Column #34. 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.
Still no definitive answer on LA-SECHVI. Just another question. If it is to be pronounced MILRA, then it will be la-sech-VI. But if it is MIL’EIL, then it could be la-SECH-vi, but maybe it should be la-SE-ch’vi, with the SH’VA under the CHAF being NA. Stay tuned...

In the meantime, let’s go back to flagging potential pronunciation problems in davening. (Sort of reminds me of the little figure of a devil with pitch- fork that marked the hard spelling words in my elementary school spelling books.)

Very often, when we sing a prayer rather than say it, pronunciation and phrasing go out the window. They shouldn’t, but it’s hard work sometimes to keep things right. Once in a while, the mistake is serious enough to note. E.g. in ADOM OLAM we find the words B’TEREM KOL Y’TZIR NIVRA. Most people will sing it, B’TEREM KOL,Y’TZIR NIVRA. Which is hashkafically problematic. Because there were no creations before Creation. Rather, G-d reigned B’TEREM, before, here’s the pause KOL Y’TZIR NIVRA, before any creation.

Still in ADOM OLAM, the words L’HACHBIRA and V’A’IRA are both MIL’EIl (accent on the next-to- the-last syllable). l’hach-BI-ra. v’a-I(upper case i, not lowercase L)-ra.

Let me add one more thing from ADON OLAM (thanks JL). One of the popular tunes for ADOM OLAM repeats the words ADOM OLAM at the end of each stanza. This produces an awkward ending to the song – HASHEM LI V’LO IRA, ADON OLAM. G-d is with me and I will not fear the Master of the World. We certainly don’t mean that. So let’sget into the habit of ending the song with V’IM RUCHI G’VIYATI, HASHEM LI V’LO I-RA. That should do it.

On a similar note, end of ALEYNU, U’SH’MO, U’SH’MO, U’SH’MO ECHAD. Let’s keep it to one U’SH’MO, since His name is ONE.

This kind of thing happens a lot when we sing. Instead of fitting the melody to the words, we tend to fit the words to the melody.

CHAS-D’CHA, not CHAZ-D’CHA. This is just one example of many words that have a voiceless letter followed by a voiced letter. SAMACH is voiceless. Its voiced counterpart is ZAYIN. DALET is voiced. Its voiceless counterpart is TAV (or TET). In this particular word, CHAS-T’CHA and CHAZ-D’CHA are both wrong, but they are botheasier to say than CHAS-D’CHA, which is correct. The famous example of this from the SH’MA is L’MA’AN TIZ-K’RU. Because the KAF is voiceless (its voiced partner is GIMMEL), people will often say TIS-K’RU, which in this case is not only a mispronunciation, but a changed meaning of the word. That is why some people emphasizethe ZAYIN and say TIZZZZ-K’RU. Sometimes, when the person next to you is saying the SH’MA quietly, the only thing you’ll hear is the ZZZ of TIZ- K’RU.

Because of the voiced-voiceless pairs of letters, there is a special reminder for YITGADAL, the opening word of Kaddish. It can come out YIDGA- DAL (wrong), YITKADAL (wrong) and a few other wrong ways. One should be careful to say YIT- GA-DAL (or YIT-GA-DEIL or YIS-GADAL or YIS- GADEIL). And the word is MILRA. Not yis-GA-dal.yis-ga-DAL (etc.)
Here’s the same thing to watch out for in SH’MA. v’a-hav-TA. not v’a-haf-TA, the FEI is the voice- less counterpart of the VET. The TAV being voiceless can lure one to say haf instead of hav. Here it is again. B’SHIV-T’CHA.

Watch out not to say B’SHIF-T’CHA. Especially if you are davening practically voiceless in the firstplace. Try this. Say B’SHIV-T’CHA out loud. Now say it softly. Now even softer. See how it comes out -SHIF-? And so with UCH-TAV-TAM. not UCH-TAF-TAM. Same problem with them all. Be careful. <mtc>

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