Several points can be made about a) how Rashi should be taught and b) the method advocated by Jessie: 1) Read Rashi correctly 2) Translate Rashi 3) Know some of the abbreviations. Since this is only a small posting let me address the following topics
1. Memorization / Recognition approach
2. An alternate conceptual approach
3. My Rashi taxonomy
4. Some simple examples.
5. Some Resources
1. MEMORIZATION / RECOGNITION APPROACH
A famous taxonomy of learning/teaching objectives is the Bloom-Anderson taxonomy (e.g. see [
www.uwsp.edu] for a popular summary ). This taxonomy classifies objectives and methods into six broad categories and has proven useful. Generally speaking memorization / recognition is considered low level, while methods that require analysis, synthesis or understanding are high level. The consensus is that students are turned off by low-level methods, they have poorer motivation, poorer retention etc. Objectives and methods based on understanding, analysis and synthesis have higher motivation and retention. So a student who is simply taught to recognize Rashi script, translate it and know some abbreviations is expected to have mediocre knowledge of Rashi.
2. AN ALTERNATE CONCEPTUAL APPROACH
I participated in some home schooling about 15 years ago and produced about 400 worksheets. The basic set up was as follows. Some teenage female tutors taught low level items like recognizing Rashi script, reading and abbreviation. I taught a separate unit: In this unit, I taught Rashi using a constructivist guided-discovery pedagogical approach. I would ask the students a series of questions on the English or Hebrew text of the Bible. The questions would enable the students to derive Rashi comments by themselves. (This method was used on successfully on 7-11 year olds). The pupils had no difficulty arriving at what some adults considered difficult Rashis to explain.
3. MY RASHI TAXONOMY:
Any approach to Rashi is based on a model of assumed Rashi methods. I use 10 major methods: i) Cross references, ii) Meaning, iii) Grammar, iv) Parallelism, v) Contradiction, vi) Rabbi Ishmael Style methods, vii) Formatting, viii) Database, ix) Non-Verse, and x) Symbolism (Some examples are given below). As a rule of thumb certain methods such as Database, non-verse and Symbolism should be avoided with younger children since they are complicated. By contrast, certain methods such as cross-references, meaning, parallelism, contradiction and formatting are easily grasped even by young children (Again: Examples are given below)
4. SOME SIMPLE EXAMPLES:
Here are some exercises that can be given to young children (7-11 years old) which will lead them to arrive at the Rashi comments themselves. (Example #1 Illustrates Cross-reference method) Review Deut. 10 and clarify through a cross-reference the word few in Deut. 26:5 (Answer: Rashi on Deut 26:5) (Example #2 illustrates meaning method) Have mommy show you her various pots and pans which she uses for cooking. Based on the descriptions in the Rashis on Lev. 2:5 and 2:7 find good English translations for machavath and marchesheth. (Example #3 illustrates parallelism method) Show the parallelism in the Gen. 49:11, He washes his clothes in wine and in the blood-of-grapes his suth, by lining up corresponding words. Based on your parallelism explain the terms blood of graphs and suth. (Note: Some younger pupils may need illustrations of parallelism in order to complete this exercise). (Example #4) This is a negative example. Rashi on Numbers 7 shows how the single theme human history can explain the symbolism of the princely gifts. I do not believe that young children could independently derive the symbolic details (Though I have been personally successful using advanced application of guided-discovery pedagogic methods).
5. SOME RESOURCES:
A) I have a website dedicated to classifying Rashis using this taxonomic system, www.Rashiyomi.com.
The URL [
www.rashiyomi.com] gives many examples of each method which can be used in class or in homeschooling. C) From time to time I write summaries of my methods. The URL [
www.rashiyomi.com] contains a six-week course I gave at the Ner Tamid congregation of Baltimore several years ago. D) The URL [
www.Rashiyomi.com] contains several articles published in refereed journals presenting some of these ideas.
Russell Jay Hendel; Ph.D., A.S.A
Dept of Mathematics
Towson University
Towson Md 21244
