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Their presence in Rashis on Parshat VaEthChaNaN Vol 7, # 7 - Adapted from Rashi-is-Simple Visit the RashiYomi website: http://www.Rashiyomi.com/ (c) RashiYomi Incorporated, Dr. Hendel, President, July 26th, 2007 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.
Using the verses below, which discuss Moses petition to see the land of Israel, to which he was prohibited from entering, Rashi clarifies that God did indeed answer Moses prayer to see Israel even though God did not rescind the decree prohibiting Moses from entering Israel. Rashi provides further details on God's promise to show Moses Israel by referencing another verse.
An idiom is a group of words whose collective meaning is different then the meanings of its component words. Today's example illustrates this.
Verse Dt05-06a describing the prohibition of worshipping idols states literally you shall not possess the gods of others on My [God's] face Using a proper translation of the idiom Rashi translates you shall not possess the gods of other during my [God's] lifetime, [Rashi: i.e. Forever]
Verse Dt05-24 discussing the fright the Jews had of prophecy and the request for Moses to be an intermediary between them and God states Go thou [m] near, and hear all that HaShem our G-d may say; and thou [f] shalt speak unto us all that HaShem our G-d may speak unto thee; and we will hear it and do it.' Recall, in Hebrew, unlike English, there are two distinct words for you-one is used for males and one for females Af the beginning of this verse the proper male you is used. However in the middle of the verse Moses, a man, is referred to as a female you.
As explained in my article A pun is a literary techique of distortion of spoken or written texts to impart relevant secondary meaning That is a pun is a deliberate distortion of pronunciation, grammar and similar items in order to communicate a secondary meaning in a sentence In this case the primary meaning of the verse is thou [Moses] shalt speak unto us all that HaShem our G-d may speak unto thee; But by using the female thou the verse indicates a secondary meaning Rashi: I, Moses, became 'weak as a female' from this request at the thought that you didn't want to speak to God directly as in a love relationship but rather wanted me as an intermediary as in a fear relationship. We have used L Heller's 1974 classification of puns Here the pun involves a distortion of grammatical rules. Heller introduces 11 methods of puns including distortions of grammar, spelling, pronunciation, gestures etc.
Certain Biblical paragraphs are stated in a Theme-Development form. In other words a broad general idea is stated first followed by the development of this broad general theme in specific details. Today's example illustrates this.
Rashi's sole purpose of comment is to indicate that the underlined phrase Has there ever been such a great thing refers to a) the Divine revelation to an entire nation and b) the deliverance of an entire enslaved nation.
Many Biblical passages repeat a theme several times in what appears to be almost similar phraseology. The Climax principle requires that such passages be re-interpreted to reflect a climactic sequence. This re-interpretation should take place even if the language and grammar do not require it. Rather the existence of several almost identical passages, by itself, is the driving force requiring re-interpretation. Today's example illustrates this.
Rashi re-interprets the three listed requirements, Fear, service, swearing as listed in a Climactic fashion. To clarify the Rashi comment, presented immediately below, think whether a person could instantly become religious by starting to swear in God's name. Obviously not. People in bars swear all the time. However their swearing is physical. By contrast a person who is really afraid of God and serves him would not lightly swear at every frustration the way people in bars do. Rather the religious person's oath are recognizable and distinct from the oaths of the people in bars. Religious people only swear on serious occasions and only to affirm matters in doubt. Hence the Rashi comment: If you really fear God and serve him then you will be careful in your oaths and only swear by God's name and at appropriate times. As can be seen the focus of the Rashi comment is on the climactic nature of the phrases which are reinterpreted to indicate the stages required to being recognized as religious. Sermonic points: Rashis using the climax rule are always sermonic. In this case the Rashi illustrates the ladder to being recognized as religious. First you have to be afraid of God. For example, instead of saying 'What will people say' you should ask 'What will God say if I do such and such.' At a second stage you should be involved in serving God and doing his commandments. Finally using the first two stages as a basis, a person should curb his speech patterns at times of frustration - oaths should not be taken lightly but only to reflect serious affirmations in the name of God. These three stages define the prerequisites for being known as religious.
We ask the following database query: Which commandments mention that they should be observed becauase 'you are to remember that God took you out of Egypt'? The reader is encouraged to perform the query using a standard Biblical Konnkordance or search engine. This database query yields the list below. The list justifies the following Rashi inference: Commemoration of the salvation from Egypt is emphasized as a reason for commandment observance in laws requiring a) equality b) ritual purity and c) no anxiety-business practices. The list below presents the results of the database query. We first present in detail a typical verse. Verse Dt05-14a:15 discussing the obligation to treat slaves and orphans nicely states but the seventh day is a sabbath unto HaShem thy G-d, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou. And thou shalt remember that thou was a slave in the land of Egypt, and HaShem thy G-d brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore HaShem thy G-d commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. As can be seen in this example, the Biblical obligation to let slaves/servants rest on the Sabbath is linked to remembering the Exodus. This linkage between the commandment and the exodus, which does not occur at all commandments, is made explicit here because the essence of Egypt consisted of a class society in which certain people were free and certain people were slaves. Consequently any commandment attacking class distinctions - such as the requirement to equally let owners and slaves rest on the Sabbath - will explicitly mention the Exodus. A full set of further examples if presented in the Table below.
Conclusion
This week's parshah contains no examples of the contradiction, spreadsheet, and symbolism methods. This concludes this weeks edition. Visit the RashiYomi website at http://www.Rashiyomi.com for further details and examples. |