No wonder so many boys/men dont understand Gemorah well. Are they not taught in cheder/yeshiva how to learn and understand texts? They simply don’t bother to understand pshat. You cannot take part of a Chazal or a posuk and claim to understand what the text means from only part of the verse, or even from one verse. Every word means something, the context means something. Otherwise the words “breishis buru Elokim” can mean the beginning of creation created God, c”v, to you. You cannot USE Tanach and Gemorah like Christians use the verses, pointing to a word or even a verse out of context otherwise you will be able to “prove anything you want the Torah to prove” but you won’t understand p’shat. That’s how the Tzedoikim and all apikorsim “learnt” the posukim without understanding the context.
If you want a posuk, or a Chazal or a Rishon, or any text for that matter, to mean what YOU want it to mean, you can disregard part of what the verse says or you can take it of of context, and then claim that it means what you want it to mean…in that case it is certainly “refreshing” for people like Menachem Shmei to have a “Torah discussion” with one who is willing to disregard part of a verse and the context in which the verse is being discussed.
Understanding texts is learning what the author of the text wanted to convey, not what you want to convey. You cannot claim that the author wants to convey something when you disregard part of what the verse says, you cannot contradict what the author says and then claim that it seems the author contradicts himself, you cannot read the text out of context.
Going back to Rashi on the posuk, if Rashi himself says that the posuk says that Yaacov expired but did not die, it means that Rashi does not contradict that Yaacov expired, period. However, it ALSO means that Rashi says Yaacov did not die. In this case, how can he expire, be embalmed and not die? Rashi doesn’t answer that but if Rashi said he expired but he did not die then we can need to gain understanding on what it means “יעקב לא מת”. If Rashi would’ve say his body was still alive despite his expiring and embalming then you can claim that Rashi said he was physically alive. However, Rashi did not say his body stayed alive. לא מת can mean many things as the MEFORSHIM EXPLAIN and none of them say that Yaacov’s stayed alive! If someone on this thread claims “יעקב לא מת literally”! It is not Rashi who wrote the word “literally”! If an individual declares that Rashi meant it literally and that he meant that his physical body is alive it’s his own conclusion disregarding the context in which the words “yaacov lo mes” was written.
Rashi on Gemorah does not argue with the Gemorah that Yaacov was buried and eulogized. What he says is that they thought he died but he didn’t die. How could Rashi believe that Yaacov EXPIRED (ויגוע), how could he believe that he was BURIED and EULOGIZED and still be PHYSICALLY alive? Well, Rashi doesn’t say that Yaacov was physically alive only that he didn’t die. And for that, as I’ve said above, there are numerous meforshim that say what “he didn’t die” means. Neither Rashi, nor any of the meforshim claim that Yaacov Avinu is still walking on this planet earth to this day in his physical body.
You can only claim that Rashi means that Yaacov is physically alive if you believe that your rebbe is buried 6 feet under yet still walking around here somewhere with his physical body. If someone finds the rebbe please let me know, I’d like to meet with him.