Avigdor Bonchek, Feldheim, 1997 onwards
This set of five volumes (a very kind gift from a congregant) is an attempt at ‘a guide to in-depth analysis of Rashi’s Torah commentary.’ One of my gripes at the methodology often taught to children is that little effort is expended in trying to identify difficulties in the verse that prompted Rashi’s commentary on it. Very often his comment is an answer to a question that he hasn’t stated. Bonchek tries to redress this. He divides his comments into ‘Your question’, ‘Questioning Rashi’, ‘Your answer, ‘What is bothering Rashi?’ , ‘Understanding Rashi’ and ‘Comparing Rashi comments’, among others. They are useful tools for understanding the thought processes that may have led to Rashi’s final comment. In Bonchek’s introduction, he tries to categorise Rashi’s comments, which works quite well. It is a useful study tool; inevitably, it only covers a small number of Rashis, but perhaps after a while, one will absorb his methodology and no longer need the book!
