The 10 RashiYomi Rules 
Their presence in Rashis on Parshat KiThiSa
Vol 1#2 - Adapted from Rashi-is-Simple 
Visit The RashiYomi Website: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
(c) RashiYomi Incorporated, Dr Hendel President, Feb 20, 2005
English translations of the Bible come mostly from the Davka translation with changes made by me

1. RASHI METHOD: OTHER VERSES     
This example applies to Rashis Ex32-02a Ex32-05b Ex32-05c Ex32-05d 
URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex32-02a.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.

Ex32-02 states And Aaron said to them, Yank off the golden ear rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me. As we shall see below, when discussing the grammar rule, the strange phrase used by Aaron, Yank off (vs. say gather, or remove, or give) implies that Aaron was hoping the wives would resist the request, by their husbands, for their jewelry, for purposes of making the golden calf idol.   This verse Ex32-02 with its strange phrase, Yank off, illuminates the Rashi comments on other verses where Rashi similarly interprets Aaron's actions as a stalling for time. Hence we have the Rashis on Ex32-05. And when Aaron saw it[The golden calf], he built an altar before it [Rashi: to stall for time]; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, Tomorrow [Rashi: to stall for time] is a feast to the Lord [Rashi: A politically ambiguous statement...perhaps Moses will come and we will have a holiday to the real and true God]. 

Our contribution to understanding these Rashis is the point that the verse text -- he built an altar before it; and ... made a proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast -- by itself does  not imply that Aaron was stalling. Rather the proper way to learn these Rashis is to see the derivation as emanating from an other verse, yank off, which implies that Aaron stalled for time.

2. RASHI METHOD: WORD MEANINGS / 8 methods of naming  
This example applies to Rashi  Ex30-18b
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/ex30-18b.htm

The word meaning method seeks to present dictionary meaning. Rashi uses 10 vehicles to infer word meaning. Rashi can frequently identify the meaning of words by their form, function or feel. For example both the Pentagon and United Nations are institutions whose goal is to maintain security. But the Pentagon is named by its form and shape while the U.N. is named by its purpose and goal.  Similarly the word hardship is named by how it feels. These rules are common in all languages. 

We apply this rule to Ex30-18 which states You shall make a copper washer, and its copper foundation to wash with; and you shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.  Rashi explains that the Hebrew word for foundation, like its English counterpart, comes from the word foundation. The foundation serves as a foundation and support for the washer. In Hebrew the root Caph-Vav-Nun means to create a foundation and hence the Hebrew word for foundation, Caph-Nun can be translated as foundation.

3. RASHI METHOD: GRAMMAR / root+preposition
This example applies to Rashis  Ex32-02b Ex32-03a
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/ex32-02a.htm

The grammar method seeks to teach and apply Hebrew grammar. A major portion of Hebrew grammar is the conjugation of verbs. It is well known that Hebrew has 7 grammatical modes for the Hebrew roots. Frequently, a root will change meaning based on the grammatical mode. Today we examine the Hebrew root, Pay-Resh-Kuph (PRQ). This root means unload in the active mode, yank off in the intensive mode, and slip off in the reflexive mode. A convenient and nifty way to confirm or acquire understanding of grammatical Rashis is to use the Biblical Concordance or a search engine to present illustrative verses which clarify the nuances involved.

The following verses illustrate usages of the Hebrew root PRQ: In the following verses, PRQ is in the active mode and means to unload. Slaves rule over us; there is none to unload us from their hands (La05-08), He has unloaded us from our enemies; for his loving kindness endures for ever (P136-24). In the following verses PRQ is in the intensive mode and means to yank off: And he said, Go out, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind yanked apart the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; (IK19-11), For, behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who shall not take care of those who are cut off, nor shall he seek the young one, nor heal the maimed, nor feed that which stands still; but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and yank off their hoofs  (Za11-16), And Aaron said to them, yank off the golden ear rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me (Ex32-02). In the follow verses PRQ is in the reflexive mode and means slip off:  And all the people slipped off the golden ear rings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron(Ex32-03),  But she[the tree] was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit; her strong boughs slipped off as if consumed by fire  (Ez19-12).

We have seen above, in discussing the other verse rule, how Rashi infers from the strange phrase, yank off, that Aaron expected resistance to the request to provide jewelry and was in fact stalling for time.

4. RASHI METHOD: ALIGNMENT  
This example applies to Rashis  Ex32-10a
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/ex32-10a.htm

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. It is interesting that the following alignment arose from a computer study I did seeking long sequences of Biblical words that differed in only one place. The computer found the following alignment of the Biblical texts at Ex32-09 and Dt09-13. I immediately recognized that this alignment solved a Rashi whose source I had not yet identified.

•	Ex32-09 The Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people; 
•	Dt09-13 The Lord spoke to me, to say, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people;

Comparing the alignment of the two verses reveals the extra phrase to say in the Dt09-13 verse. Hence we have the Rashi: God in effect told Moses: I am telling you this for the purpose of you saying or talking back to me---I want you to pray for the Jewish people that they shouldn't be punished.

5. RASHI METHOD: CONTRADICTION  
This example applies to Rashis Ex20-06a Dt07-09a Ex32-07a
URL reference: (c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/ex20-05b.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 three verses show 2 contradictions.

•	Ex20-06 And showing mercy to thousands of those who love me, and keep my commandments.
•	Ex34-07 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, to the third and to the fourth generation
•	Dt07-09 Know therefore that the Lord your God, he is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with those who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations

The underlined words indicate the contradiction: Do Gods actions last for 4 generations, for 1000 generations or for 2000 generations?

However this contradiction is superficial and can be resolved by emphasizing the other underlined words in the text: 
•	When God punishes -- visits iniquity--the punishment lasts for 4 generations
•	When God rewards -- who love him and keep his commandments -- it is to 1000 or 2000 generations.

Because of the need to resolve the other contradiction Rashi further suggests that
•	God rewards those who love him for thousands of generations, that is, 2000 generations
•	God rewards those who only keep his commandments, that is, those who fear him, for only a thousand generations.

Notice that Rashi translated keep his commandments as those who fear him, not because that is what the words mean, but rather because there was a need to resolve the contradiction and therefore the emphasis on the nuances in the phrases was justified.

6. RASHI METHOD: Style
This example applies to Rashis  Ex30-34c Ex30-34e
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex30-34d.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 Biblical paragraph at Ex30-34. The structure below clearly depicts the theme-detail-theme form of this Biblical paragraph.

And the Lord said to Moses, 
Take to you sweet spices, 
•	storax, and 
•	onycha, and 
•	galbanum; 
these sweet spices with pure frankincense

This biblical text clearly defines a paragraph whose theme is that spices should be taken. The paragraph theme is developed with specific details and examples: storax, onycha and galbanum. The paragraph then closes with the reiteration of the theme: They shall be sweet spices. There are of course other details in this paragraph but they need not concern us here.

Rashi, based on the theme-detail-theme form makes the following inferences: The incense was made from storax, onycha and galbanum and other spices similar to these. Rashi further notes that one of these 3 spices has a bad odor when scented by itself and therefore we conclude that the sweet incense is required to have bad-smelling ingredients. Symbolically this means that the community whose prayers go to God like incense is required to include sinners and other bad-smelling people among them. We shall go into this symbolism in further detail below when we discuss the symbolism rule.

7. RASHI METHOD: Bullets
This example applies to Rashis  Ex30-24a Ex30-23a
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex30-24a.htm

The bullet method seeks to make inferences from the biblical text based on parallel structure which implies similarity among the parallel items. What we have called the bullet method is better known as the Rabbi Ishmael exegetical rule of context.  What we have added to the Rabbi Ishmael exposition is the idea that parallel structure is one method of making inferences from context. The Bible itself does not contain bullets but there are a variety of methods to infer parallelism. Today we examine parallelism in Ex30-23:25.

Take the best spices, 
•	pure myrrh 	five hundred shekels, 
•	sweet cinnamon 	its half is, two hundred and fifty shekels, 
•	sweet calamus 	two hundred and fifty shekels,
•	Kiddah 		five hundred shekels, 
•				according to the shekel of the sanctuary, 
•	oil olive 		a hin;
And you shall make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound according to the art of the apothecary; it shall be a holy anointing oil.

Without any further biblical hints the parallel structure of this paragraph is clear. Rashi infers as follows: The Hebrew word Kiddah refers to some type of perfume -- we infer this because it occurs in a context of a list of perfumes. A further Rashi comment is as follows: The Hebrew word Resh-Aleph-Shin, which could refer to particular perfumes is preferably translated here in its meaning as head, chief, important, best. We infer this because this word occurs in the stem phrase preceding the list: Take the best spices. Hence we are justified in interpreting this word generally and not as referring to particular spices.

10. RASHI METHOD: SYMBOLISM
This example applies to Rashis  Ex30-34c Ex30-34a Ex30-34b
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex30-34a.htm

The symbolism method seeks to extract meaningful inferences from the symbolism of the biblical text.  The concept of symbolic interpretation is very involved. A good, compact, clear reference explaining when symbolism can be used and how to apply it may be found in my article Genesis 1 speaks about the creation of prophecy not the world which you can find at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gen-1.htm.  Today we explore the symbolism in Ex30-34 which reads as follows:

And the Lord said to Moses, 
Take to you sweet spices, 
•	drippy spice (storax), and 
•	shiny spice (onycha), and 
•	fatty spice (galbanum); 
these sweet spices with pure frankincense

Rashi explains that Storax is called drippy spice because it is typically obtained when it oozes from the tree; onycha is called shiny spice because of its shiny appearance.  I would extend Rashi's method and explain: Galbanum is called fatty spice because it smells bad like putrid fat. Rashi makes symbolic inferences from the use of a bad smelling fatty spice in the sweet incense: This inclusion--of a bad smelling fatty spice in the sweet incense--teaches you that there is a requirement to include the bad smelling spices in the incense. Symbolically this means that every community who wishes to approach God in prayer which is compared to incense, is required to include bad and foul-smelling people.

We can extend Rashi's symbolism as follows: The shiny spice obviously symbolically refers to a shiny flashy person who is always conspicuous and showing off. We have just seen that the fatty spice symbolizes foul-smelling people, people who are bad. Since you become fat by never saying no and always indulging perhaps the fatty spice symbolizes indulgers who never say no.  Finally the drippy spice would refer to a stately person who does things drop by drop and not hurriedly. Together, the three spice types listed in Ex30-34--the drippy, fatty, and shiny---would correspond to three basic types of people: the stately, the indulgers and the flashy people. We could say more but the above gives the flavor of how Rashi's symbolism can be used.

Conclusion

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