Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Art of Cantillation Second Edition, Revised, Expanded [2 ed.] 2017933771

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CHANTING THE HEBREW BIBLE

The Jewish Publication Society expresses its gratitude for the generosity of the following sponsors of this book:

Phyllis Hammer in memory of my husband, Michael Hammer, z"l. Rabbi Benjamin J. Samuels and Congregation 6KDDUHL7H¿OODKRI1HZWRQ0DVVDFXVHWWV in honor of our chazan rishon and dear friend Professor Joshua Jacobson. The many people, synagogues, and organizations whose gifts supported the publication of the original edition.

III

University of Nebraska Press Lincoln

CHANTING THE HEBREW BIBLE The Art of Cantillation second, expanded edition

Joshua R. Jacobson

7KH-HZLVK3XEOLFDWLRQ6RFLHW\ Philadelphia

© 2017 by Joshua R. Jacobson All rights reserved. Published by the University of Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book. Manufactured in the United States of America. First edition published in 2002. ’ Library of Congress Control Number: 2017933771

VI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents How to Use This Book ..........................................................................................................xxiii Transliterations, Translations, and Text Sources.................................................................... xxv Chapter 1. Cantillation ............................................................................................................... 1 The Ritual Art of Chanting the Hebrew Scriptures........................................................ 1 The Terminology of Cantillation.................................................................................... 1 Chironomy ..................................................................................................................... 3 Why Chant? ................................................................................................................... 4 The Scroll ..................................................................................................................... 10 Ambiguity in the Consonantal Text ............................................................................. 10 The Masoretic Text ...................................................................................................... 12 The Rhythm of Cantillation ......................................................................................... 12 The Pitches of Cantillation .......................................................................................... 13 Ekphonetic Notation ................................................................................................. 14 Transcriptions of the Te‘amim ..................................................................................... 15 ,QÀHFWLRQ ...................................................................................................................... 18 Resolving Ambiguity ................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2.1. Parallelism ........................................................................................................... 25 Corresponding Parallelism ........................................................................................... 25 Parallel Actions ............................................................................................................ 26 Analogous Parallelism ................................................................................................. 27 Elliptical Parallelism .................................................................................................... 27 &KDSWHU7KH3ULPDU\'LFKRWRP\6LOXNDQG(WQDতWD ....................................................... 29 The Disjunctive Siluk .................................................................................................. 29 Meteg ........................................................................................................................... 30 The Disjunctive (WQD‫ۊ‬WD .............................................................................................. 32 Chanting ...................................................................................................................... 32 Diagramming Phrases .................................................................................................. 33 Parsing ...................................................................................................................... 33 Level One: Contiguous Segments............................................................................. 33 Exception: Verses without (WQD‫ۊ‬WD ........................................................................... 33 The Pausal Form .......................................................................................................... 36 Word Order .................................................................................................................. 38 Chapter 2.3. Level Two: 7LSSH‫ۊ‬D ............................................................................................. 43 The Secondary Dichotomy: 7LSSH‫ۊ‬D ........................................................................... 43 Three Independent Clauses .......................................................................................... 46 The Simple Sentence ................................................................................................... 46 The Nominal Clause .................................................................................................... 48

CHANTING THE HEBREW BIBLE Chapter 2.4. Conjunctives ........................................................................................................ 51 Recursive Dichotomy .................................................................................................. 52 Disjunctives and Conjunctives within a Segment........................................................ 52 Merekha: The “Servant” of Siluk ................................................................................. 53 Merekha: The “Servant” of 7LSSH‫ۊ‬D ............................................................................ 54 Chanting ....................................................................................................................... 54 Merekha Khefulah ........................................................................................................ 55 0XQD‫ ۊ‬.......................................................................................................................... 55 Conjunctives and Dagesh Kal...................................................................................... 57 The “Conjunctive Soft” Form ...................................................................................... 58 Chapter 2.5. Substitutions ........................................................................................................ 61 7LSSH‫ۊ‬D Substituting for a Conjunctive ....................................................................... 61 One-Word Clauses in Level One ................................................................................. 63 Two Te‘amim on a Long Word..................................................................................... 63 Mayela and Siluk on a Single Word .......................................................................... 63 Mayela and (WQD‫ۊ‬WD on a Single Word ..................................................................... 64  0XQD‫ ۊ‬and (WQD‫ۊ‬WD on a Single Word ...................................................................... 64 Merekha and 7LSSH‫ۊ‬D on a Single Word ................................................................... 65 Two 0XQD‫ۊ‬V: A Double Conjunctive........................................................................... 65 Chapter 2.6. Level Two: Zakef ................................................................................................. 67 Stepping Segments ....................................................................................................... 67 Stepping Segments versus Nesting Segments .......................................................... 70 The Four Forms of Zakef ............................................................................................. 70 0XQD‫ۊ‬: The Conjunctive Serving Zakef Katon ........................................................... 74 A New Model ............................................................................................................... 75 Another Upgrade.......................................................................................................... 76 Review: Three Models of Dichotomy.......................................................................... 79 Review ......................................................................................................................... 80 Verb in Second Position ............................................................................................... 82 The Word :œ/+— ............................................................................................................ 84 The Vocative Case........................................................................................................ 86 Chanting ....................................................................................................................... 88 Chapter 2.7. Level Two: Segol ................................................................................................. 89 When Does Segol Appear?........................................................................................... 91 0XQD‫ۊ‬: The Conjunctive Serving Segol. ..................................................................... 96 Shalshelet as a Substitute for Segol ............................................................................. 97 Pasek ............................................................................................................................ 97 The Seven Occurences of Shalshelet ........................................................................... 99 Rabbinic Exegesis of Shalshelet ................................................................................ 100

TABLE OF CONTENTS Chanting ..................................................................................................................... 101 Chapter 2.8. Tevir ................................................................................................................... 103 The Disjunctive Tevir ................................................................................................. 104 Examples of Tevir ...................................................................................................... 105 Relative Cadences: 7LSSH‫ۊ‬D and Tevir ....................................................................... 106 Upgrading: Tevir Substituting for Merekha ............................................................... 108 The Conjunctives of Tevir: Darga and Merekha........................................................ 109 A New Model ............................................................................................................. 112 Verb in Terminal Position .......................................................................................... 112 Chapter 2.9. The Remote Conjunctives of Tevir .................................................................... 117 KadmaDQG0XQDত7KH6HFRQGDU\&RQMXQFWLYHVRITevir ....................................... 117 Verb in the Middle: Part Two ..................................................................................... 120 Secondary Accents ..................................................................................................... 122 Merekha Khefulah and Darga: Two Conjunctives before 7LSSH‫ۊ‬D ........................... 122 More than One Remote Conjunctive ......................................................................... 123 Three or More Conjunctives ...................................................................................... 124 Chanting ..................................................................................................................... 126 Chapter 2.10. Revia‘ .............................................................................................................. 127 Upgrade: Tevir to Revia‘ ............................................................................................ 129 The Dichotomy of Lists ............................................................................................. 130 Revia‘ Analysis .......................................................................................................... 133 Three Level-Three “Stepping” Segments .................................................................. 135 Darga: The Remote Conjunctive of Revia‘ ............................................................... 137 Three Conjunctives before Revia‘ ............................................................................. 140 Chanting ..................................................................................................................... 140 Chapter 2.11. Pashta .............................................................................................................. 141 The Disjunctive Pashta .............................................................................................. 141 Pashta and Kadma ..................................................................................................... 142 Yetiv: A Substitute for Pashta..................................................................................... 145 0XQD‫ ۊ‬Upgraded to Pashta or Yetiv .......................................................................... 147 The Meteg as Lengthener ........................................................................................ 148 Substitutions and the Conjunctive-Rafeh Rule ....................................................... 148 Verses with No Conjunctives ..................................................................................... 149 The Conjunctives of Pashta—Mahpakh and Merekha .............................................. 150 Derivation of the Name “Mahpakh” ....................................................................... 151 Mahpakh and Pashta on the Same Word ................................................................. 151 Mahpakh and Yetiv .................................................................................................. 151 The Retracted Accent: 1DVRJ$‫ۊ‬RU............................................................................ 152 The Remote Conjunctives of Pashta: Kadma or 0XQD‫ ۊ‬........................................... 156

CHANTING THE HEBREW BIBLE The Third and Fourth Remote Conjunctives of Pashta ............................................. 159 Revia‘: The Initial Level-Three Disjunctive before Pashta ....................................... 161 Upgrading Pashta to Revia‘ ....................................................................................... 163 Chanting ..................................................................................................................... 165 Chapter 2.12. Zarka ............................................................................................................... 167 The Conjunctives of Zarka ..................................................................................... 168 Upgrading 0XQD‫ۊ‬6HJRO to =DUND6HJRO ................................................................... 172 Upgrading for Long Words ..................................................................................... 174 The Remote Conjunctives of Zarka: Kadma or 0XQD‫ ۊ‬............................................ 174  0XQD‫ ۊ‬Instead of Kadma ........................................................................................ 175 0XQD‫ۊ‬0XQD‫=ۊ‬DUND ................................................................................................. 175 Three Conjunctives before Zarka ........................................................................... 176 Four Conjunctives before Zarka ............................................................................. 176 Two Subdivisions under Segol ................................................................................... 177 Three Subdivisions under Segol ................................................................................ 178 Chanting ..................................................................................................................... 180 Chapter 2.13. Level Four: Geresh .......................................................................................... 181 Simple Verses and Complex Verses ........................................................................... 181 Subdividing a Level-Three Segment ......................................................................... 183 Geresh and Double Geresh ........................................................................................ 184 The Forms of Geresh ................................................................................................. 184 Geresh without a Conjunctive................................................................................. 184 Upgrading for Long Words ........................................................................................ 186 The Conjunctives of Geresh: Kadma and 0XQD‫ۊ‬...................................................... 187 The Remote Conjunctive of Geresh: Telishah Ketanah ............................................ 189 0XQD‫—ۊ‬The Conjunctive before Telishah Ketanah ................................................. 191 To Geresh or Not To Geresh? .................................................................................... 192 The Geresh Segment in Context ................................................................................ 194 Chanting ..................................................................................................................... 198 Chapter 2.14. Level Four: Legarmeh ..................................................................................... 199 The Disjunctive Legarmeh......................................................................................... 199 Legarmeh or Geresh? ................................................................................................. 199 The 2+1 Division and Exceptions to the Rule ........................................................... 200 Stepping Level-Four Segments .................................................................................. 203 The Conjunctive of Legarmeh: Merekha ................................................................... 203 Three or More Stepping Segments ............................................................................ 204 Analysis of Complete Verses ..................................................................................... 205 Chanting ..................................................................................................................... 207 Chapter 2.15. Level Four: Pazer ............................................................................................ 209

TABLE OF CONTENTS The Distribution of Level-Four Terminators ............................................................. 209 The Disjunctive Pazer (Katan) .................................................................................. 209 The Conjunctive of 3D]HU²0XQD‫ ۊ‬........................................................................... 209 Level-Four Segments ................................................................................................. 211 Three Stepping Segments ....................................................................................... 212 Four Stepping Segments ......................................................................................... 212 The Pazer Segment in Context .................................................................................. 212 Lists ............................................................................................................................ 213 Level Five .................................................................................................................. 214 Chanting ..................................................................................................................... 216 Chapter 2.16. Level Four: Pazer Gadol ................................................................................. 217 The Disjunctive Pazer Gadol (.DUQH\)DUDK) .......................................................... 217 The Conjunctive of Pazer Gadol: Galgal (LVFRPHO\@ZLWKVWULQJVRIMHZHOV b. (Eccles. 10:2)

ªL+   œ /g’ ++' – 2x – V† ’ +— ’#L v1'/' – +   – -{ )š %… š +—

$ZLVHPDQ¶VPLQG>WHQGV@WRZDUGWKHULJKWKDQGDQGDIRRO¶V>WHQGV@WRZDUGWKHOHIW c. (Lam. 5:14)

ª-=  š š1' – ’^/-' – :K% x – CK= ™ vš f: š 4™ i„ ™ / – -'{ –19— ’$

Old men have ceased from the gate, young men [have ceased] from their music. 4. Coordinated Verbs

Sometimes an action is expressed by WZRFRRUGLQDWHGYHUEV, connected by the conjunction #. *HQHUDOO\WKH¿UVWYHUELVQRWLVRODWHGDVDVHSDUDWHFODXVH5DWKHUWKHWZRYHUEVDUH syntactically joined.

5.4 PARSING

389

([DPSOH(Gen. 24:28)

ª!X˜   — !-' š :x – š G’ VI ™ ]r š ='„ – — +x ’ E— k™ ™#:v š 4” ™^!   ™ 7{ :š kš{ ™# 7KHPDLGHQUDQDQGWROGWKHVHWKLQJVWRKHUPRWKHU¶VKRXVHKROG In this example the two verbs (ran and told) VLWWRJHWKHULQWKH¿UVWKDOIRIWKHYHUVH The main division is NOT: ª!X˜    — !-' š :– š G’ VI ™ ]š =' – — + ’ —Ek™ ™#:š 4” ™^!7   ™ :š kš ™# The main division is

ª!X˜   — !-' š :– š G’ VI ™ ]š =' – — + ’ —Ek™ ™#:š 4” ™^!7   ™ :š kš ™#

([DPSOH(Exod. 2:7)

=Qrœ :– ’ 4– !0 š /= x – 9˜ 1'˜v /! — i„ š  – T{ +' š = – :… š 9š ’#T+— y — !™ Shall I go and call you a nursing woman from the Hebrews? In this example the two verbs (go and call) VLWWRJHWKHULQWKH¿UVWKDOIRIWKHFODXVH

š /= – 9˜ ˜1'/! — iš T – +' š = – :š 9š ’#T+— — !™ The main division is NOT: =œ Q:– ’ 4– !0 The main division is

=œQ:– ’ 4– !0 š /= – 9˜ ˜1'/! — iš T – +' š = – :š 9š ’#T+— — !™

0RUHWKDQ7ZR,QGHSHQGHQW&ODXVHV In some verses there are more than two independent clauses. D,IWKHUHDUHWKUHHLQGHSHQGHQWFODXVHVWKH\DUHXVXDOO\GLYLGHG 7KH¿UVWGLFKRWRP\GLYLGHVWKHVHFRQGFODXVHIURPWKHWKLUG7KHQH[WGLFKRWRP\GLYLGHVWKH ¿UVWIURPWKHVHFRQG ([DPSOH(Deut. 7:26)

In this example there are three independent clauses. The main division (level 2) is after  ’ the second of the three clauses (after K^x ˜ 4” =™ k 7KHQWKH¿UVWWZRFODXVHVDUHGLYLGHGLQKDOI (level 3).

K!  :˜ %¡' † — VK^ – x ˜ 4” =™ k£  ’ 4† — =™ ’#K^}8˜ d’ f™ k£7 ’ dˆ — f™ thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

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CHANTING THE HEBREW BIBLE

5b. +RZHYHUWKHUHPD\EHUKHWRULFDOUHDVRQVWRGLYLGHWKHWKUHHFODXVHV. ([DPSOH(Exod. 1:20) ,QWKLVH[DPSOHWKHUHDUHWKUHHLQGHSHQGHQWFODXVHV7KHVXEMHFWRIWKH¿UVWYHUELV*RGZKLOH WKHVXEMHFWRIWKHVHFRQGDQGWKLUGYHUEVLVWKHSHRSOH6RWKHPDLQGLYLVLRQVHWVRIIWKH¿UVW clause from the other two.

ª œ   /K ’ /x 8’ 4 ™ Q™ ™#-4} š ! š :و˜ Q– ™#=œ r X’ ™'/’ +-'   ™ !Y x –  “ &'† ˜ Q— ™# And God was good to the midwives; and the people multiplied and increased greatly. F,IWKHUHDUHIRXUFODXVHVWKH\DUHXVXDOO\GLYLGHG ([DPSOH(Isa. 60:17)

+r$˜ :’ C-'x ™ 1– š ” != š %™ =† ™ ’#=f˜ œ%v ’1-'{ 8– 4— !=   š %™ =… ™ ’#52˜ )' ˜v „– A {+ ˜$:’ C™ != ™ %™ =… ™ ’#!šy š$'A= „– f˜ œ%~ ’^!= ™ %™ k„ ™ Instead of copper I will bring gold, Instead of iron I will bring silver; Instead of wood, copper; And instead of stone, iron. G%XWVRPHWLPHVWKHIRXUFODXVHVDUHGLYLGHG ([DPSOH(Ezek. 37:1) ,QWKLVH[DPSOHWKHVXEMHFWRIWKH¿UVWWKUHHYHUEVLV*RGZKLOHWKHVXEMHFWRIWKHIRXUWKYHUE LVWKHYDOOH\7KHSULPDU\GLFKRWRP\UHÀHFWVWKLVGLYLVLRQ

ª=L/  8š 4!† ” A+— /' ’ !x – ’#!4r š 9’ C– !TL ™ =„ C' ’ –1%' x — –1 ’' ™#!#! v š ’'{´K™ :{ ' ’ –1… — 8LQ – ™#t! š#! ’'¡ ™''+™ 4! š =’' „ š !š The hand of the LORD came upon me. The LORD took me out with His spirit and set me down in the valley. It was full of bones. H0RUH7KDQ)RXU&ODXVHVLQWKH9HUVH When there are more than four clauses in the verse, WKHGLFKRWRP\ZLOOUHÀHFWWKHUKHWRULFDO division and subdivision.

5.4 PARSING

391

6. The Subordinate Clause

A subordinate (dependent) clause (often beginning with the relative marker :LVEHDXWLIXO@ZLWKMHZHOU\´ DZRUGZKLFKLVUHSHDWHGIRULQWHQVL¿FDWLRQ)RUH[DPSOH - #+f- š #+f, š “perfect peace.” a word which, by nature of its semantic meaning, tends to be connected with the preceding word with a makef. For example:  š1ʚ. $UDPDLF DQDFFHQWZKLFKLVXVHGWRPDUNWKH¿UVWPDMRU subdivision in most biblical verses. a meteg that appears on a short vowel in a closed, unstressed syllable. The euphonic meteg may be also found coupled with a sheva na‘ or even on a syllable which follows the primary accent. The euphonic meteg does not indicate a secondary accent, as does a normal meteg. Its function seems to be to caution the reader not to gloss over the unstressed syllable too quickly. a name (or noun or pronoun) placed for emphasis at the beginning of a clause. Generally it has a redundant reference later in the same clause. For example, (Gen. 17:15) ':r š gI š /x š f¡= ’  ˜ :† š 9’ =¡ – œ +Uv k’ f’ ' – :„ ™ g—As š for your wife Sarai, her name will no longer be known as Sarai. a spelling in which the “matres lectionis” are used to indicate vowels. a SDWD‫ۊ‬YRZHODSSHDULQJXQGHUD¿QDO%! or 3. The vowel is pronounced before, rather than after, the consonant under which it appears. (Hebrew, fem.: JDED¶LW) a synagogue functionary who stands next to the Torah reader, ensuring that the latter makes no VHULRXVHUURUVLQWKHFDQWLOODWLRQDQGSURQXQFLDWLRQ7KH¿UVW gabbai also calls the olim to the Torah.

808

CHANTING THE HEBREW BIBLE

galgal ga‘ya gemination geresh gereshayim glottal plosive

Gregorian chant guttural letters haftarah halakha Hallel ‫ۊ‬DVHU hendiadys hiatus form

‫ۊ‬ROKDPRǥHG iluy LPRWKDNHUL¶DK LQ¿QLWLYHDEVROXWH intransitive complement

kaddish

kadma

(Hebrew) a rare conjunctive accent serving pazer gadol. (Hebrew) see “meteg.” the doubling of a consonant. See “GDJHVK‫ۊ‬D]DN.” (Hebrew) a level-four disjunctive accent. (Hebrew) a level-four disjunctive accent. a consonant created by the constriction and subsequent sudden release of the vocal chords. The sound of  when it is followed by a vowel. liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic church, attributed to Pope Gregory I (540–604). letters whose sound is produced in the throat: :3%! (Hebrew) a lection from the Prophetic books cantillated in the synagogue. (Hebrew) Jewish law. (Hebrew) A liturgical service comprising the singing of Psalms 113–118 with introductory and closing blessings. (Hebrew) see “defective spelling.” a single concept expressed by two words linked by a conjunction, for example, )x˜ 1˜ š#0'†1– ’# kith and kin (Isa. 14:22). a change of syllabic stress from penultimate (+4— X’ /) – to ultima – in certain words which end with an open syllable and (3:™ X’ /) are followed by a word which begins with ! or 3. (Hebrew) the intermediate days of the holidays of SHVD‫ ۊ‬and sukkot. (Aramaic) (1) a conjunctive accent, also known as PXQD‫ۊ‬. (2) a conjunctive accent in the poetic books. (Hebrew) see “matres lectionis.” DYHUELQLWVQRUPDOLQÀHFWLRQSDLUHGZLWKLWVLQ¿QLWLYHIRUP 7KHPHDQLQJRIWKHYHUELVWKXVLQWHQVL¿HG)RUH[DPSOH š /† “you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17). =K/  k=L a word or phrase which follows a non-transitive verb and describes its subject. For example, I am blue. Her name is Sarah. It was full RIERQHV. (Aramaic) a Jewish doxology (prayer attesting to God’s everlasting glory), chanted at the conclusion of a section of the liturgal service. A short form of the kaddish is usually chanted at the conclusion of the Torah cantillation. Kaddish Yatom is a doxology chanted by those congregants who are considered to be in mourning for a close relative, or commemorating the anniversary of that relative’s death. (Aramaic) a conjunctive accent.

GLOSSARY kamats katan

karney farah kerey

ketiv

ketuvim kohelet kohen korey lection legarmeh leyenen ORFDWLYHVXI¿[ logogenic Maharil maftir

mahpakh mahpakh legarmeh makkef male PDSStN

masoretic text

matres lectionis

809

(Hebrew) a vowel pronounced as a short “o.” A kamats in an unstressed closed syallble is a kamats katan. A ‫ۊ‬DWDINDPDWV (kamats with two dots) is also a kamats katan. (Hebrew) see “Pazer gadol.” (Aramaic) an oral tradition in which certain words in the Bible are pronounced differently from the way they are written (ketiv). (Aramaic) the written form of certain words in the Bible which, for various reasons, came to be pronounced differently (kerey). (Hebrew) the Hagiographa, the Writings, the third section of the Bible. (Hebrew) the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. (Hebrew) (1) a priest. (2) any Jew who is a (patriarchal) descendant of Aaron the High Priest. (Hebrew) reader, or one who cantillates the liturgical reading of a text selected from the Bible. (Hebrew) a level-four disjunctive accent. (Yiddish) see “cantillation.” WKHVXI¿[NDPDWVKH used to indicate direction. For example, !:'š 4– !š is the equivalent of :'4– !+ š , ˜ “to the city.” music whose rhythm is derived from the natural rhythms of speech. see Möllin. (Hebrew, fem.: maftirah WKHSHUVRQFDOOHGIRUWKH¿QDOaliyah on festivals, High Holidays, Shabbat and public fast days. After the Torah is put away, the maftir will chant the haftarah. (Armaic) a conjunctive accent serving pashta. (Aramaic/Hebrew) a disjunctive accent in the poetic books. a symbol resembling a hyphen, used to join two (or more) (usually short) words into a larger word-unit. (Hebrew) see “full spelling.” (Hebrew) a dot placed inside the letter I at the end of a word, to change its pronunciation from silent to aspirate. Mappik is also found in the letter  four times in the Bible. a Bible which incorporates material developed by Tiberian rabbis between the 6th and 8th centuries. This material, developed to preserve the integrity of the text as well as to ensure correct reading, includes graphic symbols to represent WKHLQÀHFWLRQSDWWHUQVWHǥDPLP) and vowels and consonant PRGL¿HUVnekudot), as well as marginal notes in the form of the words (masorah). (Latin) four Hebrew letters ('#!) which can be used as consonants or vowels.

810

CHANTING THE HEBREW BIBLE

mayela megillah

melisma merekha merekha khefulah meteg metigah mille‘el millera‘ minyan Mishnah 0LVKQDK%HUXUDK

mitzvah Möllin, Jacob PXQD‫ۊ‬ QDVRJD‫ۊ‬RU nekudot

nested segment 1HYL¶LP nominal clause nominal complement oleh oleh veyored open syllable parallelism

(Aramaic) a secondary accent (resembling WLSSH‫ۊ‬D) which is found on the same word as siluk or HWQD‫ۊ‬WD. +HEUHZ  VFUROO DQ\RIWKH¿YHELEOLFDOERRNV(VWKHU Lamentations, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs. (3) the book of Esther. a syllable which is chanted to three or more pitches (Aramaic) a conjunctive accent. (Aramaic) a rare conjunctive accent. (Hebrew) an accent which is used to indicate secondary stress and vowel lengthening. (Aramaic) a secondary accent (resembling kadma) which is found on the same word as a zakef. (Aramaic) a word accented on the penultimate (next-to-last) syllable. (Aramaic) a word accented on the ultima (last syllable). (Hebrew) the quorum for prayer, consisting of ten adult Jews. In Orthodox Judaism: ten adult male Jews. (Hebrew) a code of Jewish law compiled in Palestine ca. 200 CE. (Hebrew) a commentary on the 6KXO‫ۊ‬DQ$UXNK written by 5DEEL