Rashbam: The Curse of Leadership (Mishpatim)
Exodus 22:27 prohibits cursing judges and leaders. Is this a way to silence those questioning leadership? Rashbam thinks it is something more fundamental.
Rashbam
Rashbam: Remember Shabbat (Yitro)
The fourth commandment tells us to remember Shabbat. Rashbam says remember applies to the past. Rashi says it points us to the future.
Rashbam: Parallel Play (Beshallach)
Biblical poetry works primarily with parallelism. Rabbinic commentary mostly ignores this formal quality of biblical language, but not Rashbam!
Rashbam: Preparing for the Journey (Bo)
The moment of the Exodus arrives. And the Israelites are unprepared. Rashi, Rashbam, and Yosef Bechor Shor have different messages for us.
Rashbam: Nature vs. God (Vaera)
Pharaoh’s magicians call the third plague work of the “finger of God”. Some take this as acknowledging God’s power. Rashbam reads it the other way around.