Column #83. Contents of this weekly column are (mostly) 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. A little more on KAL-KOL, again from our anonymous reader from last week. He observes that the two occurrences of KAF-LAMED meaning ALL that are not connected to the next word by a MAKAF, yet are voweled with a KAMATZ rather than a CHOLAM are both found in SIFREI EMET (the acronym for the books of IYOV, MISHLEI, and T’HILIM) and nowhere else in Tanach. He suggests that there might be something in the different TAAMEI HAMIKRA of these books that could explain the situation without considering the KAMATZes to be different from the KAMATZ of KOL when the word is attached to the following word. In other words, the TROP mark of the KOL on its own or together with the TROP of the following word might be equivalent to a MAKAF without actually having one. If that is so, then the KAMATZ under the KAF need not be viewed as an exception to the rule and the word can be pronounced like all other KAF/KAMATZ-LAMEDs. YL, on the other hand, is “satisfied” to consider the two KALs as “exceptions to the rules” and doubts that anyone can come up with a “really relevant proposal to resolve the problem of the renegade KALs”. And that’s a direct quote! YL also pointed out one KAMATZ KATAN we neglected to specially mark in T’hilim 27, L’David, which appeared in last week’s TT. So if you are using the page in question to help you with the saying of L’David, you may want to mark the KAMATZ under the CHET of V’CHONEINI in pasuk 7. Just thicken it with a pen, and voilà. And, as long as we are mentioning YL (albeit by initials only), let’s bring up his other comments. It’s about Yeshivish. That’s the “language” we’ve mentioned before that is a blend of English, Yiddish, Gemara terms, and a whole bunch of mispronunciations of Hebrew and Hebrew non-words that almost exist... but not quite. And every so often, YL blows the whistle on some Yeshivish that inadvertently sneaks into TT. For instance, in last week’s TT, I (Phil here taking the blame) used the singular of To-l’dot, the major categories of the 39 forbidden Melachot. The Yeshivish word for the 39 major categories is TOL-dos. So the singular must be TOL-da. No it isn’t. And if you say to-l’DOT, then the singular still isn’t TO-L’DA. The correct singluar is TO-LE- DET. Hebrew - TO-LE-DET; Yeshivish - TOLDA. Got the idea? Here’s another one. Probably brought this one up before. B’DI-EVED. Lot’s of us use this word for the halachic situation that arises after the fact. On Rosh Chodesh, we add YAALEH V’YAVO to the AMIDA. If one forgets to say it, then at Maariv, you do not repeat the Amida; at Shacharit or Mincha, you do. That is, B’DI-EVED, if one forgets YAALEH V’YAVO, then... Except that B’DI-EVED is not a word. The correct pronunciation is B’DI-AVAD. Yeshivish. Hebrew (or Aramaic). Yeshivish is a chronic problem. At a recent training workshop for potential teachers in Jewish schools abroad, the attendees were warned not to speak Yeshivish at their interviews. Still, Yeshivish is the special language of the Beis Medrish (i.e. Beit Midrash). It feels comfortable to learn Gemara and flavor your words with Yeshivish. One just has to remember that for davening and Torah reading, proper Hebrew pronunciation is not only preferred, but the opposite often changes the meaning of our words and actually threatens the validity of the prayer or Torah reading. Thanks YL for your comments. [The Parshat Ki-Teitzei Homepage]
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