• On ANA HASHEM HOSHI'A and HATZLICHA NA, we wrote last week that ho-SHI'a is MIL'EIL and hatz-li-CHA is MILRA. This was mostly meant to get people to stop saying hatz-LI-cha (MILRA). We heard from a TT reader that ho-shi-A should also be MILRA. This is based on a fully explained comment by Rav Breuer, whose Tanach is considered very authoritative by those "in the know". Many siddurim mark ho-SHI-a as MIL'EIL. We'll look into this issue further. • Another TT reader sent feedback on Y'RU, the first word of the last paragraph of Birkat HaMazon. Last week we wrote that the word should be pronounced as if there is no ALEF in the word and that the SHURUK belongs to the REISH. This is correct, but, according to YL, the word was originally, and should have remained YIR'U, which would mean both "they will see" and "you (plural) shall fear". Which meaning would depend upon context. YL's conclusion is that mispronoouncing Y'RU would not change its meaning, but just be a mispronunciation of the word. As we have mentioned often, there is a qualitative difference between mispronouoncing a word and thereby changing the meaning, and "just" mispronouncing the word. • Vayigash. Look in 45:20. First word is V'EI-N'CHEM, which literally means, your (plural) eye (singular). In context, the phrase means that Yosef was telling the brothers not to be concerned with their belongings back in Canaan, because they will have the best Egypt has to offer. The more common word it looks like, at first glance, is V'EI-NEI-CHEM. With a TZEIREI under the NUN and a YUD after it. That word means your eyes (plural, plural). In fact, in Yechezkeil (9:5) there is a KRI/K'TIV with the word spelled with the second YUD, but pronounced EI-N'CHEM. Anyway, the points here are (1) that the NUN has a SH'VA NA and therefore does not belong to the AYIN in its syllable, but belongs to the second syllable N'CHEM. EI - N'CHEM. Not, EIN-CHEM. (That sounds like another word altogether, the way Ashkenazim don't give a sound to the AYIN - but that's another issue.) And (2), because the SH'VA of the NUN is NA and gets a short vowel sound, one should be careful to keep the SH'VA very short so the word won't sound like EI-NEI-CHEM. • To Goshen, GOSHNA. The SH'VA under the SHIN is NACH, even though the GIMEL's vowel is a CHOLOM, which would usually stand on its own and the SH'VA following it would be NA and belong to the next syllable. In this kind of word, the strong vowel of the GIMEL is further strengthened by the fact that the accent is on the GIMEL/CHOLOM, and if pulls the SHIN/SH'VA to it. GOSH. Leaving NA as the second syllable. Had the accent been MILRA (which it isn't), the word would have been pronounced go-SH'NA (which it isn't). It is GOSH-na. Got it? Hope so. [The Parshat Vayigash Homepage]
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