
while the other (5-15-5) says
>remember you were a slave
So Rashi/Rambam is simple
>remember the transition from STARTING as a slave
>to FINISHING as free
Hence the law that in telling the Passover story we must
>BEGIN with shame(slave) END with Praise(Freedom)
[I believe this derivation new]
Based on this criterion of BEGIN WITH SHAME;END WITH PRAISE
the sages searched and found two Biblical chapters for the seder
>5-6-21:23 We were slaves in Egypt
>5-26-5:11 From an Aramaean my father Jacob was a loser
The 4 Biblical chapters of the 4 sons
=====================================
The Rav, Rabbi Soloveitchick has pointed out that the 4 sons
are not the only possibilities in children. Rather the 4 sons
are 4 typologies that are MIXED in each person. Hence we have
the following laws
EXAMPLE 1
---------
Teach to each child according to their ability
EXAMPLE 2
---------
Tell a child EVEN if he doesn't want to ask (Because
of the "Child who can't ask")
EXAMPLE 3
---------
If you don't have children then your wife asks (Because
as Rashi explains {LIST1} the BIblical word CHILD also
means STUDENT. So the verse really says TELL YOUR STUDENTS
>2-13-8 Tell your students: Because of THIS God took us out
===========================================================
As Rashi shows the Biblical word
>THIS
always shows that something was pointed at. Some examples
are (see {LIST4})
EXAMPLE 1
---------
>THESE are the Kosher animals
The word THESE proves that Moses SHOWED them each animal
EXAMPLE 2
---------
>THIS is the make of the Candellabrah
The word THIS proves that God showed Moses the candellabrah by
prophetic vision
EXAMPLE 3
----------
>Because of THIS God took us out of Egypt
The word THIS requires that we point to the MATZOH, MAROR and
PASCAL lamb on the table.
>6-6-23 It is **US** that God took out of Egypt
===============================================
Actually by every one of the 4 sons it mentions that
>God took US out of Egypt
Furthermore it says in the decalogue
>Remember that **YOU** were a slave
We learn from this the
>REVELANCE requirement
The passover story must be told in such a way that we
see ourselves as coming out of Egypt. From this RELEVANCE
requirement Rambam derives the following Rabbinic laws
EXAMPLE 1
---------
Drink 4 cups of Good wine (see **YOURSELF** as free)
EXAMPLE 2
----------
Recline on the left side (Reclining was only done by free people)
There are other verses that show this emphasis on
>**I** left Egypt
that are not brought down by Rashi but not Rambam. For example
>1-15-13:14 states that God told Abraham that the Jews
>will be slaves and tortured and God will **ALSO**
>judge the nation that enslaves them
Rashi in v3n11, v1a15-14 explains that the word
>ALSO
implies that
>God will judge Egypt
>God will also judge others that persecute us
>such as the Roman persecution, the Christian Inquisition
>Hitlers Germany, etc.(The 4 kingdoms)
So Rashi introduces the idea of REVELANCE---What God did to
Egypt God will do to all other nations that persecute us.
The summary of verses supporting seeing
>**OURSELVES** as leaving Egypt (not just our fathers)
is presented in {LIST6}. The summary of verses supporting
using
>ALSO to denote SIMILAR situations is presented in {LIST7}
The preceding paragraphs of Rambam have dealt with
>BIBLICAL commandments
The remaining paragraphs deal with
>RABBINICAL consequences
EXAMPLE 1
----------
Thus the Biblical requirement of see **ourselves** as leaving
Egypt is implemented thru the rabbinnic requirements of
>leaning on the left side (paragraphs 7,8)
>drinking 4 cups of wine (paragraphs 9,10)
These 4 paragraphs discuss the details of WHO must recline, HOW
they should recline, HOW the 4 cups of wine should be made etc
EXAMPLE 2
---------
The Biblical requirement of
>being INVOLVED in remembering Egypt
gives rise to the 3 Rabbinic commandments of
>grabbing matzohs (Hiding afikoman) to arouse curiosity(Par 3)
>Making the CHAROSETH (resembling the mud Jews worked in)(Par 11
>Eating Matzoh Maror even today(Par 12:13)
Notice how paragraph 13 simply outlines WHICH vegetables are
classified as bitter.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
=========================
Compare Rashi on 4-25-17 and 5-27-1. Both verses comment on
the infinitive.
>4-25-17 This is a "present form"
>5-27-1 This is a "present form"--a GERUND
Notice how 4-25-17 by itself would not imply that
>the infinitive is a gerund
while 5-27-1
>does EXPLICITLY say that the infinitive is a gerund
Similarly {LIST1} implies that
>the infinitive is a gerund
It is for this reason that we have frequently emphasized
that Rashi
>is not particular about his wording
(since indeed he omitted stating GERUND on 4-25-17)
But Rashi is particular
>about concepts
(the concept here is that INFINITIVE = GERUND)
Similarly Rashi is particular
>about LISTS
since the list of infinitives {LIST1} shows that
INFINITIVE = GERUND. Therefore we may always feel
confident in interpreting Rashi if we have a
sufficiently big list to justify the interpretation.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
===========================================================
{LIST1} {Verses where the word
>CHILD or FATHER
means
>STUDENT or TEACHER}
VERSE TEXT WHERE son/father MEANS student/teacher
========= ===========================================
5-14-1 You (Jews) are Gods STUDENTS ..be holy
2K2-12 The STUDENTS of the prophets
2Chr29-11 My STUDENTS do not be lax (Said by King Chizkiyah)
2K2-12 My TEACHER the chariot of Israel(Said to ELIJAH)
5-6-7 and you will teach your STUDENTS
{LIST2} {Verses where the GERUND means CONTINUAL activity.
Thus eg
>"REMEMBER what God did to Miryam"
means to occasionally remember it. By contrast
>BE INVOLVED IN REMEMBERING Miryam
means to CONTINUALLY remember it. Since the
Biblical paragraph involved reads
>be careful about the skin diseases
>be involved in remembering Miryam
we conclude that
>by linking skin diseases to slander (as
>a punishment) we will continually remember
>what God did to Miryam (Since in 4-12
>Miryam is punished by leprosy for slander)
>Indeed every time I look at my skin I will
>think of the possibility of disease and
>slander.
Other verses are treated similarly}
VERSE BE INVOLVED IN ... HOW WE CONTINUALLY DO
======== ================================= ======================
2-20-8 remembering the Sabbath Kiddush, special foods
v2-13-3 remembering the exodus Charoseth,yank matzoh
v4-25-17 feeling uncomfortable with Midyan not just war; hate them
v5-16-1 watching the spring for Passover make leap years
v5-24-9 remembering what God did to Miryam link skin disease=slandr
v5-25-17 remembering what Amalek did to you link theft=Amalek
{LIST3} {The 10 mitzvoths where God mentions the exodus
from Egypt. The various columns hilight the important
differences between these verses in HOW the Exodus
is mentioned. Further minor differences are presented
in footnote *6. As an example of differences between
the verses notice how the explicit use of the word
REMEMBER occurs in 4 commandments and these are
exactly the 4 commandments dealing with ORPHANS,
WIDOWS, SOJOURNERS, SLAVES. This coincidence leads
to Rashis comments which are further elaborated on
in the footnotes}
*4 *4
*3 DOES DOES BESIDES RASHI
WHAT THE THE STATING "GOD
LANGUAGE MTZVH MTZVH TOOK US OUT OF
*2 IS USED TALK TALK EGYPT ON
MITZVOTH DOES TO SHOW ABOUT ABOUT CONDITION WE
WHERE IT SAY WE WERE SLAVE BEING OBSERVE MTZVT"
EXODUS IS REMEMBER TAKEN OUT ORPHAN HOLY DOES RASHI ADD
VERSE MENTIONED EXODUS OF EGYPT WIDOW *1 ANYTHING ELSE?
======== ========= ======== ========= ====== ===== ==============
v5-15-15 Slaves REMEMBER REDEEMED Yes God gave booty
v5-5-15 Shabbath REMEMBER Took out Yes Be Gods slave
v5-16-12 Shavuoth REMEMBER Yes
v5-24-18 Orphan REMEMBER REDEEMED Yes Even if loss
v3a22-33 Mother-son Took out YES
v3-11-45 No toomah RAISE out YES RAISE our souls
v4a15-41 Tzitzith Took out YES
v2-29-46 Sacrifices KNOW Took out YES
v3a25-38 Interest Took out Deceipt,loss*4,5
v3d19-36 Weights Took out Deceipt *4
FOOTNOTES
*1 That is HOLINESS is mentioned in the Biblical paragraph
dealing with that MTZVH. Sometimes the HOLINESS is mentioned
in connection with the exodus and sometimes it is mentioned
in a prior verse.
*2 Notice how the Mitzvoth where God explicitly said REMEMBER
the exodus are the same as those Mitzvoth which deal with
proper behavior towards slaves, sojourners, levites, orphans
and or widows.
Hence Rashi is Simple---the theme of BEING MY SLAVE is
mentioned by Rashi by those commandments dealing with
treating slaves/orphans/widows nicely. (Rashi actually
only mentions this by the Sabbath law...it extends to
the other 3 verses by using WORKBOOK methods).
*3 The usual language is God TOOK US OUT OF EGYPT. There
is deviant language in 4 Mitzvoth.
By the commandment to give presents to a slave it says God
REDEEMED us from Egypt. Reviewing the exodus we see that
God gave us gifts from Egyptian property 2-11-2:3.
So Rashi Is Simple. Just as God gave us presents in Egypt
when freeing us so too should we should give our slaves
presents when freeing them.
The word REDEEMED was used to emphasize the PROCESS of
freeing a slave.
Similarly by the laws prohibiting legal mistreatment of
orphans the word REDEEMED is used. Since REDEEMING a
slave (vs TAKING him out) has a connotation of
monetary payment for the FREEING Rashi emphasizes
that we should be just, even if we have a monetary loss.
By the laws prohibiting TOOMAH we have the unusal
phrase GOD RAISED US OUT OF EGYPT. Rashi citing
the school of Rabbi Ishmael points out that RAISE
has a NUANCE of RAISING our souls which would be
consistent with idea of separation from TOOMAH.
In all the above cases Rashi Is Simple and ties
the nuances of the unusual word to the particular
Mitzvah at hand.
Neither Rashi nor myself seem to know a reason
why a LANGUAGE of EXODUS is absent by the rejoicing
on Shavuoth.
*4 There are 10(11 including 5-24-22) commandments
where God mentions the Exodus. It is natural to
inquire WHAT THEMES in Mitzvoth prompt remembering
the exodus. Based on the verses Rashi singles out
3 themes. They are...
TREATING HELPLESS PEOPLE NICELY
-------------------------------
--Treating the slave,orphan,widow,stranger..nicely.
In fact 4 Mitzvoth have an explicit statement REMEMBER EGYPT
and these are the 4 Mitzvoth where the slave, orphan, widow
stranger are mentioned. Rashi using workbook methods only
mentions are plight of slave by Shabbath and leaves us
to generalize this to the others. Note that mistreatment
of lower classes was characteristic of Egyptian culture.
AVOIDING TOOMAH..ACHIEVING HOLINESS
-----------------------------------
--Holiness is mentioned in 4 commandments. Note how
engaging in TOOMAH was characteristic of Egyptian culture.
Rashi mentions this theme on one verse and using workbook
methods expects us to extend them to the others. The one
verse is the verse dealing with PROHIBITED INSECTS, an
example of TOOMAH. Rashi notes the unusual language
>God RAISED us from Egypt
vs the usual
>God TOOK US out of Egypt
Rashi then cites Rabbi Ishmael who introduced the idea of
THEMES for taking us out of Egypt. One such theme was the
HOLINESS THEME (The SLAVE/ORPHAN theme and the DECEIPT theme are
the other two themes). Rabbi Ishmael interpretst RAISED us
out of Egypt to mean RAISED OUR SOULS.
AVOIDING DECEIPT IN COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
----------------------------------------
Of the 10 commandments there are
>4 that deal with the slave, orphan, etc
>4 that deal with holiness
The remaining two deal with a new theme
>business pratices where theft by deceipt is easy
It is easy to deceive in weights. Similarly it is easy
to deceive in interest. So Rashi on these two commandments mentions
>I am God who can distinguish between the first born and
>non first born...similarly I can distinguish between
>business men who make honest mistakes vs business men
>who deliberately are deceiptful.
The two commandments involved are
>not taking interest from Jews (which can be
subterfuged by taking interest from non jews who
loan to jews
>being honest in weights.
Notice that without the LIST of ten commandments we would
not know why Rashi singled out these two commandments. But
because of the {LIST1} Rashi is Simple...there are 3 themes
>Treating the helpless nicely
>Achieving Kedusha
>Avoiding Deceipt.
These are the 3 pillars of Egyptian culture and therefore God
fights these ideas by recalling the Exodus in specific mitzvoth.
It is for this reason that Rashi mentions the Deceipt idea by
these two mitzvoth.
*5 Rashi mentions that
>we should observe Gods laws EVEN UNDER CONDITIONS OF LOSS
by two mitzvoths
>the prohibition of lending with interest
>the obligation to not mistreat the orphan and not
>take deposits after loans from widows.
These are the only 2 laws dealing with LOANS on the list.
The reason for mentioning LOSS alltogether came from the unusual
language
>God REDEEMED us from Egypt (vs TOOK US OUT)
Since REDEEMED has a nuance of Monetary payment it follows that
that the verse has a nuance that we should observe commandments
even if money is involved.
*6 We have covered most of the differences in these 10 verses
and Rashis. For the sake of completeness we mention 4 more
differences
---THEREFORE ("Therefore God commanded you to do this Mitzvah")
is only mentioned in 3 mitzvoth
>Shabbath,
>Give slaves gifts, and
>Dont legally mistreat orphans.
These 3 commandments also have the word REMEMBER (REMEMBER EXoDUS)
Also, these are the only 3 mitzvoth where it says
>remember the exodus to do THIS MITZVAH vs
>remember the exodus to OBSERVE ALL MY LAWS
Since REMEMBER is only said by Mitzvoth connected with the
>slave, orphan, levi, widow etc
it would seem that THEREFORE is mentioned by them also.
In other words
>Remember how you were a SLAVE AND THEREFORE dont
>treat other helpless people (Slaves, orphans..)
This theory would also explain why
>the commandment to rejoice on Shavuoth
has
>the word REMEMBER
but not
>the word THEREFORE.
Because it is only the MISTREATMENT of slaves that requires
a THEREFORE (You were a slave and therefore don't treat others
like slaves). By Shavuoth however we are simply asked to be
>happy before God--you, your family, sojourner,orphan...
So since mistreatment is not mentioned we have no THEREFORE
while since the ORPHANS and HELPLESS are mentioned we have a
REMEMBER.
----The other 2 differences are as follows. The prohibition
of interest has
>God took you out of Egypt to GIVE YOU THE LAND OF ISRAEL
The prohibition of having false weights mentions the Exodus in
the SAME VERSE with the law (in the other 9 examples the Exodus
was mentioned in a separate verse).
Since these are isolated items (with obvious Midrashic potential)
Rashi did not comment on them because Rashi only commented on
items that could be backed by lists.
{LIST4} {5 verses where the word
>THIS
means some type of
>POINTING}
VERSE SUBJECT WHY THE WORD this IS USED
======== =============== =====================================
v4a8-4 Candellabrah God showed Moses a fire version of it
v2a30-13 Half dollar tax God showed Moses a fire version of it
v2b12-2 New moon law God showed Moses a fire version of it
v3c11-2 Kashruth Moses showed Kosher animals to Jews
v2z13-8 Passover Father shows child Pesach,Marror,Matzoh
{LIST5} {The 4 sons and their characteristics}
SON VERSES HOW HE ASKS WHY THE NAME
========= ========== ========================== =================
WICKED 2-12-26:27 SAYS his question rhetorically says
APATHETIC 2-13-8:10 Doesn't (care) to ask doesn't ask
SIMPLE 2-13-14:16 "What is this" Simple formulation
WISE 5-6-20:25 What are the laws, rituals Uses details
{LIST6} {Verses showing that the obligation is to remember that
>**we** left Egypt
not that
>**our fathers** left Egypt. We omit
2-12-27, the wicked son, since the language is not
as clear "God saved the JEWS (OUT FATHERS) and took US out}
VERSE SON TYPE TEXT
====== ========== =======================================
2-13-8 Apathetic God did for ME when **I** left Egypt
2-13-14 Simple God took US out of Egypt
6-6-23 Wise & US God took out of Egypt
6-5-15 Remember that YOU were a slave in Egypt
1-15-14 And I will ALSO judge the Egyptians
{LIST7} {The 2 dozen Rashis where ALSO means something extra. As
can be seen the something extra can be (a) an extra object
of a verb or (b) a derived object or (c) some relational
structure. For reasons of compactness we are brief here. For
further details please see the verses above}
VERSE THEME TEXT ALSO
======== ============== ================ ==================
v2a19-22 Extra Object Priests separate FirstBorn separate
v2a6-4 Extra Object Vision of SHTAI Treaty of Shatai
v2b12-31 Extra Object You leave Elders leave
v2b18-18 Extra Object You will wither Elders will wither
v5-12-31 Extra Object Offer Children Offer parents
v5c26-13 Extra Object Give MAASER Give Teruma
v5b22-22 Derived object Adulterers die Foetus dies
v1-42-22 Derived object Joseph blood Jacobs blood
v1a19-21 Derived object Spare Lot Spare his city
v5c23-19 Derived object Hire of Wheat Flour also prohibited
v1-44-10 Relational He dies/We slave He slave/We free
v1-7-3 Relational 7 Kosher;2 Traif ditto animals/birds
v1a15-14 Relational Egypt punished 4 Kingdoms punished *1
v1b30-3 Relational Hagar/Sarah bore Bilhah/Rachel bore
v1b30-30 Relational Amass food/wealth For Laban/Myself
v1c29-27 Relational Marry Leah now Marry Rachel now
v1d27-44 Relational You are blessed He is blessed anyway
v2-7-23 Relational Hardened heart Didn't pay attention
v4-22-19 Relational Stay tonight/gone 1st group / 2nd group
v4b11-4 Relational Complain / Cry non-jews / Jews
FOOTNOTES
=========
*1 So here without the word ALSO I would say that God punishes
nations which subjugate us. With the word ALSO I say that God
both punishes the nation AND with 10 plagues AND with letting
the Jews out with wealth.
{LIST8} {Chapter 7 of Passover, Rambam. Each law is listed with
the verses form which it is derived as well as whether
Rashi or Rambam cited it. Rashi and Rambam are
equal in citation of verses in this chapter}
Verse Is Is
From Verse Verse
Which Cited Cited
Paragraph By By
Par Text of Paragraph Note Is Inferred Rambam Rashi
=== ================================== ==== =========== ====== =====
1 There are 2 Biblical commandments
a) Be involved to remember Pesach *1 2-13-3 Yes Yes
b) Remember you were a slave *2 5-15-5 Yes Yes
c) Tell your son: Because of THIS. *3 2-13-8 Yes Yes
2 a) Tell children even if not asked *4 2b13-14 Yes Yes
b) Teach each child by ability
3 a)Make DIFFERENCES so children ask *1 2-13-3 No No
b) If no son; wife asks; *5 5-6-7 No Yes
4 a)Start with SHAME;end with PRAISE *6 2-13-3 No No
5-15-5
b)We worshiped idols;now God
c)We were slaves; now free *6 5-6-21:23 No No
d)Read 5-26-5:11
5 Must explain 3 things on Passover *3 2-13-8 Yes Yes
a)Passover sacrifice
b)Bitter Herbs
c)Matzah
6 See YOURSELF as saved from Egypt *7 6-6-23 Yes Yes
6-5-15
1-15-13:14
7 we see OURSELVES as being saved by
a) reclining on left side *8 NA
b) drinking 4 cups of wine
8 WHO NEEDS TO RECLINE *8 NA
a) ALL men
b) only SOCIALLY IMPORTANT WOMEN
c) Son in presence of father
d) Servant in front of master
e) STUDENT if master permits
f)HOW RECLINE?RECLINE on LEFT side
g)WHEN RECLINE? for MATZOH+4 cups
9 THE 4 CUPS *8 NA
% Alcohol by current standards
Have 1.5 egg volume of raw wine
Requirement of 4 CUPS+FREENESS
4 cups at once fulfills FREENESS
Raw wine fulfills only 4 CUPS
Sufficient to drink MOST OF CUP
10 4 BLESSINGS for 4 CUPS *8 NA
a) 1st cup FOR Kiddush
b) 2nd cup FOR story of egypt
c) 3rd cup FOR Grace
d) 4th cup FOR Psalms of praise
11 CHAROSETH is Rabbinic *1 NA
a) Grate various fruits
b) Place vinegar
c) Spice them
IT RESEMBLES the mud we worked in
12 BIBLICALLY:
Matzoh/marror are required only *1 NA
when you have Passover lamb 2-12-8 No No
RABINICALLY:
Matzoh/Marror are eaten even
today
13 FIVE POSSIBLE TYPES OF MARROR *8 NA
a) Chicory
b) Dandelions
c) Horseraddish
d) Endives
e) Romain Lettuce
FOOTNOTES
=========
*1 According to Rashi the INFINITIVE in Biblical Hebrew can also
be rendered as a GERUND (Rashi explicitly uses the old French
for GERUND on 5-27-1). Recall that a GERUND is simply the form
of the verb ending in "ing". The emphasis of the Gerund is
>GERUND=CONTINUOUS activity independent of time
EXAMPLE 1
---------
BE INVOLVED IN REMEMBERING THE SABBATH. So eg we have to
think about Shabbath during the week and make sure we have
wine for Kiddush on Friday night. Similarly some people are
always buying things during the week "for the honor of
the Shabbath"
EXAMPLE 2
---------
BE INVOLVED IN WATCHING THE SPRINGTIME. So eg we continually
monitor the calendar and if necessary add an extra month
so that Passover should come out in the Springtime
EXAMPLE 3
---------
HAVE FAIR WEIGHTS. BE INVOLVED IN REMEMBERING AMALEK. So eg we
are continually aware that a military attack could come as a
punishment for violating the fair weight requirements. Such
an awareness is continual and ongoing.
In all these examples there is some aspect of the command that
is ONGOING and CONTINUOUS. Further examples are presented in
{LIST2}
It follows that if it says
>Be involved in remembering the exodus
then this rememberance must
>be continual (eg every day).
Furthermore just as Chazal instituted KIDDUSH for Shabbath
so that we can remember it all the time so too Chazal
instituted various CONCRETE SYMBOLS for Passover so that
we can CONTINUALLY REMEMBER IT. In particular Chazal
instituted
>CHAROSETH which resembled the mud we worked in
>Eating MATZOH & BITTER HERBS even today when it
is not Biblically required
>Doing stunts at the Seder to arouse curiosity (like
yanking Matzoh from each other).
*2 There are in fact 10 commandments where we are commanded
to remember the Exodus and in 4 of these we are told
>treat the orphan/widow/slave nicely since you
>were a slave and REMEMBER how you were treated
The 4 verses are (see v5-5-15 in v3n19)
>v5-15-15 Laws of Treating slaves nichely
>v5-5-15 Sabbath
>v5-16-12 Shavuoth
>v5-24-18 Laws of treating the Orphan nicely
See {LIST3} for further examples
*3 Rashi following Chazal always interpret the Biblical word
>THIS
to refer to
>some type of pointing.
Here are some examples
EXAMPLE 1
---------
4-8-4 says THIS IS THE CANDELLABRAH. Rashi says
>God showed Moses a fire version (hence the word THIS)
EXAMPLE 2
---------
3-11-2 says THESE ARE THE KOSHER ANIMALS
>Moses showed them each Kosher animal (hence the word THSI)
EXAMPLE 3
---------
2-13-8 says BECAUSE OF THIS GOD REDEEMED ME FROM EGYPT
>The father should point to the MATZOH, MARROR and PASCAL
>LAMB when he explains this to his son (Hence the word THIS)
Further examples may be found in {LIST4} and come from v2z13-8 in
v2n11.
*4 There are exactly 4 chapters where the Bible orders us to tell
our children the story of the exodus.
We can infer characteristics of these sons from each case.
EXAMPLE 1
---------
Thus the
>WICKED SON
is the only son that
>(rhetoricall/cynically)ASKS his question
The other children
>say their question
EXAMPLE 2
---------
The other 3 children
>ASK a question and we are told to answer them
BY the APATHETIC CHILD
>we are told to TELL THEM (even though there is no question
Hence
>the child DOES NOT ASK, so he is the NOT ASKING CHILD
>The APATHETIC child who doesn't CARE to ask
EXAMPLE 3
---------
The simple son, simply asks
>WHAT IS THIS
While the wise son asks
>What are these laws, rituals, statutues
(Thus the wise uses details while the simple simply "asks")
See {LIST5} for a summary
*5 Notice how the Rambam DOES NOT GIVE A SOURCE for this Law.
But it follows directly from {LIST1} which shows that
>CHILDREN = STUDENTS::FATHERS=TEACHERS
Hence when the Bible says
>TEACH YOUR CHILDREN
it really should be translated as
>TEACH YOUR STUDENTS
Hence if you have children then they ask the questions and you
ask them. But if you have no children your wife or friends or
even yourself asks and you teach them. Some examples of verses
where CHILDREN=STUDENTS are presented in {LIST1}. The simplest
two examples are
>the "sons" of the prophets really means their students
>"And these are Moses children" (4-4-1)
>(but only Aarons are listed)
>We conclude that Aarons CHILDREN were MOSES students
*6 When reciting the Passover story in the Hagaddah we
>START WITH SHAME
which means we recount how the Jewish people were
>INITIALLY idolaters (eg Abrahams parents)
>INITIALLY slaves (before redemption)
and we proceed in telling the Passover story till we
>FINISH WITH PRAISE
which means
>we became BELIEVERS in GOD after our initial
>start as IDOLATERS
or that
>we became free people after
>our being slaves.
The emphasis on BOTH
>SHAMEFUL BEGINNING
>PRAISE AT END
is not derived scripturally by either Rambam or Rashi.
However it is easy to see that this requirement of stating
both SHAME and PRAISE comes from the two verses cited by
Rambam requiring us to relate the passover story
>5-15-5 remember you were SLAVES
>2-13-3 remember the EXODuS(REDEMPTION)
So the two verses complement each other and require us to
state BOTH
>SLAVERY
>REDEMPTION
Once we obtain this requirement to say both
>SLAVERY
>REDEMPTION
we simply search the Bible for descriptions of stories
of Passover that have both SLAVERY and REDEMPTION. We find
>5-6-21:23 (This passage occurs in the Hagaddah
right after the 4 questions are asked)
>5-26-5:11 (This passage forms the bulk of the first
part of the Agaddah in telling the story)
(We treated these two verses the same way other complementary
pairs of verses are treated---as two parts of the same
process---see our treatment of TWO COMPLEMENTARY VERSES,
one of Rabbi Ishmael's principles, that was discussed in
v5n12-v5n16)
*7 When discussing the exodus in responding to the 4 sons
we usually have an emphasis that
>*I** was saved from Egypt
vs
>**THEY(our fathers)** were saved
EXAMPLE 1
---------
APATHETIC SON:2-13-8
>Becasue of this (Passover, Matzoh, Marror) God did FOR ME
>when **I** left Egypt
EXAMPLE 2
---------
SIMPLE SON: 2-13-14
>With a strong hand God took **US** out of Egypt
EXAMPLE 3
----------
WISE SON: 6-6-23
>And **us** he took out of Egypt
EXAMPLE 4
---------
WICKED SON: 2-12-27 (This example is not as clear as the rest)
>...God Passed Over the Jews houses (Our fathers) when he
>attacked Egypt and saved **our houses**
This emphasis is used to suggest that part of the Passover story
is seeing the Passover story as if we ourselves left Egypt. There
are other verses that support this. For instance in the 10
commandments it says to that
>every Jew in all generations observes the Sabbath
>6-5-15 and gives rest to their servants on the Sabbath
>because **we** were slaves in Egypt
Rashi on 6-5-15 brings down the theme that
>**We** were redeemed in order to do the commandments
There are other verses that show this emphasis on
>**I** left Egypt
that are not brought down by Rashi. For example
>1-15-13:14 states that God told Abraham that the Jews
>will be slaves and tortured and God will **ALSO**
>judge the nation that enslaves them
Rashi in v3n11, v1a15-14 explains that the word
>ALSO
implies that
>God will judge Egypt
>God will also judge others that persecute us
>such as the Roman persecution, the Christian Inquisition
>Hitlers Germany, etc.(The 4 kingdoms)
The summary of verses supporting seeing
>**OURSELVES** as leaving Egypt (not just our fathers)
is presented in {LIST6}. The summary of verses supporting
using
>ALSO to denote SIMILAR situations is presented in {LIST7}
*8 The preceding paragraphs of Rambam have dealt with
>BIBLICAL commandments
The remaining paragraphs deal with
>RABBINICAL consequences
EXAMPLE 1
---------
Thus the Biblical requirement of see **ourselves** as leaving
Egypt is implemented thru the rabbinnic requirements of
>leaning on the left side (paragraphs 7,8)
>drinking 4 cups of wine (paragraphs 9,10)
These 4 paragraphs discuss the details of WHO must recline, HOW
they should recline, HOW the 4 cups of wine should be made etc
EXAMPLE 2
---------
The Biblical requirement of
>being INVOLVED in remembering Egypt
gives rise to the 3 Rabbinic commandments of
>grabbing matzohs (Hiding afikoman) to arouse curiosity(Par 3)
>Making the CHAROSETH (resembling the mud Jews worked in)(Par 11
>Eating Matzoh Maror even today(Par 12:13)
Notice how paragraph 13 simply outlines WHICH vegetables are
classified as bitter.
CROSS REFERENCES:
=================
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
=================
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
===============================================================
GRAMMAR
GRAMMAR
GRAMMAR
GRAMMAR
NEW MEANING
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
THE 2 DOZEN RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RASHI RULES
=======================================
These may be found at http://www.shamash.org/rashi/rules300.htm
Due to space limitations the rules are not printed in this issue
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*