Towards better Davening and Torah Reading Both words have the root of FEAR (reverence). Each has its pronunciation issue. The first is a davening and Torah reading issue; the second is from Birkat HaMazon (last paragraph) The first means: And they (the Nation) feared G-d... The word is properly pronounced in three syllables:VA YI R'U - if one says VA YIR U, he changes the meaning of the word to "and they saw". Different root; different meaning. VA (open syllable), YI (another open syllable), and then R'U (SH'VA NA under the REISH). In benching, last part, the meaning is "Fear HaShem, you His holy ones... Notice that there is no vowel under the REISH. The vowel of the ALEF (a SHURUK) is co-opted by the REISH (so to speak) and the ALEF is NACHA - totally silent and non-contributing to the pronunciation of the word. Technically, the word is a single syllable - Y'RU. Not YIR-U, which means, they will see. Y'RU is the future third person plural form. [The Parshat B'shalach Homepage]
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