Guidelines for Poetic Verses:#10 of 10
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# 10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# Oct 26, 2000 #
# Rashis 369-369 Of 7800 (4.7%) #
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-GRAND SUMMARY-
-POETIC VERSES-
-31 Rashis-
OVERVIEW:
--------
RULE: We have frequently indicated that POETIC verses are
governed by the Rabbi Ishmael rule of CONTEXT. Very often poetic
verses REPEAT the same theme several times. In interpeting these
verses the following guiding principles are helpful:
GUIDELINES FOR INTERPRETING POETIC VERSES
-----------------------------------------
* First, find the overall UNIFYING principle
* Next, try and find all STAGES of the UNIFYING theme
* Make a ONE TO ONE CORRESPONDENCE between the STAGES of
The unifying theme and repeated stanzas of the verse based on
the nuances you recognize in the repeated words.
* Next, try and recognize the WORDS that YOU do KNOW
* Further try and find the SPECIAL NUANCES in the words you know
* Then infer the meanings of other words using PARALLEL STRUCTURE
In inferring meaning it is the CONTEXT that determines meaning
not the DICTIONARY. CONTEXT has the right to override *usual*
dictionary meanings. CONTEXT also compels us to interpret 2
identical phrases as referring to 2 differing stages in the
development of the UNIFYING THEME.
In the end your interpretation of the verses should lead to
3-5 well defined STAGES in the development of a UNIFYING THEME.
This follows the Rabbi Ishmael rule of DETAILS FOLLOWED BY A
GENERAL UNIFYING RULE. Under Rabbi Ishmael's rules, the DETAILS
are then interpreted as EXEMPLIFYING basic ideas in the UNIFYING
THEME. Hence, again, we have a collection of STAGES leading to
a UNIFYING theme.
In a nutshell whereas legal language is analytic, poetic language
is evocative The phrases don't define properties by themselves but
rather evoke an image.
In this GRAND SUMMARY we learn the STAGES needed to
---Become a GOOD JUDGE
---Become a NATION
---Develop a RELATION with another person
---Develop a DEVOTED relationship
---Study and learn lessons from HISTORY
---Attain FORGIVENESS
-------------------------------------------------------
Those who wish to see this module on the website should
visit the RASHI YOMI CALENDAR and look for POEM. One
can also visit the following urls
http://www.rashiYomi.com/h7n18.htm
http://www.rashiYomi.com/h7n20.htm
http://www.rashiYomi.com/h7n23.htm
http://www.rashiYomi.com/h7n24.htm
http://www.rashiYomi.com/h3n18.htm
To see similar examples visit the following URL
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/example9.htm
--------------------------------------------------------
In this GRAND SUMMARY we only cite for each example the UNIFYING
THEME and the STAGES by which it develops. In the individual
postings of this module we have fully developed the meanings
and nuances of all the WORDS in the verses--the more interested
reader is referred to them.
EXAMPLE 6 below, gives an extended example in detail (for those
who wish to see one). Finally EXAMPLE 7 illustrates not the idea
of stages but rather it illustrates how PARALLEL STRUCTURE
can DETERMINE MEANING.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
EXAMPLES 1: Dt32-04a (4 Rashis)--HOW TO BECOME A GOOD JUDGE
============================================================
God the Rock is PERFECT in his deeds
for all his ways our ways of JUSTICE
A God of FAITH
WITHOUT INJUSTICE
He is RIGHTEOUS and UPRIGHT
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN Dt32-04 and THINGS A GOOD JUDGE SHOULD DO
----------------------------------------------------------------
THINGS A GOOD JUDGE SHOULD DO THE PHRASES OF Dt32-04
----------------------------- ---------------------------
Judge by RIGHT not by MIGHT God the Rock is Perfect(*1)
His ways are ways of Justice
Don't withold what wicked earn Without Injustice
You eventually acquit Righteous God of Faith (*2)
You have a Good Reputation He is Righteous and Upright (*3)
NOTES
-----
*1 Note the contrast: EVEN though He is a ROCK (powerful)
Nevertheless he does things for reasons of perfection
*2 The word FAITH has a connotation of doing things eventually
*3 This sentence phrase looks like a declaration
RECAP & SUMMARY:
---------------
Just to emphasize the method: Rashi did not learn from the words
FAITH and WITHOUT INJUSTICE that God gives reward to the wicked
for their good deeds and that he eventually acquits the
righteous.Rather Rashi knew that these were the main attributes
of a good judge and he correlated them with the verses phrases.
The words of the verse are clear, and the theme was well known.
Rashis job in this verse was not to clarify meaning or to solve
problems--rather his job was to show relationship with a
unifying context.
EXAMPLE 2: Dt32-07 (6 Rashis) - HOW TO STUDY HISTORY
====================================================
The actual verse states as follows
{LIST}
PARALLEL STRUCTURE OF DT32-07 *1
--------- ------------ -------------
REMEMBER The days of the world
UNDERSTAND the years of generations
ASK Your Father & he'll TELL you
Your Elders & they'll STATE it
{LIST}
CORRESPONDENCE OF STUDY HISTORY & DT32-07
-----------------------------------------
Dt32-07 HOW TO STUDY HISTORY
---------- ------------------------------------
REMEMBER Study history*1
UNDERSTAND Bad generations get punished*2
Good generations get rewarded*2
ASK Ask Prophets to confirm principles*3
STATE Ask Rabbis-Sages for guidance*4
NOTES
*1 The word REMEMBER vs the word UNDERSTAND has as emphasis
On the past. Rashi suggests some obvious examples from
History. The generations of the flood or of Sedom
And Amorah are clear examples of generations dying
Because they rebelled against God.
*2 The word UNDERSTAND vs the word REMEMBER has no special
Emphasis in time. Hence (as the Sifsay, Chachamim, points
Out) while REMEMBER refers to the PAST, UNDERSTAND refers
To both the PAST and FUTURE. The request is to understand
Both the good and bad throughout history as coming from God
As acts of Reward and punishment
*3 We emphasize that the word FATHER doesn't necessarily
Mean PROPHET anymore than the word TELL means guiding
Principles. However
The CONTEXT demands that some new aspect of studying
History be attached to this phrase---since one of the
Meanings of FATHER is PROPHET (as listed by the RADACK
In the book of ROOTS), therefore, because of the
Principle of CONTEXT Rashi interprets this & the
Next phrase (FATHER-ELDER) To refer to asking prophets
And Rabbi-Sages.
*4 Interestingly, Rashi points out that the Biblical sentence
"Ask the Rabbis and they will TELL YOU" links back to
The beginning of the verse "REMEMBER HISTORY" "UNDERSTAND
THE GENERATIONS" We have emphasized this parellilism
Thru a table.
SUMMARY: The verse simply says to Learn about God thru
history. The nuances of the verse evoke an image of the
4 aspects of learning history: a) Record/remember history
b) Understand relationships in history (evil deeds lead
to decay while good deeds lead to growth c) Prophets
confirm these principles d) Rabbis and Sages guide you.
EXAMPLE 3: Dt32-10 (6 Rashis)--RELATING TO PEOPLE
=================================================
{LIST}
1-1 correspondence of Dt32-10 & 4 phases of FINDING someone
===========================================================
Phrase in Dt32-10 Relationship Rashi on this phrase
----------------- ------------ --------------------
God found the Jews Find God found his match*1
He Surrounded them Date God gave clouds,flags*2
Gave them understanding Understand Gave Torah*3
He Watched/cared Caring God saved from perils*4
NOTES
*1 Rashi points out that eg other nations would not have been
suitable partners--eg the Arabs and Esauvites would not have
accepted the Torah
*2 Rashi mentions 3 things (all indicative of the dating phase)
2a--He surrounded the Jews with CLOUDS (a gift)
2b--He surrounded the Jews with FLAGS for each tribe(A gift)
2c--The Jews surrounded the mountain at Sinai (The date to
receive the Torah)
The concept of a date with God was introduced to me by my
teacher Rabbi Joseph Baer Soloveitchick who frequently used this
concept in Lecture
Note how I have INTERPRETED RASHI. The SURROUNDING by clouds
and flags is itself indicative of a DATING relationship which
is one phase of God and the Jews finding each other
I am justified in so interpreting Rashi because of the
principle of CONTEXT which requries that all 4 phrases
indicate some aspect of the relationship
*3 Thus we view the Torah as the phase where the two parties,
God and the Jews UNDERSTAND each other
*4 Rashi simply gives a list of perils that the Jews encountered
4a Snakes and scorpions (eg Compare Dt08-15) or the nations
that attacked the Jews which God saved them from (eg Dt02,Dt03)
SUMMARY: Thus Dt32-10 describes how God found his partner
the Jews Here is a loose translation with commentary
----------------------------------------------------------
He found them in a desert land where there was no one else
He surrounded the Jews with Gifts like flags and clouds
He shared understanding with them thru the Torah
He entered into Convenant with them to protect and care for them
----------------------------------------------------------------
EXAMPLE 4: Dt32-06 (3 Rashis)--BECOMING A NATION
================================================
TEXT OF VERSES
----------------------------
Is He (God) not your FATHER
He NESTS you
He MADE you
and made you WELL FOUNDED
----------------------------
THE ONE TO ONE CORRESPONDECE
{LIST}
1-1 Correspondence Between Dt32-06 & Making A Nation
======================================================
Verse Become a Nation Rashis language
----- --------------- ---------------
Father Acquired a leader*1 Acquired
Nest Guidance Fix you up *2
Made you Make you a Nation Make you a nation
Well founded Ones own culture*3 Prophets,Priests,Sages
NOTES
*1 Actually Rashi speaks not about the Jews acquiring a leader
but rather about God acquiring the Jews--either way, it is the
beginning of the relationship
*2 Of course there are triple puns here--the 3 words used:
---acquire (KaNah)
---nest (KaN)
---Fix (TaKayN)
all come from the same Kuf-Nun root. But the correspondence
is as shown above
*3 In other words Jewish culture is characterized by having
Sages, Priests, and Prophets.
SUMMARY: God
--became your leader and father
--he nested and fixed you up
--he MADE you into a nation
--and help you develop your own culture of priest-prophet-sages
EXAMPLE 5: Dt33-06 (3 Rashis)-HOW TO ACHIEVE FORGIVENESS
========================================================
{LIST2}The 1-1 correspondence between the 3 verse phrases
in Dt33-06 and the categories of continuing existence*1
========================================================
VERSE Category of >continuing existence<
==================== ==================================
May Reuben live May he >physically< exist
May Reuben not die*2 May he have a >spiritual< component
may he have number may he be >counted< & recognized
NOTES
*1 I think it clear that the individual words >live< or >die<
do >NOT< correspond to the concepts of >physical< and >spiritual<
existence. Rather what motivated Rashi to make this
correspondence is the >principle of climax< which demands that 3
or more phrases be interpreted in a climatic manner. It is this
principle, CLIMAX, which creates the correspondence and therefore
it is a mistake to read the correspondence into the meanings of
the words
*2 Actually the verse says >May Reuben live AND not die< To
emphasize the parellelism we have translated this
as >May Reuben live and May Reuben not die<
EXAMPLE 6: VERSES: Dt33-02:05 (7 Rashis)-HOW TO BE DEVOTED
==========================================================
{LIST}
The 4 Stages that lead to a >DEVOTED RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD< and
the verses in Dt33-02:05 describing these stages. The footnotes
show that it is CONTEXT not the dictionary which determines
MEANING.
=========================================================
STAGE VERSE (Dt33-02:05)
==================== ======================================
God >SEEKS< others*1 God tried to give the Torah to Esauv*2
God >FINDS< Jews*1 All tribes accepted the Torah*3
Jews >LEARN< Torah Moses gave us the Torah eternally*4
Jews >ACCEPT< God God is King in Israel at all time*5
NOTES:
*1 Rashi on Dt33-02a explicitly notes the structure of these
verses: The first two describe the actions of >GOD< while
the last 2 describe the actions of the >JEWS<. So Rashi was
indeed very much aware of CONTEXT and STRUCTURE.
*2 This idea, that God offered the Torah to Esauv is normally
seen as midrashic and fanciful. But we can ultimately defend
this as pure simple meaning.
Let us first give a reasonable interpretation of this verse.
It explicitly says in an OTHER VERSE, Dt02-05 >For I(God) have
given Mount Seir to Esauv<. In other words, Dt02-05 identifies
that National occupations (such as Esauvs occupation of Mount
Seir) comes from prophetic orders of God.
I think this sufficient to explain the Rashi. For Rashi is
simply saying: >Look God gave prohesies to all the nations--to
Esauv God gave territoriality; but to the Jews He gave the Torah<
In other words the emphasis is that in the context of God making
prophetic promises it is only the Jews who accepted the Law while
the other nations only wanted territory.
(This is the essence of Rashis point. Rashi probably conjectured
that just as God gave Mount Seir to Esauv (& Israel to the Jews)
so too he offered the Torah to both the Jews and Esauv but only
the Jews accepted the Torah. However if the reader just wants to
deal with what is explicitly said, we have Dt02-05 which shows
that we are contrasting the prophesies to Esauv, which promise
only territory vs the prohpesies to the Jews, which promise the
Torah)
*3 In the remaining 3 footnotes we show how CONTEXT, not the
dictionary determines meaning. Everyone knows that the Hebrew
word >AM< primarily means nation. However in certain rare cases
>AM< can refer to >any large gathering< or >any well knit unit<.
The fact that Rashi prefers to translate >AM< as >TRIBES< (>all
the TRIBES accepted the Torah<) is due to CONTEXT---it is stage
2 in a devoted relationship when one FINDS the partner. Hence
Rashi must interpret Gn33-03 as referring to acceptance of the
Torah by the Jews. Here are the supporting verses from RADACK
besides those Rashi brings
{LIST4}
Verses where the Hebrew word >AM< means >UNIT< or
>LARGE GATHERING<. These examples come from RADACK. Rashi
ingeniously brings Gn35-11 where the cognate words >GOY< which
usually means >NATION< in fact means & refers to the >TRIBE<
of BENYAMIN.
==============================================================
VERSE Text of Verse: The CAPPED word translates >AM<
======== ===============================================
Ex21-08d He shall not sell the slavegirl to another FAMILY
Joel2-2 A big and huge ARMY (cf Joel2-11)
Jud18-6 & They came to LAYISH and saw the CITY dwelling there
Neh9-24 The Jews conquered the 7 STATES of Canaan
4. The verse says >Moses commanded us the Torah, an inheritance
to the nation of Jacob<. Notice how every >WORD< has a clear
meaning. Also notice how the >SENTENCE< itself is also understood
However the >CONTEXT< is not clear--->HOW< does this sentence
>FIT IN< with the rest of the paragraph? It is this >CONTEXT<
which Rashi wishes to give. Rashi derives the meaning from the
OVERALL CONTEXT of the paragraph. Rashi uses the method of DOUBLE
PARSHAS to highlight the difference.
{LIST5}
================================================================
Alignment of the 2 halves of Dt33-04
*a *b
The Torah was commanded to us
An inheritance (to) the Congregation of Jacob
================================================================
NOTES
*a) by calling the Torah an >INHERITANCE< the verse emphasizes
that the Torah was accepted eternally. In other words we did not
just learn Gods ways once but rather we CONTINUALLY learn them.
This theme is echoed in the next verse also.
*b) By first using the word >US< and only then using the phrase
>Congregation of Jacob< the verse emphasizes that we achieved
our relationship with God by learning the Torah.
*5) Again the >WORDS< in the verse have clear meaning; similarly
the >SENTENCE< has clear meaning---it says >And thus there was
a King in Israel, when(ever) the leaders have a Gathering<. But
it is the >CONTEXT< of this sentence in the paragraph--->HOW< it
fits into the rest of the paragraph---that Rashi clarifies.
Indeed, recall the 4 stages of a >DEVOTED RELATIONSHIP<;
(a) SEEKING a partner; (b) FINDING a partner; (c ) the partner
LEARNS your way of life; (d) the partner ACCEPTS you. Hence,
Dt33-05 must therefore be interpreted as referring to the Jews
>ACCEPTING< God as their permanant partner.
Hence, Rashi (Dt33-05a) interprets >And there was a King, God,
in Israel< since this fits the context (By contrast Ibn Ezra
translates >And there was a king, Moses, in Israel<) Notice how
the Ibn Ezra gives a correct interpretation of the >SENTENCE< but
the Ibn Ezra does not give a correct interpretation of the
>PARAGRAPH< For his interpretation of this verse as referring
to Moses does not fit into the paragraph.
Hence, also Rashi (Dt33-05b, Dt33-05c) emphasizes the >ETERNAL<
nature of the Jews acceptance of God since this fits into the
context. The emphasis on the eternal nature can also be derived
from an alignment of the verse parts.
{LIST6}
=============================================================
Alignment of the two halves of Dt33-05
*a *b
& there was King (God) in Israel
when the leaders gathered
=============================================================
NOTES
*a The parallel structure suggests that Gods Kingship exists
in both SPACE (in Israel) and TIME (when the leaders gathered)
and hence hints at the eternal nature of Gods kingship. As
previously indicated the emphasis on ETERNAL relationship comes
from the structure of the paragraph. Similarly the word
>AND THERE WAS< can be perceived as hinting at emphasis.
*b The concept that the gatherings were done by leaders
serves to indicate that it was a proper gathering (rather
than a spontaneous response of a herd)
SUMMARY: We have seen many strange translations above. Rashi
translates >AM< as >TRIBE<. Similarly Rashi emphasizes the
>ETERNAL< nature of the God-Jew relationship in Dt33-04:05.
Finally Rashi emphasizes that it is God who achieves Kingship.
Other explanations are possible. Rashi himself brings down a
translation where >AM< refers to >NON JEWISH NATIONS<. Similarly
Ibn Ezra translates Dt33-05 as referring to Moses Kingship.
Rashi would not dispute that his explanations are >rare<.
Rather Rashi would assert that his explanations are the only
explanations that are consistent with the >CONTEXT< of the
entire paragraph. In other words, while the other explanations
may be consistent with the >WORDS< and >SENTENCE< they are
NOT consistent with the overall >PARAGRAPH CONTEXT<. Hence
Rashis translation is the only simple meaning.
EXAMPLES 7: Dt32-42a (2 Rashis)--ILLUSTRATION OF PARALLELISM
============================================================
(This mini-example illustrates not so much the idea of stages but
rather the idea that PARALLELISM and STRUCTURE can yield
meaning)
My arrows will get drunk from BLOOD
from BLOOD OF CAPTIVES
My sword will eat flesh
from heads of the enemy
*1 *2 *3
NOTES
-----
*1 Rashi simply illuminates the parallel structure (We have
rearranged sentence phrases to more emphatically show the
parallelism).
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*