Rashi: The Magic and the Mystery by Avigdor Bonchek, Gefen Publishing House, New York; ISBN 978-965-229-779-2 ©2015, $18.00, p. 132, plus Appendix, References and Index of Interpreted Verses
By Fred Reiss, Ed.D
WINCHESTER, California — Torah Commentator Rashi, the acronym for Shlomo Yitzchaki, stands at the head of a long line of revered Jewish sages. For instance, when quoting Moses Maimonides, we say “the Rambam said,” or Isaac Loew, we say “the Maharal of Prague said,” or Menachem Mendel Schneerson, we say “the Rebbe said”. But, when we speak of Rashi, we simply say “Rashi said.” His commentary on the Torah is so important that it was among the first Jewish books appearing in print, in 1469, a mere fourteen years after the invention of the printing press.
Avigdor Bonchek, a rabbi ordained from the Haredi-affiliated Ner Israel Rabbinical College and a licensed clinical psychologist, is a long-time Rashi enthusiast. Among his notable works is the five-volume series on Rashi’s Torah commentary entitled What’s Bothering Rashi? His newest book, Rashi: The Magic and the Mystery, presents a comprehensive examination of the principles of analysis employed by Rashi, together with numerous illustrative examples. In Rashi: The Magic and the Mystery, Bonchek seeks to answer such questions as: Why does Rashi have the need to comment about a particular biblical verse? What is Rashi saying when he does comment? What evidence is there suggesting that Rashi is correct when his comments conflict with other commentators?
The author, believing that the motivation and methods behind Rashi’s comments are at least as important as the commentary itself, sets out to show that Rashi’s decision to comment or not comment on a particular word, phrase, or sentence is not arbitrary, but appears for one of two reasons: to remedy “a difficulty in understanding, such as a contradiction, or if something is not clear or if it is a non sequitur,” or “when a Torah sentence is likely misunderstood.” In the former case, Rashi will frequently rectify the misunderstanding through a midrash, or textual embellishment, which is often presented in the form of a story, and in the latter case by inserting a clarifying word or two.
Bonchek proffers the rules under which Rashi opts to select or reject commenting on common and familiar words, whether or not to use a midrash, or even to write his own. The standard by which Rashi makes his selection depends on what “serves to clarify the words of Scripture.” The term clarify, of course is subjective, and none other than his grandson, Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir, known as the Rashbam, takes on the challenge of arguing against the personal choices of his grandfather. Bonchek compares and contrasts the Rashbam’s strictly pshat, or literal-meaning style of interpretation, with Rashi’s style, which employs both pshat and midrash.
Bonchek also covers an infrequently-studied aspect of Rashi’s commentary known as dibbur hamatchil, meaning “the starting word.” These are the Torah’s words on which Rashi will comment, usually printed in bold letters. According to Bonchek, they “are important for understanding deeper meanings in Rashi’s comment,” particularly if discrepancies exist between dibbur hamatchil and the biblical verse.
There is an interesting pedagogical twist in Rashi: The Magic and the Mystery. On five occasions, Bonchek offers a biblical passage with its Rashi commentary, asks the reader to determine the motivation behind the comment, and then provides the answer in an Appendix.
Rashi: The Magic and the Mystery, while teaching the reader to probe and not just read Rashi’s Torah commentaries, points to a simple but powerful axiom: “Rashi only comments when there is a need to clarify matters (italics in the original).” Since Rashi does not comment on every verse, it is the reader’s job to figure out what is driving Rashi and to ask discerning and incisive questions, such as: Why does Rashi state the obvious? Why does Rashi employ a midrash and not a comment on the simple meaning of the text? Why does he include both a comment on the simple meaning as well as a midrash?
Jewish Torah study is nearly impossible without the aid of Rashi’s commentary and Rashi: The Magic and the Mystery provides a valuable study tool to learn about the man and his commentary.
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Dr. Fred Reiss is a retired public and Hebrew school teacher and administrator. He is the author of The Standard Guide to the Jewish and Civil Calendars; Public Education in Camden, NJ: From Inception to Integration; Ancient Secrets of Creation: Sepher Yetzira, the Book that Started Kabbalah, Revealed; and a fiction book, Reclaiming the Messiah. The author may be contacted via fred.reiss@sdjewishworld.com. Any comments in the space below should include the writer’s full name and city and state of residence, or city and country for non-U.S. residents.