The 10 RashiYomi Rules 
Their presence in Rashis on Parshat Pinchas 
Vol  1#21 - Adapted from Rashi-is-Simple  
Visit The RashiYomi Website: http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
(c) RashiYomi Incorporated, Dr Hendel President, July-21-2005 
English and 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 Nu26-10a
URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/nu26-10a.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. 

Verse Nu26-10 states   and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died; what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a banner.   וַתִּפְתַּח הָאָרֶץ אֶת-פִּיהָ, וַתִּבְלַע אֹתָם וְאֶת-קֹרַח--בְּמוֹת הָעֵדָה:  בַּאֲכֹל הָאֵשׁ, אֵת חֲמִשִּׁים וּמָאתַיִם אִישׁ, וַיִּהְיוּ, לְנֵס.  This verse uses the Hebrew word Nun Samech, נֵס, to describe God's stopping the Korach rebellion. The Hebrew word Nun Samech, נֵס, can mean miracle, or, banner The meaning of the Hebrew word Nun Samech, נֵס,  in Nu26-10 is clarified by an other verse. Verse Nu17-03:05 states   even the fire-pans of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, and let them be made beaten plates for a covering of the altar--for they are become holy, because they were offered before the LORD--that they may be a sign unto the children of Israel.' And Eleazar the priest took the brazen fire-pans, which they that were burnt had offered; and they beat them out for a covering of the altar, to be a memorial unto the children of Israel, to the end that no common man, that is not of the seed of Aaron, draw near to burn incense before the LORD; that he fare not as Korah, and as his company; as the LORD spoke unto him by the hand of Moses.    אֵת מַחְתּוֹת הַחַטָּאִים הָאֵלֶּה בְּנַפְשֹׁתָם, וְעָשׂוּ אֹתָם רִקֻּעֵי פַחִים צִפּוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ--כִּי-הִקְרִיבֻם לִפְנֵי-יְהוָה, וַיִּקְדָּשׁוּ; וְיִהְיוּ לְאוֹת, לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.  וַיִּקַּח אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן, אֵת מַחְתּוֹת הַנְּחֹשֶׁת, אֲשֶׁר הִקְרִיבוּ, הַשְּׂרֻפִים; וַיְרַקְּעוּם, צִפּוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ.  זִכָּרוֹן לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יִקְרַב אִישׁ זָר אֲשֶׁר לֹא מִזֶּרַע אַהֲרֹן הוּא, לְהַקְטִיר קְטֹרֶת, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה; וְלֹא-יִהְיֶה כְקֹרַח וְכַעֲדָתוֹ, כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָה בְּיַד-מֹשֶׁה לוֹ.   This other verse clearly states that the incense sticks of the Korach followers were flattened into a banner ornament for the altar. Hence from this other verse I infer that the meaning of the Hebrew word Nun Samech in Nu26-10 is banner. 

There is a philosophical overtone to this Rashi inference. Rashi does not interpret Nun Samech, נֵס, to mean miracle. Rather Rashi interprets Nun Samech, נֵס, to mean banner. Consequently the emphasis is not on the miracle of God killing 250 uprisers, rather the emphasis is on the banner symbol that reminds future generations not to repeat this sin. In other words the emphasis is on education and teaching vs. on God's power. 

2. RASHI METHOD: WORD MEANINGS / new meanings 
This example applies to Rashis Nu26-18c Nu26-18b
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/nu26-18c.htm 

The word meaning  method seeks to present dictionary meaning. Rashi uses 10 vehicles to infer word meaning. A major word meaning submethod is the meanings of special connective words  method. Every language has connective words which modify sentences as a whole or connect sentences. Examples in English are if, when, because, mostly, ... . 

Verse Nu26-55 states   Aleph Caph the land shall be divided by lot; according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.   אַךְ-בְּגוֹרָל, יֵחָלֵק אֶת-הָאָרֶץ:  לִשְׁמוֹת מַטּוֹת-אֲבֹתָם, יִנְחָלוּ.  A standard English translation of the Hebrew word Aleph Caph is indeed, or certainly.  In my article, The Meaning of Akh published in the The Jewish Bible Quarterly (2005) I have argued that Aleph Caph should be translated as mostly, or, usually.  Hence we would translate Nu26-55 as  Mostly, the land shall be divided by lot; according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. Notice the elegance and spontaneity with which the Rashi comment follows: Mostly by the lottery. However there are exceptions. For example Caleb was given the land he spied because he did not slander. Similarly converts do not inherit by lottery according to their father's house since they have no lineage!! 

3. RASHI METHOD: GRAMMAR / conjugation 
This example applies to Rashis  Nu26-09a Nu26-09b Nu26-09c
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/nu26-09a 

The grammar  method seeks to apply and teach Hebrew grammar.  One component of grammar deals with There are 7 Grammatical modes, each with its own conjugation rules which are well known and indicated in many popular books. Today we study the conjugation rules for rare roots with weak letters.. 

Verse Nu26-09 states   And the sons of Eliab: Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. These are that Dathan and Abiram, the elect of the congregation, who incited against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they incited against the LORD;   וּבְנֵי אֱלִיאָב, נְמוּאֵל וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם:  הוּא-דָתָן וַאֲבִירָם קרואי (קְרִיאֵי) הָעֵדָה, אֲשֶׁר הִצּוּ עַל-מֹשֶׁה וְעַל-אַהֲרֹן בַּעֲדַת-קֹרַח, בְּהַצֹּתָם, עַל-יְהוָה.  Most people who have taken Hebrew courses know how to conjugate in the Hifil, causative, tense. However the root Nun Tzade Hey has two weak letters. The rules for conjugating weak roots are not well known. 

The traditional way of conjugating in the hifil is to add an initial hey,הִ, and insert a yud, י. Thus the root Nun Tzade Hey would become Hey Nun Tzade Yud Hey. Because of the two weak letters, instead, the hifil conjugation becomes Hey Tzade Vav, הִצּוּ. There are only a few other Hebrew Biblical roots that have similar hifil conjugations. 

Rashi also explains meaning: Nun Tzade Hey means to fight Hence in the hifil , causative tense, Nun Tzade Hey means to incite, to cause others to fight. 

4. RASHI METHOD: ALIGNMENT
This example applies to Rashis Nu26-13a
URL reference:(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/nu26-46a .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 either to a) two cases , b) several nuances , or c) an equality of the verses which leads to an understanding in meaning .

The following two aligned verses present two enumerations of the tribes of Shimon; verse (A) corresponds to the list of children of Shimon descending to Egypt while verse (B) corresponds to the census mentioned in Pinchas. We expect the list of names to be identical. 
•	(A) Verse Gn46-10 states   And the sons of Simeon: (A1) Jemuel, and (A2) Jamin, and (A3) Ohad, and (A4) Jachin, and (A5) Zohar, and (A6) Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman.   וּבְנֵי שִׁמְעוֹן, יְמוּאֵל וְיָמִין וְאֹהַד--וְיָכִין וְצֹחַר; וְשָׁאוּל, בֶּן-הַכְּנַעֲנִית.  
•	(B) Verse Nu26-12:13 states   The sons of Simeon after their families: (B1) of Nemuel, the family of the Nemuelites; (B2) of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites; (B4) of Jachin, the family of the Jachinites; (B5) of Zerah, the family of the Zerahites; (B6) of Shaul, the family of the Shaulites.   בְּנֵי שִׁמְעוֹן, לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם--לִנְמוּאֵל מִשְׁפַּחַת הַנְּמוּאֵלִי, לְיָמִין מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיָּמִינִי; לְיָכִין, מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיָּכִינִי.  לְזֶרַח, מִשְׁפַּחַת הַזַּרְחִי; לְשָׁאוּל, מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשָּׁאוּלִי.  

The following differences are noted 
•	Nemuel (B1) was formerly named Yemuel (A1) 
•	The absence of Ohad (A3) in the Numbers enumeration(B3) 
•	Tzochar (A6) is renamed Zerach (B6) 

After performing the alignment Rashi attempts to explain each difference 
•	Nemuel vs Yemuel (A1 vs B1) is obviously just a dialect difference. So Rashi does not even mention the difference. Nevertheless to properly understand Rashi, we, the students, must enumerate all differences between the aligned verses. 
•	It is reasonable to assume that Ohad (A3 vs B3) died. We don't however know how. Rashi mentions and discusses two approaches: (1) Ohad died in the plague of 24,000 caused by the sinning with Moabite women mentioned in Nu25; (2) Ohad died in a civil war on whether the Jews should return to Egypt. The proper way of understanding these conjectures is that Rashi was certain, from the alignment, that Ohad died and tried to guess how he died. 
•	(A5-B5) Zerach means to shine ; Tzohar, phonetically related to Tzochar, refers to the bright noontime. So it is not hard to guess how Zerach (sunshine) got renamed with the nickname Tzochar (noon). 

5. RASHI METHOD: CONTRADICTION 
This example applies to Rashis  Nu26-11a 
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/nu26-11a .htm

The contradiction  method seeks to derive Biblical content by assuming a resolution to contradictory  verses. Rashi had 3 main methods to resolve contradiction: The two contradictory verses could be speaking about a) two stages  of one process, b) two aspects  or attributes of one entity, or c) the contradictory verses could be resolved assuming a broad or literal interpretation of the words causing the contradiction.

The following two sets of verses contradict each other 
•	Verse Nu16-32:33 states   And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit; and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly.   וַתִּפְתַּח הָאָרֶץ אֶת-פִּיהָ, וַתִּבְלַע אֹתָם וְאֶת-בָּתֵּיהֶם, וְאֵת כָּל-הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר לְקֹרַח, וְאֵת כָּל-הָרְכוּשׁ.  וַיֵּרְדוּ הֵם וְכָל-אֲשֶׁר לָהֶם, חַיִּים--שְׁאֹלָה; וַתְּכַס עֲלֵיהֶם הָאָרֶץ, וַיֹּאבְדוּ מִתּוֹךְ הַקָּהָל.  The verses are very clear: All followers of Korach died. In particular his sons died. 
•	Verse Nu26-11 states   Notwithstanding the sons of Korah died not.    וּבְנֵי-קֹרַח, לֹא-מֵתוּ.   So Korach's sons didn't die!!! 

Rashi resolves the contradiction by viewing the two verses as two stages of the same process 
•	Stage 1: They were sinners, the earthquake happened, and they started to be buried alive. 
•	Stage 2: They repented! Miraculously they didn't die! (Rashi in typical fashion gives an exaggerated explanation: they fell into a cleft beneath the earth so they didn't get consumed by the fires below ). 

In reading this Rashi the important point to emphasize is that Rashi starts with the contradiction; to resolve the contradiction he is forced to assume a sin-repentance progression; Rashi also must make up a story to show how they were saved from the earthquake. 

7. RASHI METHOD: Formatting
This example applies to Rashis Nu27-02b
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ex18-01d.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 methods of making inferences from context 

Verse Nu27-02 states   And they stood 
•	before Moses, and 
•	before Eleazar the priest, and 
•	before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying:  
 וַתַּעֲמֹדְנָה
•	 לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה,
•	 וְלִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן,
•	 וְלִפְנֵי הַנְּשִׂיאִם, וְכָל-הָעֵדָה--
פֶּתַח אֹהֶל-מוֹעֵד, לֵאמֹר.  

This verse speaks about the petition of the daughters of Tzlafchad. Recall that Tzlafchad had no sons. The daughters asked if they could inherit in the absence of sons. The verse, by repeating the keyword, before emphasizes three distinct aspects of their question. The three aspects are hinted at by the people mentioned: Moses, Elazar, the community. Rashi elaborates. 
•	before Moses 
This could be interpreted to emphasize that Tzlafchad did not die in the Korach rebellion against Moses. The idea here was the recognition that Moses was not an interested party and could therefore give an unbiased answer.
•	before Elazar 
This could be interpreted to contrast the laws of priesthood(Elazar) vs the laws of inheritance: The daughters in effect asked: Is inheritance exclusively male focused (like Priesthood) or, are their times when women inherit (when there are no male descendants)? 
•	before the community 
This could easily be linked to the daughter's explicitly stated concerns in Nu36 that if they married to someone from another tribe and died before their husbands then their husbands would inherit land from another tribe. 
In understanding this Rashi it is important to emphasize that Rashi is not commenting on the extra words (Moses, Elazar and the community). Rather Rashi is commenting on the three bullets, indicated by the repeating keyword before which emphasizes three distinct aspects and concerns in their question. 

8. RASHI METHOD: DATABASES
This example applies to Rashis  Nu26-05a 
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/nu26-05a .htm

The database  method seeks to discover biblical ideas using the methods of modern database theory and sequential query language (SQL). The Talmudic sages and Rashi were totally familiar and frequently used all aspects of modern database theory. 

Today we ask the query: Make a two-column list of (a) names of Jacob's grandchildren and (b) names of the corresponding sub-tribes: Indicate the pattern and rule for naming tribes. The query returns 60 results.

Today's query is a delightful illustration of complex database analysis which uncovers the simple meaning of the text. There are about 60 tribes mentioned in Nu26. The names of fifty nine of them follow a specific rule for creating a name for the tribe while the remaining one of the 60 violates the rule. 

The rule basically states that to name the tribe descended from one of Jacobs grandchildren one 
•	prefixes a hey before the name of the grandchild
•	suffixes a yud after the name. 
The following verse illustrates this rule. Verse Nu26-15 states   The sons of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of HaZephony; of Chaggi, the family of HaChaggi; of Shuni, the family of HaShuny;   בְּנֵי גָד, לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם--לִצְפוֹן מִשְׁפַּחַת הַצְּפוֹנִי, לְחַגִּי מִשְׁפַּחַת הַחַגִּי; לְשׁוּנִי, מִשְׁפַּחַת הַשּׁוּנִי.  The following verse is the only violation of this rule: Verse Nu26-44 states   The sons of Asher after their families: of Imnah, the family of Imnah; of Ishvi, the family of HaIshvi; of Beriah, the family of HaBeriy.   בְּנֵי אָשֵׁר, לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם--לְיִמְנָה מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּמְנָה, לְיִשְׁוִי מִשְׁפַּחַת הַיִּשְׁוִי; לִבְרִיעָה, מִשְׁפַּחַת הַבְּרִיעִי.  

Such a blatant violation -- one exception from 60 examples -- suggests intent on the part of the Author. Rashi explains The name Imnah, יִמְנָה, begins with a Yud and terminates with a Hey  The letters Yud Hey is one of God's names. So the Imnah tribe had the name of God attached to it. No other grandson has the name of God attached to it. By adding a prefix Hey and a terminal Yud each tribal name has the name of God associated with it. 

Rashi even suggests a reason for emphasizing the name of God with each tribe: The Jews just came from Egypt which was known for its licentiousness. Therefore the tribal names emphasize that the Jews were chaste (loyal to the God embedded in their names) despite their slave status and the land they were enslaved in. 

9. RASHI METHOD: SPREADSHEETS
This example applies to Rashis  Nu26-54a 
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/nu26-54a .htm

The spreadsheet  method seeks to explain complicated biblical inferences using geometry, algebra and spreadsheets .  We use the term spreadsheet loosely to denote anything specific (not tone) and complicated. The Rashi need not use algebra and geometry. Rashi might simply illustrate a complicated example.

Verse Nu26-52:56 states   And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 'Unto these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. To the more thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to the fewer thou shalt give the less inheritance; to each one according to those that were numbered of it shall its inheritance be given. Mostly the land shall be divided by lot; according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. According to the lot shall their inheritance be divided between the more and the fewer.'    וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר.  לָאֵלֶּה, תֵּחָלֵק הָאָרֶץ בְּנַחֲלָה--בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת.  לָרַב, תַּרְבֶּה נַחֲלָתוֹ, וְלַמְעַט, תַּמְעִיט נַחֲלָתוֹ:  אִישׁ לְפִי פְקֻדָיו, יֻתַּן נַחֲלָתוֹ.  אַךְ-בְּגוֹרָל, יֵחָלֵק אֶת-הָאָרֶץ:  לִשְׁמוֹת מַטּוֹת-אֲבֹתָם, יִנְחָלוּ.  עַל-פִּי, הַגּוֹרָל, תֵּחָלֵק, נַחֲלָתוֹ--בֵּין רַב, לִמְעָט.   

Based on the verses Rashi clarifies the division: 
•	The division was by people not by tribes In other words a tribe with twice as many people gets twice as much land. 
•	The division was by dollar value not by area In other words, each person received an amount of land of the same value even if they differed by area. 

10. RASHI METHOD: SYMBOLISM
This example applies to Rashis  Nu28-19a Nu28-19b Nu28-19c
URL reference:(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/nu28-19a.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 nu28-19a  which describes the festival offerings of ox, rams, sheep.

Verse Nu28-19 states   but ye shall present an offering made by fire, a burnt-offering unto the LORD: two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven he-lambs of the first year; they shall be unto you without blemish;   וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם אִשֶּׁה עֹלָה לַיהוָה, פָּרִים בְּנֵי-בָקָר שְׁנַיִם וְאַיִל אֶחָד; וְשִׁבְעָה כְבָשִׂים בְּנֵי שָׁנָה, תְּמִימִם יִהְיוּ לָכֶם.  The Jewish festivals require offerings of oxen, rams and sheep. The symbolic meaning of these animals may be inferred from the symbolism in numerous verses referring to these animals. Based on the verses we infer that 
•	oxen symbolize co-workers with God the same way oxen are co-workers with the farmer in the field. An good example of a co-worker with God is the patriarch Abraham who actively called in the name of God and encouraged people to worship God. 
•	rams symbolize leaders among people A good example of a leader among people is the patriarch Isaac who led the power struggle between Jacob and Isaac. 
•	sheep symbolize followers . A good example of a follower is the patriarch Jacob who followed his father-in-law's orders, worked for him for 20 years, got double-crossed several time but eventually emerged with 2 wives, a rich family, and great wealth. 

Therefore the symbolic meaning of bringing oxen, rams, and sheep in the festival offerings is to affirm that all segments of the Jewish community must approach God, each in his or her own capacity: whether they are (a) followers, (b) leaders, (c) or work with God. 

Rashi, in his commentary only mentions that ox, rams and sheep resemble Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Our explanation above is due to Rav Hirsch who broadens Rashi's focused mention of the Patriarchs, to the more general ideas of: co-workers, leaders, followers. This broadening of ideas allows us to see a deeper meaning to the symbolism. 

Conclusion

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