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.

Verse Gn28-20:22, presents a prayer of Jacob: And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me ...\ then shall the Lord be my God; And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house; and of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth to you. Rashi provides further details to the underlined words shall be God's house by cross referencing an other verse

Sermonic points: Judaism in general frowns on oaths and vows. However the above Rashi shows us one instance in which vows are welcome and encouraged. Jacob, had to flee his home and avoid a brother who wished to kill him. He had to go to a strange place and deal with a crooked father-in-law. Such stresses typically create doubts and lapses in religious behavior. To strengthen himself Jacob made a vow that after surviving all this he would make an altar and a house of God. The thought of fulfilling this vow created a psychological focus point which helped Jacob thru this difficult period.

The Talmud explicitly states that Patriarch stories are role models for all Jews. Thus the Bible here, teaches the Jewish people how to deal with periods of enormous stress by vowing to dedicate oneself to God, in some specific manner, after surviving the stressful period.

One of Rashi's 10 major explanation methods is the word meaning method. Rashi had 10 vehicles by which to explain word meaning. One word meaning submethod is the special connective word submethod. Examples of special connective words are if, then, when, because, also .... These special connective words typically have several usages. Rashi, in his comments, will indicate the varied usages of these words.

The word if can sometimes mean when. The difference between if and when is whether you expect the event you are talking about to happen. If you expect it to happen you use the word when; if you aren't sure you use the word if. There are about half a dozen verses where if means when: Ex20-22,Ex22-24,Lv02-14,Nu36-04,Gn28-20, Dt21-14. Let us carefully review one of these verses.

Verse Gn28-20:22 states And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and garment to put on, ... ...Then ...all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth to you. Rashi comments on the underlined word if: A superior translation would be when. The verse should be translated as follows And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, when God will be with me, [And saves me from the perils of my brother, father-in-law and strange place], and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and garment to put on, ... ...Then ...all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth to you.

Rashi's suggested translation of when versus if is motivated by a verse which explicitly states that God will be with me. Verse Gn28-15 explicitly states And, behold, I,God am with you, and will keep you in all places where you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that about which I have spoken to you. Rashi's reasoning is that if God promised to be with Jacob then indeed Jacob's statement if you will be with me should be better translated as when you will be with me since it was certain to happen.

Sermonic points: Rashi teaches us etiquette. God had just promised to be with Jacob. This was a prophetic promise and had to be kept. Nevertheless Jacob uses the language if vs. when. Jacob teaches us the etiquette of receiving a promise from God. We should not brag that it is ours. Rather we should have an attitude that it is not coming to us and rely on God's providence to provide it. This priniciple of etiquette, not to hold people to their promises, but to act like we are undeserving of it, also applies to interpersonal relations.

In Hebrew the prepositions to or towards can be indicated either by
• a prefix Lamed before the word or by
• a terminal hey at the end of the word.

Some examples of verses where a terminal hey indicates towards are
• Gn11-31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran, and lived there.
• Gn18-02 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself towards the ground,
• Gn50-13 For his sons carried him towards the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a burying place of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
• Gn46-08 And these are the names of the people of Israel, who journeyed to Egypt, Jacob and his sons; Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
• Gn43-16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men to my home, and slaughter a beast, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon.
• Gn28-10 And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went towards Haran.

In all these verses the English to, towards is rendered in the Hebrew text using a terminal Hey.

Note the alignment of the underlined words in the following verses
• Verse Gn29-13c discussing Laban's running to meet Jacob when he arrived states And it came to pass,
  • when Laban heard the name of Jacob his sister’s son,
  • that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his home
• Verse Gn24-29:30 discussing Laban running to meet Eliezer states
  • when he saw the ear ring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, ... ....
  • and Laban ran out to the man, to the well

Rashi focuses on the aligned verses both of which indicate reasons for Laban running to meet someone. The two reasons for Laban running to meet someone are
• upon hearing the name of a relative
• upon seeing gold and silver bracelets

Rashi's consequent comment is obvious and to the point: In both cases he was motivated by the thought of monetary gifts. Here Rashi transfers the reason of monetary pursuit indicated in one of the aligned verses to the other aligned verse. Rashi's comment is further supported by the way Laban treated Jacob. Laban's own daughters describe their status as foreigners (Gn31-15). Laban simply used Jacob to improve his assets. Thus Rashi's comments are supported
• By an alignment as indicated above
• By other verses

Sermonic Points: Rashi teaches us an important principle in the Jewish slander laws: If a person is wicked then it is prohibited to judge him favorably. Rather it is required to judge him unfavorably. Hence since Laban is wicked (he mistreated Jacob) we attribute the worse reason to his runnings.

Note the contradiction indicated by the underlined words in the following verses:
• Gn29-18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.
• Gn29-23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in to her.
• Gn29-25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah; and he said to Laban, What is this that you have done to me? did not I serve with you for Rachel? why then have you deceived me?

We see the contradiction---Was Jacob double crossed by day or night?

Rashi resolves this by distinguishing two stages in the marriage: Laban gave Leah to Jacob for the wedding night. But Jacob and Rachel had personal [flirting] signs and Rachel gave these to Leah. So Jacob only fully became aware at morning that Leah was really Leah.

This Rashi has been interpreted to mean that
• Jacob and Rachel had little contact during the 7 years!
• Jacob had no memory of the women he was in love with!
• Jacob needed special signs to remind him who he was with
• Jacob did not know who he was with on his wedding night!
Remarkable! Even the lowest rif-rafs recognize who they are with on a wedding night.

I think a more palatable approach to this Rashi is the following: Traditionally men are in interested in physical characteristics while women are interested in the person. The Bible explicitly states that Jacob loved Rachel because of her figure and good looks (No mention of personality!). As is well known men and women can flirt with each other by glances and smiles. Rachel quickly found out what Jacob liked and taught Leah how to flirt with him. Laban told Jacob at the beginning of the 7 years that he couldn't marry the younger daughter before the older daughter. Jacob was at first relunctant But when Leah started flirting with him the way he liked he decided to marry Leah. However after the wedding night Leah had what she wanted and had no reason to placate Jacob. She started acting herself. It was only at this point that Jacob realized he was double-crossed and not getting the physical flirtations he wanted from a wife. Laban simply reminded him of the deal they had made seven years ago but offered him Rachel also.

Sermonic points: The above approach to Rashi makes sense. It also has relevance. It is well known that patriarchal stories create role models for the Jewish people. No Jew really worries about being double crossed in whom he marries. But it is relevant to religious men to be aware that women play such games with them--Rachels will frequently help fellow women like Leah to catch men. Women think it silly that men are interested in physical attributes and not in personality. So this incident as interpreted above has extreme relevance to us.

There are two approaches to teaching general principles:
• One can state the abstract idea
• One can state a good example and let the reader infer the general principle.

Interestingly, computer science studies, show that both methods of instruction are equally effective. Some students learn better from exposure to abstract ideas while other students learn better from exposure to good examples.

The technique of communicating an abstract principle via examples is known as the Rabbi Ishmael Style rules. It is a matter of style that an example is viewed more generally instead of restrictively.

Here is a simple example: Ex21-28a states that an owner must pay when his ox causes damage. Rashi, following the Talmud generalizes this: An owner must pay when his animal causes damage. Here the animal is the general abstract class while the ox is the specific example. The Bible teaches the general rule using the specific example. This follows the Rabbi Ishmael Style rules.

Verse Gn30-01c states And when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister; and said to Jacob, Give me children, or else I am dead.

Rashi comments on the underlined phrase Give me children or else I am dead by using the Rabbi Ishmael Style rules: This is a general principle and does not apply only to Rachel: Any barren women emotionally feels as if she is dead.

Sermonic points: The focus of the Rashi point is on the extreme loneliness of not having children. Modern man is aware of needs for food, sex and shelter. But there are other equally strong emotional needs; having children is one of them, especially for women.

The Bible like other works of literature may be organized into paragraphs. A paragraph can be indicated by formatting, for example by two blank lines surrounding the paragraph. Or, a paragraph, can be indicated a common theme to a group of sentences.

Each paragraph is a distinct unit with a common theme. Words in each paragraph can take on a distinctive meaning. This distinctive meaning, once established, persists throughout the paragraph. Todays examples illustrate this.

The Biblical paragraph Gn32-01:10 states And early ....Laban rose up, and kissed his sons ... And Jacob went on his way, and angels of God met him. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s camp; and he called the name of that place camps And Jacob sent angels before him to Esau his brother ...And he commanded them, saying, say... And the angels returned to Jacob, saying, We came to your brother Esau, and also he comes to meet you, and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him,....into two camps ... And Jacob prayed.... I am not worthy.... for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I have become two camps Save me, ...

Rashi makes several comments: First Rashi observes that:
• The Hebrew word Mem-Lamed-Aleph-Caph can mean
  • messenger or
  • angel.
• But in the early part of the above paragraph the phrase Angels of God leaves no doubt that Mem-Lamed-Aleph-Caph means angel not messenger.
• Consequently using the paragraph rule, we interpret the word Mem-Lamed-Aleph-Caph as also meaning angel throughout the paragraph.

We have translated this whole paragraph this way. We emphasize that the driving force behind the Rashi comment Mem-Lamed-Aleph- Caph means angel not messenger, is the paragraph structure. In other words it is not the word meanings or the grammar that drives Rashi to so interpret but rather the paragraph unit.

The second Rashi comment focuses on the repeating phrase two camps or camps, throughout the paragraph. The underlined phrase at the end of the paragraph and now I have become two camps clearly indicates that the phrase two camps refers to
• The original camp of people with Jacob
• the camp of Angels that came to greet Jacob
This interpretation is also strengthened by the opening verses Angels of God came to Jacob...and he called the place, camps Here the plural camps has the same connotation as two camps.

Sermonic points: As long as Jacob dwelt with the wicked Laban, Angels of God would not meet with him. However, once he separated from his evil surroundings he was met by angels. Throughout the Bible we find similar instances where God revealed Himself to people after they divested themselves of their wicked surroundings. This emphasizes the spiritual value of living among friends with spiritual values.

8. RASHI METHOD: DATABASES
BRIEF EXPLANATION:Rashi makes inferences from Database queries
This examples applies to Rashis Gn28-08b
URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn28-08b.htm
Today Rashi performs the following database inquiry: Examine verses with occurrences of the phrase God of so and so. The query output is presented in the table below. The query output shows the following rule:
• People use the phrase God of so and so whether so and so is alive or dead
• God with one exception only says God of so and so on dead people
• The one exception where God said the God of so and so on a live so and so is by Isaac in verse Gn28-13 which states And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed; .
The following table illustrates these principles.
• The bottom half of the table cites verses where the phrase God of so and so is used.
  • The verses involve citations of people. The so and so referred to may be alive or dead.
• The top half of the table cites verses where the phrase God of so and so is used.
  • The verses involve citations of God. The so and so is always dead except for one case where
  • God speaks to Jacob and uses the phrase the The God of Isaac even though Isaac was alive.

  ================================================================
  VERSE    SAID BY      TO...     God of WHOM       DEAD/ALIVE
  ======== ============ ========= ================= ==============
  2C34-03a Bible Author Yoshiyahu God Of David      Dead
  2C21-12  Elijah       Yehoram   God of David      Dead
  Ex03-06  God          Moshe     God of Abraham    Dead
  Is02-03  Isiah        Nations   God of Jacob      Dead
  Gn28-13  God          Jacob     God of Isaac      Alive*2
  -------- ------------ --------- ----------------- ------
  2C32-17  Sancheriv    Jews      God of Chizkiyahu Alive
  Gn09-26  Noach        Cham      God of Shaym      Alive
  Gn24-12  Eliezer      God       God of Abraham    Alive
  

  Sermonic points: Rashi explains why God referred to the God of Isaac during Isaac's lifetime. We never find the phrase God of so and so on live people since live people might [sexually] sin and lose their status of righteous people. However Isaac never had a concubine and stayed in one house his whole life. Furthermore, Isaac no longer eye-flirted the way younger couples do but rather had reached a maturer approach to marital relations as is typical with older people. Hence since Isaac was no longer capable of sin God used the phrase God of so and so during his lifetime.

  Advanced Rashi: Rashi's actual language is
  • God doesn't trust his holy ones
  • He stayed in his house
  • His eyesight had dimmed
  • Therefore Isaac was like a dead person.
  We have interpreted these passages as follows:
  • God doesn't trust his holy ones They are capable of sexual sin, which would remove their righteous status.
  • He stayed in his house Isaac was committed to one wife. He never had a concubine or multiple wives.
  • His eyesight had dimmed He was a maturer man and no longer eye-flirted like younger couples.
  • Therefore Isaac was like a dead person. Therefore there was no serious concern that Isaac would sin just as there is no concern that dead people will sin.

  Although our interpretation is speculative it seems consistent with the overall facts and provides insight into the greatness of the Patriarch Isaac. The more conservative reader can see our contribution restricted to the database table above.

  9. RASHI METHOD: SPREADSHEETS
  BRIEF EXPLANATION: Inferences from a) computations, b) diagrams or c) consequences.
  This examples applies to Rashis Gn31-14a Gn31-15a
  URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn31-14a.htm
  • When Rashi gathers a collection of verses and infers from numerical computations we say Rashi uses the Spreadsheet method.
  • The spreadsheet method is also said to be used when Rashi clarifies with a geometric diagram.
  • We also say the spreadsheet method is used when Rashi fills-in background with plausible real-world events. Since these fill-ins are not derived from the Biblical text but rather are derived from the real-world we consider them analogous to the use of diagrams and computational spreadsheets. The common denominator of
    • Numerical spreadsheets
    • Geometric diagrams
    • plausible real world fill-ins and backgrounds
    is inference from non-verse material. Todays example particularly illustrates this.

  Verse Gn31-15 discussing Jacob's plan to desert his father-in-law states Are we not counted by him as strangers? for he has sold us, and has quite devoured also our money Rashi explains the underlined phrase for he has sold us, by filling in with real-world background: In most marriages the father of the bride provides a monetary dowry to help get the couple started. But in Jacob's marriage the exact opposite happened: Jacob had to pay his father-in-law, by working for him for 7 years. Hence the Biblical phrase he sold us.

  To recap, Rashi comments on the verse by
  • bringing in the custom of the father of the bride giving a dowry to his future son-in-law
  • contrasting the gift of the father-in-law to the son-in-law with the purchase requirement of 7 years of labor to obtain Rachel.
  Because this comment uses real-world vs non-textual material we say the spreadsheet method is being used.

  Sermonic points: The Rashi teaches us the importance of marriage etiquette. The young couple should be helped out. The father-in-law should treat his future son-in-law nicely. He certainly should treat his own daughter nicely.

  Conclusion

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