The 6 usages of the word >THE<:#12 of 35
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# 10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# Mar 25, 2001 #
# Rashis 664-665 Of 7800 (8.5%) #
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RULE
====
The words >THE< can be used in 4 ways
--to refer to something that immediately follows
eg Dt04-32c >Has anyone heard THE GREAT THING-that God
saved a nation enslaved in another nation with great miracles<
Thus the phrase >THE GREAT THING< refers to the verse that
follows >That God saved a nation enslaved in another nation<
In other words the >GREAT THING< is Gods freeing one nation
from another.
--to refer to a concept, story or thing mentioned ELSEWHERE
(but not immediately afterwards)
eg Nu13-33a >We saw there THE Nefilim<
refers to the NEFILLIM nation mentined in Gn06-04
--to refer to the best known of a class
eg Dt01-07e >THE Mount< -- This refers to The Kings Mountain
--to refer to a qualitative best
eg Dt05-18a >You will do the good and upright< -- ie compromise
GOALS:
=====
A person completing this module will be able to correctly
identify the specific usages of >THE< in the Bible.
TODAYS UNIT
===========
In the next few days we bring verses where
>THE< refers to >THE BEST KNOWN IN ITS CLASS<
REFERENCE:
=========
This module comes from the following digest in the
Rashi-is-Simple series
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n14.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n16.htm
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
EXAMPLES 27,28:
===============
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In the following verses >THE< refers to the best known
example of a class. We therefore re-translate these
verses as meaning >THE SPECIAL ...<
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EXAMPLE 27: Ex04-20a
==========
Ex04-20a they traveled by THE (SPECIAL) donkey
RASHI: This was a special species of donkey that
was only used domestically and NEVER USED
for military purposes.
This is the same species of donkey that
the Messiah will ride on and that Abraham
rode on when he returned from Mount Moriah*6
EXAMPLE 28: Ex08-02a
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BACKGROUND
----------
The Bible is talking about the 2nd of the 10 plagues
brought on Egypt by Moses at the word of God.
Ex08-02a THE (SPECIAL) Frog went up over Egypt
RASHI: This was a special species of frogs known
for their jumping capacity (hence this
plague humiliated them much more)*7
--------------------------NOTES----------------------------
*6 Rashi literally says
that >The phrase THE Donkey teaches us that
this is the same donkey used by Abraham
when he sacrificed Isaac and the same donkey
that King Messiah will use to ride on<
But it is rediculous to assume that a donkey
is living several thousand years.
A more palatable approach is that >THE DONKEY<
refers to a special species of DONKEY known
as ONLY being used for domestic purposes (some
donkey species are used for both domestic
and military purposes)---thus the phrase
>THE DONKEY< would refer to this special species of
donkeys known specifically for their domestication.
Again such an approach makes the midrash
appear palatable and deep. We do not
in my opinion increase respect for Chazal
by being literal on every midrash.
TO SUMMARIZE:
The Midrash is stating that the donkey used
by Abraham at the sacrifice of Isaac, the donkey
used by Moses when he went to free the Jews,
and the donkey used by King Messiah are all DONKEYS FROM THE
DONKEY SPECIAL DONKEY SPECIES KNOWN FOR THEIR DOMESTICATION
---these 3 leaders did not use military tactics. They instead
achieved success thru their spirit.
*7 Shame on the Malbim for doubting Rashis finesse!
Rashi here is commenting on the verse >And THE
FROG went up over Egypt<.
As Malbim notes the word >THE< is not needed with
a species. Compare the sentences >I had OXEN..<
(Gn32-05) or >He took money from FIRSTBORN (but
it does not say THE FIRSTBORN)< (Nu03-50).
So if it says >THE FROG< in this verse it must
be referring to a SPECIAL SPECIES of FROG
known for its jumping and hopping capacity.
This was the 2nd of the plagues that Moses
brought on the Egyptians at the hand of God
and the humiliation of jumping frogs would
be intensified by a species known for its
jumping.
Malbim gets into trouble since he interprets
Rashi as giving two possible meanings:
(a) ONE frog came and jumped all over Egypt
(b) the frog species is collectively called
frog.
But Rashi is saying neither. Malbim got into
this trouble because he used an abstract
approach. What I have contributed is the
use of intuitive idioms to help clarify
Rashi.(This was in fact the contribution
of my article in Tradition in Winter 1980---
I introduced the idea of intuitive models)
By interpreting the verse as >THE (SPECIAL)
(Jumping) Frogs< we combine both meanings
of Rashi and also make the 2nd plague
plausible. It was not 1 frog that jumped;
it was also not all frogs that jumped;
it was rather the special jumping
frogs that jumped and hence the >THE<
in >& THE FROG came over Egypt<.
Again Shame on Malbim (and anyone else)
who doubts that Rashi-is-Simple.
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