Parashas Devorim (73)

Isaiah 1:3:

"The ox knows its master and the mule its feeding trough. Israel does not know, My people does not perceive."

Let us compare two commentaries to see their different interpretations of this verse and their different approaches to commentary.

IBN EZRA:

My people does not perceive. Ibn Ezra: The meaning is repeated as is the case for many prophetic utterances and in the Song of Ha'azinu, and the sayings of Bilaam .The meaning here is: For I have raised them but they don't acknowledge Me.

WHAT IS THE IBN EZRA SAYING?

To summarize his point we could say that Ibn Ezra sees the two phrases ("The ox knows" and "the mule does not perceive") as parallel phrases, similar in their meaning. Likewise for the second part of verse, parallel phrases, with similar meaning.

Let us compare this with Rashi.

RASHI:

The ox knows its master: Rashi: He prepares it for plowing in the day and since he has become accustomed in this, he knows him; but the donkey is dumb, he doesn't know his master until he gets food from him. Israel did not become wise to know as the ox when I called him "Israel" and I taught him some of the My laws , but they abandoned Me....And even after I brought them out of Egypt and I fed them the Manna and I called them "My people, Children of Israel" - they did not perceive (even as much) as a mule.

Do you see the difference between them?

Your Answer:

A DIFFERENCE_

Ibn Ezra sees no special significance to the two parallel phrases. They are repeated in different words for their poetic effect. Rashi on the other hand always finds subtle differences between parallel phrases in the Chumash and Tanach.

A CLOSER LOOK

Can you see on what differences in the phrases Rashi bases his interpretation?

Your Answer:

PICKING UP THE NUANCES

An Answer:

Rashi focus on each difference in the verse's parallel parts. First he notes the difference between the ox and the mule. The ox knows his master from the repeated work of plowing while mule only knows his owner by being fed by him. Israel was neither as smart as the ox nor even as the mule. Israel first was trained by mitzvos as the ox is trained. Later in the Wilderness they were fed by Hashem as the mule is fed by his master. That is one comparison Rashi makes. But he focuses on another difference in the second half of the verse. What is it?

Your Answer:

PERCEIVING THE SUBTLE DIFFERENCES

An Answer:

Our verse first has "Israel" then we are called "My people" Rashi shows that even when God is closer to us and we are His People and he feeds us, even then we do not recognize him, as even a mule would his master.

All the subtleties that Rashi responded to, the Ibn Ezra passed over with a general statement "For I have raised them but they don't acknowledge Me."

Ibn Ezra is considered an unswerving advocate of p'shat, but sometimes making more demands of the verse enables us to see its nuances.

Shabbat Shalom and an easy fast. May it be the last T'sha B'Av we need to fast on.
Avigdor Bonchek "What's Bothering Rashi?" is a product of the Institute for the Study of Rashi and Early Commentaries. A Hebrew translation of the Bereishis "What's Bothering Rashi?" is published. It is greatly expanded and is call "L'omko shel Rashi" look for it in bookstores.

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