Shabbos Chanukah – December 9, 2023

On Shabbos January 14, 2024 I finished reading the book, The Jewish Confederates, by Robert N. Rosen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jewish_Confederates

Robert Rosen writes about why Jews supported the Confederacy.  The Jewish leaders of the Confederacy, the Jewish fighters, antisemitism, and how the Jews reacted to the defeat of the South.  On January 16, 2024 I finished the book.

There were 20,000 Jews in the South and 100,000 Jews in the North.  Roughly 2,000 Jewish men fought for the South.

The Jews in the South felt welcome.  Many were Jewish immigrants from Germany.   They went from oppression in their home countries to freedom in America.  They breathed fresh air and not the putrid air of repression in Germany and eastern Europe.  They became part of the culture of the South and some had slaves.  They supported the Southern cause and hated the Yankees.  The Jewish women  equally supported the Southern cause.  They looked up to Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis.

It is true that in Europe the ghetto walls fell down in Vienna in 1848 and in Germany around the same time; however, it did not approach the freedom the Jews felt in America, especially the South.

Page 14 states:

Thus, overwhelmingly, almost unanimously, some with fear and trepidation, others with courage and enthusiasm, some with reservations, other with a firm unflinching resolve, Southern Jewry cast its lot with the Confederate State of America.  Many like “Ike” Hermannn, had found the land of Canaan.  Othrs, like Gustavus Poznanski, had found their Jerusalem, their Pastime.  Still others, l Marcus Baum, Jacob Samuels, Adolph Proskenaur, and Herschel Kempner had found finally their fatherland.

Pages 15 and 16:

Southern Jews had been breathing the free air of Dixie for two hundred years.

The Jews arriving from Eastern Europe, and the German states such as Prussies and particularly Bavaria, which stood first in the row of intolerant states.” infamous for “its Pharaoh-like registration laws,” its restriction of trade, marriage, and even the Jew;s right to reside in the place of his choice.

The Jews of the South lived in a slaveholding society, and they accepted the institution as part of everyday life.  

There was some anti-semitism in the South before and during the civil war but by and large the Jews were accepted as part of Southern society.

Many Jews married out of the faith.  Judah Benjamin, considered the  most successful Jewish man in the South became a confidant of President Jefferosn Davis and in his war cabinet, married out of the faith.  Nonetheless he was known as a Jew.  Per Wikipedia:

Judah Philip Benjamin, QC (August 6, 1811 – May 6, 1884) was a United States senator from Louisiana, a Cabinet officer of the Confederate States and, after his escape to the United Kingdom at the end of the American Civil War, an English barrister. Benjamin was the first Jew to hold a Cabinet position in North America and the first to be elected to the United States Senate who had not renounced his faith.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judah_P._Benjamin

Page 356 of Robert N. Rosen books state:

Why did Judah Benjamin’s memory survive?  “Without a question,” Rabbi Korn  wrote, “he achieved greater political power than any other Jew in American  history.”  Rabbi Calisch of Richmond explained his meaning for Southern Jewry in 1902: “I stand here in the name of the Jeiwsh community of this city .  Judah P. Benjamin was born of Jeiwsh parents and reared as a Jeiwsh child.  I have not yet been able to discover if he was an observing Jew or not.  But this I know, had he been a traitor we would have had to bear the ignominy of his wrong doing – but as he was a hero, a statement. a gentleman  and a partrit, we claim the privilege of sharing in the reflection of his glory.” 

The cover of the book depicts Major Adolph Proskauer at Gettysburg.  Major Proskauer, a n immigrant from Prussia to Mobile, led the 12th Alabama Infantry at Culp’s Hill during the Battle of Gettysburg.  This 1999 painting re-creates the moment described in the history of the regiment by Capt. Robert E Ory Park, “Our gallant Jew Major smoked his cigars calmly and cooly in the thichest of the fight.”  (Painting by Dan nance of Charlotte, North Caroline.  Author’s collections.)  Page 360 details life for Adolph Proskauer after the civil war.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_Proskauer

Another prominent Jew in the south was David Yulee.  He was born David Levy, but he changed his name to Yulee and became a Presbyterian.  Pages 60 and 61 discusses Yulle’s life.

It appears that the Jews of the South were assimilating.  My guess is that this was also happening in the North and probably by the early early to mid 1900s most of the jews in America at the time of the Civil war assimilated and there are few of their descendants identifying as Jewish.

There were some anti-semitci outbursts but they were short lived and the Jews were defended. Pages 266 through 272 in the book. There is little evidence of anti-semitism in the Army.  To restate, overall the Jews had it good in the South.

Robert N. Rosen concludes in his last three pages of the book.

My questions:

1 – how many Jews in the South and for that matter in the North trace their ancestry back to the Civil war?

2 – what was the  intermarriage rate both in the South and the North?

3 – what changed in the south after the Civil War that the South is/was considered to be heavily anit-semetic?

4 – were the Jews less accepted in the south after the Civil War and did intermarriage go down.

My answer is that because of the Civil War the South became impoverished.  People having troubles blame outsiders and they blamed the Jews.  Before the war, the south was a wealthy country.  Throughout  history when times are hard, jews are blamed.

December 9, 2023

Shabbos Chanukah

Parshas VaYeshev 

I loved the following story about Lt. Colonel Marcus Spiegel in the book. Lt. Colonel Marcus Spiegel also has a wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_M._Spiegel

Marcus M. Spiegel (December 8, 1829 – May 4, 1864) was one of the highest ranking Jewish officers in the U.S. Army during the American Civil War.^[1] He served in the 67th and 120th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. During the course of the war he became a staunch abolitionist. He served at the Siege of Vicksburg, and was mortally wounded during the Red River Campaign in May 1864.

Early life and education[edit]

Spiegel was born in the hamlet of Abenheim, Germany, near the city of Worms, on December 8, 1829, to a Jewish family that had lived in Germany since the sixteenth century.^[2] While peddling in Ohio he met Caroline Hamlin, daughter of a prominent Quaker. They married and moved to Chicago, Illinois where she studied Judaism and German-Jewish cooking. She converted to Judaism in 1853 in Chicago.^[3] He was the older brother of Joseph Spiegel, founder of Spiegel Catalog.^[4]

Career[edit]

Spiegel volunteered for the Union Army and soon rose through its ranks. He wrote over 150 letters to his wife Caroline during the course of the war, most of which still survive. In one of his letters wrote:

I am [in] favor of doing away with the institution of Slavery…never hereafter will I either speak or vote in favor of Slavery; this is no hasty conclusion but a deep conviction.^[5]

In late 1862 Spiegel was transferred to the recently formed 120th Ohio Volunteer infantry, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He was officially commissioned colonel on March 20, 1863, and took formal command of the regiment.^[6]

He served at the Battle of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863). Soon after the fall of Vicksburg, he was badly wounded by an exploding shell. Spiegel survived the incident and was sent home to recuperate, and in March 1864 he returned to front line duties.^[6] Several weeks after his return, Confederate forces succeeded in ambushing the Union transport ship City Belle, at a location near Snaggy Point on the Red River, during the Red River Campaign in Louisiana. The result of the ambush was a disaster for the Ohioans; most of the 120th infantry were taken prisoner. Spiegel was again wounded by a shell burst; this time fatally.^[6] He died of his wounds on May 4, 1864.

Aliza Feiga’s Bas Mitzvah

Bereshis Pasuk 44:18 

וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ אֵלָ֜יו יְהוּדָ֗ה וַיֹּ֘אמֶר֮ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִי֒ יְדַבֶּר־נָ֨א עַבְדְּךָ֤ דָבָר֙ בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י אֲדֹנִ֔י וְאַל־יִ֥חַר אַפְּךָ֖ בְּעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֥י כָמ֖וֹךָ כְּפַרְעֹֽה׃

What Does  בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִי֒ Mean

Kotzker Rebbe on this Pasuk

Rabbi Mark Dratch – Beverley Javasky-Lyons Bar Mitzvah

Sunday the 24th is Aliza Feiga Siegal’s Bas Mitzvah.  Shoshana came in from Boynton Beach with Tovah and Tehillah.  Friday night Eli ate over and Nechama and Itamer stayed over to be with their cousins.   On Shabbos Mordy, Rivky and the Bas Mitzvah girl came over for lunch.

I had too much cake Friday night and it was hard to wake up Shabbos morning.  I got up a 6:30 AM and work on the Parsha.

Torah Chiddush:

This year I am not really saying Torah Chidushim.  I am more focused on reading the dialogue in the Chumash with the correct emotions and words in English.

I worked extensively on the first Pasuk, Verse 44:18

וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ אֵלָ֜יו יְהוּדָ֗ה וַיֹּ֘אמֶר֮ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִי֒ יְדַבֶּר־נָ֨א עַבְדְּךָ֤ דָבָר֙ בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י אֲדֹנִ֔י וְאַל־יִ֥חַר אַפְּךָ֖ בְּעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֥י כָמ֖וֹךָ כְּפַרְעֹֽה׃

Translations:

1 – Onkelys translates this Pasuk וּקְרֵב לְוָתֵיהּ יְהוּדָה וַאֲמַר בְּבָעוּ רִבּוֹנִי יְמַלֶּל כְּעַן עַבְדָךְ פִּתְגָּמָא קֳדָם רִבּוֹנִי וְלָא יִתְקֵף רוּגְזָךְ בְּעַבְדָךְ אֲרֵי כְפַרְעֹה כֶּן אָתְּ:

Yehudah approached him [Yosef] and said, “Please, my master, let your servant speak [now] a word in my master’s ears [before my master], and do not be angry with your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh.”

2 – Artscroll, Gutnick, and JPS translations based on Onkelys:

Then Yehuda approached him and said “If you please my Lord may your  servant speak a word in my Lord’s ears and let not your anger flare up at your servant, for you are like Pharaoh.

3 – Charles Kahanah – Toras Yesharah translates it differently based on the Malbim.

And Judah approached him (Joseph) and said, “I cannot base this case on arguments of justice. But I beg you, master, allow me to plead in the hearing of my master for mercy, and be not angry at your servant thinking that I ask you to debase justice, for as governor you have the power, like Pharaoh, to grant a pardon. 

What does בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִי֒ mean?  Most translators translate as Onkelys and Artscroll, “Please, my Master”

There is no Rashi here but there is a Rashi in Berseshis 43:20 on בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִי֒ that also translates it as  “Please my Master”.  There is a Ramban in Bereshis 43:20 that translates it differently than Rashi and an Ibn Ezra.  

I want to say first bring down the Kotzker and my Chidush.  Then go back to discuss Rashi’s translation in Miketz 43:20.

The Kotzker says on  וַיִּגַּ֨שׁ אֵלָ֜יו יְהוּדָ֗ה that the אֵלָ֜יו is extra. Therefore the Kotzker says that it means שנגש אל עצמו.  Yehuda approached himself; he looked inwards.  I believe the Kotzker means that Yehuda paused for a few seconds, steeled himself, and searched for the right argument.  The viceroy who was effectively the most powerful man in the world spoke and said Binyamin is staying here.  No one debates a viceroy. Just responding to the viceroy may mean death to Yehuda.  Picture the scene.  Yosef as viceroy was sitting on his throne; around him were his ministers, the captains of the army and it was very frightful.  Yehuda had to argue correctly to free Binyamin.  Yehdua had to pause for a few seconds and gather himself for the future depended on what he said.

I want to add to the Kotzker that Yehuda thought or uttered under his breath  the next two words,  בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִי֒.  “In me Hashem”.  Harshem – speak through me the proper words to the viceroy so he may free Binyamin.  I am translating בִּ֣י as “in me”.  Artscroll on verse 43:20 footnote 7 says that the word בִּ֣י normally means “in me”; however, this translation does not work in the Passuk.  I am arguing that this is precisely the definition and the word אֲדֹנִי֒ refers to hashem.  Just like we find in Parshas Vayera that the word אֲדֹנִי֒ can be Chol – referring to man or Kodesh – referring to Hashem.

Perhaps you can say it means both.  He uttered it to himself and also spoke it to Josef as “please my lord”.

I first heard this Kotzker in the late 1980s from Rabbi Mark Dratch at a cousin’s, (Beverly and Eliot Javasky-Lyons), kid’s Bar Mitzvah at the Shaarei Shamayim Shul in Toronto.As I recall Rabbi Dratch said the Kotzker slightly different.   I recall Rabbi Dratch said that Yehuda did an introspection;  he asked  himself, where do I stand, do I have the moral courage to defend Binyomin?

The Rosh Yeshiva of HTC Skokie Yeshiva, Rabbi Moshe Revah, liked it and shook my hand.  At the Baral wedding on December 28, 2023 I told over my Torah to Rabbi Doivd Zucker, Rabbi Eliyahu Millen and Rabbi Efraim Twerski.  Rabbi Twerski said that he say in two Chassidic Seforim The   אֲדֹנִי֒ of thjis Pasuk is a reference to the opening of the Shemonei Esra words of   אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי יַגִּיד תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ.

Boruch hashem that I found my source for my Torah.

Analysis:

Bershis 43:20 says וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנִ֑י יָרֹ֥ד יָרַ֛דְנוּ בַּתְּחִלָּ֖ה לִשְׁבׇּר־אֹֽכֶל׃

“If you please, my lord,” they said, “we came down once before to procure food.  Almost all translations use the word Please.

Rashi comments on  בי אדני.

                  – בי אדני. לְשׁוֹן בַּעְיָא וְתַחֲנוּנִים הוּא, בְלָשׁוֹן אֲרַמִּי בַּיָּא בַּיָּא

This is an expression of beseeching and supplication,  In the Aramaic language (we find a related word with the same meaning) בַּיָּא בַּיָּא.   This is Arscroll and they do not translate בַּיָּא בַּיָּא.

 We have three places where the Gemora has the words בייא בייא and all three are translated by Seferia and Artscroll as woe, woe.  Yuma 59B, Sanhedrin 64A and Yevamos 97A,

Yuma 69B and Sanhedrin 64A are the same Gemora and Rashi in each location are slightly different.  The Rashi on  the third Gemora in Yevamos is also slightly different from the other two.  .

The Three Gemoras

The Gemara Yuma 69B says:

 ״וַיִּצְעֲקוּ אֶל ה׳ אֱלֹהִים בְּקוֹל גָּדוֹל״. מַאי אֲמוּר? אָמַר רַב, וְאִיתֵּימָא רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: בִּיָּיא בִּיָּיא

 The Gemara recounts the event described in the verses: The verse states: And they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God (Nehemiah 9:4). What was said? Rav said, and some say it was Rabbi Yoḥanan who said: Woe, woe.

Rashi in Yuma –   בייא בייא – לשון זעקה וקובלנא:  The word קובלנה in the Hebrew-English dictionary is “complaint.”

The Gemora in Sanhedrin 64A is the same Gemora, but Rashi is slightly different.

ת”ש (נחמיה ט, ד) ויזעקו בקול גדול אל ה’ אלהיהם מאי אמור אמר רב יהודה ואיתימא ר’ יונתן בייא בייא 

The Gemara suggests: Come and hear another proof, from the verse: “And they cried in a loud voice to the Lord their God” (Nehemiah 9:4). What did they say in that prayer? Rav Yehuda says, and some say it is Rav Yonatan who says: Woe, woe [baya, baya],

Rashi in Sanhedrin 64A

בייא בייא – בלשון ארמי הוי לשון גנחה וצעקה כמו אהבה בלשון הקודש:

 אהה means per the dictionary – oh, alas

Gemora in Yevomos 97A – ״בִּיָּיא בִּיָּיא מֵאַח, וְהוּא אַב, וְהוּא בְּעֵל, וְהוּא בַּר בְּעֵל, וְהוּא בַּעְלַהּ דְּאֵם, וַאֲנָא בְּרַתַּהּ דְּאִיתְּתֵיהּ, וְלָא יָהֵיב פִּיתָּא לַאֲחוּהּ יַתְמֵי בְּנֵי בְרַתֵּיה״ 

The Gemara cites another riddle: Woe, woe [baya, baya] for my brother, who is my father, and who is my husband, and who is the son of my husband, and who is the husband of my mother, and I am the daughter of his wife; and he does not provide bread for his brothers, who are orphans, the sons of me, his daughter. 

Rashi in Yevomos – בייא מאח – קובלת אני על אחי שהוא אבי ובעלי ובן בעלי והוא בעלה דאם הולידי מאמי והיינו נמי דהוא אב אלא לאפושי מילי הוא:

Here Rashi translates בייא as קבלת – as a complaint       

The problem is that Rashi in quoting  בַּיָּא בַּיָּא – woe, woe  seems to be more like the Ramban who says that  בי אדני  is an expression of distress and affliction over a tragedy and mishap, similar to the word avoi in Hebrew.  It does not seem that the source of Rashi is the Gemara in Yuma.  The standard Chumash I have does not put in brackets any source of Rashi. Look below for the Rambam and Ibn Ezra.

Continuation of Pasuk 44:18

There are three other Rashi’s in the first Pasuk on VaYigash:

ויגש אליו וגומר … דבר באזני אדני. יִכָּנְסוּ דְּבָרַי בְּאָזְנֶיךָ:

ואל יחר אפך. מִכָּאן אַתָּה לָמֵד שֶׁדִּבֵּר אֵלָיו קָשׁוֹת:

כי כמוך כפרעה. חָשׁוּב אַתָּה בְעֵינַי כְּמֶלֶךְ, זֶהוּ פְשׁוּטוֹ. וּמִדְרָשׁוֹ סוֹפְךָ לִלְקוֹת עָלָיו בְּצָרַעַת כְּמוֹ שֶׁלָּקָה פַרְעֹה עַל יְדֵי זְקֵנָתִי שָׂרָה עַל לַיְלָה אַחַת שֶׁעִכְּבָהּ (בראשית רבה). דָּבָר אַחֵר מַה פַּרְעֹה גוֹזֵר וְאֵינוֹ מְקַיֵּם, מַבְטִיחַ וְאֵינוֹ עוֹשֶׂה, אַף אַתָּה כֵן; וְכִי זוֹ הִיא שִׂימַת עַיִן שֶׁאָמַרְתָּ לָשׂוּם עֵינְךָ עָלָיו? דָּבָר אַחֵר, כִּי כָּמוֹךָ כְּפַרְעֹה, אִם תַּקְנִיטֵנִי אֶהֱרֹג אוֹתְךָ וְאֶת אֲדוֹנֶךָ (בראשית רבה):

How do you read  the above Pasuk?  Do you read it that Yehuda was meek and asking in a begging tone change his mind as the Malbim seems to says or was he speaking harshly, demanding in his words, but still telling Yosef that he – Yehuda – will become a servant to Yosef like Rashi suggests

Ibn Ezra –   בי. לשון בקשה. ולפי דעתי שהוא דרך קצרה. כמו בי אדני העון. והטעם עון במקום הזה כטעם גדול עוני מנשוא והטעם עשה בי מה שתרצה ותשמעני:

      OH. Bi adoni (Oh, my lord) is a supplicatory expression. I believe it is an abridged statement. It is like, bi ani adoni he-avon (upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity) (I Sam. 25:24). Avon (iniquity) here has the same meaning as avon in My iniquity (avoni) is greater than I can bear (Gen. 4:13). The meaning of bi adoni he-avon is, do to me as you wish but first listen to me.

Ramban: 

בי אדוני לשון בעיא ותחנונים הוא ובלשון ארמית בייא בייא לשון רש”י (רש”י על בראשית מ״ג:כ׳) וזה דבר זר מאד לסמכו אל מלת לשון טורסי ואינה דומה אליה כי בייא כולה מלה לא תשתנה ולא יאמר ממנה בי ועוד שהמלה ההיא אינה לשון בעיא ותחנונים כמו שאמר הרב אבל היא לשון צעקה ותרעומת על שבר ועל עוות דבר כגון מלת אבוי בלשון קדש והיא ידועה בלשון ערב ירגילו אותה בקינותיהם כולן בפתחות הבי”ת ובלשון יון בייא הבי”ת רפא בשו”א יאמרו אותה על הדוחק והצער ובבראשית רבה סדר בראשית (יב ו) מהו סלו לרוכב בערבות ביה שמו (תהלים סח ה) אין לך כל מקום ומקום שאין לו ממונה על בייא שלו אגריקוס במדינה ממונה על בייא שלו אגרטוס במדינה ממונה על בייא שלו כך מי ממונה על בייא של עולמו הקב”ה רוצה לומר שבכל מקום יש איש ממונה על הצעקה ועל העוות והקב”ה ממונה על צעקת העשוקים בעולם הצועקים בייא ועוד לפנינו בפרשת ויגש אליו (ב”ר צג ו) אמר לו יהודה בייא אתה מעביר עלינו שכך אמרת לנו ואשימה עיני עליו זו היא השמת עין ובפרשת ויהי בשלח (כ י) שמא אני מעביר בייא על בריה ובפרשת וישמע יתרו (כז ט) נתמנה אדם ונטל טלית כל טורח ציבור עליו אם ראה אדם מעביר בייא על חברו או עובר עבירה ולא מיחה בו הוא נענש עליו ובפרשת אשה כי תזריע (עיין ערוך ערך ביאה) צווח אנא בייא עליכון וכן במקומות הרבה ואונקלוס (תרגום אונקלוס על בראשית מ״ג:כ׳) שתרגם בי אדני בבעו רבוני לא שהוציא מלת בי מן בעו אבל רדף הענין שהוא בא בכל מקום בענין הבקשה ורבי אברהם אמר כי בי אדני דרך קצרה בלשון הקדש והוא כמו בי אני אדני העון והטעם עשה בי מה שתרצה ותשמעני ואם כן נכון הוא שיאמר אדם בי אחי או בי שמעני ולא מצאתי שתבא מלת בי רק עם אדני או עם השם הנכבד הנכתב באל”ף דלי”ת שגם הוא לשון אדון ולכן אני אומר שפירושו בי בעצמי אתה אדון ומושל ובאו שני כנויים לחזוק כמו ולי אני עבדך (מלכים א א כו) בי אני אדני (שמואל א כה כד) ודומה לזה כי בי בעזרך (הושע יג ט) בי עזרך בעזרך אני:

‘BI ADONI’ (O, MY LORD). The word bi is an expression of entreaty and supplication. In Aramaic, we have bai bai. Thus the language of Rashi.

Now it is a very strange thing to associate the Hebrew word bi with a word from the Tarsian language, which is unlike it, for the word bai is all one root; it cannot be changed, nor can you obtain the form of the word bi from this Aramaic root.

Moreover, this word bai does not connote entreaty and supplication, as the Rabbi [Rashi] states. Rather it is an expression of distress and affliction over a tragedy and mishap, similar to the word avoir in the Sacred Language. This is well known in the Arabic language, where the poets customarily use it in their elegies, always with a patach under the beth: bai. In the Greek language the word is bia — the beth having a shva — and is used to express distress and grief. Thus you find in Bereshith Rabbah, Seder Bereshith, that the Sages say: “What is the meaning of the verse, Extol Him that rideth upon the skies, the Eternal (‘bayah’) is His Name? There is no place whatever that does not have an officer in charge of its grievances. Agricus is in charge of grievances in his state; Agratus is in charge of grievances in his state. In the same way, who is in charge of the grievances (baya) in His world? [It is] the Holy One, blessed be He.” That is to say, every place has someone in charge of hearing complaints of distress and injustice, and the Holy One, blessed be He, is in charge of the cries of the oppressed, who cry, baya.

Again, before us in the Midrash Bereshith Rabbah of the Parshath (section of) Vayigash Eilav: “Judah said to Joseph, ‘You do baya (violence) against us. You had said to us thus: That I May set mine eyes upon him. Is this “casting an eye” upon him?’”

And in the Parshath Vay’hi B’shalach, you find in Shmoth Rabbah: “Do I ever baya (wrong) any creature?” And in the Parshath Vayishma Yitro, we find in Shmoth Rabbah: “Once a man has been appointed and he has put on the mantle of leadership, all communal burdens are upon him. If he sees a man doing baya against his fellow, or committing some transgression, and he fails to protest it, he is punished on account thereof.” And in the Parshath Isha Ki Thazria we find: “I raise a cry of violence (baya) against you.” And so also in many places.

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Now Onkelos, who translated Bi Adoni here as b’va’u riboni (O please, my lord), did not intend to suggest that the Hebrew word bi is a derivative of the Aramaic ba’u, but he merely translated it in accordance with its context, for the word bi is always found as an expression of supplication.

Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra says that bi adoni is a shortened form in the Sacred Language, and its meaning is as in the verse, Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity, thus meaning, “do to me whatever you wish, but listen to me.” But if this interpretation of Ibn Ezra is correct, it should follow that a person should also be able to say in Hebrew, “‘bi’ my brother,” or “‘bi,’ listen to me.” And yet nowhere do we find the word bi except in conjunction with the word adoni (my lord), or with the Honored Name of G-d when it is written with the letters aleph, daleth, which is also an expression of lordship. It is for this reason that I say that the meaning of the word bi is “by myself”: “By my life! you are lord and ruler.” The two pronouns serve for the purpose of emphasis, just as: But me, even me thy servant; Upon me, my lord, upon me. Similar to this is the verse, That thou art against Me, against thy help, meaning “I serve as your help.”

Sefaria’s English translation of this Rashi is  — The word בי is an expression of entreaty (בעיא) and supplication. In Aramaic we have בייא בייא “woe, woe!” (Yoma 69b).

Their Hebrew version says  ( בי אדני. לְשׁוֹן בַּעְיָא וְתַחֲנוּנִים הוּא, בְלָשׁוֹן אֲרַמִּי בַּיָּא בַּיָּא (יבמות צ”ז, סנהדרין ס”ד:

Rashi starts by saying that  בי means please and then uses the Aramaic words of בִּיָּיא בִּיָּיא.  Seemingly everyone translates this as woe, woe.  Aren’t please and woe two different expressions.  

Artscroll, Oz Vehadar and Gutnick put in brackets in this Rashi that Rashi’s source for the Aramaic meaning is the Gemora on Yuma 69B.  Seferia also links it to the Gemara in Sanhedrin 64A and Yevomos 97B.