HASKAMOS

 

                

Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz

Yeshivas Ohr Someach, Yerushalayim

Teves 5785          

         For 900 years, the Torah commentary of R. Shlomo Ben Yitzchak, known as Rashi, has been the indispensable guide to explicating the word of God. Simple enough for the child, deep and challenging for the greatest talmid chacham, Rashi's commentary is unmatched in its clarity and beautiful concise style and its influence has been unparalleled. It was the very first Hebrew book to be printed and many assert with good reason that his peirush could only have been written with Ruach Hakodesh (Divine inspiration).               The apparent simplicity of Rashi is deceiving. There are hidden depths in every statement and indeed lessons to be learned in the omissions as well. What questions was Rashi trying to answer? Why did he deviate from what might appear to be a more obvious interpretation? Conversely, why did he feel the need to explain the obvious? Why does Rashi bring some midrashim and not others? Even in the midrashim he does bring, why does he often change the exact wording or sequence of the cited text? And what about those very hard to parse "dikduk Rashis," elucidating the mysteries of Hebrew grammar but which for many are in themselves mysterious and obscure? There are over 300 commentaries on Rashi that grapple with these questions but few have the time or the skill to delve into them. The sad result is that the immense riches that lie beneath the surface of Rashi's "simple" words are never uncovered.          Yochanon  Joseph, a conscientious and dedicated student of Rashi's commentaries, has compiled a collection of essays (more than 500 pages!) elucidating many of these complexities. His presentations are clear, well-organized and comprehensive. I have no doubt that this work will be of great benefit to all who study Rashi, whether he (or she) is an intellectually-curious 9th grader or an experienced talmid chacham.         We owe the author a debt of gratitude for his labor of love in unlocking some of the hidden treasures in Rashi's commentary. May this sefer result in a deeper understanding of one of the greatest of Israel's teachers . Wishing you much hatzlacha in your avodas hakodesh, 

 Yitzchak A. Breitowitz,

 Rav Kehillas Ohr Somayach 

Rabbi Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg 

Author of Patterns in Rashi, Understanding Rashi, Darchei Rashi 

    I was delighted to receive a copy of Layers of Meaning by my dear friend, Rav Yochanan Moshe Joseph. Rav Joseph is not merely a great expositor of Rashi, he is a great teacher of Rashi. His books do more than reveal the deeper meanings of Rashi’s rich and concise comments. They are directed at imparting to the reader the methods by which he can analyze Rashi’s comments and discover their deeper implications on his own. Rav Joseph takes a Rashi, breaks it down, and puts it back together again step by step. He presents the immediate meaning of the Rashi, and presents us with some difficulty with it, or some nuance in wording that points to something lurking beneath the surface. Rav Joseph doesn’t merely present the solution to the problem. He explains every stage of the analysis that leads to his conclusion, and thereby opens the reader’s eyes to the techniques by which Rashi’s words can be fully deciphered.

           Quotations from Rashi often serve as a springboard for excellent derashos and sermons, which elaborate on the ideas in the quotation. But rarely do we find people analyzing the wording of Rashi to extract its ethical or philosophical implications. There is a long tradition of this approach among the classical commentators, from the Gur Aryeh, to the Maskil LeDavid, to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. In Layers of Meaning Rav Joseph carries on this tradition, and points out how Rashi’s words are carefully designed to convey messages essential to the yerei Shamayim’s outlook on the world. The author’s writing style is clear and lively. It is hard to imagine anyone who cares about Torah study not enjoying this sefer. It is even harder to imagine anyone not coming away from it with a deeper appreciation and understanding of Rashi. May HaKadosh Baruch Hu continue to enable Rav Joseph to explore more areas of Torah and enrich Am Yisrael with his discoveries.  

Rabbi Baruch Simon

Yeshivas Rabbenu Yitzchak Elchanan

My dear friend, Rabbi Yochanon Joseph presented me with a masterful sefer on Rashi’s commentary on the Torah. Many individuals learn Rashi’s commentary on the Torah, however, very often the learning is very superficial. Rabbi Joseph’s sefer gives the student who studies Rashi a deep understanding of Rashi’s intent with very often a very brief presentation which Rashi has written. I highly recommend learning this sefer which will give the Talmid a broad and deep understanding of Rashi’s classical commentary on the Torah. 

 With best wishes, 

 Rabbi Baruch Simon