Rashi-Is-Simple Mailing List
VISIT the RASHI DATABASE archives AT
http://www.RashiYomi.com/
Surfing the Talmudic Seas
(C) RashiYomi Incorporated, 2001
Written by Dr Russell Jay Hendel
Volume 9 Number 6
Produced Feb 11, 2001
WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)
Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
READER QUESTIONS THIS ISSUE DEVOTED TO ACTUAL ANSWERS
================
v9-2-11a
A cute pun by RACHAMIM PAULI on our >KI< series
Ex07-05a
Answer to anonymous question from Shomrey Emunah
Shala Shudos on Ex07-05a
Ex23-05a
Answer to questions of HARRY RASHBAUM and YAELA
BAINE on what justifies modifying Rashis language
v9-2-11b
Summary of discussion of my Shomrey Emunah Rashi
class on Gn39-11b. What really happened between
Joseph and Potipherahs wife
WEEKLY PARSHAH SERIES
=====================
For more Rashis on this weeks Parshah visit
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/parshah.htm
Rashis covered in this issue
----------------------------
VERSE RULE BRIEF DESCRIPTION
======== =============== ===================================
Ex23-05a UNIFIED MEANING >KI< has7meanings:BECAUSE,IF,RATHER,THAT
Ex20-22c UNIFIED MEANING >KI< has7meanings:BECAUSE,IF,RATHER,THAT
Dt20-19c UNIFIED MEANING >KI< has7meanings:BECAUSE,IF,RATHER,THAT
Ex07-05a SYNONYMS >HAND OF GOD< can mean PROPHECY, DESTROY
-----------------------------------------------------------------
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#
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 REFERENCE: 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/
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v9-2-11a
FROM: Rachamim & Henya Pauli
TO: RJHendel@Juno.Com
RE: Meaning of >KI<
DATE: February 4, 2001
Dear Russell, until 120 years,
All work w/o dvrei nechuta is not fun.
Because you have >RATHER< done well in giving us
the >KI< to Rashi this week it is time to enjoy
my pun. Please (Na) feel free to comment on my
latest Rashi-is-simple puns.
Rachamim
(Moderator: Oh you want comments?
--#1---Cute
--#2---Does anyone besides me & Rachamim get it?)
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: Ex23-05a
COMMENT: In this issue we
- complete the set of examples on meanings of KI
- we give a grand summary table
- we discuss the >right< to reinterpret with Rashi!?!?
RASHIS COVERED: Ex23-05a Ex20-22c Dt20-19c
RULE:
====
{LIST}
The Hebrew word >KI< has 7 meanings.
=====================================================
MEANING VERSE A GOOD EXAMPLE: A VERSE WITH >KI<
======= ======== ============================================
BECAUSE Gn18-15a Sarah denied laughing BECAUSE she was afraid
IF Ex34-09a God walk with us;IF we sin you can forgive
WHEN Dt32-03a WHEN I call the name of God, give Praise
RATHER Dt15-08b Dont be miserly; RATHER be charitable
QUESTION Dt29-15a Is being a relative,reason for not being payed?
THAT Nu20-29c The congregation saw THAT Aaron died
PERHAPS Ex23-05a PERHAPS youll see a donkey & desert it? No!
{END OF LIST}
The unifying meaning of >KI< is any connection between two
sentences. A full set of examples are presented in
- http://www.RashiYomi.Com/dt13-10a.htm
- http://www.RashiYomi.Com/dt32-36a.htm
- This issue.
EXAMPLES
========
----------------------------------------------------
In the following examples the Hebrew word >KI<
means >PERHAPS< or >LEST<
----------------------------------------------------
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE
======== =======================================================
Ex23-05a PERHAPS you'll see your friends donkey
overburdened & desert him? No! Help him*1
Ex20-22c When you make stone altars dont use hewn stones
LEST you use STEEL/IRON CUTTERS*2
Dt20-19c (In war)When you seige a city dont cut trees
LEST you treat the soldiers like a group of
trees (and sacrifice them) to achieve entry*3
NOTES
=====
*1 Ex23-05a
I should note Rashis 2nd interpretation which is as follows
-----------------------------------------------------------
IF you see your friends donkey overburdened....
-then you wont help him
-then you should held him
------------------------------------------------------------
As Rashi says >Sometimes you help your friend and sometimes
(eg if you are elderly and dont usually lift such bundles)
you have the right to desert him<
However the above translation is clearly twisted. These
laws cited by Rashi are learned from the wording
>HELP HELP WITH HIM<. Thus from the phrases >WITH HIM< we
infer that you only help when he works WITH YOU and you
are not obligated if eg he is elderly. Since this is not
Rashis main focus we will not further explain it here
except to say that we have several Rashis on the difference
between >WITH HIM< and >OF HIM<. See the following URLS
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ex22-24c.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/gn45-27a.htm
In summary the way we have interpreted Rashi is the simple
meaning of the text and the other laws that Rashi cites are
learned from other parts of the verse
Finally note that the meaning >PERHAPS< is similar to
the usage of >KI< to make a >QUESTION<
*2 Ex20-22c
Rashi also notes MORAL IMPLICATIONS
----------------------------------------------------------
The Torah had pity on these stones which only enable
peace--the Torah had pity on them by prohibiting to use
>STEEL< cutting instruments to hew the stones since >STEEL<
is a metal of destruction (Actually the Torah simply
prohibited swords but Rashi seems to take that as any IRON
instrument).
We can now conclude that if the Torah had
pity on stones which enable sacrifices which bring peace
between people (eg the sacrifice that allows a woman to
reunite with her husband after childbirth), and prohibited
using destructive instruments on these stones, how much
more so will the Torah have pity on actual people who bring
peace.
------------------------------------------------------------
*3 There are many diverse interpretations on this verse brought
by the Malbim, Ibn Ezra etc. However the above interpretation
brought by us is simplest and consistent with the Sifray.
The basic focus is that in war actions people lose their
individuality. In English we would say they become a HERD
(of ANIMALS) while in Hebrew we say they become a FOREST
OF TREES.
The general must be aware not to sacrifice one soldier for
the benefit of the group. We symbolically affirm this value
by not destroying ANY (physical) trees thus affirming that
we will not sacrifice any individual soldiers.
{END OF LIST}
DISCUSSION OF THE RIGHT TO DISAGREE WITH RASHI
==============================================
Many people in general have asked me why I sometimes deviate
from Rashis language. Two people in particular
--HARRY RASHBAUM, from my Shomrey Emunah Rashi class
--YAELA BAINE, from my Lower Merion Rashi class
had repeatedly asked me this question. I believe the Rashis
on >KI< enable me to succinctly answer the question.
We first cite 4 contradictory rashis
--------------------------------------------------------------
* Gn18-15a >KI< has 4 meanings:
IF(eey),PERHAPS(DILMA),RATHER(elah),BECAUSE(DHA)
* Gn24-33a >KI< means >EEY< which means >IF<
* Gn43-07d >KI< means >eey< which means >THAT<
* Dt32-03a >KI< means >WHEN<
In Hebrew >CAASHER<(When) and >ASHER< (That) both come from
the root >ASHER<
---------------------------------------------------------------
Thus we have explicitly (From Rashi himself) that
* KI has at least 4 meanings: IF, PERHAPS, RATHER, BECAUSE
* KI has 3 more meanings: WHEN (Similar to IF),THAT, QUESTION
This contradiction does not bother us since Rashi himself
explains it
>The word IF can mean THAT, WHEN etc<
In conclusion before you had read my postings you might have
thought that >KI< has only 4 meanings. After reading my posting
you are aware that >KI< has 7 meanings which however can
be summarized with 4 keywords. Thus my postings made people
aware that the original literal interpretation of Rashi cannot
be accepted (even though our rejection of this interpretation
can be supported by other Rashis).
We can now summarize the approach of my email list on this matter
* All Rashis can be defended by a database QUERY
* This database query may in fact override certain Rashis.
For example: The query may show 7 meanings to a word like >KI<
while Rashi explains there are 4 meanings to this word
* When possible we try and find support for the overriding
meaning from Rashi himself or Chazal. However we should not
expect in all cases to find these other supportive Rashis.
* It is the database query which forces us to reinterpret the
Rashis. We therefore reinterpret
Rashi to mean eg not that there are ONLY 4 meanings but
rather that there are AT LEAST 4 meanings and possibly more.
I hope this clarifies this touchy issue.
REFERENCES:
===========
For many examples see
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n4.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n5.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h4n1.htm
For further special cases see
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/Nu20-29c
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h6n24
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h4n8
Also the last part of this series at
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n4.htm
RASHI RULE USED: UNIFYING MEANING
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: Ex07-05a
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: We answer the question set forth by an
anonymous person at Shomrey Emunah Shalah Shudos printed
in v9-2-1a in Volume 9 number 2 in
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n2.htm
RULE
====
The expression >HAND OF GOD< can refer to either
-- >PROPHECY< or
-- >DESTRUCTION<
The list below illustrates this.
APPLCICATION:
============
In Ex07-05a it says >And Egypt will know that I am God
when I stretch My HAND on them<
Both interpretations of >HAND OF GOD< would fit this verse
--Egypt will know I am God when I send prophecies on them
--Egypt will know I am God when I destroy them
Hence Rashi clarifies that the reference is to DESTRUCTION
as indeed we never find that God gave prophetic visions to
the Egyptians but rather God did send numerous plagues on
them.
We call this the method of >SYNONYMS<. Rashi uses the method
of >SYNONYMS< when there are two possible interpretations.
The reader is in doubt which interpretation is correct.
Rashi then explains which intepretation to use.
{LIST}
Verses with the phrase >HAND OF GOD<. Sometimes this phrase
means >TO DESTROY< while sometimes it refers to >PROPHECY<
===============================================================
VERSE MEANING TEXT OF VERSE WITH PHRASE >HAND OF GOD<
========== ======== ==========================================
Ex09-03 DESTROY Gods hand will be IN your cattle
Dt02-15 DESTROY Gods hand was on them to destroy them
1King18-46 DESTROY Hand of God was to Elijah
2Kings3-15 PROPHECY ..the hand of God was on him(Prophecy)
Ez01-03 PROPHECY the hand of God(Prophecy) was on him there
{END OF LIST}
COMMENT:
========
Rashi on Ex14-31a confirms the dual meanings of the word
HAND and confirms the approach we have used her.
RASHI RULE USED: SYNONYMS
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: v9-2-11b
The following is a synopsis of discussions on the Joseph
Potipherah incident. Acknowledgement to contributions
from my Shomrey Emunah class.
* First recall the explanation I presented in
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/gn47-02a.htm
We cite Gn39-12
-----------------------------------------------------
& she grabbed him by the pants saying sleep with me
but he refused and left his >pants< by her
-----------------------------------------------------
The REPEATED WORD PANTS endows >PANTS< with an extended
meaning and creates overtones. The verse leaves
us with the impression that Joseph had been thinking about
her; this made him vulnerable, an opportunity she sized.
Hence the talmudic opinion >Joseph went in to sin<
This doesnt mean he >INTENDED< to sin; it simply means
he had thought about it.(Rather normal for a 17 year
old teenager cut off from his family)
The fact that she had his pants gave credibility to her
claim which is why Joseph was jailed(After all he
was respected)
* But there is in fact another opinion that Joseph didnt
do anything. I had never defended this. Such a defense
comes from the CAPPED words in Gn39-11
------------------------------------------------------
And on one day Joseph came to the house >TO DO HIS WORK<
even though no one was there. And she grabbed him by the
pants and said sleep with me and he refused....
-------------------------------------------------------
We thus have a clear defense of the other Talmudic
interpretation: The verse explicitly says that he
came to the house to >DO HIS WORK< not to sin.
* In summary there are two forces in the verse
--the repeated language PANTS PANTS
--the explicit phrase CAME TO DO HIS WORK
The issue then is which of these forces is dominant.
According to one interpretation the dominant force is
the phrase >PANTS PANTS< which implied he participated
by thinking about her. The phrase >CAME TO DO HIS WORK<
teaches us that he didnt INTEND to sin; he rather
thought about it--he came to do his work; but since
he had been thinking about her he is blaimed.
According to the other interpretation the dominant
force is the phrase >HE CAME TO DO HIS WORK< which
means he did not think about her. The double word
PANTS PANTS shows that >SHE< made the scene but it
wasnt his fault.
* I also brought in the explicit Rashis on Gn49-24:26
which state that a sexual accident happened to
Joseph.
One member of my Shomrey emunah class asked me why
I didnt simply use this explicit Rashi to prove
my point. The answer is I dont necessarily believe
that this Rashi is the simplest explanation of
Gn49-24:26 and hence it would be unethical for me
to use it to justify another Rashi
* Finally, another member of my Shomrey Emunah class
mentioned that she learned at seminary that
there was no sexual accident. Based on the Talmud
it would appear that >the ejaculation happened
out of his fingers<. I was asked to defend this
* My first impulse was that >Finger< is the talmudic
word for the male organ and that the talmud was
not denying the accident
* But my second examination suggested an explanation
of sublimation. Although Potipherah aroused Joseph
nevertheless Joseph picked up very heavy objects
with his fingers so that nothing happened (and
then Potipherah slandered him).
The idea of submlimating the temptation to sin
by great physical feats does occur in the talmud
as in the person who lifted a heavy ladder to
avoid sinning.
Thus the Talmudic statement that >the temptation
went out of his fingers< means he sublimated his
energies on heavy physical objects
Hope this clarifies this enigmatic episode.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
THE 2 DOZEN RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RASHI RULES
=======================================
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
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*