DOCSLIB.ORG

Covenant & Conversation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Covenant & Conversation Chayei Sarah 5772 Volume XIX Number 8 Toras Aish Thoughts From Across the Torah Spectrum in goodness? How can the Torah say that Abraham had CHIEF RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS been blessed with everything? Covenant & Conversation The answer is given by the parsha itself, and it is very unexpected. Seven times Abraham had been ur parsha contains the most serene description of promised the land. Here is just one of those occasions: old age and dying anywhere in the Torah: "Then The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, OAbraham breathed his last and died at a good old "Raise your eyes, and, from the place where you are age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered now [standing], look to the north, to the south, to the to his people" (Gen. 25: 8). There is an earlier verse, no east, and to the west. All the land that you see I will give less moving: "Abraham was old, well advanced in years, to you and your offspring forever. Go, walk through and G-d had blessed Abraham with everything" (Gen. the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to 24: 1). you" (Gen. 13: 14-17). Nor was this serenity the gift of Abraham alone. Yet by the time Sarah dies, Abraham has no Rashi was puzzled by the description of Sarah - "Sarah land at all, and he is forced to prostrate himself before lived to be 127 years old: [These were] the years of the local Hittites and beg for permission to acquire even Sarah's life" (23: 1). The last phrase seems completely a single field with a cave in which to bury his wife. Even superfluous. Why not just tell us that Sarah lived to the then he has to pay what is clearly a massively inflated age of 127? What is added by saying that "these were price: four hundred silver shekels. This does not sound the years of Sarah's life"? Rashi is forced to the like the fulfilment of the promise of "all the land, north, conclusion that the first half of the verse talks about the south, east and west." quantity of her life, how long she lived, while the second Then, in relation to children, Abraham is tells us about the quality of her life. "They - the years promised four times: "I will make you into a great she lived - were all equal in goodness." nation" (12: 2). "I will make your offspring like the dust Yet how is any of this conceivable? Abraham of the earth" (13: 16). G-d "took [Abram] outside and and Sarah were commanded by G-d to leave everything said, 'Look at the sky and count the stars. See if you that was familiar: their land, their home, their family, and can count them.' [G-d] then said to him, 'That is how travel to an unknown land. No sooner had they arrived [numerous] your descendants will be.'" (15: 5). "No than they were forced to leave because of famine. longer shall you be called Abram. Your name shall Twice, Abraham's life was at risk when, driven into become Abraham, for I have set you up as the father of exile, he worried that he would be killed so that the local many nations" (17: 5). ruler could take Sarah into his harem. Sarah herself had Yet he had to wait so long for even a single son to say that she was Abraham's sister, and had to suffer by Sarah that when G-d insisted that she would indeed the indignity of being taken into a stranger's household. have a son, both Abraham (17: 17) and Sarah (18: 12) Then there was the long wait for a child, made laughed. (The sages differentiated between these two even more painful by the repeated Divine promise that episodes, saying that Abraham laughed with joy, Sarah they would have as many children as the stars of the with disbelief. In general, in Genesis, the verb tz-ch-k, to sky or the dust of the earth. Then came the drama of laugh, is fraught with ambiguity). the birth of Ishmael to Sarah's servant Hagar. This One way or another, whether we think of aggravated the relation between the two women, and children or the land - the two key Divine promises to eventually Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael Abraham and Sarah - the reality fell far short of what away. One way or another, this was a source of pain to they might have felt entitled to expect. That, however, is all four people involved. precisely the meaning and message of Chayei Sarah. In Then there was the agony of the binding of it Abraham does two things: he buys the first plot in the Isaac. Abraham was faced with the prospect of losing land of Canaan, and he arranges for the marriage of the person most precious to him, the child he had Isaac. One field and a cave was, for Abraham, enough waited for so long. One way or another, neither for the text to say that "G-d had blessed Abraham with Abraham nor Sarah had an easy life. Theirs were lives everything." One child, Isaac, by then married and with of trial, in which their faith was tested at many points. children (Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born; Isaac How can Rashi say that all of Sarah's years were equal was sixty when the twins, Jacob and Esau, were born; 2 Toras Aish a half chapters of the Bible. Chapter 23 of the Book of TORAS AISH IS A WEEKLY PARSHA Genesis deals with Sarah's death and Abraham's NEWSLETTER DISTRIBUTED VIA EMAIL protracted negotiations for the purchase of a grave for AND THE WEB AT WWW.AISHDAS.ORG/TA. his beloved wife, chapter 24 details the painstaking FOR MORE INFO EMAIL [email protected] search by Abraham's trusted servant Eliezer, for a The material presented in this publication was collected from email subscriptions, computer archives and various websites. It is being suitable wife for Isaac, and the first half of chapter 25 presented with the permission of the respective authors. Toras describes the death and burial of Abraham himself, Aish is an independent publication, and does not necessarily reflect concluding with the death of his son Ishmael. Is it not the views of any synagogue or organization. strange that a portion which is largely dedicated to the TO DEDICATE THIS NEWSLETTER PLEASE CALL death of our major protagonists is named "The Life of (973) 277-9062 OR EMAIL [email protected] Sarah"? Moreover, is there an overarching connecting and Abraham was 175 when he died) was enough for thread which unites the two major pursuits in our Abraham to die in peace. portions: the acquisition of a burial plot and the Lao-Tzu, the Chinese sage, said that a journey "acquisition" of Rebekah? of a thousand miles begins with a single step. To that Let us begin with our second question, mindful Judaism adds, "It is not for you to complete the work but of the fact that Sarah's burial plot, the Tomb of the neither are you free to desist from it" (Avot 2: 16). G-d Patriarchs in Hebron is the first Hebrew land acquisition himself said of Abraham, "For I have chosen him, so in the Promised Land of Israel. that he will direct his children and his household after We read in last week's portion about the him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right "Covenant Between the Pieces," the unique covenantal and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham partnership between G-d and Abraham in which the what he has promised him" (Gen. 18: 19). patriarch is promised, nay guaranteed, two things: The meaning of this is clear. If you ensure that progeny and land. Abraham will have progeny more your children will continue to live for what you have lived numerous than the stars and his children will inherit a for, then you can have faith that they will continue your land whose borders will extend from the Nile to the journey until eventually they reach the destination. Euphrates (Gen. 15: 18). Abraham did not need to see all the land in Jewish If indeed the land belonged to Abraham, why hands, nor did he need to see the Jewish people did he go to such lengths to convince the Hittites to sell become numerous. He had taken the first step. He had it to him referring to them as his "masters", bowing begun the task, and he knew that his descendants down to them (Gen. 23: 12) and eventually paying them would continue it. He was able to die serenely because the exorbitant price of 400 shekels of silver? Is this the he had faith in G-d and faith that others would complete way G-d bestows His gifts? what he had begun. The same was surely true of Sarah. Apparently, a covenantal promise must be seen To place your life in G-d's hands, to have faith as a mutual endeavor in which G-d gives guarantees, that whatever happens to you happens for a reason, to but only after the recipient earns that Divine gift. We know that you are part of a larger narrative, and to must be morally worthy of the gift: The covenant is believe that others will continue what you began, is to predicated upon our compassionate righteousness and achieve a satisfaction in life that cannot be destroyed by moral justice (Gen.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Current State of Masoretic Studies*
    SEFARAD, vol. 73:2, julio-diciembre 2013, págs. 423-458 ISSN: 0037-0894, doi: 10.3989/sefarad.013.015 ESTADO DE LA CUESTIÓN The Current State of Masoretic Studies* Elvira Martín Contreras** ILC-CCHS, CSIC, Madrid The foundation of the International Organization of Masoretic Studies (IOMS) in 1972 was a turning point in the studies on Masorah. Since then, Masoretic studies have undergone a true renaissance. The publications on Masoretic issues have proliferated, and the importance of the Masorah for the study of the text of the Hebrew Bible has been stressed in numerous reviews. This brief survey presents the evolution of Masoretic stu- dies, the main research lines and achievements, and some of the most relevant works in the last forty years. KEYWORDS: Masorah; Ketib-Qere; Grammar; Hebrew Bible Text. ESTADO DE LA CUESTIÓN DE LOS ESTUDIOS MASORÉTICOS.— La creación de la International Organization of Masoretic Studies (IOMS) en 1972 supuso un punto de inflexión en los estudios sobre Masora. Desde entonces, los estudios masoréticos han experimentado un auténtico renacer. Las publicaciones sobre temas masoréticos han proliferado y la impor- tancia de la Masora para el estudio del texto de la Biblia Hebrea ha sido resaltada en nu- merosas reseñas. Esta breve panorámica ofrece la evolución de los estudios masoréticos, sus principales líneas de investigación y logros, así como los trabajos más significativos de los últimos cuarenta años. PALABRAS CLAVE: Masora; ketib-qere; gramática; texto de la Biblia hebrea. Last year marked the 40th anniversary of the creation of the International Organization of Masoretic Studies (IOMS) by Prof. Harry Orlinsky brin- ging together all the modern “Masoretes” and enabling work in this field.
    [Show full text]
  • Two Notes on the Exceptional Shalshelet
    TWO NOTES ON THE EXCEPTIONAL SHALSHELET GILAD J. GEVARYAHU THE FOUR INSTANCES OF SHALSHELET IN THE TORAH The cantillation mark shalshelet appears only four times in the Torah. The root of this word is shin-lamed-shin, meaning three, and, in the Ashkenazic tradition as well as in many Sephardic traditions, the melody ascends and descends three times. It appears three times in the book of Genesis and one time in the book of Leviticus. In the Mesorah it is referred to as Mar’imin u’Mafsikin (Mesorah Gedolah, Lev. 8:23). Mar’imin means thunderous, and Mafsikin means pausing, terms that appear to describe the sound of its melody.1 In this article, we will see how all four shalshelot in the Torah consistently relate to the texts in which they are used. These are the four instances of the shalshelet in the Torah: 1. Genesis 19:16: Shalshelet appears in the story of Lot in Sodom, when the angels tell Lot that he must leave the city, for God is about to destroy it. The word with the shalshelet is the first word in the verse, Still he delayed [vayitmahameha]. So the men [angels] seized his hand . Although not directly mentioning the shalshelet, many commentators note here that Lot hesitated to leave and responded in an unusually slow manner. This approach is found for example in Pseudo-Jonathan, Rashi, Ibn-Ezra, and Radak on this verse. This is based in Genesis Rabbah 50:11, that Lot was concerned about losing all the property he had accumulated and was hesitant to leave Sodom.
    [Show full text]
  • OLUNTEERING at BINGO Is FUN! Help Us Find the Courage to Make Our Lives a Blessing
    :We wish Refuah Sh’lema to בייה jmagnet Bela Davidson Howie Meyer Anice Stark Allan Fryman Joe Levitan Phillip Shadlesky Global Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, Descendants, Rose Rosenbaum Gerald Robinson Abe Swimmer Educators & Friends - Toronto marks the 75th anniversary Rosa Weisberg Ruth Leichner Morton Allen Cohen If you know Beth Radom members who would benefit from Clergy of liberation from the Holocaust at the end of the Second World 18 Reiner Road, Toronto, Ontario M3H 2K9 416-636-3451 War, and host Liberation75 at the Metro Toronto Convention outreach or should be part of our Refuah Sh’lema list, please contact [email protected]. We assure you of confidentiality. Parshat Vayeshev Centre - May 31 through June 2, 2020. To REGISTER or - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - December 21, 2019 23 Kislev 5780 LEARN MORE about Liberation75, its sponsors and With Reverence, We Honour The Yahrzeits Of: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - participating organizations VISIT www.liberation75.org Samuel Zelig Pelchovitz Lillian Pelchovitz Torah: Page 141 Ch 37, V 1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Irvine Haber Late Father of Betsy Haber-Riesz Maftir: Page 144, Ch 37, V 34 Haftorah: Page 152 CHECK OUT BETH RADOM’S MUSEUM AND GALLERY and Marilyn Feldman - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Have you seen our new video display? It’s on our website! Johanna Appel-Prager Late Aunt of Carol Lithwick Today’s Congregational Kiddush will take place in the Does your family have things to add to this museum? We Morton Saxe Late Father of Edward Saxe and Belzberg Weisberg Social Hall on the lower level. appreciate donations of plaques, photos, paperwork, hand written Late Grandfather of Joshua Saxe - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - letters, booklets, flyers, old landing papers – anything related to Sam Pasternack Late Brother of Patricia Weinstein the once thriving, Jewish, City of Radom.
    [Show full text]
  • Sermon Slam- Cantor Linda Sue Sohn
    Temple Aliyah Shavuot 2016 Sermon Slam Cantor Linda Sue Sohn In Parashat Vayeishev in Genesis chapter 39, Joseph is sold to Potiphar in Egypt. All goes well for Joseph until Potiphar’s wife casts her eye on him and tries to seduce him. ”.He refused“ וַיְמָא ֵ֓ ן ׀The text continues When we hear the unmistakably different sound of the Shalshelet trop, it’s definitely an attention-getter. Dr. Joshua Jacobson, the pre-eminent authority on cantillation with whom I studied at Hebrew College, writes in his book “Chanting the Hebrew Bible - The Art of Cantillation” that Shalshelet means “chain” and seems to describe both its shape - “a chain of three arrowheads piled on top of one another” - as well as the coutour of its melody. When found, it always appears on the first word of a verse. Dr. Jacobson insists that as part of the system of punctuation that trop plays, the Shalshelet trop is merely a place holder for another trop - Segol - which is never found on the first word as it must always be preceded by a Zarka trop. He sees no reason to associate the Shalshelet’s appearance with the dramatic context of the text. In other words, “Nothing here to see, folks - move along - move along!” However, much as I revere and respect Dr. Jacobson’s work, the fact remains that the elaborate musical tradition for chanting Shalshelet gets one’s attention and seem to invite the listener to look at what’s going on in the text. The Talmud and other respected sources give us midrashim that emphasize the repetitive nature of the action taking place.
    [Show full text]
  • The Courage of Identity Crises
    Thoughts on the Weekly Parsha from COVENANT & RABBI LORD JONATHAN SACKS ZT"L Former Chief Rabbi of the CONVERSATION United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth לעילוי נשמת May the learning of these Divrei Torah be HaRav Ya'akov Zvi ben David Arieh zt"l accounts of such moments. What links לעילוי נשמות them is not words but music. From quite פנחס בן יעקב אשר וגולדה בת ישראל דוד אייז ע״ה early on in Jewish history, the Torah was עזריאל בן אריה לייב ומעניה בת יצחק שרטר ע״ה sung, not just read. Moses at the end of Dedicated by Dr. Robert his life calls the Torah a song.1 Different Sreter DDS., M.S. traditions grew up in Israel and Babylon, and from around the tenth century onward the chant began to be systematised in the The Courage form of the musical notations known as ta’amei ha-mikra, cantillation signs, devised of Identity by the Tiberian Masoretes (guardians of Judaism’s sacred texts). One very rare note, Crises known as a shalshelet (chain), appears in the Torah four times only. Each time it is ood leaders know their own limits. a sign of existential crisis. Three instances They do not try to do it all them- are in the book of Genesis. The fourth is Gselves. They build teams. They in our parsha. As we will see, the fourth create space for people who are strong is about leadership. In a broad sense, the where they are weak. They understand other three are as well. the importance of checks and balances The first instance occurs in the story of Lot.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Teruma 5724. Alef. 1. A. the Wood Was Originally Planted by Yaakov In
    Teruma 5724. Alef. 1. a. The wood was originally planted by Yaakov in Egypt and brought out of Egypt when the people were freed from slavery. b.The wood grew near Mt. Sinai and was harvested when needed. c. The wood was purchased from peoples with whom the Jews traded. 2. The reason why RaShI explains a second time how Yaakov originally planted these trees in Egypt in anticipation of the eventual construction of the Mishkan is because of the “Heh Rather than simply making boards for the Mishkan, the people .”הקרשים“ ,HaYedia” in 26:15 made the boards, which had already been anticipated. It would appear that while other parts of the Mishkan were also constructed from this material, i.e., the Aron (25:10) and the Shulchan (25:23), the main reason for the growing of the wood and probably the purpose for which most of the wood was devoted, was the construction of the boards. 3. In the first commentary, the Peirush HaAroch,1 Ibn Ezra prefers the interpretation that the וכל אשר נמצא אתו עצי “ (trees were growing in the vicinity of Mt. Sinai. The phrase (35:24 refers to those who had harvested some of these locally ”שטים לכל מלאכת העבודה הביאו grown trees in order to construct shelters for themselves, were now being called upon to contribute that wood for the purpose of constructing the Mishkan. In the Peirush HaKatzar, Ibn Ezra, probably based upon the same phrase that he used to construct his first interpretation, now redefines his understanding to be similar to that of the Midrash and RaShI (he does not necessarily accept that this was all part of a plan that Yaakov had shared with his family; only that the Jews brought the wood from Egypt in anticipation of their own lodging needs), i.e., that these were brought from Egypt rather than harvested locally.
    [Show full text]
  • Home to Havdalah Saturday, January 28
    Chai Lights The Newsletter of Congregation Beth Shalom Home to Havdalah Saturday, January 28 Fundraising dinner hosted in the homes of CBS leaders, with dessert and Havdalah together at CBS Board of Directors 2016–2017 President From the Shalshelet and 2017 Jana Uslan Rabbi’s Desk VP Administration The Shalshelet musical Debby Nelson trope is the most rare of all Torah VP Education cantillation. Coveted by many a B’nai Linda Westover Mitzvah student, it appears only four VP Religious Practices times in the entire Torah. The word Sheree Meyer Shalshelet is usually translated as VP Membership “chain” yet the root is Shalosh - Holly Ilfeld three. Perhaps the connection is that VP Finance a chain requires a minimum of three Joel Birch links. The musical sound of the Shalshelet is unforgettable: a thrice repeating VP Programming/Fundraising arpeggio. Lori Nalangan Shalshelet, however goes far beyond how we chant a word in Torah; it VP Operations can be call for our best behavior. In Torah Shalshelet is carefully placed upon Marty Berbach words suggesting a turbulent moment in someone’s life and how the person Financial Secretary responded. In order to merit Shalshelet, things have to be pretty dicey. Ron Simon Shalshelet first appears in the story of Lot escaping from Sodom and Treasurer Gomorrah. The Shalshelet informs us how difficult it was for Lot to turn away Phil Spilberg from his homeland as it was exploding from G-d’s wrath. Despite the trauma, Recording Secretary Lot faced the sorrow, was resolute and kept walking toward a new life. Diane Weber Shalshelet next announces the torn loyalty faced by Eliezer, Abraham’s Immediate Past President servant when he finds the perfect young woman, Rebekkah, to become wife to Tivon Schardl Abraham’s son, Isaac.
    [Show full text]
  • Dead Sea Scrolls - the Music of the Bible an Overview on the Work of Suzanne Haik-Vantura(1912 - 2000)
    Dead Sea Scrolls - The Music of the Bible An overview on the work of Suzanne Haik-Vantura(1912 - 2000) Hebrew Bible Cantillation ITU-State Conservatory, Istanbul. Term Project Mehmet Okon¸sar January 27, 2011 i Contents Biblical research 1 BiblicalExegesis ............................ 1 TraditionalJudaicBibleStudies . 2 Musical Archeology 2 ”NewTestament”Times .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 2 IncantationversusChanting. 3 Dead Sea Scrolls 4 Thediscovery.............................. 6 TheimportanceoftheScrolls . 7 Qumran-EsseneTheory and the departures from it . 8 The texts 9 GroupingtheScrolls .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 10 Excavations............................... 11 The Story of the Discovery 11 TheBedouins.............................. 11 MarSamuel............................... 12 The photographies allows for the reading . 12 Gettingintotherighthands. 13 Historical importance of the Scrolls . 13 Facts About the Dead Sea Scrols . 14 On Jewish Liturgical Music 17 Maqams 18 Cantillation Signs 19 ThePurposeofCantillationSigns . 20 Thesyntacticalfunction . 20 Importanceintheunderstanding . 21 Thephoneticfunction . 22 Themusicalfunction.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 22 Types of Cantillation Marks 22 Babyloniansystem ........................... 22 Palestiniansystem ........................... 23 Tiberiansystem ............................ 24 Differentiation in the poetic books . 25 Notation 25 ii Suzanne Haik-Vantura 26 The Methodology 28 The schools of interpretation of the signs . 28 Appendices 30 NamesandMeaningoftheSigns . 30 Sequences
    [Show full text]
  • The Ultimate Bar Mitzvah Torah Reading Software Tutor
    Kol Kore User’s Guide The Ultimate Bar Mitzvah Torah Reading Software Tutor Kol Koren LTD., 8 King David Street, Bnei Brak 51445, ISRAEL, Tel: +972-3-570-0840 www.kolkoren.com Table of Contents Glossary .............................................................................................. 2 Introduction ........................................................................................ 3 Torah Reading Theory.......................................................................... 5 The Order of Torah Reading ............................................................................... 5 Ta’amei Hamikra (Reading Accents - Trop) .......................................................... 6 Musical .......................................................................................................... 6 Syntactic ........................................................................................................ 6 Grammatical ................................................................................................. 10 Kol Kore Features ............................................................................................ 11 Reading Fluency and Accuracy ....................................................................... 11 Torah Font Selection ..................................................................................... 11 Trop and Vowels Highlighted in Different Colors .............................................. 11 Text Highlighted as Chazan Reads ................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Trope Curriculum
    Temple Beth Israel 6th Grade Hebrew Marla Aviva Bentley Cantillation Curriculum Trope Clause Combinations & Functions Sof Pasuk (Pink) Clause וסף ספ ֽ קו ׃ The Sof-Pasuk clause is made up of these trope symbols: כרמ ֥ א Mercha חפט ֖ א Tipcha ףוס ספ ֽ ׃קו Sof-Pasuk ספמ י ק or Separator Mafsik רבחמ How they function: Connector M’chaber רבחמ is a Connector M’chaber כרמ ֥ א Mercha ספמ י ק is a Separator Mafsik חפט ֖ א Tipcha ספמ י ק is a Separator Mafsik ףוס ספ ֽ ׃קו Sof-Pasuk Chant the following Sof-Pasuk clause combinations with hand-signs: כרמ ֥ א חפט ֖ א כרמ ֥ א ס ו ף ספ ֽ ו ק ׃קוֽס ףוס ר א֖חט ר כרמ א֥ חפט א֖ ףוס ספ ׃קוֽ פףס ֖חטא ר חפט ֖ א ס ו ף ספ ֽ ו ק ׃קוֽס ףוס פ כרמ ֥ א ס ו ף ספ ֽ ו ק ׃קוֽס ףוס ר חפט ֖ א כרמ ֥ א ףוס ספ ֽ ׃קוֽס ו ףוס ספ ֽ ׃קוֽס ו כרמ ֥ א חפט ֖ א כרמ ֥ א ףוס ספ ֽ ׃קוֽס ו Chant the following Sof Sof-Pasuk clause combinations, also known as Sof Aliyah, with hand signs: ףוס - ףוס ספ ֽ ׃קוֽס ו כרמ ֥ א חפט ֖ א ףוס ספ ֽ ׃קוֽס ו חפט ֖ א כרמ ֥ א ס ו ף ספ ֽ ו ק ׃ פ א֥כמ פ כרמ ֥ א חפט ֖ א כרמ ֥ א ףוס ספ ֽ ׃קוֽס ו Temple Beth Israel 6th Grade Hebrew Marla Aviva Bentley Cantillation Curriculum Trope Clause Combinations & Functions Etnachta (Yellow) Clause תא נ תח ֑ א The Etnachta clause is made up of these trope symbols: כרמ ֥ א Mercha חפט ֖ א Tipcha נמ ֣ ח Munach תא נ תח ֑ א Etnachta ספמ י ק or Separator Mafsik רבחמ How they function: Connector M’chaber בחמ ר is a Connector M’chaber כרמ ֥ א Mercha ספמ י ק is a Separator Mafsik חפט ֖ א Tipcha רבחמ is a Connector M’chaber נמ ֣ ח Munach ספמ י ק is a Separator Mafsik תא נ תח ֑ א Etnachta
    [Show full text]
  • Trope and Blessings CD (Recordings At
    Table of Contents: Bar/Bat Mitzvah Packet • Table of Contents……………………………………………………………….p. 0 • Trope Background….………………………………………………….……pp. 1-2 • Trope Symbols…..….………………………………………………….……pp. 3-6 • The Trope Song……………………………………………………………..…..p. 7 • Torah Blessings & Blessings for Tallit and Tefillin………………………........p. 8 • Blessing Before the Haftarah…………………………………………...…..…..p. 9 • Blessing After the Haftarah………………………………………...….....pp. 10-11 • Chanting the Shma…………………...……………………………...……pp. 12-14 • Blessing After the Haftarah for Festivals including Shavuot………………....p. 15 • Friday Night Kiddush………………………………………........................….p.16 • Shema for Taking Out the Torah……………………………………………...p. 17 • Saturday Noon Kiddush……………………………………………………….p. 18 • Bar and Bat Mitzvah CD List also at https://tiofnatick.org/Torah …………....p. 19 All material in the packet, plus recordings, and musical notation of the trope, can be found on the Temple Israel of Natick website, on this page: https://www.tiofnatick.org/Torah Please come to class each week, prepared, and with: 1) A binder or folder with this packet in it (there will be more handouts during the year as well) 2) A set of highlighters (with yellow, blue, green, pink, purple, orange) The Recommended Daily Allowance of practice is about 10-15 minutes each day to complete your weekly assignments. Once you’ve begun individual bar/bat mitzvah lessons, this increases to 20-30 minutes a day. Class assignments will be emailed out regularly, and if an email hasn’t come yet, please review the previous week’s assignment. Feel free to call or email with questions. Thank you! Cantor Ken Richmond [email protected] 508-650-3521, ext. 107 0 Bar/Bat Mitzvah Trope Packet: A guide to the Cantillation Trope, or Cantillation, serves three main purposes: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch's Use of Biblical Accentuation in His
    JSIJ 15 (2019) RABBI SAMSON RAPHAEL HIRSCH’S USE OF BIBLICAL ACCENTUATION IN HIS COMMENTARY ON PSALMS LEA HIMMELFARB* The impact on biblical interpretation of the biblical accents’ role as punctuation marks has long been acknowledged.1 Graphical signs in the Bible serve the purpose of denoting the verse’s primary and secondary divisions. While the biblical accents clearly indicate a specific way of understanding the verse, the interpretive stance implied by them requires further explanation and analysis. Indeed, much can be learned through examining the consonance between the interpretation suggested by the biblical accents’ division of the verse, and other interpretations of the Bible throughout different historical periods.2 In this paper, I detail the explicit connection between Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch’s nineteenth-century commentary and the biblical accentuation system, as it is expressed in his commentary on Psalms. Hirsch lived in Frankfurt on the Main from 1808 to 1888 and wrote his Bible commentary in German. His translation and commentary on Psalms was * Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University. This article is an expansion of a paper read on August 6th, 2013 at the 25th Congress of the International Organization for Masoretic Studies (IOMS) held in Munich, Germany. Since it was the first time I had ever been on German soil, I felt compelled to fulfill the Jewish obligation “not to forget”: May my paper commemorate those members of my own family murdered in cruel and unusual ways in Auschwitz, Chelmno and Bergen Belsen along with six million other Jews. May their memories be a blessing. 1 The two other roles played by biblical accents also sometimes impact biblical interpretation.
    [Show full text]