The 6 usages of the word >THE<:#27 of 35
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# 10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# Apr 12, 2001 #
# Rashis 701-702 Of 7800 (9.0%) #
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NOTICE
======
The 10 CRUNCHY PASSOVER TORAH NUGGETS
from last year are up and may be found at
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/
Rashi Yomi will resume next TUESDAY
A HAPPY & JOYOUS PASSOVER TO ALL
RULE
====
The words >THE< can be used in 4 ways
--THE can refer to a proper noun
--THE can refer to something that is mentioned nearby
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<
--THE can refer to a concept, story or thing mentioned
ELSEWHERE (but not immediately afterwards)
eg Nu13-33a >We saw there THE Nefilim<
This refers to the NEFILLIM nation mentined in Gn06-04
--THE can refer to the best known of a class
eg Dt01-07e >THE Mount< -- This refers to The Kings Mountain
GOALS:
=====
A person completing this module will be able to correctly
identify the specific usages of >THE< in the Bible.
TODAYS UNIT
===========
We are finishing this unit on >THE<. I hope you have
enjoyed it. In the last few days we will bring
miscelaneous examples illustrating all 4 usages of
>THE<. Be sure and look for the GRAND SUMMARY which
will reexamine all examples.
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
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n18.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n19.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n20.htm (Up next week)
http://www.Rashiyomi.Com/h9n21.htm (Up next week)
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
EXAMPLE 64: Ex03-20a
====================
BACKGROUND
----------
The Bible is describing how Moses rode back to Egypt
with his wife and children.
THE VERSE
---------
Ex04-20a they rode on THE SPECIAL (DOMESTICATED) DONKEYS*5
THE RASHI
---------
The phrase >THE ANIMAL< refers either to special
species of the animal or to the BEST animals. Thus
>THE< in this verse is used to denote the BEST KNOWN
OR the SPECIAL.
Hence, in this verse the phrase
>THE DONKEY< would probably refer to DONKEYS used
only for domestic purposes (the point being that some
donkeys were used for military purposes also *1).
EXAMPLE 65: Ex12-02a
======================
BACKGROUND
----------
The Bible is describing the first commandment--the
commandment of calendars--that God gave the Jews.
THE VERSE
---------
Ex12-02a THE FIRST is the way all Months will begin
THE RASHI
---------
{LIST}
I am indebted to RADACK, BOOK OF ROOTS for understanding this:
According to RADACK the Hebrew word >Chet-Daleth-Shin<
can equally mean
===============================================================
Hebrew Meaning Verse Text of Verse
======== ============ ======= =================================
ChaDaSh New Ec01-09 There's nothing NEW under the sun
ChaDaySh Renew Ps103-5 Renew your youth
ChoDeSh 1st of Month 1S20-18 Tomorrow is the 1st-Month holiday
ChoDesh The Month 1S20-34 On the 2nd of the Month
{END OF LIST}
In particular we see that >CHODESH< can equally mean
-- >1st of month< or
-- >The (whole) Month<.
Using this double meaning we can interpret Rashi on
Ex12-01 as follows
------------------------------------------------------------
This First-of-the-Month(ie New moon) will be a
typical Beginning-of-Months
It(ie this month) will be the first of the months of the year
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thus the phrase >THE FIRST< refers to the actual NEW MOON
that God was pointing to.Thus >THE< refers to something
nearby. For further elaboration see footnote *2
------------------NOTES---------------------------------------
*1 Rashi creates a {LIST} showing how certain key Jewish
leaders used only DOMESTIC DONKEYS thus emphasizing
the Jewish value that we achieve accomplishments >not
with armies or strength but rather with the spirit<
The three people using donkeys are
--Abraham when he returned from sacrificing Isaac
--Moses when he returned to Egypt to free the Jews
--The Messiah when he comes to redeem the Jews
Thus Rashi emphasizes that even though redeemers need
military means these people come on THE DONKEY--specially
domesticated donkeys--thus our redemption comes from the
spirit not from strength.
*2
Thus Moses was told two things:
(a)Moses was told that the FIRST OF THE MONTH was determined
by the New Moon (THIS 1st-MONTH will be your sign for Month
Beginnings); this refers to the Law that the New Moon appearance
helps create the status of the 1st of the month.(b)Moses was also
told that this MONTH (Nissan) would be the first in the sequence
of months (Month 1=Nissan, Month 2=Iyar,...).
The phrase >THIS FIRST-OF-MONTH< refers to the actual day
they were speaking on and hence the word CHODESH could
equally refer to the NEW MOON as well as the MONTH.
(The above explanation harmonizes
--the distinct interpretation of each verse-half
--the halachic interpretation of Rashi(1st of Month,Month #1)
--the simple meaning of the text.
That is, since >ChoDesh< can have a double meaning the halachic
interpretation and simple meaning of the
verse are one and the same.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*