Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading

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Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading
Accent Check:
v'a-chal-TA v'sa-VA-ta u-vei-rach-TA
In the printed version of Torah Tidbits, all there was were the three words with their accents indicated. There was no room for more. There is, here.

D'varim 8:10 contains the well-known mitzva of Birkat HaMazon. It is the text of Birkat HaMazon that is responsible for people knowing-well the words of the command.

ka-ka-TUV (as it is written): v'a-chal-TA (and you will eat, or, when you eat), v'sa-VA-ta (and are satisfied, then) u-vei-rach-TA (you shall "bench")...

Accent-wise, this is a topic we've reviewed a number of times in the Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading column. And this week, the topic relates to both Torah Reading (since these words are from Parshat Eikev) and Davening (in which category we will include Birkat HaMazon and all other brachot).

In Biblical Hebrew, we often find the following:
a-CHAL-ta (you ate - past tense)
v'a-CHAL-ta (and you ate - still past tense, the VAV is conjunctive)
If the VAV is a tense-flipper, in this case, from past to future or past to TZIVUI (command), then the accent of the word goes from next-to-the-last syllable (MIL'EIL) to the last syllable (MILRA).

So, v'a-CHAL-ta remains past tense. v'a-chal-TA is future tense, (and) you will eat.
Pronouncing this word v'a-CHAL-ta is incorrect AND the meaning changes from the intended meaning of the word in the Torah. This is kind of a serious mistake. But very common.
Especially so, when we sing the benching.
What was just said about v'a-chal-TA goes exactly the same for u-vei-rach-TA.
bei-RACH-ta means you blessed, past tense.
u'vei-RACH-ta means and you blessed. Not what the pasuk is saying.
Note that the dot (DAGESH KAL) in the BET drops with the prefixed U (like the oo in food), which was supposed to be a VAV, but it changes to a SHURUK when before a BET (VAV, MEM, and PEI).

u'vei-rach-TA (accent on the last syllable), means (and) you shall bless.
The middle of the three words is an exception to the accent-shift caused by a tense-changing (from past to future) VAV.

sa-VA-ta means you were satisfied.

v'sa-VA-ta means and you were satisfied.

It also can mean (as it does here) and you will be satisfied. The accent shifted from MIL'EIL to MILRA and then back to MIL'EIL because the word is TROP-marked with an ETNACHTA, a full stop. So too at the end of a verse, SOF PASUK. There are other exceptions, but let's keep things to these three familiar words.
v'a-chal-TA v'sa-VA-ta u-vei-rach-TA

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