I had the wonderful opportunity to help my granddaughter study for her chumash test last night. 25 verses and about seven Rashi's. Let's see... I do שניים מקרא ואחד תרגום/Hebrew text twice followed by Targum Onkelos once and all the Rashi's every week. I can do that in an hour or a bit more. So let's do the math. Assume an average of 150 verses in a parasha => 450 verses per a bit more than an hour => 25 verses in 3.5 minutes. I am also doing 150 Rashi's in that same bit more than an hour => seven Rashi's adds another three minutes. She might need help with a word or two in Rashi, so a generous estimate puts this at a 10 minute commitment; maybe 15 because she's so cute and I'll want to tell her that a few times.
At this point, you are probably either thinking, "seems reasonable" or "boy oh boy... did this guy ever do homework with his kids?!" I did, actually, do some homework with my children; but you forget, ya' know?
So... homework took over an hour. Moreover, I think I learned more than she did. First of all, she read every word. No, not like I read every word; she reads every word. As a consequence, so did I. Learning Chumash with Rashi when your whole world depends on getting it right (we were studying for a test the next day); is a vastly different experience than just running through שניים מקרא ואחד תרגום to fulfill your obligation. She did learn some new things from me. For example, the verse said that "HaShem remembered His promise to the forefathers." "Wait!," exclaimed my observant little granddaughter, "HaShem doesn't forget; so what does it mean that He remembered?" We had a nice discussion about that. Mostly, though, I was the one who learned new things. Here are few of the new things I learned.
Even if you don't know the Rashi by heart, you really ought to know what question he is answering. Every time she read a Rashi to me, she first told me the question he was answering. Just knowing that, clearly, is a huge step up in the quality of the learning. One more thing: sometimes Rashi isn't answering a question; he's just noting something interesting. Fascinating! I am thinking I should (someday) color code the Rashi's in my Chumash; a color for grammar lessons, another for textual questions, another for logical questions, and another for interesting observations that Rashi wanted to share with his talmidim.
I learned that I am much more patient as a grandparent than I was as a parent. I'd love to claim -- or even believe -- that my increased patience is a sign of maturity. Truth be told, however, I didn't have oodles of other kids who needed to be fed and bathed and also needed help with their homework. Nor did I have a gazillion lunches to prepare. For whatever reason, though, having more patience made for a much more enjoyable homework experience for both of us.
When I told her something she found particularly useful, she asked timidly if it was ok to write that information in the margin of her Chumash. "Of course!", I told her, "How do you think we have Rashi's in the margin of our gemaras?" And so she is continuing the chain that started from Mount Sinai and is built generation by generation.
At this point, you are probably either thinking, "seems reasonable" or "boy oh boy... did this guy ever do homework with his kids?!" I did, actually, do some homework with my children; but you forget, ya' know?
So... homework took over an hour. Moreover, I think I learned more than she did. First of all, she read every word. No, not like I read every word; she reads every word. As a consequence, so did I. Learning Chumash with Rashi when your whole world depends on getting it right (we were studying for a test the next day); is a vastly different experience than just running through שניים מקרא ואחד תרגום to fulfill your obligation. She did learn some new things from me. For example, the verse said that "HaShem remembered His promise to the forefathers." "Wait!," exclaimed my observant little granddaughter, "HaShem doesn't forget; so what does it mean that He remembered?" We had a nice discussion about that. Mostly, though, I was the one who learned new things. Here are few of the new things I learned.
Even if you don't know the Rashi by heart, you really ought to know what question he is answering. Every time she read a Rashi to me, she first told me the question he was answering. Just knowing that, clearly, is a huge step up in the quality of the learning. One more thing: sometimes Rashi isn't answering a question; he's just noting something interesting. Fascinating! I am thinking I should (someday) color code the Rashi's in my Chumash; a color for grammar lessons, another for textual questions, another for logical questions, and another for interesting observations that Rashi wanted to share with his talmidim.
I learned that I am much more patient as a grandparent than I was as a parent. I'd love to claim -- or even believe -- that my increased patience is a sign of maturity. Truth be told, however, I didn't have oodles of other kids who needed to be fed and bathed and also needed help with their homework. Nor did I have a gazillion lunches to prepare. For whatever reason, though, having more patience made for a much more enjoyable homework experience for both of us.
When I told her something she found particularly useful, she asked timidly if it was ok to write that information in the margin of her Chumash. "Of course!", I told her, "How do you think we have Rashi's in the margin of our gemaras?" And so she is continuing the chain that started from Mount Sinai and is built generation by generation.
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