Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading
Parshat Sh'mot

Column #10. The contents of this weekly column are based on the sefer: EIM LAMIKRA HASHALEIM, by R' Nissan Sharoni, Ashdod, a guide to correct pronunciation of Hebrew, specifically in davening and Torah reading. 

We're still working on SH'VA NA and SH'VA NACH. Let's get some basics on the table. Let's take a word or two from the SH'MA that will illustrate the two kinds of SH'VA, and also introduce one of the rules related to them. (And, for the moment, we'll try to avaoid words with other "problems".) And with all your soul, NAF-SH'CHA. If you will "listen" to My mitzvot... TISH-M'U. And I will give the rain for your land... AR-TZ'CHEM. Enough for now. When there are two letters in a row (in the middle of a word), and both have a SH'VA under them, then the first one is a SH'VA NACH (no vowel sound at all for the letter) and the second one is SH'VA NA, which sounds like a very short vowel. NAF, as if the SH'VA under the FEI weren't there at all.

SH'CHA, the SH'VA under the SHIN has a short vowel sound. (To write it as SHE-CHA would be to draw out the vowel too much, that is why we use SH'CHA.) In this same style of transliteration (and pronunciation), this week's sedra is SH'MOT (not SHEMOT, even though that's how it is written very often). Also, it isn't SHMOT, because that short-change the SH'VA under the SHIN. And here is another SH'VA rule: the SH'VA under the first letter of a word is NA, as in SH'VA, SH'MA, B'REISHIT, D'VARIM. (A possible exception to the first-letter-of-the-word rule is SHTEI (and SHTA-YIM), two, not SH'TEI, as in what Rivka said to Eliezer - SH'TEI, drink). On words like B'REISHIT, native English speakers should be extra careful not to let it sound like the BR from bright, bridge, or brain. In English, there are many initial two-letter blends, which do what their name implies. In Hebrew, they don't blend - the first letter with the SH'VA NA gets a short vowel sound and thus stays unblended with the letter that followed. CLAY in English, but K'LEI in Hebrew. But with the caution that it not sound like K' - LEI, as two syllables. It takes practice. 

Two SH'VAed letters in a row at the end of a word are both pronounced NACH. YAFT ELOKIM L'YEFET. Both the FEI and TAV are pronounced with SH'VA NACHs, i.e. without vowel sounds at all. This actually resembles the consonant blends of English. Some of them are easy to pronounce. Like this one. You (fem.) said - AMART. And he (No'ach) drank from the wine... VAYEISHT. But others are hard to say. When the K'na'ani attack Bnei Yisrael following the death of Aharon, the took a captive. VAYISHB MIMENU SHEVI. A SHIN with a SH'VA NACH followed by a BET with a SH'VA NACH is harder to say. But it is still supposed to be done without any vowel sounds for the SHIN and the BET. Again, practice will help. 

A SH'VA under a letter with a DAGESH (except at the end of a word) is a SH'VA NA. In SH'MA, taht I command you today... M'TZAV'CHA. Because the VAV has a DAGESH (dot) in it, the word is not M'TZAV-CHA, but M'TZAV'CHA.

Actually, the dot in the VAV makes the VAV stronger (which is similar to a double letter in English) in addition to NAing the SH'VA. It makes the word M'TZAVV'CHA, with an emphasis on the V, almost as it the word is made up of two syllables - M'TAV and V'CHA. But without separating the two Vs. In this case, they definitely have to blend into a strong V sound. This effect of a DAGESH CHAZAK is a topic we'll explore somewhat later. There are many examples in our davening of this type of SH'VA NA. And they are commonly mispronounced (by certain types of Jews). Here are some examples. Psalm 130. KI IMM'CHA (not IM-CHA), KIVV'TA (not KIV-TA). Weekday Amida - T'KA... V'KABB'TZEI-NU (not V'KAB-TZEINU. Next bracha. L'VADD'CHA (not L'VAD-CHA). V'TZADD'KEI-NU (not TZAD-KEI). 

AL HATZADIKIM... ZIK-NEI (SH'VA NACH under the KUF), but AMM'CHA (SH'VA NA under the DAGESHed MEM, not AM-CHA). 

In scanning the Amida for examples of this kind of NACHed NA problem, many other "problem" words jumped off the page. IY"H we'll get to the SH'VA rules that govern them next week. IMO, they will be more difficult to correct than some of the other mispronunciations, because we (some of us) are so used to saying them incorrectly. SHO-F' TEI-NU (not SHOF-TEINU). O-Y'VE-CHA (not OI-VECHA). SO-F'REI-HEM (not SOF-REIHEM). V'LI-RU-SHA-LA-YIM I-R'CHA (not IR-CHA). And there are many more where these came from. The rules (and their exceptions) next week. In the meantime, don't be discouraged. Anyone who is making an effort to correct a lifetime of bad pronouncing habits should be commended and encouraged. Keep up the good work.