Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading Misplaced comma, pausing in the wrong place, incorrect phrasing — call it what you want, it is a topic that a lot of people have what to say about. They phoned. They emailed. They faxed. They gave their feedback face-to-face (yes, people do communicate that way too. Most feedback came in the form of people giving more examples of their “favorite” mis-phrasing. SG, who started this particular ball rolling, com- mented on the last line in Kaddish (and of the Amida) — OSEH SHALOM BIMROMAV, HU YAASEH SHALOM ALEINU, then pause (not before ALEINU), V’AL KOL YISRAEL... This might be an example of a slight misphrasing that doesn’t distort the meaning of the sentence, but it just feels better in one direction as opposed to the other. End of second bracha before SH’MA at Maariv. OHEIV (G-d, Who loves), pause, AMO YISRA’EL (His nation Israel. Many people say OHEIV AMO (which isn’t “wrong”, because He loves His nation, but it leaves YISRA’EL sort of hanging). AT commented on the phrasing in MODIM. I’m looking into that and will report, IY”H, in a future column. BM points out that if you kiss your TZITZIT during the third passage of the SH’MA, you will usually mess up some of the phrasing. He writes that Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l spoke against kissing the TZITZIT during VAYOMER. The GR”A’s shita is not to kiss TZITZIT during the SH’MA (and to hold only the front two, not all four - another issue). He also points out, in Maariv, MOSHE UVNEI YISRA-EL L’CHA ANU SHIRA B’SIMCHA RABA belongs together. Most people pause after SHIRA and join the B’SIMCHA RABA to V’A-M’RU CHULAM. Really, the V’A-M’RU CHULAM should be followed by MI CHAMOCHA... The way Ashkenazim do CHAZAN-KAHAL at this part of Maariv makes it difficult to say it properly. PPR suggests (as did other TT readers) looking in Tanach when a part of davening comes from p’sukim. Case in point is the SHOCHEIN AD comment from last week. In Yeshayahu 57:15, G-d is described as RAM V’NISA and as SHOCHEIN AD. This implies that the part in davening should parallel the pasuk, giving HAMELECH (HA)YOSHEIV AL KISEI, the King (Who) sits on a throne, He is RAM V’NISA and SHOCHEIN AD (and MARON and KADOSH). DE writes about the phrasing of the opening lines in Kaddish: This is not a new error. Attention is called to it by the compiler of the authoritative siddur "Avodat Yisrael" published in Redelheim in 1868. On page 129 he writes (in translation) "Chirutei is the end of one idea and V'Yamlich Malchutei begins a new idea and therefore there should be a full stop between them. He who reads Chirutei and V'Yamlich Malchutei as a single continuous sentence, is making an error". MG/Rochester (yes, Mr. Benny) echoes the warning that singing sometimes messes up phrasing (and accents) and is an impediment to understanding the prayers sometimes. Special mention of ANIM Z’MIROT on this account. He also touches on another whole type of mis- phrasing – namely, when a pasuk finishes with HALLELUYA or AMEN or SELA – all of which should be preceded by a pause and not linked to the phrase they follow. YIMLOCH HASHEM... L’DOR VADOR pause HALLELUYA. BONEI B’RACHAMAV YERUSHALAYIM pause AMEN. These are particularly hard to handle because we’ve gotten used to attaching these words to the whole passage, let alone the last sentence or word. Most sidduring have a comma (as there should be) before the concluding word. <mtc> [The Parshat Chayei Sara Homepage]
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