Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading
Parshat T'tzaveh

Column #17. 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 getting interesting feedback about DNA (as the double nasog achor has been affectionately dubbed). The discussions center around whether different examples of DNA are "real" ones or only pseudo-DNA, based upon the evolution of the vowels of the letters in question and based upon whether the word is linked to the following word, losing its claim to a real accent.

YL raises a more interesting, important, and broader issue. He contends that we cannot lump all Ashkenazi-S'faradi-Teimani pronunciation differences into one monolithic category. We'll save most of the discussion on this issue for future columns and/or lectures at the Center, but consider the following, just to explain the issue.

The letter AYIN. Ashkenazim treat it as a silent letter like ALEF. AL (on) and AL (no) sound the same. (Hey, look at the similarity in English!). AVAD (worked) and AVAD (lost) sound exactly the same. Not for S'faradim or Teimanim. We know about the guttural AYIN. Most Ashkenazim have a tough time with it, even if they try. Most don't try. 

Is that okay? that we don't try. What about the Shulchan Aruch that warns us not to mix up AYINs and ALEFs and to be careful not to pronounce them interchangeably? Is it possible that if we pronounce VA'AVADTEM (the one with the AYIN) in the SH'MA exactly like the one with the ALEF, that we are mispronouncing the word and changing its meaning? No answers or opinions yet. Just the question. Is this the same for the DALET-THALET or TAV-THAV distinctions that most of us have lost or distorted? Many similar questions can be posed, and the question about each question is, is this question like the previous one, or is it different. Are changes in pronunciation legitimate for the population that has a change from the "original", or need we seek out the "authentic" pronunciations and break our teeth over them in the quest for better davening and Torah reading? More to come on this topic.

NACH NIR'EH (seen, actually - heard) and NACH NISTAR (hidden and silent). A letter that has a SH'VA NACH (remember that this kind of SH'VA does NOT add any vowel sound to the letter) or a letter that has no vowel under it at all, but is nevertheless heard in the pronunciation of the word (and it is as if there is a SH'VA under the letter), that SH'VA, actual or virtual, is called a NACH NIR'EH. AVRAHAM - The VET and the final MEM are both NACH NIR'EH, because we hear the letters. Same for the TZADI and KUF of YITZCHAK. And the SIN and LAMED of YISRA'EL. These are the more common SH'VA NACHs.

On the other hand, the ALEF in ROSH (head) has no SH'VA - AND - does not contribute any sound to the pronunciation of the word. It is a NACH NISTAR. (An ALEF that has a SH'VA, even though we don't hear the ALEF, is still a NACH NIR'EH, not a NACH NISTAR.) The HEI at the end of MA (what) is a NACH NISTAR. The VAV in TOV is also a NACH NISTAR. The CHOLOM belongs to the TET and the VAV has no vowel of its own, nor a SH'VA. PRI (fruit) ends in a YUD without a vowel - it is also a NACH NISTAR. Teach Torah to your children (students and yourself), V'SHINANTAM L'VANECHA. In L'VANECHA there is a YUD between the NUN and the CHAF-SOFIT. Unvoweled and unsounded. NACH NISTAR. Get it? Catching on? Good.

NACH NISTAR occurs only with ALEF, HEI, VAV, and YUD. HEI at the end of a word is NACH NISTAR unless it has a dot in it (MAPIK), in which case it is heard and its virtual SH'VA makes it NACH NIR'EH. Woman, ISHA, the last letter is NACH NISTAR. Her husband, ISHAH, the HEI at the end this time is NACH NIR'EH.

HEI at the end of a word with a KAMATZ is also heard, and is neither NACH.

VAV at the end of a word is sometimes NACH NIR’EH and sometimes NACH NISTAR. Parshat TZAV. The VAV is heard - NACH NIR’EH. LO, to him, the VAV is a NACH NISTAR. So too with the ALEF of the other LO (meaning no).

YUD at the end of the word is sometimes heard, as in CHAI and GOI, in which case it is NACH NIR’EH. Sometimes it is silent, as in ACHI, my brother. NACH NISTAR.

When a prefix letter: BET, VAV, KAF, LAMED, MEM precedes a YUD with a SH’VA, the prefix letter gets a CHIRIK (instead of the SH’VA it would usually get) and the SH’VA under the YUD drops out, rendering the YUD a NACH NISTAR. To Jerusalem is not L’Y’RU- SHALAYIM, but rather LI-RUSHALAYIM. And Judah is not V’Y’HUDA, but VIHUDA.

A notable situation that does not fit any of the rules is the name YISACHAR. The second SIN is unvoweled and unsounded. It really isn’t a NACH NISTAR though - it is a KRI-K’TIV issue (words in the Torah written one way and pronounced another way). Traditions vary as to when to pronounce this name YISASCHAR, if at all.

Watch this: V’EI-DO-TAV and V’EI-D’VO-TAV, are spelled identically and mean the same thing - and His testimonies. (Check T’hilim 78:56 and Divrei HaYamim Bet 34:31 respectively.) In the first case, the DALET is CHOLOMed and the VAV that carries the CHOLOM dot on its head is a NACH NISTAR. In the second case, the DALET is SH’VAed and the VAV is CHOLOMed. In general, a VAV will have a dot above it when it is the mark of a CHOLOM and when it itself is CHOLOMed. Check the previous letter for a SH’VA to tell the difference. MATZOT and MITZVOT.