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(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000
Volume 5 Number 6
Produced Feb, 06 2000
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------
v2y20-3
Rashi brings PAIRS of VERSES agreeing in almost all
respects but have minor word differences(eg 1 verse says
IF A MAN while another says WHOEVER..). The word
differences allow INTERMEDIATE INTERPRETATIONS and
resolve ambiguity(so MAN means ADULT not minor
v2z20-3
Rashi brings PAIRS of VERSES agreeing in almost all
respects but have minor word differences(eg 1 verse says
IF A MAN while another says WHOEVER..). The word
differences allow INTERMEDIATE INTERPRETATIONS and
resolve ambiguity(so MAN means ADULT not minor
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
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)
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,
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VERSE: v2y20-3
======
[Moderator: Part of a 3 fold series: v2a20-3, v2z20-3, v2y20-3]
v2-12-18 From the 14th to the 21....
v3-19-12 don't swear falsely in my name
v3b19-19 Don't put on a SHAATNEZ Garment
v4a7-86 12 gold spoons filed with perfume
v4a15-21 FROM the first dough give to God terumah
RASHI TEXT:
===========
[Moderator: In all these verses Rashi compares the given
verse to another verse (which is lined up beneath it). The
2 verses usually differ in 1 or 2 places. Rashi then explains
why the 2 verses differ in these places.
For example the first verse of the first pair below
says you should celebrate Passover from the 14th to the
21st of the month while the 2nd verse says that you
should celebrate it 7 days. This difference is marked
with a *1 (1st difference). The differences are explained
fully below and therefore not repeated here in the Rashi
section]
v2-12-18 From the 14th to the 21....
2-12-19 7 days
*1
v3-19-12 don't swear falsely in my name
2-20-7 don't bear for nought the name of God
*1 *2 *3
v3b19-19 Don't put on a SHAATNEZ Garment
5-22-11 Don't wear SHAATNEZ, Wool and linen together
*1 *2
v4a7-86 12 gold spoons filed with perfume
4-7-80 1 ten-gold spoon filled with perfume(Dedicated to temple)
*1 *2
v4a15-21 FROM the first dough give to God terumah
4-15-20 the first dough raise challah terumah
*1 *2 *3 *4
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
=========================================
In the previous two postings v2a20-3 and v2z20-3 we saw that
sometimes the Bible will use REPEATED VERSES WITH DIFFERENT
WORDINGS to resolve ambiguities. Thus
>if a term (eg MAN) is ambiguous
>it could mean 2-3 things (eg man,woman,minor)
>& we do not want the strict interpretation(just MAN)
>& we do not want the liberal interpretation(even minor)
Then
>the Bible will use two phrases in two verses(eg MAN,WHOEVER)
>This invests the ambiguous term with an INTERMEDIATE MEANING
>(Eg MAN means MAN or WOMAN (adult) but NOT A MINOR)
The problem of clarifying ambiguous meanings is common in all
languages and the Bibles method of clarifying it through repeated
verses is similar to say the use of FOOTNOTES in English. In
v2a20-3 we showed that sometimes TWO VERSES can say TWO THINGS
(This was STAGE 1 of our 3 explanations). In v2z20-3 we showed
that sometimes TWO VERSES can RESOLVE AN AMBIGUOUS TERM like
man (This was STAGE 2). We now deal with STAGE 3, which includes
other ambiguous terms as well as special cases of of ambiguity.
----------------------------------------------------
| QUESTION 1: |
| ========== |
| We just saw that the term |
| >MAN has a 3 fold ambiguity |
| and the REPEATED VERSE METHOD can RESOLVE IT |
| What other terms have a |
| >2 or 3 fold ambiguity |
| Can you find VERSE PAIRS which resolve these |
| terms? What tools would you use? |
| See {LIST1} below for examples |
----------------------------------------------------
As {LIST1} shows there are many terms that are ambiguous
>MAN can mean man, woman, minor
>DAY can mean the 12 or 24 hour period
>GARMENT material can sewn, woven, felt, patched..
>GOD's name can be GOD or the ALLMERCIFUL etc
>the HEAVY-RED-BALL can mean the BALL is heavy or
that the REDNESS is heavy
>FROM can mean SOURCE or PART
In each case we use the method of DOUBLE VERSES to clarify the
meaning
EXAMPLE 1
----------
On
v2-12-18 From the 14th to the 21....
2-12-19 7 days
*1
Rashi is Simple; The word
>DAYS
is interpreted BROADLY---the Passover holiday is 7 24-hour periods.
(This was probably obvious but so are the resolution of most
ambiguities...the point here is that the double verse method is
used to make sure we know the meaning).
EXAMPLE 2
---------
Similarly for
v3-19-12 don't swear falsely in my name
2-20-7 don't bear for nought the name of God
*1 *2 *3
the prohibtion of swearing falsely applies whether you swear by
>GOD
or you swear by
>any of his names (eg the ALLMERCIFUL)
(But there is no full Biblical prohibition if you used the word
SWEAR without any mention of God)
EXAMPLE 3
----------
The technical term SHAATNEZ (the prohibition of wearing a WOOLEN &
LINEN GARMENT) together applies whether the garment is
>clothes woven/sewn of WOOL and LINEN
>a scarf felted together of WOOL and LINEN
>but does not apply if you strap separate
>WOOL & LINEN threads over you.
v3b19-19 Don't put on a SHAATNEZ Garment
5-22-11 Don't wear SHAATNEZ, Wool and linen together
*1 *2
EXAMPLE 4
---------
We close our review of this beautiful method with some unusual
examples.
In the gifts of the Princes we have both EACH individual gift as
well as the SUM TOTALS of all gifts.
v4a7-86 12 gold spoons filed with perfume
4-7-80 1 ten-gold spoon filled with perfume(Dedicated to temple)
*1 *2
From the double verse we learn that
>the spoons were made of Gold
>the weights of the spoon were Golden weights
That is the ambiguity lies not in the MEANING of GOLD but rather in
its SYNTACTIC function---it both
>adjectively modifies (Gold) SPOON and
>adverbially modifies the weights of the spoon (10-gold)
EXAMPLE 5
----------
A similar SYNTACTIC difficulty applies to
v4a15-21 FROM the first dough give to God terumah
4-15-20 the first dough raise challah terumah
*1 *2 *3 *4
The word FROM in the phrase
>FROM the first dough
could be in apposition to GIVE (ie FROM your possessions give the
1st dough to God) or could prepositionally modify 1st dough (take
from the 1st dought SOME OF IT) and give it to God. By using the
double verse method we infer that the FROM means you take part
of it.
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
=========================
We quickly go over explanations of other footnotes.
v3-19-12 don't swear falsely in my name
2-20-7 don't bear for nought the name of God
*1 *2 *3
SWEAR-BEAR includes the case where you use the word SWEAR as
well as if you use PHONETICALLY ACCEPTED DEVIANTS (eg the dialect
of your county may use SEAR (which sounds like SWEAR) and you
would still have violated the law). If you didn't swear or if
you used some term not used in your county then no prohibition
would apply. FALSELY-FOR-NOUGHT covers whether you swear that
YOU WOULDN'T EAT TODAY (and did Eat) (this is FALSELY) or if
you swear that a TREE is a TREE (FOR NOUGHT).
In the SHAATNEZ example
v3b19-19 Don't put on a SHAATNEZ Garment
5-22-11 Don't wear SHAATNEZ, Wool and linen together
*1 *2
the pair PUT ON-WEAR applies whether you are wearing it as
clothing or eg if you 'try it on'. In passing our derivation
follows the Rambam (who says FELTED garments are Biblically
prohibited). The RAAVAD disagrees but it is hard to explain
the Sifray according to the RAAVAD (The Kesef Mishnah suggests
that there was a variant text in the RAAVAD'S NIDDAH Gmarrah
which led him to this). There are other exclusions learned
from the word GARMENT (eg a SHAATNEZ BANDAID is permitted since
the BANDAID is not 'worn' (for warmth).
Rashi does go into the etymology of the peculiar 5 letter root--
SHAATNEZ. But our opinion is that this is just a mnemonic. As
the other 12 examples we brought shows, Rashis real derivation
is from the DOUBLE VERSE METHOD.
The other footnotes on the TERUMAH example will be explained at
a later date in our GOLDEN-RASHI-RAMBAM series.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
===========================================================
{LIST1} {List of ambiguous terms for which there are DOUBLE
verses. Note that such a LIST can NOT be obtained
from eiter a Konkordance or a CD ROM. Rather such
a LIST depends on KNOWLEDGE of MEANING and the
researchers SCHOLARSHIP. Verses corresponding to
there ambiguities may be found above in v2y20-3}
TERM MEANING-1 MEANING-2 MEANING-3
==== ========= ========= =========
Man man adult male(minor adult)
Day 12 hours 24 hours
Gods name God All Merciful
Garment Woven-Sewn Felted
heavy-red ball Ball is heavy The Red is heavy
From Source Part
CROSS REFERENCES:
=================
v2a20-3 A 3 part series
v2z20-3
v2y20-3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
=================
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
===============================================================
DOUBLE PARSHAS
DOUBLE PARSHAS
DOUBLE PARSHAS
DOUBLE PARSHAS
DOUBLE PARSHAS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v2z20-3
======
[Moderator:This is part of a 3 part series:v2a20-3,v2z20-3,v2y20-3]
v2a21-17 Whoever curses his father or mother shall die
v2y21-13 Whoever hits a man & he dies,is punished with death
v2a21-16 Whoever steals a man & sells him & is found
RASHI TEXT:
===========
[Moderator: In all these verses Rashi compares the given
verse to another verse (which is lined up beneath it). The
2 verses usually differ in 1 or 2 places. Rashi then explains
why the 2 verses differ in these places.
For example, the 1st example below has "WHOEVER CURSES"
vs "A MAN MAN who curses". This difference is marked *1
because it is the first difference. Rashi explains these
differences. Since we will go into detail below we are
not repeating them here.]
v2a21-17 Whoever curses his father or mother shall die
3-20-9 a man man who curses his father or mother.shall die
*1
v2y21-13 Whoever hits a man & he dies,is punished with death
3-24-17 A MAN hits a soul is punished with death
*1 *2 *3
v2a21-16 Whoever steals a man & sells him & is found
5-24-7 ..a man stealing a soul..& use him & sells him
*1 *2 *3 *4 *5
BRIEF BUT COMPLETE NARRATIVE EXPLANATION:
=========================================
In this and the previous issue we study the Biblical technique of
DOUBLE VERSES. We have already used this technique many times. We
examine about 13 Rashis were Rashi comments on a
>pari of verses that
>almost look alike
>but differ in 1 or 2 words.
Our goals are to explain the simple meaning of the text and to show
what Rashi did and WHY he did it. We will do this in 3 stages.
In the first stage we explained that if the two verses say
>TWO DIFFERENT THINGS
then Rashi is simple and will simply point out that there are 2
components to the law. This was done in the last issue. We now
proceed to explain the stage TWO.
To clearly explain the issues here consider the following example--
Suppose I kill a child; I am convicted and they wish to give me
the death penalty. My lawyer then cites the law
>Whoever kills a **MAN** and he dies; receives a death penalty
Using the
>STRICT INTERPRETATION
of
>whoever kills a **MAN**
my lawyer argues that I have killed a child (not an adult) and
therefore although what I did is reprehensible and a violation of
THOU SHALL NOT KILL nevertheless I should receive no death penalty.
Of course the judge could just say that such an interpretation is
picky and unwaranted. But the judge could also cite the law
>whoever kill *ANY HUMAN SOUL** receives a death penalty
There is a point behind the above. A problem in all legal systems
is whether to give
>a broad or restrictive interpretation
to
>ambiguous terms.
In English law we might use footnotes
>If you kill a man (Footnote 1) you receive a death penalty
>FOOTNOTE 1: ie man or woman, adult or minor
Rabbi Hirsch (Ex 21) points out that the Bible implemented the
footnote method by REPEATING VERSES WITH DELIBERATE CHANGES. Thus we
have
v2y21-13 Whoever hits a man & he dies,is punished with death
3-24-17 A MAN hits a soul is punished with death
*1 *2 *3
Note *2 shows that the law applies whether I kill a MAN or a SOUL.
Furthermore by using the word MAN I exclude a death penalty for an
abortion. Thus Rav Hirsch's point is that a REPEATING VERSE WITH
CHANGE is to be read the same way as footnotes--it is the simple
intended meaning of the text. In a similar mannar footnote *1
implies that I get a death penalty whether I am a man or woman but
not if I am a minor.
This REPEATED VERSE METHOD is especially used when we have
>an ambiguous term with 3 meanings (man=man, minor,feotus)
>& we do NOT want the restrictive meaning (only MAN)
>we do NOT want the liberal meaning (even a stillborn)
In such a case
>using the two verses (man + soul) implies an
>intermediate interpretation (adult or minor, not stillborn)
This is far from arbitrary and capricious---as the first 5 examples
in {LIST1} shows.
>whenever we have MAN+SOUL the law applies to
>Adults, minors but not foetii or non viable infants
Similarly
>whenever we have MAN+WHOEVER the law applies to
>male adults, female adults but not minors.
In all cases the use of the REPEATED VERSE obligates an intermediate
interpretation (eg man-woman adult but not minor).
COMMENTS ON RASHI'S FORM:
=========================
We complete the analysis of the other footnotes in
v2y21-13 Whoever hits a man & he dies,is punished with death
3-24-17 A MAN hits a soul is punished with death
*1 *2 *3
*1--shows the murderer must be an adult (male or female)
*2--shows the murder victim must be a viable (not a still born)
*3--shows that a death penalty only applies if the blow was lethal
In passing we make some comments on the SIMPLE MEANING vs MIDRASHIC
meaning issue. Many scholars (such as Livni) believe that there is
>a simple meaning to the text
>a midrashic meaning to the text
Our approach in this list is that there is ONLY one meaning. The
above analysis enriches this perspective---for if we adopt Rav
Hirsch's approach that the Bible implemented footnotes using DOUBLE
VERSES with DELIBERATE DIFFERENCES it immediately follows that the
above Rashis are as SIMPLE IN MEANING as a text with Footnotes. For
Livni could NOT argue that footnotes are not part of the simple
meaning of the text.
Furthermore, EVERY legal system has to address the issue of
ambiguity. Thus since we must address this issue and since explicit
footnotes are continuously used in a consistent manner it follows
that the above is the simple meaning of the text.
LISTS {For ADVANCED students and for those with more time}:
===========================================================
{LIST1} {5 verse pairs. In the first verse the term
>MAN
appears while in the 2nd verse in the corresponding
place some more general term
>whoever or soul
appears. The topics range from kindaping to murder.
We use the DOUBLE VERSE WITH DEVIATIONS to indicate
an INTERMEDIATE interpretation(eg MAN **or** WOMAN
but **NOT** a minor)}
VERSE-1 VERSE-2 VERSE1 VERSE2 TOPIC APPLIES ALSO NOT
======= ======= ====== ======= ======== ======= ===== ==========
2-21-17 3-20-9 man whoever curser man woman minors
2-21-16 5-24-7 man whoever kidnaper man woman minors
2-21-13 3-24-17 man whoever murderer man woman minors
2-21-13 3-24-17 man soul murderee adult minor stillborns
2-21-16 5-24-7 man soul kidnapee adult minor stillborns
CROSS REFERENCES:
=================
v2a20-3
v2z20-3
v2y20-3 One topic broken into 3 postings.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
=================
RULE CLASSIFICATION {See the web site for comparable examples}:
===============================================================
DOUBLE PARSHAS
DOUBLE PARSHAS
DOUBLE PARSHAS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 1999 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
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