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Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000
Volume 7 Number 5
Produced Aug 11 2000
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
WEEKLY PARSHAH SERIES CONTINUED
Dt01-24b SCRANTON YESHIVA STUDENT CHIDUSH ON DVARIM
The root "RGL" (to "track" the land)
only occurs once by the spy episode
Every other time it says TOR. This
explains Rashi "they completely tracked
the land back and forth" (I also give
an explanation--read below)
Dt03-26b RASHI SAYS 3 TIMES; 2 OTHER SOURCES say 4,5 TIMES
Come see this exciting Rashi which differs
from two other Mesorahs in counting! We show
how all 3 versions are free from corruption.
This posting comments on the Sifsay Chachamim
We have neglected our Rashi-Ramban series for
a while. We reinvigorate here with an emphasis
on all commentaries that disagree with Rashi;
As usual our emphasis and approach is to show
that there was very little disagreement among
Bible commentators and they all really agree
In this exciting posting we successfully deal
with the challenge of contradictions in counting
Gn24-65a ANSWERS TO ALFRED SILBERMAN ON GRAMMAR--HIS NEW BOOK
We give a full analysis to the Rashis on Gn24-65
Some of the defending lists come from Alfreds
new book SEFER AMELIM LATORAH which presents
all Biblical grammatical forms in database forma
Rashis covered in this issue
----------------------------
VERSE RULE BRIEF EXPLANATION
======== ============== =================
Dt01-24b GRAMMAR There are 2 ways to say "IT" in Hebrew
Lv01-06b GRAMMAR There are 2 ways to say "IT" in Hebrew
Lv02-06a GRAMMAR There are 2 ways to say "IT" in Hebrew
Lv23-03b GRAMMAR There are 2 ways to say "IT" in Hebrew
Lv14-06b GRAMMAR There are 2 ways to say "IT" in Hebrew
Lv20-05b GRAMMAR There are 2 ways to say "IT" in Hebrew
Dt01-24b GRAMMAR There are 2 ways to say "IT" in Hebrew
Dt03-26b GRAMMAR "TO SAY" means a response is expected
Gn24-65a GRAMMAR Standard grammatical forms can drop HEY
Gn07-23a GRAMMAR Standard grammatical forms can drop HEY
--------------------------------------------------------------
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
RASHI IS SIMPLE
GOALS: To grammatically defend all 8000 Rashis on Chumash.
METHOD:Rashis are defended with LISTS of comparable cases
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Laymen, Academicians, Yeshiva world
COMMENTS,QUESTIONS: EMail to address below
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:If you want to ask anonymously please ask
(UN)SUBSCRIBE: Email to addresses below with "(UN)subscribe"
JOURNAL REFERECE: Pshat & Drash,TRADITION, Win 1980,R Hendel
NOTATION: eg Gn01-02a refers to Rashi "a" on Genesis 1:2
SPECIALS:...on Parshah,Rambam,Ramban,Pedagogy,Symbolism
RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RULES Complete set of rules on bottom
EMAIL: RJHendel@Juno.Com, rashi-is-simple@shamash.org,
WEB: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
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VERSE: Dt01-24b
RASHIS COVERED: Dt01-24b Lv01-06b Lv02-06a
Lv23-03b Lv14-06b Lv20-05b
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I heard the following Rashi explanation from
--------------- a young Yeshiva student at Scranton Yeshiva.
We met at a 200 person lecture by Rav Matithyahu Solomon
chief spiritual exhorter of Lakewood who spoke at Shomray
Emunah this past Shabbos. Although I had my own explanation
of Rashi this student had an equally valid one.
RULE:
----
There are two words for "IT" in Hebrew.
(a1) The suffix letter "V" is the normal way of indicating "IT"
(a2) The word OTO is used to mean ONLY IT or ALL OF IT
EXAMPLES
--------
{LIST1} {The following verses all have the word OTHO.
In the following verses OTHO means either ONLY IT
or ALL OF IT. This principle was developed by the
Malbim who uses it not only on Rashi but also on
the sifrah *6}
VERSE TEXT RASHI
-------- ----------------------------- ------------------------
Lv01-06b & He'll cut ONLY IT to pieces Don't recut *1
Lv02-06a Crumble ONLY IT to pieces Don't recrumble *1
Lv23-03b he'll prepare ALL OF IT *2 One fill; don't refill
Lv14-06bBut not the wood/scarlet
Lv20-05b & I will cut ONLY HIM off from But not his family *4
Dt01-24b They spied ALL OF IT Full scouting *5
NOTES
-----
*1 In other words you cut/crumble the offering. But you
don't keep on cutting the cut pieces to make them smaller
Hence the Rashi "cut ONLY it"
*2 The actual verse says about the Candellabrah "..prepare ALL
OF it for lighting from eve to morning" However eg this could
allow placing 5 hours of oil at the beginning of the evening
and then refilling it for the last half of the night later
By saying FILL ALL OF IT for lighting we infer that a whole
supply of oil for the entire night must be put in at the
beginning (Rashi cites the talmud that this is the volume of
oil in 3 eggs--I have experimented with this and found it
to be true and use these principles in my Chanukah menorah)
*3 The actual verse is speaking about the Lepor sacrifice which
consists of a bird, cedar wood, hyssop and wool. It says
"The bird:Take ONLY IT and the cedar hyssop and wool and
DIP them and the slaughtered bird ...."
The law therefore is that
--you take the bird by itself
--you bind the wood, hyssop and wool and take them
(So the point is that you don't bind the bird with them)
--But even though the binding separates them nevertheless
you dip ALL 4 of them (bird, wood, hyssop, and wool)
There are a variety of ways of learning this law-for example
we could learn it from the contrasting phrases
"Bird: take it and them" vs "dip them and the bird"
But you can also find support for this law in the phrase
"the bird:Take ONLY IT"--so you don't bind with the others
*4 Again there is a contrast in the verse which is speaking about
the Molech worship (which consists of placing children thru
fire) The verse says that if these people go unpunished then
"I will PLACE MY FACE against this person AND his family
and I will CUT OFF ONLY HIM from his nation"
Thus the family is punished with "GODS FACE AGAINST THEM"
While the person is punished with "BEING CUT OFF"
By saying "I will cut off ONLY HIM" there is emphasis
that ONLY the sinner gets cut off
Rashi further explains that the family "knew what was going
on" and hence they are punished by "GODS FACE AGAINST THEM"
*5 "Scouting" could denote "perusing" the land. "Full scouting"
denotes crisscrossing the entire country and looking over
every detail
*6 The above analysis comes from Malbim (The Morning Star)
As I showed on Gn45-27a there is a 3rd possible meaning
to OTHO--which can indicate "SOMETHING PERSONAL" Thus
we have "And Jacob saw the wagons which Joseph had
PERSONALLY SENT HIM (The wagons had signs of conversations
that Jacob and Joseph had had 22 years prior--in this way
Joseph let Jacob know that it was really he that was alive)
Well I thought I had explained this Rashi rather well.
The young Yeshiva Student from Scranton had an equally
valid explanation. As can be seen from the footnotes to
{LIST1} above--multiple explanations for the same Rashi are
common. Here is the supplemental rule
RULE:
----
The 2 Hebrew roots TUR and RGL both mean to SPY.
-TUR has an emphasis on ordinary spying
-RGL literally means "to FOOT the land" or "to TRACK the land"
It is a more intense form of spying and is used prior to wars
to indicate finding out everything about the enemy terrain.
(Hence the Rashi on Dt01-24b that they criss-crossed the land
and intensely looked it over)
EXAMPLES
--------
{LIST2} {Verses with spying. Note how RGL only occurs
when WAR occurs. Moses original intention was
only to have light scouting "to find out how
good the land is"(Dt01-25)--hence the root RGL is
used by Israel only once in the Chumash*1 *2}
VERSE VERB WHY WAS THE SPYING DONE
-------- ---- ----------------------------------------------
Jos2-1 RGL WAR of Yericho
1Sam26-4 RGL "WAR" of David and Saul*3
2S15-10 RGL Proclomation of Civil war
Nu21-32 RGL WAR of Yaazer
2S10-03 RGL Suspicion of WAR-intent of Jews on Amon
Nu13-16 TOR The spying on Israel for the Jew to come there
Nu13-17 TOR The spying on Israel for the Jew to come there
Nu13-25 TOR The spying on Israel for the Jew to come there
Nu14-38 TOR The spying on Israel for the Jew to come there
Dt01-24 RGL Only time that RGL is used for spying Israel*2
NOTES
-----
*1 This BIBLICAL usage is consistent with the ROOT usage
Thus we find that TUR is used for speculation as in
Ecc1-13 Eccl7-25 while we find RGL used for spying
and stalking somebody 2S19-28) As already mentioned
RGL means FOOT so as a verb it could mean to "FOOT a
place"--to closely scrutinize it.
*2 RGL is used to describe the scouting of Israel
once in Chumash in Dt01-24b and also in Joshua
Jos14-16. Apparently the MAIN thrust of Moses
was to find out how good the land is while a
secondary thrust was military 'to see which
cities to conquer first'(Dt01-22)
*3 There wasn't an actual war but see 1Sam26-7:10--David
went into the camp and was 'advised' to kill him
RULES USED: GRAMMAR
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VERSE: Dt03-26b
RULE:
-----
The infinitive "TO SAY" means a response is expected.
Something was done with a response expected.
EXAMPLES
--------
{LIST1} {The 5 cases where Moses "insisted" that God answer him
These are the only 5 verses where Moses prayer use the
word "TO SAY" indicating that Moses demanded an answer*1}
VERSE VERB MOSES PETITION
-------- ----------- --------------------------------------------
Ex06-12 Said even the jews dont listen;how should Pharoh
Nu27-15 Said Please appoint a successor after my death
Ex17-04 Scream The Jews only complain; soon they'll kill me
Nu12-13 Scream Please cure my Sister Miryam
Dt03-26b Supplicated Please let me enter the land
NOTES
-----
*1 Those interested in statistical counts would do well to
study this Rashi.
As can be seen the above list has FIVE examples.
Of these 5, only 4 would show up in a computer search and
find of "GOD TO SAY" (ie Moses spoke to God TO Say)
Of these 5, 2 involve Moses "talking"(Saying) while the
other 3 involve more intense prayer language ("Scream"
and "supplicate").
Hence, as the Sifsay Chachamim points out we have 3 distinct
languages in this Mesorah
"5 times Moses spoke to God and requested an answer"
"4 times we find the phrase "to God TO SAY"
"3 times Moses would not leave God alone till he answered him"
Such multiple language is common in the Mesorah world.
As can be seen all 3 formulations are correct
RULES USED: GRAMMAR
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VERSE: Gn24-65a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn07-23a Gn24-65a
BACKGROUND
----------
The following is a followup to Gn27-03a in Volume 7 Number 2.
Most of the comments below come from Alfred Silberman who just
published a book SEFER AMELIM BATORAH which contains some of
the lists he used to ask his question. For the benefit of
those who forgot I briefly review the previous posting.
This posting is an excellent example of
--how to construct lists
--how to deal with Rashis that look like they have no lists
to back them up
--how to avoid Midrashic explanations in favor of grammatical
ones.
RASHI:
-----
The verse says that Rivkah took the veil and "TTCATH". On
the Hebrew word "TTCATH" Rashi says "This is a verb
form like 'he was buried'". (So Rashi thinks the verb is
Passive) In other words Rashi interprets the verse "And
Rivkah took the veil and LET HER MAIDS COVER HER"
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
---------------
A brief summary of the full explanation is presented next.
Most of the questions came from Alfred Silberman--Alfred
also provided {LIST2} from his new book SEFER AMELIM
BATORAH which presents all grammatical forms in the Bible
He is not charging for the book except for postage and
handling--to get the book contact him at
Alfred.Silberman@Lmco.Com or AlSiblerman@Juno.Com.
SUMMARY
-------
* Gn24-65 should be translated "And Rivkah took the veil and
LET HER MAIDS COVER HER"
* Thus we interpret the MEANING of the verb as PASSIVE (LET
HER MAIDS COVER HER)
* The actual verb FORM (vs meaning) is in the REFLEXIVE MODE
This can easily be shown by using standard grammar books
and observing that a terminal H was dropped. {LIST1}{LIST2}
* So we have left to prove that CSH uses the REFLEXIVE MODE
for PASSIVE MEANINGS. To do this we cite Prv26-26 which
uses a HYBRID form. We present {LIST3} which shows hybrid
forms. Prv26-26 is also translated "The evil person LETS
HIS hatred BE COVERED UP (so people shouldn't know)"
Thus we see a PASSIVE-REFLEXIVE MEANING (LET COVER UP)
* However if we ONLY consider VERB FORM and not VERB MEANING
then there are still other possibilities. Three other
possibilities are
---Gn24-65 might come from the root TTCh(which never occurs)
Alfred points out the Mizrachi suggests this
---Gn24-65 might come from the root (WEDDING) CUP (COS)
The verse means that "Yitchak gave her the wedding cup"
I found this cute explanation in Torah Shlaymah
---Prv26-26 might be a hybrid of KAL & PIEL
(Alfred points out that Daas Mikrah from Mosad Rav Kook
suggests this)
* We answer these objections by considering MEANING {LIST4}
It is common for religious women to cover themselves with
veils. Hence that is what the verse is talking about.It
is that simple. It is MEANING which forces us to interpret
the verse "And she LET HER MAIDS COVER HER" Let us review
the other woman who covered herself with a veil.
Tamar who disguised herself (because she was seducing her
father in law) COVERED HERSELF--the verb form used in
this verse is ACTIVE FORM with REFLEXIVE meaning. This
gives further support that CSH in the reflexive does not
mean reflexive. By Contrast Rivkah was getting married
and it is normal at weddings (the "bedeken") for OTHERS
to cover the bride (as a sign that her friends all approve
of the marriage and are giving her support).
{LISTS} We now present the lists mentioned above
---------------------------------------------------
{LIST1} {We show that it is possible to take a
standard grammatical form and drop the hey
This is used to prove that the verb form
TTCSH became TTCS in Gn24-65 and hence is
reflexive}
--------------------------------------------------------------
Examples of alternative conjugations for the phrase
"HE WILL DO IT" (eg YiVNeH and YiVeN)
--------------------------------------------------------------
First type 2nd type
of of
Mean CONJUGATION CONJGTION
3 Letter root ing END IN Hey VERSE NO END-HEY VERSE
------------------ ----- ------------ ------- ---------- -------
[Beth]-[Nun]-[Hey] Build Ve Yi V Ne H Ps69-36 Va Yi Ve N Gn02-22
[Pay] -[Nun]-[Hey] Face Ve Yi P Ne H - *2 - Va Yi Pe N Ju15-04
[Mem] -[Cht]-[Hey] Erase Yi M Ce H 2K21-13 Yi Ma C Ps109-13
[Koof]-[Nun]-[Hey] Buy Yi K Ne H Lv22-11 Va Yi Ke N Gn32-19
[Gmel]-[Lmd]-[Hey] Reveal Yi G Le H Jb33-16 Ve Yi Ge L Jb36-15
--------------------------------------------------------------
Examples of alternative conjugations for the phrase
"SHE LET IT BE DONE TO HERSELF" (TiTCaS vs TiTCaSeH) *3
--------------------------------------------------------------
First type 2nd type
of of
Mean CONJUGATION CONJGTION
3 Letter root ing END IN Hey VERSE NO END-HEY VERSE
------------------ ----- ------------ ------- ---------- -------
[Cof]-[Smch]-[Hey] Cover TiThCSeH - *2 -- TiTCaS Gn24-65
NOTES
-----
*1 Rashi brings 4 examples. I supplemented this list with the
example GLH
*2 The normal conjugation is to PREFIX A YUD and leave the
the SUFFIX HEY. In these 2 examples there is no Biblical
example of the normal form---only the abnormal form
occurs. (Nevertheless it occurs rarely)
{LIST2} {A list of verb forms that shows that for Lamed-He
verbs it is much more common to drop the He than
to keep it. This interesting Statistical observation
comes from Moshes(Alfreds) book}
Moshe
lists 21
> forms: [Moderator These forms are explained in his book
They are forms of grammar like HITPAEL]
>
> Form # With He He dropped
> 171 2
> 173 1
> 181 1
> 186 1
> 192 1
> 936 1
> 2467 3
> 1505 1
> 2515 4
> 2541 2
> 2543 3
> 2566 3
> 2584 3
> 3786 1
> 3787 2
> 4509 3
> 4526 1
> 4532 2
> 4534 2
> 4552 1
> 5448 1
>
> Totals 14 25
>
{LIST3} {Hybrid verbs--that is the verb form uses a mix
of 2 punctuations}
VERSE WORD SHOULD BE
----- ---- ---------
Ex18-26 YSPooTo YSPOT*1
Lv04-23 HODAH HooDah*2
Prv26-26 TCaSeh TCoSeh*3
NOTES
-----
*1 This is a combination of KAL and HFAL
*2 This is a combination of HIFIL, HFAL, and HITPAEL(Malbim)
*3 This is a combination of NIFAL and HITPAEL
Alfred Silberman points out that in the
Daas Miqra from Mossad Rav Kook. They consider this verb
a cross between Piel and Nifal NOT Hispael and Nifal.
I would answer them that the meaning of the verb is not
a game in computer matching of forms but rather must
be consistent with meaning. The meaning of these
verses is "LET IT BE DONE TO IT" as "Let the hatred
be covered by darkness" or "Let her maids cover her"
{LIST4} {Women who covered themselves with a veil and
merited to have great men come from them}
VERSE WOMAN HOW SHE COVERED WHY
----- ----- --------------- ---
Gn24-65 Rivkah Maids covered her Part of the wedding
Gn38-14 Tamar She covered herself Was a disguise*1
NOTES
-----
*1 Note that Tamar was seducing her father in law.
She did not want anyone knowing about it
Hence she would not have her maids help her
Also note that DESPITE THE FACT that TAMAR covered
herself (a reflexive action) nevertheless the KAL
ACTIVE mode is used. This lends further credence to
Rashi that the reflexive of COVER does not mean
COVER ONESELF but LET OTHERS COVER YOU
RULES USED: GRAMMAR
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THE 2 DOZEN RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RASHI RULES
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/rules.htm
=======================================
I: RASHI gives MEANING
======================
A: NEW MEANINGS--(eg)"on the face of"=during the lifetime
Volume 2 Number 9, http://www.rashiyomi.Com/Nu04-04a.htm
B: SPECIAL WORDS--(eg)ACH=USUALLY;USUALLY observe shabbath!
Rashi Yomi Summaries,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ach-6.htm
C: SYNONYMS--(eg)AMR=to speak; DBR=to cite or to quote;
Volume 2 Number 1, http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Lv20-02a.htm
D: WORD MEANINGS-Thermos(TzNTzNTh)=doubly(TZN TZN) Cold(TZN)
Volume 1 Number 9,23,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ex31-15a.htm
E: UNIFIED MEANINGS-PAAM=Repeated action:To Ring,Hammer,Step
Volume 1 Number 3,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Gn41-08a.htm
II: RASHI teaches GRAMMAR/STYLE
===============================
F: CLASSICAL GRAMMAR--(eg)QUESTION = HEY+CHATAF PATACH
Volume 3 Number 22,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Gn04-09z.htm
G: USAGE(NEW GRAMMAR)--(eg)INFINITIVE="be involved in";
Volume 5 Number 24,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ex13-03a.htm
H: ROOT+PREPOSITION--(eg)ChZK B="to hold";ChZK M="overpower"
Volume 1 Number 7,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ex04-04a.htm
I: THE SENTENCE--2 verses can make 1 sentence-eg Dt02-16:17
Volume 3 Number 7,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt19-06a.htm
J: STYLE--REPETITION denotes Endearment;eg 'Jacob Jacob'
Volume 1 Number 12,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Gn46-02a.htm
K: DOUBLE NOUNS--(eg)"GIVE GIVE";if not CHARITY then LOAN
Double Noun page, http://www.RashiYomi.Com/DN.htm
L: PRONOUNS-(eg)IMCHAH=with you; ITCHAH=Accompanying you;
Volume 3 Number 13,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Ex22-24c.htm
III: OVERALL TEXTUAL STRUCTURE
==============================
M: OTHER VERSES--Aaron SAW(Ex32-05)...the brawl(Ex32-18)
OTHER VERSE page, http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ov.htm
N: EXTRA SENTENCES-eg[GIVE HIM][WHAT HE NEEDS](Not if rich)
Volume 2 Number 20,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt15-08c.htm
O: DOUBLE PARSHAS-'he WILL pray'-'he WON'T pray';So Optional
Volume 3 Number 12,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt24-14a.htm
P: CLIMAX-(eg Dt19-11)(a)Hate, (b)spy, (c)confront,(d)Murder
Climax Page, http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Climax.htm
Q: OVERALL STRUCTURE-growing nails=despisement(from context)
Volume 3 Number 8,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt21-11a.htm
R: SPREADSHEETS-What is the marriage loophole in inheritance
Volume 2 Number 23,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Nu36-03a.htm
IV: BEYOND THE TEXT
===================
S: MORAL LESSONS/REASONS-God explains BEFORE punishing;
Volume 2 Number 12,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Nu12-09a.htm
T: RabbiIshmael-(eg)"When an OX gores";(Or ANY animal gores)
Volume 4 Number 21,http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Dt25-04a.htm
End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest
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