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Question
Shalom HaRav, What does Rashi mean to say on his commentary to bereshit 1:10 on word seas that the fish in acco is not same as fish in some other place. What is lesson I can take for my practical life on a day to day basis with this explanation ?
Answer
Shalom, Thank you for your question. Your are asking about Rashi’s comment to the verse that states that Hashem called the seas “Yamim” [=seas]. However the “seas” referred to here are really one great sea, not many seas (in the plural). If so, why would the Torah write it in the plural? In order to answer this question, Rashi quotes the Midrash and writes “קרא ימים CALLED HE SEAS – But does it not form one great sea? But it speaks of seas because the taste of fish which comes up from the sea at Acco is not the same as the taste of fish which comes up from the sea at Aspamia (Genesis Rabbah 5:8).” That is, this one large body of water could really be considered as many seas, because it contains in it different aspects. We can see this because the fish in place of the ocean have a different taste than the fish from another side of the sea. The most important thing to understand from this Rashi, is the importance of each word of the Torah – even the smallest plural or singular. Beyond this, we can also learn that each individual place in the world was created with it’s own special traits according to Hashem’s will. Blessings.
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