The 10 RashiYomi Rules 
Their presence in Rashis on Parshat BeChuKoThai
Vol 1#13 - Adapted from Rashi-is-Simple 
Visit The RashiYomi Website: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
(c) RashiYomi Incorporated, Dr Hendel President, May 26, 2005
English/Hebrew translations of the Bible come mostly from the www.mechon-mamre.org translation with changes made by me

The goal of this Weekly Rashi Digest is to use the weekly Torah portion to expose students at all levels to the ten major methods of commentary used by Rashi. It is hoped that continual weekly exposure to these ten major methods will enable students of all levels to acquire a familiarity and facility with the major exegetical methods.

1. RASHI METHOD: OTHER VERSES   
This example applies to Rashis Lv27-10a
URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/lv27-10a.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. Additionally the other verse method can shed light on word meaning.   

Lv27-09:10 states And if it be a animal, whereof men bring an offering unto the LORD, all that any man giveth of such unto the LORD shall be holy. He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good; and if he shall at all change beast for beast, then both it and that for which it is changed shall be holy. וְאִם-בְּהֵמָה--אֲשֶׁר יַקְרִיבוּ מִמֶּנָּה קָרְבָּן, לַיהוָה:  כֹּל אֲשֶׁר יִתֵּן מִמֶּנּוּ לַיהוָה, יִהְיֶה-קֹּדֶשׁ.   לֹא יַחֲלִיפֶנּוּ, וְלֹא-יָמִיר אֹתוֹ טוֹב בְּרָע--אוֹ-רַע בְּטוֹב; וְאִם-הָמֵר יָמִיר בְּהֵמָה בִּבְהֵמָה, וְהָיָה-הוּא וּתְמוּרָתוֹ יִהְיֶה-קֹּדֶשׁ. Rashi illumines the meaning of the underlined phrase a good for a bad with an other verse Lv22-17:20 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them: Whosoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that bringeth his offering, whether it be any of their vows, or any of their free-will-offerings, which are brought unto the LORD for a burnt-offering; that ye may be accepted, ye shall offer a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not bring; for it shall not be acceptable for you. וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר. דַּבֵּר אֶל-אַהֲרֹן וְאֶל-בָּנָיו, וְאֶל כָּל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאָמַרְתָּ, אֲלֵהֶםאִישׁ אִישׁ מִבֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמִן-הַגֵּר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲשֶׁר יַקְרִיב קָרְבָּנוֹ לְכָל-נִדְרֵיהֶם וּלְכָל-נִדְבוֹתָם אֲשֶׁר-יַקְרִיבוּ לַיהוָה, לְעֹלָהלִרְצֹנְכֶם תָּמִים זָכָר--בַּבָּקָר, בַּכְּשָׂבִים וּבָעִזִּים.  כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-בּוֹ מוּם, לֹא תַקְרִיבוּ:כִּי-לֹא לְרָצוֹן , יִהְיֶה לָכֶם  As can be inferred from the underlined phrases: a bad (not acceptable) sacrifice is a blemished sacrifice and hence a good (acceptable) sacrifice is an unblemished sacrifice. Hence Rashi translates Lv27-09:10 If you dedicate an animal to God then you can't exchange a blemished vowed animal for an unblemished vowed animal.

2. RASHI METHOD: WORD MEANINGS / new meanings 
This example applies to Rashis  Lv26-46a
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/lv26-46a.htm

The word meaning method seeks to present dictionary meaning. Rashi uses 10 vehicles to infer word meaning.  The powerful unified meaning method seeks a unified meaning to possibly disparate meanings of a single Hebrew root. This unified meaning then sheds light, nuances and clarification on the disparate meanings.

Lv26-46 states  These are the statutes and ordinances and Torahs, which the LORD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.  אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, וְהַתּוֹרֹת, אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהוָה, בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל--בְּהַר סִינַי, בְּיַד-מֹשֶׁה.  Normally the underlined word, Torah, refers to the five books of Moses. The verse as stated appears to imply that two Torahs were given, וְהַתּוֹרֹת; this isn't true.

To resolve this problem note that there is controversy over the Hebrew root of the word Torah;  the most reasonable approach regards Hey-Resh-Hey, to become pregnant as the root. The word Torah would then refer to an embryonic idea. Perhaps the best translation would be principles, since a principle is like a seed that gives birth to many consequences.  Using this translation we can understand why certain biblical chapters such as Lv06, begin with the introductory phrase: This is the Torah of the up offeringצַו אֶת-אַהֲרֹן וְאֶת-בָּנָיו לֵאמֹר, זֹאת תּוֹרַת הָעֹלָה:  הִוא הָעֹלָה   which we would translate as These are the principles of the up offering. The proper noun, Torah, itself, could be translated as The Principles, that is, the word Torah, translated as, The Principles, refers to a book which contains the principles by which we guide ourselves in life. 

Returning to Lv26-46, Rashi would simply and elegantly translate the verse as follows: These are the statutes and ordinances and principles, which the LORD made between Him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses. Rashi's comment on this verse is as follows: The word principles implies consequences --- this proves that the written Torah does not contain all laws; we must assume that an oral tradition accompanied the written Torah which allows derivation of the consequences of the principles mentioned in the Torah.

3. RASHI METHOD: GRAMMAR / conjugation
This example applies to Rashis  Lv26-16a
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/nu31-48a.htm

The grammar method seeks to apply and teach Hebrew grammar. Today we study how grammatical roots can have different meanings in different grammatical modes.

The Hebrew root Pay-Kuph-Daleth, PaKaD, פקד, can mean a) remember, b) count, c) revu, d) incite, e) appoint. We present below examples illustrating how the different grammatical modes give rise to different meanings.

(a) PaKaD Eth= Remember or Count:  Active mode (KaL) with participle eth:
•	Gn21-01:02 And the LORD remembered Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as He had spoken. And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
•	Nu26-63 These are they that were counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who counted the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

(b) HithPaKad = count: Interactive mode (Hithpael)
Nu26-62 And they that were counted of them were twenty and three thousand, every male from a month old and upward; for they were not counted among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.

(c) PaKad Al = incite: Active Mode (Kal) with preposition AL.
•	Ex32-34 And now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee; behold, Mine angel shall go before thee; nevertheless in the day when I am incited, I will incite their sin upon them
•	Jr15-03 And I will incite over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to drag, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy.

(d) PaKad = revu: Active mode with no preposition or participle
•	Ps89-33 Then will I revu their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with strokes
•	Jb05-24 And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; and thou shalt revu thy habitation, and shalt miss nothing

(e) HifKid = appoint: Causative mode
•	Gn39-05 And it came to pass from the time that he appointed Joseph overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had, in the house and in the field.
•	Lv26-16a I also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall make the eyes to fail, and the soul to languish; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

4. RASHI METHOD: ALIGNMENT
This example applies to Rashis  Lv26-15a:e Lv26-14a Lv26-14b 
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/lv26-15b.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 and equality in the minor aligned nuances. Another goal of alignment is the discovery of meaning. 

Insights into the nuances of Lv26-14:15 can best be obtained by aligning the 6 parallel verselets it contains: 
 
==================================================================
if         you don't listen                  to ME,  
           you don't do            all these commandments;  
                     *1                        *2

if        MY statutes        you          reject 
if        MINE ordinances    your soul    abhors 
          *3                      *4

so that   there is no doing    of ANY of MY commandments 
so that   you annul                      MY treaty
*5                     *6         *2     *7                                                                                    
==================================================================
•	וְאִם-לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ, לִי;
•	 וְלֹא תַעֲשׂוּ, אֵת כָּל-הַמִּצְוֹת הָאֵלֶּה
•	 וְאִם-בְּחֻקֹּתַי תִּמְאָסוּ,
•	 וְאִם אֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי תִּגְעַל נַפְשְׁכֶם,
•	 לְבִלְתִּי עֲשׂוֹת אֶת-כָּל-מִצְוֹתַי,
•	 לְהַפְרְכֶם אֶת-בְּרִיתִי. 
==================================================================

The above alignment clearly exhibits 5 points of emphasis

*1) Rashi: Listen = learning; do = performance. 

*2) Note how the capped keywords me, my, mine occur in all 6 rows except the second. Rashi: The use of the personal pronoun, me, creates emphasis: 'You aren't just violating the laws, you are knowingly rebelling against Me, God.'

*3,4) Notice how the first and last 2 lines use a verb object order: listen to me, do my commandments, annul my treaty while the middle two lines use an object-verb order: the statutes you reject, the ordinances you abhor.  Rashi: The non-standard sequence, object-verb, creates an emphasis on the objects: It is my statutes (religious law) that you reject, since religious law unlike civil law does not have a transparent reason. It is my ordinances that you abhor (after all, ordinary civil laws like don't steal make sense and are liked by everybody). Also note the contrast between you vs your soul: There is an emphasis on emotional repulsion.

*5,7,2) Notice how the first 4 lines begin with if (or are empty) while the last two lines begin with so that. Rashi: These last two lines emphasize what will eventually happen: You will totally annul my treaty and leave Judaism. To further support this notice that the prior lines spoke about commandments, statutes, ordinances (words denoting laws) while the last line speaks about the general treaty. Finally notice the word any (any commandment) which again emphasizes total desertion.

*5,6) Notice the word any in the next to last line. Also notice that the other lines use traditional verb forms--listen, do, reject, abhor-- while the next to last line uses the infinitive: doing any of my commandments. Rashi: We infer from these alignments that the next to last line speaks about preventing others from doing commandments (that is: General doing is stopped).

Although these five alignments are clear the more advanced reader can question whether we should continuously emphasize every difference that occurs between phrases. We will therefore revisit and complete this example when we discuss the formatting rule, rule #7.

6. RASHI METHOD: STYLE
This example applies to Rashis  Lv25-08a
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/lv25-08a.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 / examples be integrated? 

The biblical paragraph, Lv25-08a nicely illustrates the issues in the style rules.
•	GENERAL: 			And thou shalt count for yourselves seven loan-sabbaths, 
•	DETAIL-EXAMPLE: 	seven times seven years; 
•	GENERAL: 			and there shall be unto thee the days of seven loan-sabbaths of years, forty and nine years.

•	וְסָפַרְתָּ לְךָ, שֶׁבַע שַׁבְּתֹת שָׁנִים--
•	שֶׁבַע שָׁנִים, שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים;
•	 וְהָיוּ לְךָ, יְמֵי שֶׁבַע שַׁבְּתֹת הַשָּׁנִים, תֵּשַׁע וְאַרְבָּעִים, שָׁנָה. 

The general clause identifies the Jubilee as seven loan-sabbaths of years. Each loan-sabbath is a seven-year period. At the end of each loan-sabbath loans are annuled.

The detail clause develops this general theme: You count, 7 times 7 years = 49 years.

Rashi harmonizes the general and detail clause:
•	Ideally (General stage) a Jubilee should come after 7 loan-sabbaths. Each loan-sabbath is a 7 year cycle when all loans are forgiven.
•	However (Detail stage) if a country sinned and did not annul loans, then we simply count 7x7=49 years and the Jubilee still comes. 
•	In other words the annulment of loans is not a pre-requisite for a Jubilee (Although it is desirable and preferred).

7. RASHI METHOD: Formatting
This example applies to Rashis  Lv26-15a:e Lv26-14a Lv26-14b 
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/lv26-15b.htm
 
Modern formatting has a variety of vehicles which the writer uses to either create emphasis or point to an underlying unity. Three common examples of modern formatting are (a) bold-italic-underline, (b) paragraph indentation including use of line spaces, (c) use of bulleted lists. 

Authors use these formatting devices as follows:  (a) All authors know that bold-italic-underline indicates emphasis. The Bible did not use bold-italic-underline but instead uses repetition to indicate emphasis. (b) Modern authors use indentation and line spaces between paragraphs to point to an underlying unity in a paragraph. The Bible indicates paragraph unity by using the theme-detail-theme, detail-theme, or theme-detail styles. (c) Modern authors use bulleted lists to indicate contrastive emphasis--the bullets together are seen as spanning a domain of ideas while each individual bullet is seen as indicating a separate and distinct idea. The bible indicates bulleted lists by either using repeated keywords or parallel structure. 

The reader will recognize the theme-detail-theme, detail-theme and theme-detail methods as three of the 13 exegetical methods of Rabbi Ishmael. What we have added is the explanation that the Rabbi Ishmael rules focus on biblical examples: Are these biblical examples understood as exhaustive of the whole law or are they understood as examples to be generalized? Similarly the reader will recognize that we have called the bullet method is the Rabbi Ishmael rule of context. What we have added to the Rabbi Ishmael exposition is the idea that parallel structure and repeated keywords are two method of making inferences from context. 

In rule #4 above, we have already discussed Lv26-14:15 from the point of view of alignment
Insights into the nuances of Lv26-14:15 were obtained by aligning the 6 parallel verselets it contains: 
 
==================================================================
A: Don't learn: 	if you don't listen to Me,  
B: Don't perform:     you don't do     all these commandments;  

C: Redicule religious law:    if        My statutes     you reject 
D: Redicule Judicial system:     if        Mine ordinances your soul abhors 

E: Prevent ritual performance: so that  there is no doing of ANY of ritual
F: Apostasy-rejection of God:  so that  you annul my treaty
==================================================================
==================================================================
•	וְאִם-לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ, לִי;
•	 וְלֹא תַעֲשׂוּ, אֵת כָּל-הַמִּצְוֹת הָאֵלֶּה
•	 וְאִם-בְּחֻקֹּתַי תִּמְאָסוּ,
•	 וְאִם אֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי תִּגְעַל נַפְשְׁכֶם,
•	 לְבִלְתִּי עֲשׂוֹת אֶת-כָּל-מִצְוֹתַי,
•	 לְהַפְרְכֶם אֶת-בְּרִיתִי. 
==================================================================

We now review this paragraph from the point of view of parallel structure. There are 6 verselets defined by the 6 verbs used. The climactic progression of the paragraph is indicated in bold-underline on the left. The alignment supportive nuances for this progression is indicated by the italics which refer back to the alignments shown in rule #4. Climactic progression is one form of parallel structure---the phrases of the paragraph gradually develop from simple inconsequential acts to a stark climax.

The point of view of the climax rule is that climax is an independent rule that gives meaning even when that meaning is not explicit. The terminal climax sentence of this paragraph is apostasy--rejection of God. Therefore we interpret the first two verselets--don't listen, don't do-- to refer to the first two stages: Don't learn, don't perform. The next 2 stages are the redicule stages when a person can't stand religious law. Finally the last two stages describe active prevention of ritual performance and outright apostasy. Although these stages are only hinted at by the alignment, nevertheless, the climax statement of apostasy, poetically evokes awareness of the stages which are tagged on to the verselets.

In other words, we regard climax as justifying the reinterpretation of the verselets as indicating stages; we then find additional support for this reinterpretation in the alignments. Although we do not consider this interpretation explicit, nevertheless, the combination of climax and alignments gives reasonable credibility to the interpretation. Still another way of stating this, is that we regard the terminal climax statement and the alignments as giving poetic license to interpret the 6 verselets as describing 6 distinct stages. 

Conclusion

This week's parshah contains no examples of the contradiction, database, spreadsheet and symbolism method. This concludes this weeks edition. Visit the RashiYomi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ for further details and examples.