The 10 RashiYomi Rules 
Their presence in Rashis on Parshat VaAyRah
Vol 1#1 - Adapted from Rashi-is-Simple 
Visit The RashiYomi Website: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
(c) RashiYomi Incorporated, Dr Hendel President, Feb 7, 2005

RASHI METHOD: OTHER VERSES     
This example applies to Rashis Ex06-04b Ex05-06b Ex06-06c. 
URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex06-05b.htm

The other verse method seeks to confirm the contents of a target verse by cross referencing other verses which either confirm the target text or add details to it.

Ex06-03:04 states And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name The Lord was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojourning, in which they sojourned. Rashi, Ex06-04b, cross references other verses where God creates a covenant to give the Patriarchs Israel. For example, in Gn17-08 God tells Abraham,  And I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land where you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God; similarly in Gn26-03, God tells Isaac, Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you, and to your seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father;  similarly in Gn35-11:12, God tells Jacob, And God said to him, I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of you, and kings shall come from your loins; And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to you I will give it, and to your seed after you will I give the land. (Translations of individual verses frequently taken from Davka CD products and translations of the Bible) 

RASHI METHOD: WORD MEANINGS / unified meanings  
This example applies to Rashis  Ex06-12a Dt10-16a Lv19-23a
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/lv19-23a.htm

The word meaning method seeks to present dictionary meaning. Rashi uses 10 vehicles to infer word meaning. In todays example Rashi examines a list of verses where the Hebrew root Ayin-Resh-Lamed adjectivally describes some item. Rashi presents a unified meaning and theme to the described items in this list: The context of the verses shows that Ayin-Resh-Lamed (arayl) items are inaccessible or unusable. For example, the fruit of Arayl trees is inaccessible (Lv19-23a), Arayl lips are unusable for talking (Ex06-12a), arayl ears are unusable for hearing (Jr06-10), an arayl heart is incapable of caring (Jr09-25, Dt10-16a), poison (araylah) prevents usability (Chabakuk02-16), and an uncircumcised (arayl) organ is symbolically unusable (Gn34-14).

RASHI METHOD: ALIGNMENT  
This example applies to Rashis  Gn46-10a
URL reference: (c)New item

The alignment method seeks to extract nuances from the minor differences in the alignment of two almost identical verses. The contrast of the two almost identical verses points to an emphasis in the minor aligned nuances. The use of alignment to emphasize nuances is similar in tone to the use of footnotes to emphasize points in modern prose.

We present an alignment of the Biblical Texts at Gn46-10 and Ex06-15
Gn46-10 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, 
and Saul the son of a Canaanite woman.
Ex06-15 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, 
and Saul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.

Comparing the alignment of the two verses we find the extra phrase these are the families of Simeon. This creates an emphasis: These are the families of Simeon, so to speak, even if you would have though otherwise. Rashi explains what we might have thought: We might have thought that the father of Saul, Dinah's son, was Schem, who raped her. Therefore the text emphasize that all of Simeon's children were indeed his own. We infer in passing that Shimeon married Dinah when he saved her from the city that stood silently by as she was raped. 

RASHI METHOD: CONTRADICTION  
This example applies to Rashi Ex07-03a
URL reference: (c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/ex07-03a.htm

The contradiction method, made explicit in Rabbi Ishmael's 13 exegetical principles, seeks to infer Biblical content by resolving contradictory Biblical verses. Rashi used 4 methods to resolve contradiction. The following two verses show contradiction.

•	Ex07-03a   And I [God] will harden Pharohs heart and I will multiply my miracles in Egypt
•	Ex08-28    .... and Pharoh hardened his own heart and did not let the Jews go [Plague #4]

One method of resolving contradiction is to use the method of stages---we regard the two contradictory verses as speaking about two stages of one process. In this particular case by examining the verses we find that in the first 5 plagues Pharoh hardened his own heart while in the last five plagues the Bible explicitly says that God hardened Pharoh's heart. Thus by plague #6 we have the Biblical statement Ex09-12 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he listened not to them; as the Lord had spoken to Moses. In a similar manner, the statement I will multiply my miracles in Egypt is emphasized in the last 5 plagues: For example, in plague #7, we have the statement And in very deed for this cause have I raised you up, to show in you my power; and that my name may be proclaimed throughout all the earth (Ex09-16), and an almost verbatim repetition of Ex07-03occurs by the 8th plague And the Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might show these my signs before him; And that you may tell in the ears of your son, and of your grandson, what things I have done in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that you may know that I am the Lord (Ex10-01:02)

RASHI METHOD: GRAMMAR  
This example applies to Rashis  Ex07-27a, Ex07-14a, Gn47-15a
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex07-28a.htm

The grammar method seeks to present the rules of grammatical conjugation particularly as they apply to verb, noun and adjectival forms. Rashi will frequently use the method of near misses -- that is, Rashi will present a grammatical principle by showing two almost identical grammatical forms which however differ in meaning because of minor differences between them.

Today Rashi distinguishes between the adjectival and verb or noun forms of a root, a topic not always covered in elementary school. Basically, the adjectival form uses a Tzaray while the verbal form may use a patach or segol. If the verb form is using a Tzaray also then the verb form will have extra letters. Hence MaAyN refers to the property of obstinacy (Ex07-27a) while MeMaAyN refers to the activity of refusal. Similarly KaVayD (Ex07-14a) refers to the property of heaviness while KaBaD refers to the act of making a heavy burden. Similarly EFeS refers to a state of nothing while AFayS refers to the property of having dwindled away (Gn47-15a).

RASHI METHOD: DATABASES
This example applies to Rashis  Ex06-03a,  Ex06-03b
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex06-03a.htm

The database method uses the methods of structured query language (SQL) to uncover patterns and commonalities in the Bible. In todays example Rashi seeks unifying themes in those verses which use the name of God, Shadai. Although Gods name occurs several 1000 times in the Bible, the name Shadai occurs less than 50 times in the whole Bible. The verses and chapters containing Shadai seem to refer to immediate displays of force and power by God. Thus Naomi who lost her family and wealth as a punishment for deserting the Jews during a famine says that Shadai bittered her greatly (Ru01-20); Bilam who gave advice on sin and caused the death of 24,000 Jews brags that he knows the way of Shadai (Nu24-04); Jacob when trying to free his two enslaved sons blesses his children in the name of Shadai (Gn43-14); the book of Job, a person punished and devastated by God, is replete with references to Shadai; Jacob when blessing Joseph with rulership uses the name of Shadai; several verses granting blessings of fruitfulness while in a hostile environment use the name of Shadai (Gn28-03, Gn38-11, Gn17-01, Gn48-03).  Based on these examples the content of Ex06-03 seems to be: I, God, appeared to the Patriarchs as a God of immediacy and sudden force---for example I immediately smote Pharoh when he tried to rape Sarah; similarly I saved Jacob from armies of Laban and Esauv when he was helpless---however to free the slaves from Egypt requires more than immediate force--it requires the God of existence and development since the Jews must grow out of their slave mentality into a free nation.

RASHI METHOD: Style
This example applies to Rashis  Ex06-13a, Ex07-27a, Ex07-27b
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex06-13b.htm

The Rabbi Ishmael Style rules are usually thought of as applying to technical legal matters. However in a broader sense they apply to paragraph styles. The fundamental focus of the Rabbi Ishmael style rules is to precisely delineate the relationship between paragraph themes and development details: Are the details examples of a general theme, or, do the details exhaust the paragraph theme? In other words should the examples and details be interpreted literally and exclusively or should they be interpreted broadly and generally? Still another way of looking at style is that it answers the question: How should the paragraph theme and details be integrated?

Today we study the chapter defined by Ex06-10 thru Ex07-02. The theme of this chapter is that God selected Moses and Aaron to lead the Jewish people. The paragraph has an ABA form. Let us carefully examine it.

The paragraph opens and closes with the paragraph theme, the A component of the ABA form: God requests from Moses to lead the people. Moses refuses so God gives him Aaron to help him out. When reading these two repeated A components notice how the second repetition adds details and clarifies the very terse first repetition:

Ex06-10:13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Go, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the people of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the people of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Ex06-26 thru Ex07-02  These are Aaron and Moses, to whom the Lord said, Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts. These are those who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the people of Israel from Egypt; these are Moses and Aaron. And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, That the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, I am the Lord; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you. And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh listen to me? And the Lord said to Moses, See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he send the people of Israel out of his land.

It is precisely by perceiving these two units as opening and closing a paragraph that Rashi is able to see the selection of Aaron, as God's response to Moses' refusal to do the entire job himself (Ex06-13a)

The B-component of the paragraph seems, at first glance, unrelated to the main theme.  It lists genealogies of the various tribes: Reuben, Shimon, and Levi. 

Ex06-14:25 These are the chiefs of their fathers’ houses; The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel;... And the sons of Simeon; .... And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; .... these are the chiefs of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.

I suggest that Rashi sees this B-component as a contrastive development of the chapter which opened and closed with the A-component. There is so to speak a subtle emphasis
•	 The tribes of Reuben and Levi rebelled against God in the Korach rebellion
•	 The tribe of Shimon rebelled against God by sinning with the daughters of Moab
•	 By contrast Moses and Aaron remained faithful as emissaries of God and never rebelled (Rashi Ex07-27a, Ex07-27b)
Again: It is helpful to understand these Rashis as emanating from the reading of the Biblical paragraph as a whole.

RASHI METHOD: Spreadsheets
This example applies to Rashis  Ex12-41a, Gn15-13a
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex06-16a.htm

The spreadsheet method uses spreadsheets to organize numerical or geometric computations in order to clarify Biblical sequence. Today we examine the exodus experience. The following verses and dates highlight important points in the Egyptian experience 
--------------------------------------------------------- 
YEAR     Relevant Age     Event                Verse                                     
-------- ---------------  -------------------- --------- 
Year 0   Abraham 75	       Abraham visits Egypt Gn12-04
Year 25  Abraham 100      Birth of Isaac       Gn21-05
Year 85  Isaac   60	       Birth of Jacob       Gn25-26
Year 215 Jacob   130      Jews arrive in Egypt Gn47-09
Year 430                  Jews leave Egypt     Ex12-41
--------------------------------------------------------- 
   
Several important highlights emerge from these verses
•	The Bible describes the Jews as staying in Egypt 430 years---this time period started from Abraham's descent to Egypt(Ex12-41)
•	The Bible describes the Jews as staying in Egypt 400 years---this time period started from Isaac (Actually it is 405)(Gn15-13)
•	The actual residence by the entire Jewish community in Egypt is 215 years.
Auxiliary spreadsheets can be constructed showing that the actual slavery/torture lasted only 121 years (Sifsay Chachamim)

Conclusion
This weeks parshah does not contain examples of the symbolism and bullet methods. This concludes this weeks edition. Visit the RashiYomi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ for further details and examples.