Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading

The MITAHEIR is the person who was TAMEI and is in the process of becoming TAHOR by following various procedures. The word appears 12 times in Parshat M'tzora. One additional time, another similar word appears, referring to the KOHEIN who is helping to "purify" the MITAHEIR. He is called HAKOHEIN HAM'- TAHEIR. This onetime, the MEM has a SH'VA under it. The other 12 times, there is a CHIRIK under the MEM. Since there is a difference in the meaning of the two words, HAMITAHEIR and HAM'TAHEIR, a Baal Korei should be careful to pronounce the words correctly and clearly.

This next reminder, we've had before. HA'Y'MANIT meaning the right, as in ear, hand, and foot, occurs 14 times in Parshat M'tzora. (16 more times in the rest of Tanach.) In all cases, there is no DAGESH in the YUD and there is a SH'VA NACH Under it. There- fore, the word is NOT HA-Y'-MANIT with a Y sound for the YUD, but rather HAI (as in HI, HOW ARE YOU? or HAIKU poetry, or HIBACHI as in mangal) and then MANIT. It's a small point, but that's what this column is sometimes for.

NEGA, SHEMEN, HASHEMEN, HA'EREV. ZERA
Each of these words appears in the sedra many times, sometimes as above, and sometimes like this:

NA'GA, SHA'MEN, HA'SHA'MEN, HA'EREV, ZA'RA
The KAMATZ replaces the SEGOL (on the accented letter) when the word is a SOF-PASUK or an ETNACHTA. Meanings are not changed here, but a good Baal Korei is supposed to prepare well and make these distinctions. This is the same issue as MASHIV HARU'ACH UMORID HAGESHEM or HAGASHEM. Is the word at an ETNACHTA-type stop, ora shorter pause that would keep HAGESHEM? Take your pick.