The 10 RashiYomi Rules 
Their presence in Rashis on Parshat HaAZiNu 
 Vol  1#33 - Adapted from Rashi-is-Simple  
Visit The RashiYomi Website : http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
 (c) RashiYomi Incorporated, Dr Hendel President, 10/13/2005 
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 Dt32-01a 
URL Reference : (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/dt32-01a.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. 

The following two verses both mention the concept of heaven and earth being witnesses on the behavior of the Jewish people. 

Verse Dt31-28 states   Assemble unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to witness against them.   הַקְהִילוּ אֵלַי אֶת-כָּל-זִקְנֵי שִׁבְטֵיכֶם, וְשֹׁטְרֵיכֶם; וַאֲדַבְּרָה בְאָזְנֵיהֶם, אֵת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, וְאָעִידָה בָּם, אֶת-הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת-הָאָרֶץ.  Verse Dt32-01 states   Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.   הַאֲזִינוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם, וַאֲדַבֵּרָה;    וְתִשְׁמַע הָאָרֶץ, אִמְרֵי-פִי.   

We all understand that heaven and earth being witnesses is a metaphor. But what does the metaphor mean? How is the metaphor implemented? 

Rashi clarifies the meaning of this metaphor by citing an other verse. 

Verse Dt11-13:17 states   
And it shall come to pass, 
•	if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 
•	then I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be satisfied. 

•	Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; and the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, 
•	and then He shut up the heaven, so that there shall be no rain, and the ground shall not yield her fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you. 

•	  וְהָיָה, אִם-שָׁמֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶל-מִצְוֹתַי, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם, הַיּוֹם--לְאַהֲבָה אֶת-יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, וּלְעָבְדוֹ, בְּכָל-לְבַבְכֶם, וּבְכָל-נַפְשְׁכֶם.
•	  וְנָתַתִּי מְטַר-אַרְצְכֶם בְּעִתּוֹ, יוֹרֶה וּמַלְקוֹשׁ; וְאָסַפְתָּ דְגָנֶךָ, וְתִירֹשְׁךָ וְיִצְהָרֶךָ.  וְנָתַתִּי עֵשֶׂב בְּשָׂדְךָ, לִבְהֶמְתֶּךָ; וְאָכַלְתָּ, וְשָׂבָעְתָּ. 
•	 הִשָּׁמְרוּ לָכֶם, פֶּן יִפְתֶּה לְבַבְכֶם; וְסַרְתֶּם, וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים, וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם, לָהֶם. 
•	 וְחָרָה אַף-יְהוָה בָּכֶם, וְעָצַר אֶת-הַשָּׁמַיִם וְלֹא-יִהְיֶה מָטָר, וְהָאֲדָמָה, לֹא תִתֵּן אֶת-יְבוּלָהּ; וַאֲבַדְתֶּם מְהֵרָה, מֵעַל הָאָרֶץ הַטֹּבָה, אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה, נֹתֵן לָכֶם.  

From this other verse we infer that 
•	If the Jews behave then the heavens and earth witness the act and give dew, rain and produce. 
•	If the Jews misbehave then the heavens and earth witness the act and withdraw rain and produce. 
In other words, it is as if the heaven and earth witness the act and then, so to speak, bring the Jews to court, and start to punish and reward them. 

2. RASHI METHOD : WORD MEANINGS / new meanings 
This example applies to Rashis Dt32-10f 
URL reference :(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/dt32-10f.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 letter-meaning  method. Rashi sometimes explains meaning by indicating the meaning of letter prefixes or suffixes---e.g. the letter Mem can indicate the place of, as in MikDash, the place of holiness. . 

The following list of examples shows how the Hebrew letter Nun, נ, means intensely, or alot of when suffixed to a word. 

•	Zayin-Caph-Resh זכר means to remember. Zayin-Caph-Resh-Nun זכרנ means a memorial, an intense commemoration. 
•	Resh-Yud-Beth ריב means to argue or dispute. Yud-Resh-Yud-Beth-Nun יריבנ means to physically fight, that is, an intense argument. 
•	Pay-Ayin-Mem פעמ means to hammer. Pay Ayin Mem Nun פעמנ means to ring a bell that is to hammer alot (When you ring a bell you continuously hammer the anvil against the bell case to produce sounds). 
•	Kuph-Resh-Beth קרב means to get near and close. Kuph-Resh-Beth-Nun קרבנ means to become intimate with God and refers to the intense closeness to God attained during the sacrificial service. 
•	Shin-Mem-Mem שממ means destruction. Yud-Shin-Mem-Nun ישמנ means desolate, that is, intense destruction. This Rashi interpretation is applied to translation of the verse Dt32-10 which states   He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling desolation; He compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.   יִמְצָאֵהוּ בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְבָּר,    וּבְתֹהוּ יְלֵל יְשִׁמֹן;   יְסֹבְבֶנְהוּ, יְבוֹנְנֵהוּ--    יִצְּרֶנְהוּ, כְּאִישׁוֹן עֵינוֹ.   

3. RASHI METHOD : GRAMMAR / conjugation 
This example applies to Rashis  Dt32-04a 
URL reference :(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/lv26-08a.htm  

The grammar  method seeks to apply and teach Hebrew grammar.  One function of grammar is to indicate the proper word order in sentences. A simple example illustrating this technique is presented immediately below.. 

There is a subtle difference between e.g. I went to the supermarket versus To the supermarket I went. By reversing the normal word order I place an emphasis on supermarket. It is not clear why I place this emphasis but for example if the supermarket was in a mall then I could be saying, I only went to the supermarket I did not go to any other place in the mall. 

Verse Dt32-04:05 states   The Rock, perfect is His work; for all His ways are justice; a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is He.   הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ,    כִּי כָל-דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט:   אֵל אֱמוּנָה וְאֵין עָוֶל,    צַדִּיק וְיָשָׁר הוּא.      

The normal word order would be, God--The Rock: His acts are perfect.  However in the above verse the normal word order is reversed: God--The Rock: Perfect are his acts. This reversal of order creates an emphasis---the emphasis is on the perfection not on the acts. Hence the Rashi comment: Despite God's strength (He is compared to the Rock ) nevertheless, God is perfect and just.  That is God does not abuse His Great power but is always just even though he doesn't have to answer to anybody. 

4. RASHI METHOD: ALIGNMENT
This example applies to Rashis  Dt32-42a Dt32-42b 
URL reference :(c) http://www.RashiYomi.com/dt32-42a.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 .

Verse Dt32-42 states   
•	I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, 
•	                                                                            and My sword shall devour flesh; 
•	with the blood of the slain and the captives, 
•	                                                                           from the long-haired heads of the enemy.'   

•	אַשְׁכִּיר חִצַּי מִדָּם, 
•	                             וְחַרְבִּי תֹּאכַל בָּשָׂר;  
•	 מִדַּם חָלָל וְשִׁבְיָה, 
•	                              מֵרֹאשׁ פַּרְעוֹת אוֹיֵב.   

The above alignment leads to the Rashi comments:  My arrows will become drunk with the blood of the enemy, ....my sword will eat the flesh of the enemy.  In other words, Rashi uses the parallel structure to illuminate that the verse is directed against the enemy-- the word blood in the 1st clause refers to the blood of the slain enemy and captives mentioned in the 3rd clause; similarly the flesh mentioned in the 2nd clause refers to the flesh of the heads of enemy mentioned in the 4th clause. 

6. RASHI METHOD : STYLE
This example applies to Rashis  Dt32-04a:d 
URL reference :(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/dt32-04a.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? 

Verse Dt32-04:05 states   
•	The Rock, His work is perfect; 
•	                                              for all His ways are justice; 
•	                                              a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, 
•	just and right is He.
 
•	 הַצּוּר תָּמִים פָּעֳלוֹ, 
•	                                כִּי כָל-דְּרָכָיו מִשְׁפָּט:   אֵל אֱמוּנָה וְאֵין עָוֶל,  
•	  צַדִּיק וְיָשָׁר הוּא.  

As shown, the verse has a general-detail-general style. 
•	The general idea is that God is righteous, upright and perfect. 
•	The details of this perfection are hinted at by the words in the verse: just paths, faithful, no iniquity.  Because the verse as a whole forms a paragraph Rashi feels justified in re-interpreting the details as consistent and amplifying the general theme of Gods justness, perfection, and righteousness. Hence the Rashi comment: God is always just: In particular, if a righteous person is suffering now, God is just and will reward him in the next world--hence the verse phrase, God...just....faith which refers to reward in the next world. Similarly if a wicked person does some good deeds God will reward him in this world and punish him in the next world. 

Let us carefully explain the methodology of Rashi: Notice, for example, that the verse phrase God has no iniquity does not seem to be speaking about rewarding the wicked in this world for the few good deeds they have done (Which is the way Rashi interprets this phrase). The driving force behind this interpretation of this verse phrase, are not the words themselves, but rather the paragraph structure which requires that the verse details amplify on the general paragraph theme of God's Justness.  For this reason we consider style and paragraph methods different then grammar and word meaning methods.

7. RASHI METHOD : Formatting
This example applies to Rashis  Dt32-10a:f 
URL reference :(c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/dt32-10a.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 Dt32-10 states   
•	He found him [that is, the Jewish people] in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness; 
•	He surrounded him about, 
•	He gave him understanding, 
•	He watched him as the apple of His eye.  

•	 יִמְצָאֵהוּ בְּאֶרֶץ מִדְבָּר,    וּבְתֹהוּ יְלֵל יְשִׁמֹן;
•	   יְסֹבְבֶנְהוּ,
•	 יְבוֹנְנֵהוּ--
•	    יִצְּרֶנְהוּ, כְּאִישׁוֹן עֵינוֹ.   
Rashi interprets this verse using the principle of climax which justifies re-interpreting a verse, possibly without explicit support from the verse words, in such a way as to reflect an evolution and development of a basic theme towards a climax. 

Here Rashi develops the theme of a relationship. Rashi lists 4 stages in the development of relationship.  Let us examine the actual Rashi comments and see how they reflect these four stages: 
•	Selecting/finding the date: Rashi states God went to other nations to give the Torah but God only found the Jews as wanting to receive it.
•	Actual Dating: Rashi states God surrounded the Jewish people with flags and a Temple where they could offer to Him. 
•	Sharing goals: Rashi states The Jewish people accepted the Torah which God gave them and began to study and understand it (God gave them added capacity to understand it).
•	Caring: Rashi states: God watched the Jews in the wilderness from the hazards of the desert. 

Notice how the four underlined words that occur in both Rashi and the Biblical text--- found, surround, understand, watch --- only loosely and vaguely hint at the actual Rashi comment. That is, the Biblical words themselves do not fully justify the Rashi comment. Rather the justification of the Rashi comment, and the consequent reinterpretation of the verse has its source in the quest for climax, the development of a basic theme---in this particular verse, the theme of relationship.

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.