Weekyly Rashi Digest - Volume 4 #10 Dec 21, 2006

The 10 RashiYomi Rules
Their presence in Rashis on Parshat MiKeTZ
Vol 4 #10 - Adapted from Rashi-is-Simple
Visit the RashiYomi website: http://www.Rashiyomi.com/
(c) RashiYomi Incorporated, Dr. Hendel President, Dec 21, 2006
English translations of the Bible come from www.Davka.Com with minor emendations 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.

Pay-Ayin-Mem

Bells: As in verse Ex28-34 which states A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe around it.
Hammer: As in verse Is41-07 which states So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he who the idol smooth with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.
Footsteps: As in verse Songs07-02 which states How beautiful are your footsteps in sandals, O prince’s daughter! your rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of an artist.
A throbbing thought: As in verse Gn41-08 which states And it came to pass in the morning that his emotions throbbed; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men; and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
Number of times: As in verse Nu22-28 which states And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and it said to Balaam, What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?

unified theme

periodic repeating event.

repeated periodic ringing bells
repeated periodic hammer blows
repeated periodic footsteps
repeated periodic harpings as can happen with a nightmare or obsession.

Hence we we would translate Gn41-08 as follows And it came to pass in the morning that his emotions [on the dream] repeatedly throbbed; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men; and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

Advanced Rashi: The unified meaning method combines Biblical readings with Talmudic conceptual methods. The success of the unified meaning method lies in finding an underlying commonality in disparate usages. Biblical scholars frequently do not solve problems using unified meaning since they typically have not been trained in Talmudic methods.

Rashi's sole comment on the following 4 verses is that the expression of guilt feelings mentioned in the first three verses caused the crying in the 4th verse. We have indicated this Rashi comment using an interpolated underlined phrase. Verses Gn42-21:24 states And they [Joseph's brothers] said one to another, We are truly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Did I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and you would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spoke to them by an interpreter. [ and hence because of this expression of guilt] he [Joseph] turned himself away from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and talked with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

Sermonic points:The above Rashi paints the conflicting emotions in Joseph. On the one hand he was sold into slavery for 13 years because of one of his brothers. On the other hand the expression of guilt changed a possible anger into crying. Here we see how repentance can change and possible heal an emotional abusive relationship.

alignment

And Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ....
And the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who came; ...

and Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth.

Note the deliberate shifting of description of the Jews: Jacob's sons vs Joseph's brothers. Rashi comments We hear the emphasis: They were not only Jacob's sons; they were also Joseph's brothers. They had repented; they no longer wished Joseph dead. They realized they made a mistake selling him. Rashi further elaborates with reasonable fill-ins. They told Joseph, whom they did not recognize, that they were searching for their lost brother and wanted him back.

Sermonic points: The above Rashi studies the violent emotion of anger and rage. Very often anger/rage is momentary. True, Joseph's brothers were angry at him and wanted to kill him or sold as a slave. But time healed this anger. They now wanted him back. We are all familiar with this change from anger and see it frequently in our daily lives.

contradiction

Verse Gn41-54 states 54. And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph had said;
and the famine was in all lands;
but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
Verse Gn41-55 states
And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph; what he said to you, do.

We see the contradiction: Which is it? Did Egypt have bread or was it famished?

Rashi resolves this contradiction using the two-stages method of resolution: Initially Egypt prepared for the Famine by gathering extra food the same way Joseph prepared for the famine. Thus initially,in the first stage, Egypt had food. But the food that Egypt gathered rotted while the food that Joseph gathered had preservatives to prevent the rotting. Hence the famine reached Egypt.

Sermonic points: We see here God's providence. God wanted Joseph to be leader of Egypt. Hence although the Egyptians followed Joseph's advice and lead they failed in harvesting food. God in effect forced them to accept Joseph's leadership. When God wishes to raise a person to greatness it is God, not man, who eliminates the competition.

example

Verse Ex21-35 states And if one man’s ox damages the ox of his friend, and it dies; then they shall sell the live ox, and divide its money; and the dead ox also they shall divide. Rashi comments: This ox law is an example of a more general law of damage by any animal: reimbursement must be made. Here the Bible teaches the abstract idea of a reimbursement requirement for animal damages by using the example of a damaging ox.
Verse Ex21-18:19 discussing punishment for death from a fight states And if men quarrel together, and one strikes another with a stone, or with his fist, and he dies not, but keeps to his bed; If he rises again, and walks out with his staff, then shall he who struck him be acquitted; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. Rashi comments: THis staff requirement is an example of the general abstract idea of health. That is if after a fight a person regains his health then the person inflicting the blows does not receive a death penalty. Here again the Bible teaches the abstract idea of regaining health exempts from a death penalty by using the concrete specific example of walking on ones staff. There is an important point here---the person is exempt from a death penalty if (s)he regains his health even if they don't walk on a staff. The walking on one's staff is only an example of a more general abstract theme.
Verse Gn43-30 discussing the meeting after 17 years of Joseph and Benjamin states And Joseph made haste; for he had goose-pimples upon his brother; and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. Rashi regards this weeping as an example of the general abstract theme of caring Consequently Rashi gives other examples of this abstract idea of caring: Benjamin explained how he named his 10 sons over his missing brother: So one son was called swallowed because Joseph was swallowed by a wild animal; another son was called brother because Joseph was his brother; another son was called wedding because the two brothers never attended each others weddings.

This Rashi, superficially, appears quite startling. The verse gives no indication of Benjamin discussing the names of his children. Thus the Rashi appears homiletic and arbitrary. But once we understand that Rashi is using the style method everything becomes clear.Rashi is not claiming that the verse indicates that Benjamin explained the names of his 10 children. Rather the verse gives an example,Joseph crying and having goose pimple which illustrates the abstract idea of Joseph caring for Benjamin. Rashi then takes this abstract idea and gives other plausible examples.

about an ox damaging and interpreting this as applying to any animal damaging. Or, it is analogous to the Bible speaking
about walking on one's cain and interpreting this as applying to any regaining of health. So too the Bible speaks
about goose pimples and crying and we interpret this as applying to any caring behavior. Rashi's goal here is not to reconstruct every detail of what happened but rather to create an atmosphere of caring events.

climactic

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and
they brought him hastily out of the dungeon;
and he shaved himself,
and changed clothes, and

came in to Pharaoh.

Status: Joseph was no longer a prisoner
Appearance: Clean shaven and showered
Appareil: Proper attire
Royal appearance:

Sermonic points: We normally think of the Bible as only indicating laws and moral exhortations. However frequently the Bible will indicate how to best handle social situations in the real world. In the above example the Bible shows us how to prepare for a royal visit.

The great midieval commentator, Gersonides, The Ralbag, particularly championed social inferences from the Bible.

8. RASHI METHOD: DATABASES
BRIEF EXPLANATION:Rashi makes inferences from Database queries
This examples applies to Rashis Gn41-12a
URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn41-12a.htm

Today we ask the following database inquiry: How should people who do you favors be referred to? Invariably we find that people who do favors are referred to in good laudatory terms.

Verse 2C28-09:11 discussing advice of a prophet to treat captured people nicely states But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded; and he went out before the army that came to Samaria, and said to them, Behold, because the Lord God of your fathers was angry with Judah, he has delivered them into your hand, and you have slain them in a rage that reaches up to heaven. And now you intend to keep the people of Judah and Jerusalem as male and female slaves to you. Do you not have sins of your own against the Lord your God? And now hear me, and send back the captives, whom you have taken captive of your brothers; for the fierce wrath of the Lord is upon you.
Verse 2K04-08 discussing the hospitality of an upper class woman states And it happened one day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where there was a upper class woman and she urged him to eat bread. And so it was, that whenever he passed by, he turned in there to eat bread.
Verse 1S01-03 describing the Temple functions of Eli's sons calls them priests of God: And this man went out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the Lord, were there.

In all these examples the people doing the good deed are referred to positively. Hence we understand the Rashi on Gn41-12 describing Joseph's favor to the minister of bread: Verses Gn48-12:13 states And there was there with us a youth, a Hebrew, a slave to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored to my office, and him he hanged. Rashi comments: Notice how the minister of bread describes Joseph in pejorative terms, youth, Hebrew, slave, despite the fact that he did a favor. This shows the poor manners and bad personality of the minister of food.

Sermonic points: This Rashi implies the obvious ethical motif that people who do us favors should be praised. This applies equally to adults, co-workers, subordinates and even children. Most people have learned this important character trait, the trait of gratitude in various ways and at various stages of their lives.

9. RASHI METHOD: SPREADSHEETS BRIEF EXPLANATION: Inferences from a) computations, b) diagrams or c) consequences. This examples applies to Rashis Gn43-33a Gn43-10a URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn43-33a.htm When Rashi fills in commentary on a verse that is not inferred from word meaning, grammar or other verses we say that Rashi uses the Spreadsheet method. A typical example of fill ins is when Rashi makes numerical inferences from a spreadsheet of Biblical facts. Another typical example is when Rashi supplies geometric diagrams. Any of these three methods filling in numerical clarifications from a spreadsheet filling in geometric clarifications filling in with reasonable background information is called use of the spreadsheet method. When Rashi gathers a collection of verses and infers from numerical computations we say Rashi uses the Spreadsheet method. The Table below shows it reasonable that Rivkah was 15 years old when she married Isaac. After reviewing the table we will explain its rows line by line. Biblical verses Gn43-32:33 describes how the Egyptian food minister assigned seating to Jacob's children at a meal: And they served him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, who ate with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked at one another in amazement. Rashi ties these verses to other verses in the next paragraph dealing with the magic of his goblet. Verses Gn43-12,15 states And he searched, and began at the eldest, and ended at the youngest; and the goblet was found in Benjamin’s sack. ...And Joseph said to them, What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can certainly divine? Rashi comments on the above verses by giving reasonable and plausible background fill ins: How did Joseph assign seats for the meals? He would tap his goblet and pointed e.g. to Reuven and say "He is the eldest of one wife." He would tap his goblet again and pointed to Shimon and say "He is the 2nd oldest of this wife." He would continue and identify the chronological position of each set of children from the 4 wives. Since the brothers hadn't given this information they were amazed The underline words in this Rashi fill in correspond to underlined words in the above Biblical citation. Advanced Rashi: Every Rashi method has a flavor. A word meaning or grammar method is typically punchy and to the point. On the other hand a spreadsheet method by its very nature and definition--- a method which does not make inferences from the Biblical text---has a speculative flavor. Here is another perspective: We need not (as religious Jews) believe that Joseph actually tapped his cup and assigned seats. But given the story this is such a reasonable interpretation it is believable and it would be foolish to deny it. There are sermonic points to the story. The story shows how Joseph got the brothers to confess: Joseph played on the emotions of the brothers. He uses superstitions (the goblet) to evoke anxiety in the brothers. These techniques are also used in modern police, detective and court work to evoke confessions. 10. RASHI METHOD: SYMBOLISM BRIEF EXPLANATION: Rashi makes symbolic comments on verses and words. This examples applies to Rashis Gn41-04a Gn41-30a Gn41-31a URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn41-04a.htm Rashi introduces the idea that a good symbolic dream interpretation uses the motif method: One simple symbolic equation is stated which generates the interpretation of the whole dream. In interpreting Pharoh's dreams Joseph introduces the following motific symbolic equation: Each animal or plant = one year. As shown below this single motific symbolic equation generates the interpretation of both dreams. For convenience we only interpret the cow dream, the interpretation of the plant dream being similar. In the next paragraph we present the first Biblical statement of Pharoh's cow dream,given in Biblical verses Gn43-01:04. The symbolic interpretation of each phrase is presented on its side in special font. Each symbolic interpretation is either natural or flows from the symbolic equation mentioned above. Those interpretations that are explicitly stated in Rashi are identified as such. And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed; [Background material ] and, behold, he stood by the river. [he reviewed the Egyptian economy which was supported by the Nile river ] And, behold, there came up from the river seven cows[seven years ] sleek and fat; [years of fat and plenty ] and they fed in the reed grass.[there was adequate support for the years of fat ] And, behold, seven other cows came up after them from the river, [another seven year period ] gaunt and thin; [years of emaciation ] and stood by the other cows upon the brink of the river. [the second set of years came immediately after the first set of years ] And the gaunt and thin cows consumed the seven sleek and fat cows. [Rashi: the memory of the years of fat was consumed by anguish of the years of emaciation ] And Pharaoh awoke.[Background material ] Advanced Rashi: This approach of motific dream interpretation was first introduced in my article Maimonide's attitude towards Sacrifices. Conclusion This week's parshah contains no examples of the other verse, method. This concludes this weeks edition. Visit the RashiYomi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com for further details and examples.