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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2>From: "Yisrael Medad" <A
href="mailto:yisrael.medad@gmail.com">yisrael.medad@gmail.com</A></FONT></DIV><FONT
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<DIV><BR>>>Since we're on the subject, those who read the parsha carefully
noticed an<BR>example of semantic deconstruction. The verses
21:16-17read:<BR><BR>*"And she [Hagar] sat over against him, and lifted up her
voice, and wept.<BR>And God heard the voice of the lad;"*<BR><BR>True, the
Midrash notes that Hashem listens to those who pray, and<BR>extrapolates that
Yishmael must have prayed, but the literay aspect is why<BR>didn't he listen to
Hagar and why doesn't it explicitly say that Yishmael<BR>prayed? There's a
subtle dislocation here. A mother's voice is not up to<BR>the mark?
And why not write "an Yishmael prayed, too
and..."?<<<BR></DIV></FONT><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent"
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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2>>>>>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2>"A mother's voice is not up to the mark?" It depends which
mother. Hagar's voice was not up to the mark. At least in part (I'm
assuming) because she didn't stay near her son but moved away from him because
she didn't want to see him die -- IOW it was her own distress she cared about
more than her son's. She would rather he die alone than that she
have to experience the horror of witnessing his death. So her tefilla
-- "Please don't let me see my son die" rather than "Please save my son's life"
-- wasn't up to snuff.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2>>>And why not write "and Yishmael prayed, too
and..."?<< Because the Torah almost never puts in one extra
word. Whenever the necessary information can be inferred from what /is/
stated, there is no need to spell out what is /not/ stated. You find
examples of this all over Chumash, where missing information can be inferred
from the text. "Hashem answered Yishmael" tells you all that you
need to know -- makes it obvious that Yishmael prayed.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2>An example that comes to mind is with Dena and Shechem. Not until
we read that her brothers took her from Shechem's home (after killing all the
men of the city) do we realize that she has been held captive during all the
preceding conversations and negotiations. ("My son loves her, please let
him have her." "These Jews want to intermarry with us and do business with us,
let's go along with them" etc) When you realize that she was kidnapped and
held captive the whole time, it puts a different spin on the actions of Shimon
and Levy.</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><BR><B>--Toby
Katz<BR>=============</B></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>