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                  (C) Dr Russell Jay Hendel, 2000

                        Volume 6 Number 7
                        Produced May, 21 2000

      WARNING: USE FIX WIDTH FONTS (eg COURIER (NEW) 10)



Verses/Topics Discussed in This Issue with quicky explanations
--------------------------------------------------------------
v6b5-20
          An Anonymous contributor suggests that I place the main
          idea ON TOP and place the verses and Rashis in the
          middle (We have been doing it the opposite way). I have
          done that in this issue. Let me know if it helps. As
          usual contributions are always welcome.
v1c6-9
          There are 3 meanings to HLCH depeding on the
          proposition. HLCH IM = To Go with; (b) HLCH ETH = To
          apprentice (C) HLCH LFANAI=To Devote oneself to. Thus
          Noach only APPENTICED HIMSELF to God while Abraham
          DEVOTED HIS WHOLE LIFE TO GOD.Further examples given
v1z6-9
          Ha-ELO-H-IM means THE LAW, JUDGES, the JUDICIAL PROCESS.
          Even when referring to God it refers to God as LawGiver.
          SEveral examples are studied where Ha-Elo-H-IM means
          COURT, JUDGES etc.
v6a5-20
          CB Chait gives further insights into meaning of Rayah.
          She also corrects the spelling of her name

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                        RASHI IS SIMPLE

 GOALS: To grammatically defend all 8000 Rashis on Chumash.
 METHOD:Every Rashi will be defended with a LIST of comparable cases
 INTENDED AUDIENCE: Laymen, Academicians, Rabbis, Yeshiva students

 COMMENTS,QUESTIONS: EMail to address below; (minor edits may occur)
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:Always given unless 'anonymous' is explicitly asked
 (UN)SUBSCRIBE: Email to above with keyword "(UN)subscribe"

 JOURNAL REFERECE: Pshat & Drash, TRADITION, Win 1980, R Hendel
 NOTATION: eg v2b1-8 refers to Ex(Book 2) Chap 1 Verse 8 Rashi b(#2)
 SPECIALS:...on Rambam,Ramban,Symbolism,Pedagogy,Daily Questions
 RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RULES...Complete set with examples ON BOTTOM

          EMAIL: [email protected],[email protected],

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FROM Anonymous
TO   [email protected]
DATE 5-17-2000
RE   Simplicity of Rashi is simple

I read through it that night and understood it well.  Before I give you
concrete suggestions, I wanted to review it again, which I haven't had a
chance to do.

One suggestion I can make at this time: put the new material at the
beginning.  This will make it much easier to find and follow.  That can
be followed by the notes and that followed by Q/A and loose ends.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

VERSE: v1c6-9
======

One of the principles that we have introduced in this list is that
meaning is NOT JUST an attribute of
        >3 letter verb roots
but rather meaning is determined by the COMBINATION of
        >3 letter roots and prepositions(Connectives).
In other words, the same root can have two different meanings
depending on the prepositions (connectives) with which it is used




For example, the verb
        >TO WALK (H-L-Ch)
can be combined with at least 3 connectives. We have
        >TO WALK WITH   (H-L-Ch IM)       =       to GO with
        >TO WALK OF     (H-L-Ch ETH)      =       to APPRENTICE
        >TO WALK FACING (H-L-Ch LFaNauV)  =       to DEVOTE onself
Here is our point. Even though
        >GO
        >APPRENTICE
        >DEVOTE
are three different concepts nevertheless they all use the same
Hebrew root
        >H-L-Ch (Walk)
English translations (including JSP) are  not always that careful
on this principle (Which was first explicitely introduced by the
Malbim in Lev01-01)




EXAMPLES: (See Summaries in {LIST1} and {LIST2})
---------

EXAMPLE 1: Gn17-01a
----------
The following are examples where the Hebrew phrase
        >WALK FACING
really means
        >DEVOTE
The following people all DEVOTED themselves to some cause


WHO       TO WHOM TEXT OF VERSE                   VERSE
-------   ------- ------------------------------- ---------
Abraham   God     DEVOTE yourself to me           Gn17-01a
Samuel    Nation  I have DEVOTED my life to you   1Sam12-02
Priests   Nation  ..priests who DEVOTE themselves 1Sam02-35

The last example (1Sam02-35) is appreciated when we realize that
the prophet is rebuking Eli because his sons used the priesthood
for personal gain.




EXAMPLE 2,3: Gn06-09c, Gn13-05a
-----------
The following are examples where the phrase
        >WALK OF
really means
        >APPRENTICE
The following people all APPRENTICED THEMSELVES to some idea/person


WHO   TO WHOM TEXT OF VERSE                         VERSE
----- ------- ------------------------------------  ---------
Lot   Abraham Lot, Abrahams APPRENTICEE,had riches  Gn13-05a
Noach God     Noach APPRENTICED himself to God      Gn06-09c



Note that it is a subjective value judgement that eg Lot only
APPRENTICED himself to Abraham while Samuel DEVOTED himself to
the nation. Similarly it is subjective that Noach only
APPENTICED himself to God while Abraham DEVOTED himself to God
By this we mean that eg NOACH only apprenticed himself
to God---went to synagogue, gave money to causes etc. While
Abraham was the equivalant of say a full time Rabbi--a person who
works full time for God. Such a perspective can be supported by
examining other verses which show the EXTENT ot attachment. Rashi
hilights the nuances of APPRENTICESHIP vs DEVOTION as can be seen
from the following texts



>Gn06-09c       >Noach WALKED OF God
 Gn17-01        >..God said to Abraham WALK FACING me

>RASHI:

                >By Abraham who was mature in the service of God
                >we use the phraseology
                        >WALK FACING me
                >By Noach who was not as experienced in service of
                >God, we use the phraseology
                        >WALK OF me

>Gn17-01a       >..God said to Abraham WALK FACING ME

>RASHI:         >..The Hebrew term
                        >WALK FACING ME
                >is translated like the Aramaic translation
                        >DEVOTE yourself to my service



>Gn13-05a       >And also Lot,who WALKED OF Abraham, had many riches


>RASHI:         >In other words the phrase
                        >WHO WALKED OF Abraham (Apprenticeship)
                >explains WHY Lot was rich (Because he followed
                >Abrahams example of being Charitable). Thus
                >the verse should be translated as
                >
                >And Lot also had riches....(Because) he was
                >Abrahams apprentice


EXAMPLE:
--------
Finally the following verses illustrate that
        >WALK WITH = Ordinary GOING WITH

WHO      TO WHOM TEXT OF VERSE                        VERSE
-------- ------- ----------------------------------   ---------
SOLDIERS DAVID   The soldiers who WENT   WITH David   1Sam30-22
RIVKAH   Eliezer Will you GO WITH this person         1Gn24-58


These examples are compactly summarized in {LIST1} and {LIST2}.






LISTS,NOTES,SUMMARIES:(This section may be ignored on a 1st Reading)
====================================================================

{LIST1} {Summary of the 3 meanings of H-L-Ch. We conjecture that
        the meaning of H-L-Ch=TO WALK, depends on which connective
        is used with the verb. Verse examples are presented in
        {LIST2})


Connective Phrase         Hebrew                    MEANING
========== ============== ================          ================
WITH       TO WALK WITH   (H-L-Ch IM)               to GO with
OF         TO WALK OF     (H-L-Ch ETH)              to APPRENTICE
FACING     TO WALK FACING (H-L-Ch LFaNauV)          to DEVOTE onself




{LIST2} {Verses illustrating the 3 meanings of H-L-Ch depending
        on their connective. The 3 meanings were of H-L-Ch were
        presented in {LIST1}. The last column indicates the
        preposition used with H-L-Ch}

WHO      TO WHOM TEXT OF VERSE                        VERSE     HLCh
=======  ======= ===================================  ========= ====
Abraham  God     DEVOTE yourself to me                Gn17-01a  FACE
Samuel   Nation  I have DEVOTED my life to you        1Sam12-02 FACE
Priests  Nation  ..priests who DEVOTE themselves      1Sam02-35 FACE
Lot      Abraham Lot, Abrahams APPRENTICEE,had riches Gn13-05a  OF
Noach    God     Noach APPRENTICED himself to God     Gn06-09c  OF
SOLDIERS DAVID   The soldiers who WENT   WITH David   1Sam30-22 WITH
RIVKAH   Eliezer Will you GO WITH this person         1Gn24-58  WITH


PRINCIPLE USED: ROOT+ PREPOSITION
==============

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

VERSE: v1z6-9
======

Rashi is Simplist, Akiva Miller recently asked on the email group
HebLang, why Gods name,
        >ELOKIM = GOD
sometimes has a definite article before it
        >HaELOKIM = THE GOD.
In other words what does the phrase
        >THE GOD
mean? When is it used?




After reviewing several examples I discovered that according
to Rashi
        >HAELOKIM
is used when talking about
        >Judicial process, a court case.
Let us look at some examples




EXAMPLE 1: Ex21-06a
----------
The Biblical text is speaking about a slave who refuses freedom and
wishes to remain a slave. The Bible tells the master...

>Ex21-06a       >His master should bring him to HAELOHIM

>RASHI:         >The Hebrew word
                        >HAELOHIM
                >means
                        >court.


EXAMPLE 2: Gn06-02z
----------

>Gn06-02a       >And the students of HAELOHIM snatched girls

>RASHI:         >The Hebrew word
                        >HAELOHIM
                >means
                        >the princes and Judges

                >(More in Rashi but we have discussed this elsewhere


EXAMPLE 3: Ex18-19b
---------
The Biblical text is discussing how Jethro advised Moses on a
more efficient judicial system.  Jethro suggested that Moses
simply act as a middleman for delivery of the Law from God and
that a hierarchy of Judges be used to decide cases.

>Ex18-19b       >You be for the nation opposite HAELOKIM

>RASHI:         >You should be the middleman that
                >ASKS GOD ABOUT PROPER LEGAL PROCEDURE


Thus even though
        >HAELOKIM does refer to God here,
nevertheless Rashi emphasizes that
        >HAELOKIM refers to God in his capacity as a Law Giver
(NOTE: To be fair to Rashi---Rashi explains 2 words
        >OPPOSITE = Middleman
        >HAELOHIM = God as transmitter of Law
We only explained one of these two. The other will be explained
at a later date).




EXAMPLE 4: Ex03-01b
----------
Before discussing this next example allow me to cite a discussion
between Professors Devins and Barnett on Heblang on whether

        >ALL examples precede the theory explaining them
        (So eg we would first decide on the meaning of EVERY verse
        with ELOKIM and only then try to find a unifying meaning)

or alternatively

        >MOST examples precede the theory explaining them
        (So eg we would look at many examples of verses with ELOKIM,
        then we would find a unifying meaning (Judicial process) and
        finally we would go back to the verses we had not yet
        explained and REEXPLAIN THEM.)

The following is an example of this alternative approach

>Ex03-01b       Moses was grazing sheep at the mountain of HAELOKIM

>RASHI:         Mount Sinai was called
                   >The Mountain of HAELOKIM=The mountain of the LAW
                because the LAWS of COURTS (Ex 21) was destined TO
                BE GIVEN on it (Ex 21 follows the revelation in Ex20


Let me explain this Rashi further. The other occurences of
        >ELOKIM
clearly mean
        >The LAW, the JUDICIAL PROCESS, the JUDGES
However Ex03-01
        >Moses was grazing sheep at the MOUNTAIN OF "THE GOD"
does not clearly refer to Law. For example another reasonable
interpretation is that
        >MOUNTAIN OF THE GOD = AWE INSPIRING MOUNTAIN
It is only however, AFTER we reviewed the other examples and
discovered that
        >ELOHIM = LAW, JUDGES, JUDICIAL PROCESS
that I go back and REINTERPRET Ex03-01 as
        >MOUNTAIN OF ELOKIM = MOUNTAIN OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM
In summary, the previous examples JUSTIFY reinterpreting Ex03-01
as refering to Mount Sinai as the MOUNTAIN of the LAW.


          -------------------------------------------------------
          |HOMEWORK EXERCISES                                    |
          |To avoid lengthiness we will complete this module     |
          |next time. We will also examine several consecutive   |
          |occurences of ELOKIM so we can ascertain how often    |
          |statistically ELOKIM means LAW (and how often we      |
          |reinterpret). For those wishing to prepare            |
          |please review the following verses                    |
          |    Gn44-16a                                          |
          |    Gn06-09c                                          |
          |    Gn35-07                                           |
          |    Ex18-11b,c,d                                      |
          |What is the difference between these examples and     |
          |the examples we covered so far                        |
          --------------------------------------------------------



PRINCIPLE USED: SYNONYMS
===============

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

From: Chaya Chait 
To: [email protected]
Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 18:42:22 -0700
Subject: while we're on the topic,

I just had a chance to read the R-I-S msg of 5/15/00.
Please share with the list that I also became convinced,
with your help, that rayah indicates a "similar"
(a person of equal spiritual importance).  I was
impressed with that concept vis a vis H"KBH's regard for basar v'dam.

[MODERATOR: By the way this is a theme that it is hard to
find an adequate English translation for Hebrew words. Thus we have
        >ME: RayAh = Business Partner / Colleage
        >CB: Rayah = a "similar"
        >ANONYMOUS: Rayah=a "reciprocity colleague"
All these terms are of course approximate (Some better than others)
This is true in all our translations and for that reason we
encourage discussion]


Sh'koach, and puh-leez spell my name correctly.  B-ru-r-y-a
(there are 4 Chaya Bruriah (2)/Bruria(1)/Brurya's (1) in
Baltimore, and the spelling of my name is A) the one that
I use, and B) the only way people can distinguish which CB
is being discussed.  If only H"KBH determined that Klal Yis.
should be limited to such problems as name spellings,
halevai....


Seriously, people who know me read this list, and they're
curious about why my name-spelling allegedly changed.

[Moderator:It is peculiar that I spend so much time in
spelling in Tnach but can't spell an English name.

Anyway tell your friends it is entirely my fault and will
not happen again (Better still..tell them to join Rashi is
Simple]


Chaya Brurya

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

                        THE 2 DOZEN RASHI-IS-SIMPLE RASHI RULES
                        =======================================

I: RASHI gives MEANING
======================
        A: WORD MEANINGS--(eg)"on the face of"=during the lifetime
           (v2n6,v4-3-4), http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4-3-4.htm

        B: SPECIAL WORDS--(eg)ACH=USUALLY;USUALLY observe shabbath!
           (v2n6, v4-1-49),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4-1-49.htm

        C: SYNONYMS--(eg)YShV=RESIDE; GARTI='INNED'--temporary say
           (v1n1, v1-32-5), http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1-32-5.htm

        D: UNIFIED MEANING--(eg)Tz Ch K = (a) laugh, OR (b) mock
           (v4n4, v1-21-9), http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1-21-9.htm

        E: NEW MEANINGS--(eg)HEAD-MOUTH of garment = HEM of Garment
          (v5n10,v2a28-32),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2a28-32.htm


II: RASHI teaches GRAMMAR/STYLE
===============================
        F: CLASSICAL GRAMMAR--(eg)HEY+CHATAF PATACH=QUESTION
           (v2n24,v1b3-11),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1b3-11.htm

        G: USAGE(NEW GRAMMAR)--(eg)INFINITIVE=GERUND;WATCHING laws;
           (v2n10,v4-32-6),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4-32-6.htm

        H: ROOT+PREPOSITION--(eg) BCH AL=cries about,BCH ETH=mourn
          (v1n14,v1a45-14),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1a45-14.htm

        I: SEMANTIC RULES--(eg) WAGES="ENDoF"="END oF Work Day';
           (v1n10,v1b1-1),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1b1-1.htm

        J: STYLE--(eg)REPETITION denotes Endearment;'Abraham,Abraham
           (v1n6,v2-1-1),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2-1-1.htm

        K: DOUBLE NOUNS--(eg)HIT HIT by sword ('even without sword')
           (v2n20,v2a22-25),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2a22-25.htm

        L: PRONOUNS--(eg) sanctify OTHO = sanctify ONLY IT;
           (v2n10,v4a7-1),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4a7-1.htm


III: OVERALL TEXTUAL STRUCTURE
==============================
        M: OTHER VERSES--(eg)STONE(3-25-13)=BALANCE STONES(3-19-36)
           (v3n9,v5b25-13),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5b25-13.htm

        N: EXTRA SENTENCES--(eg)he'll dress his measurement=TAYLORED
           (v1n20,v3a6-3),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v3a6-3.htm

        O: DOUBLE PARSHAS-'he WILL pray'-'he WON'T pray';So Optional
          (v3n12,v5a24-14),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5a24-14.htm

        P: CLIMAX-(eg 5-19-11)(a)Hate, (b)spy, (c)confront,(d)Murder
           (v3n9,v5-19-11),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5-19-11.htm

        Q: OVERALL STRUCTURE-growing nails=despisement(from context)
           (v3n8,v5-21-12),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v5-21-12.htm


IV: IMPLICATIONS & DERIVATIONS
==============================
        R: STAGES-learn HUMAN marital frequency from ANIMAL ratios
          (v1n14,v1a32-15),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1a32-15.htm

        S: MORAL LESSONS/REASONS-God spoke before punishment;we too
          (v2n12,v4-12-9),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v4-12-9.htm

        T: RabbiIshmael-(eg)When an OX gores; OR ANY animal gores;
          (v2n19,v2-22-17),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2-22-17.htm

V: OVERALL
=================
        U: SYMBOLISM-'WASHING his clothes in wine'=PLENTY of wine;
          (v4n18,v1a49-11),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v1a49-11.htm

        V: PICTURES--(eg) The TZITZ was like a HELMET over a turban
          (v5n12,v2-40-35),http://www.shamash.org/rashi/v2-40-35.htm

        W: TABLES/SPREADSHEETS---To appear

                        End of Rashi-Is-Simple Digest

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