Siddurs, and Benchers, and Downloads, oh my!
By: Benjamin Maron
A collection of resources for helping you and your community further supplement and explore prayers and Torah, physician plan services, misbirth and more:
- Gather The People is a downloadable resources for preparing divrei Torah (words of Torah) and more.
- Mechon Mamre lets you print sections from the Torah side-by-side in Hebrew and English, medical and in several other formats.
- ScrollScraper lets you print a tikkun page (page for preparing to chant/learn Torah) for your Torah Reading.
- Siddur Chaveirim Kol Yisrael, by the Progressive Chavurah/Siddur Committee, is a Friday night and Festival Evening siddur. It features transliteration, traditional text, gender neutral translations, and a multiplicity of voices in the commentary.
- Siddur Eit Ratzon, by Joe Rosenstein, follows the same format as Siddur Chaveirim Kol Yisrael and has many kavvanot and meditations, as well as guideposts for learning and experiencing Jewish prayer services.
- L’chu N’ran’nah is an egalitarian bencher used at the weddings and in the homes of many NHC members.
- Az Yashir Moshe is a printable bencher in PDF format.
- Green & Just Celebrations is a booklet published by Jews United for Justice, containing specific suggestions for how families can make purchasing choices for weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, etc., in ways that are mindful of workers’ rights and environmental impact.
- HebCal is a perpetual Hebrew calendar that can be localized to your ZIP code.
- Shabbat People, is a web application for signing up participants for services.
Benjamin Maron attended his first NHC Summer Institute as an Everett Fellow in 2006. He is on the NHC Board of Directors. He is chairing the 2010 Chesapeake Retreat.
December 26, 2009 8 Comments
How To Do Hagbah
By: Lee Butler
This article was inspired by a workshop Lee offered at the 2009 NHC Summer Institute.
Hagbah is the lifting of the Torah. It is an honor to do hagbah; you would be called up after the Torah reading along with the person being honored with gelilah (dressing the Torah).
Hagbah is something that is often considered to be purely a matter of strength; that’s why, geriatrician even in egalitarian contexts, it’s almost always given to men (and big ones at that). But hagbah is not even mostly a matter of strength, it’s a matter of balance, confidence, and support. Below, you’ll find the tips I’ve collected over time (or figured out on my own) to help most people be able to do hagbah.
- If you haven’t done hagbah before, try to be familiar with the sifrei Torah (Torah scrolls) you might be called upon to lift. The weight of sifrei Torah can vary widely dependent on the wood used for the atzei hayyim (literally, trees of life, used here to mean the wood dowels), the height of the scroll, and the thickness of the parchment.
- Before lifting, open the sefer Torah (Torah scroll) so the atzei hayyim are about shoulder width apart. This will make it far easier to lift than trying to lift it closed.
- Hold tension through the parchment. The parchment used for a sefer Torah is more like leather than paper; you’re not going to rip the Torah while lifting it. (Be aware of the seams in the Torah, especially if some of the stitching has come undone. You can always roll the Torah away from any weak points before lifting.)
- Don’t try to dead lift the sefer Torah. Instead, pull the sefer Torah about halfway off the bimah or amud (reading table) and use the edge as a fulcrum. Get under the sefer Torah as it comes vertical by bending your knees and lift. Look, the Torah’s up!
- Balance through the parchment, maintain the tension. Remember, you won’t rip it.
- If you feel unstable, put the sefer Torah down. Better to thump it on the bimah/amud than to drop it. If you have to rest the sefer on your shoulder, do it. A sefer Torah cannot be “contaminated” by you touching it, so while you should avoid touching the parchment directly, if you do so, there isn’t any ritual consequence for you or the sefer Torah.
- Communicate with the person doing galilah. The least stable time during hagbah is right after you sit down, and you need their help to roll up the scroll and get it dressed (and stable) again.
If you can practice outside of service time with someone who typically does hagbah in your community, I would take advantage of it. When everyone’s watching you, it can be high-pressure. Remember, the only thing that matters in hagbah is getting the sefer Torah off the bimah/amud and into its clothes without dropping it; anything else is nice, but not necessary. When you’re first doing hagbah, try to take the honor in the middle of the year or the holiday maftir Torah, when the scroll is in the middle. That’s when it’s easiest to balance, and won’t be too heavy on either hand.
Good luck, and happy lifting!
Lee Butler attended his first NHC Summer Institute as an Everett Fellow in 2008, and is co-chair for 2010.
December 26, 2009 6 Comments
Taking on Social Justice
By: Abby Bellows
This article was inspired by a workshop Abby offered at the 2009 NHC Summer Institute.
Many of our communities value tikkun olam (repairing the world), syphilis either reflected in actions taken by the community as a whole or in the professional and volunteer choices made by individual members.
Are there reasons to take on social justice work as a whole community?
Yes! There is a need for communities like ours (mainly of highly educated, purchase white voters) to be vocal in fighting poverty and other social dilemmas; we can experience a sense of fulfilment from helping and working alongside others; it can build relationships and unity within our own community; and some of us are excited to engage in something other than our jobs. Social justice is part of our Jewish tradition and it’s a great way to foster a positive image of Jews in our cities and counties, medicine where many of the oppressive landlords, employers, and officials happen to be Jews.
So what is social justice work?
It addresses the root causes of issues faced by “us” and “them,” developing relationships and leadership in the process.
What are the challenges of doing social justice work with your minyan or havurah and how do we deal with them?
- Some people don’t feel that they have relevant skills, or are intimidated by the scale of the problems. This evokes Ruth Messinger’s quote, “We cannot retreat into the convenience of being overwhelmed.” We can always start somewhere.
- There are diverse political perspectives within some communities. So when bankers and social workers can come together on good davening (praying), why cause rifts by divisive conversation? One response to this is to find and talk about the points we can all agree on (public education perhaps, or responses to homelessness).
- Some communities engage a lot of people who do this kind of work by day and aren’t looking to do more on the weekends and at night. They want their prayer community to be just that. This can be handled by identifying other people in the community who might be interested or who could engage through different modes than they do by day.
However another response to these challenges involves a paradigm shift. Instead of “doing” social justice, how can we integrate it into everything our community does?
An old model for thinking about social justice might have looked like this:
- a few people “do” social justice;
- they plan an event to “do” social justice (such as a food drive at Yom Kippur);
- they fulfil their obligation to “do” social justice;
- they have helped “others”.
Instead, a model for social justice could look like this:
- everyone is involved (those who set the dues structure use a sliding scale proportional to people’s incomes; those who organize the Kiddush (light meal after prayers) use re-usable dishes; divrei Torah (words of Torah) often connect to socially relevant issues, etc.;
- social justice is all of the time;
- social justice is continual;
- we are helping ourselves as well as helping others (this could look like working on issues that concern our lives – such as affordable rent, student loans, and healthcare – and also impact on our broader community). Motivate people through their personal narratives. Ask your havurah or minyan community what they struggle with and are excited about improving in our lives.
Some examples of social justice in minyans or havurahs:
- Fabrangen (in Washington, DC) has short term events, builds longitudinal relationships, goes to protests, and has a sliding scale for membership dues.
- Tikkun Leil Shabbat (in Washington DC) is an outgrowth of Jews United for Justice, and came with a stronger mission for combining social justice and Jewish prayer space. Every time they meet, they have a speaker from a local non-profit give the d’var tikkun (a talk on a social justice issue), which includes information about the organization and direct ways to take action. In addition, they focus on their environmental footprint by washing dishes instead of using disposables.
- Kol Zimrah (in New York City) is working on greening their community by using reusable dishes and asking members to “BYOdishes”. They are considering giving a portion of their fundraising money to tzedakah (charity). But they also recognize that for most members, this is primarily a davening community, and members go elsewhere for social justice.
- Hadar (in New York City) has anxiety about higher rents in shomer Shabbos (keeping the commandments of Shabbat, including being able to walk to davening) neighborhoods. They have channeled their anxiety into working on housing issues, through direct service (volunteering in a homeless shelter and building with Habitat for Humanity) as well as through advocating for legislation that will regulate rent.
Abby Bellows has attended numerous NHC Summer Institutes, and was co-chair in 2008.
December 26, 2009 10 Comments
Programming For the Havurah – Not Davening
By: Bob Freedman
Davening (prayer) havurot are defined by the need to sustain worship each time they meet. Non-davening havurot are different. Their “mission” is defined by their members – their ages, viagra 100mg family situation (children or not), pilule collective expertise, viagra and interests – and can include studying, celebrating holiday and life-cycle events, and more. You can use this guide for ideas to further your community’s programming.
A few guidelines:
- Make programming only as complicated as there are people who are willing to organize it. If a suggested program attracts no volunteer coordinators, call for more ideas.
- Use email to solicit input about programming so that a maximum number of people buy into it. One way to do this is to send out a message to the group giving three suggestions and let them vote.
- Rotate hosts.
- Serve food. The best strategy is to make this “Jewish potluck,” that is, whoever is the host for the program puts out a call for contributions, then makes more than necessary.
Programming Ideas
This is a huge topic. Please post your suggestions in the comments below. Here are some ideas to use as seeds. They have been divided into three areas of non-davening programming: holidays, study, and everything else.
Holidays:
- Rosh Hashanah:
- Share your dreams, hopes, and prayers for the New Year. Compile the prayers and give each family/individual a copy to recite at their erev Rosh Hashanah (eve of Rosh Hashanah) dinner.
- Sponsor a “mikvah (ritual bath) morning” the Sunday before Rosh Hashanah in a member’s hot tub or pool. Ask people to share what they hope to wash away and to recite the traditional prayers before immersion.
- In keeping with the theme of memory during the Musaf service of Rosh Hashanah (Zichronot), gather to share your Jewish memories.
- Go apple picking at a local orchard to get apples for the holiday.
- Create a Sefer Hayyim (Book of Life). Gather a lot of magazines. Provide an 11″x17″ piece of paper to each person, glue sticks, colored markers, and scissors. Ask each person to create a collage of pictures (or words) cut from the magazines that tells their memories of the past year. Bind the pages together with string, create a cover for the book, and display it at a meal or gathering for all to see.
- Sukkot:
- Find out where local produce farms are. Try to find one in each of the four directions. (If you wish, limit your search to organic producers.) Buy food from each one. Gather in a sukkah to wave the lulav and etrog in the directions of each of the farms and give each a blessing of fertility. Cook, serve, enjoy, and bless the food you bought from the farms.
- Organize or participate in a local CROP Walk, often sponsored by Church World Service.
- Host a Sukkot pumpkin-carving event. Encourage Jewish-themed carvings.
- Arrange to go to local farms to glean the leftover produce and give it to the local food pantry.
- Have a water fight in honor and memory of the water drawing ceremony (see Mishnah, Tractate Sukkah, 4:9 and following).
- Divide the assembled people into small groups (2-3 people each). Ask each group to decide on three people to invite to the sukkah. They could be famous or not, Jewish or not. Go around the room and have each group tell whom they invited and their reasons.
- Sponsor a traveling Sukkot party (moveable feast).
- Hanukah:
- Bring your menorah and tell its story.
- Hanukah gift exchange.
- Package gifts to go to a local holiday gift drive.
- Have a sing down with songs that include the word light.
- Shabbat:
- Have a traditional Shabbat dinner in a member’s home. Provide food by potluck, “modified potluck” (main dishes catered or determined in advance and the rest of the food brought as attendants wish), or catered. Ask someone to lead singing.
- Celebrate Havdalah and discuss the moments of separation in your lives.
- Passover:
- Sponsor a seder for your havurah. Rent a hall; assign people to bring food, assign parts of the seder to families or individuals, appoint an emcee.
- Sponsor a matzah brei breakfast competition.
Study:
- Any of the books of the Tanakh are good for study and there is ample commentary for any group, both in hard copy and on the internet.
- Other suggestions for study are:
- The Path of Blessings by Marcia Prager;
- The Jewish Lights Spirituality Handbook, edited by Stuart Matlins;
- Pirkei Avot – The Ethics of The Fathers (The Reform Movement has published an excellent study edition);
- The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of the Sefat Emet, Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger by Art Green;
- Attend an adult education program at a local synagogue as a group and gather at least once to share what each has learned.
Other Programming:
- Discuss “What did your parents teach you about telling the truth?”
- Discuss, “Elohey Avraham, Elohey Yitzhak, vElohey Ya-akov (God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob); What did your parents teach you about God?”
- Discuss names – how you are named, how you named your children, how you react to your name.
- Discuss divided loyalties: Struggling with choosing from many different ways of being Jewish, especially when your choices may be different from what you grew up with.
- Discuss the relation of religion to science.
- Learn about the different branches of Judaism. Have one or two people research each branch and present the material that they found.
- Have everyone bring at least two Jewish jokes or short funny readings.
- Bring Jewish objects from your home. Tell their history and what they mean to you/how they connect you to Judaism.
- Bring articles about religious issues from local or national periodicals and discuss the issues. Decide on discussion guidelines in advance; for example, no judgment, courteous and respectful speech, don’t say more than you mean.
- Sponsor a Mitzvah Day. Find public projects that need doing – like working for the local food bank, cleaning the litter from the sides of a road, etc. Gather in the morning for bagels and a short moment of dedication, then send participants off to whatever project they want to do. Gather back in the afternoon to tell each other what happened and share more food.
- Make candles for Shabbat, Hanukah, and Havdalah. Begin with a discussion of the ritual use of candles, the symbolism of light in Jewish observance and in other traditions.
- Have an Israeli dinner. Use recipes from a Sephardi Jewish cookbook.
- Go on a walking tour of the Lower East Side of NYC. See the Tenement Museum.
- Go to the Jewish museums in your city or organize a field trip to a museum in a nearby city.
- Ask participants to tell about their families of origin and their ancestors. Make explicit that this will include the non-Jewish families represented. Show pictures, tell stories, and bring objects.
- Do Jewish arts and crafts activities: make challah covers, miniature sukkot, spice boxes, mezuzot, etc.
- Hire someone to teach Israeli dances.
- Watch Jewish movies and have a discussion afterwards.
- Hire someone to teach how to make challah.
For suggestions about how to organize and present your programming to be both “green” and to reflect Jewish concepts of justice in the workplace go to Green & Just Celebrations. There you can download a booklet that, though written for the Washington, D.C. community, has many ideas that apply to other areas.
Bob Freedman has attended numerous NHC Summer Institutes. He is on the NHC Board of Directors.
December 26, 2009 2 Comments
Gabbinical School
By: Adam Levine
This article was inspired by a workshop Adam offered at the 2009 NHC Summer Institute.
This is intended to be a brief guide to the responsibilities of the gabbaim (managers or assistants) during the Torah service. It is far from complete; there are many complicated details that cannot be covered here. There are many more comprehensive guides, sickness including Rabbi Ethan Tucker’s excellent Tefilah Bizmanah: A Gabbai’s Guide or many luchot (guides). This guide is aimed at providing some helpful suggestions that could improve the general running of the Torah service.
Mechon Hadar has compiled a great collection of sheets and handouts to use during the service. In particular, check out the “Torah service supplements,” which contain everything for the gabbai rishon (first assistant or manager) to say during the service.
Gabbai responsibilities
Correcting leyning (Torah reading) errors: Many people assume that one gabbai (assistant or manager) is responsible for calling people to the Torah and the other is responsible for checking the Torah reading. This is incorrect. Both gabbaim should correct mistakes that they hear during the leyning; to have two gabbaim is to provide an extra safeguard. Sometimes it makes sense to give one gabbai the primary checking role, but the other one should still be prepared to correct any mistakes that first one misses.
- If you hear a mistake, point it out, and make sure the reader repeats the word. In some communities, it seems that the gabbaim just follow along with the reading and don’t correct anything, and that’s not good. If a reader is ignoring your corrections, you should remind him/her in between aliyot that you’re not chopped liver.
- The best way to be good at this is to practice. Have someone read from a chumash and deliberately make mistakes so that you can correct them. Another thing to do is to review the Torah portion before Shabbat, just as if you were learning to leyn it. Ultimately, though, the best way to become a good corrector is to be a good leyner; it’s probably not a good idea to have people who aren’t experienced leyners serving in the gabbai role.
- Knowing which errors to correct and which to let slide can be difficult. The general rule is that an error that changes the meaning of a word should be corrected, while one that doesn’t does not have to be corrected. However, unless your Hebrew is very strong, it can be tricky to figure out on the spot whether an error changes the meaning. The guide below provides some guidelines; there are plenty of exceptions, but these rules of thumb should be helpful.
- Exactly how strict to be about corrections is a tricky question. There’s always the possibility that too many corrections can cause a leyner to lose confidence, leading to more mistakes. Also, with certain subtle errors, some less experienced leyners may not understand what’s being corrected, resulting in confusion. The real solution is to work on educating leyners so that they understand what the mistakes are.
Calling people to the Torah: This is the responsibility of the gabbai rishon (G1). See below for some details on how to do this correctly and grammatically. Calling people up efficiently is one of the best way to keep the Torah service from dragging. Here are some suggestions:
- The gabbai rishon should know who has what aliyah. If your community has someone other than the gabbai assign the aliyot, you should check in with that person before the Torah service. Granted, it can be hard to remember even if you assigned the aliyot yourself, but it’s worth making an effort.
- Especially in a big room, encourage people to start coming up to the bimah or amud just before their aliyah begins. Also, a good way to get people moving quickly is to say “Ya’amod…” or “Ta’amod…” before they actually get there, so that the onus is on them to move quickly.
- Hand out aliyah cards. This is a good way to prevent people from forgetting which aliyah they have. Some samples are available on Mechon Hadar’s resources page.
- Be aware of any special aliyot in the Torah portion. For instance, major aliyot such as the Ten Commandments are often considered special honors. Also, the curses in Bechukotai and Ki Tavo are usually given to the leyner, the rabbi of the community, or someone else well-respected in the community; you don’t want to give such an awful aliyah to a guest or someone random.
- If you know in advance that someone is getting an aliyah (e.g., the maftir, or someone celebrating an aufruf), write down that person’s Hebrew name in advance so you don’t need to ask for it. Some communities even keep a list of everyone’s Hebrew names so that everyone can be called up easily.
Calling page numbers: It’s usually a good idea to announce the chapter and verse every few aliyot, as well as perhaps the page number in one or more chumashim. Just one guideline: Nothing looks worse than saying “The Torah reading is on page, uh, umm, does anyone know what page it’s on?” Plan ahead, especially if you’re trying to call pages out of multiple chumashim. Some people actually make a cheat sheet in advance that has all the page numbers written down. This is usually a job for the gabbai sheini (second gabbai) (G2).
Directing traffic: Both gabbaim should make sure that people are standing in the right places during the Torah service. When someone comes up for an aliyah, a gabbai should show him/her where to stand and point out the b’rachot (blessings) sheet. The person taking the aliyah is supposed to follow along in the scroll, so he/she should be standing right up close, preferably holding on to one of the handles of the Torah. (In fact, the leyner and the two gabbaim should also all have a hand on the Torah – one person per each of the four handles.) After the aliyah, remind the person to keep standing at the amud for the next aliyah, and don’t forget to shake his/her hand!
Covering the Torah: Out of respect, the Torah should be covered any time there’s a substantial pause, such as a mi shebeirach (blessings that start with “May the One who blessed”), long announcement, or even just waiting for someone to come up to the amud, put on a tallis, etc. This is a good G2 job. (Also, don’t put siddurim or handouts on top of the Torah when it’s covered.)
Checking the spot: After each aliyah, a gabbai should look in the scroll and make note of where the next aliyah starts, in the interest of moving things along more efficiently. Having to wait to find the spot every time is a big tircha d’tzibura (burden on the community). This is especially true when a lot of different people are reading.
Saying mi shebeirachs: In some communities, G1 says a mi shebeirach for each oleh/olah (person receiving an aliyah); in others, they’re reserved only for special occasions such as aufrufs and baby namings. Typically, the way to do this is to say the mi shebeirach right after calling up the next person, but before he/she says the blessings. As mentioned before, be sure to cover the Torah.
Helping out during the lifting and wrapping of the Torah: You should spot the person lifting the Torah, just in case, and then help him/her to a seat. Also, help the person dressing the Torah, but be sure to let him/her do the actual work. If your minyan’s custom is to sing something (usually upbeat) during the wrapping, a gabbai should be the one to start it. Also, if you don’t have a stand for the Torah, a gabbai should make sure that the lifter has a chumash and siddur so that once seated with the Torah, he/she can follow along during the haftarah and the end of Torah service.
Saying Kaddish: Usually the person who chanted the seventh aliyah says the chatzi kaddish that’s between the seventh aliyah and the maftir aliyah, but G1 should be prepared to say this just in case. Again, be sure to cover the Torah. On days when two Torah scrolls are used, place the second scroll on the amud before saying the Kaddish, and then call the lifter and wrapper for the first scroll (l’seifer rishon).
Calling people to the Torah grammatically
At the beginning, G1 reads the first two lines:
V’ya’azor v’yagein v’yoshia l’chol hachosim bo v’nomar amen. Hakol havu godel lEloheinu utnu chavod laTorah.
If your minyan gives the first aliyah to a Kohen or bat Kohen:
M: Kohein k’rav, ya’amod ___ ben ___ v’___ hakohein.
F: Bat kohein, kirvi, ta’amod ___ bat ___ v’___ hakohein.
(Ordinarily, it doesn’t matter in which order people give their parents’ names. However, for kohanim and l’vi’im, you should say the father’s name second, since “hakohen” is part of the father’s name.)
If you ordinarily give the first aliyah to a Kohein or Bat Kohein, but none are present, some say that you should give the first aliyah to a Levi; others say that you specifically should give it to a Yisrael. In either case, you say:
M: Ein kan kohein. Ya’amod ___ ben ___ v’___ bimkom kohein.
F: Ein kan kohein. Ta’amod ___ bat ___ v’___ bimkom kohein.
If you don’t give the first aliyah to kohanim, you just say:
M: Ya’amod ___ ben ___ v’___, rishon.
F: Ta’amod ___ bat ___ v’___, rishonah.
In any case, G1 continues:
Baruch shenatan Torah l’amo Yisrael bikdushato.
The congregation says:
V’atem hadveikim bAdonai Eloheichem chayim kulchem hayom.
And G1 repeats that line.
For the second aliyah, if you give it to a Levi or Bat Levi:
M: Ya’amod ___ ben ___ v’___ haleivi.
F: Ta’amod ___ bat ___ v’___ haleivi.
If not:
M: Ya’amod ___ ben ___ v’___, sheini.
F: Ta’amod ___ bat ___ v’___, sh’niah.
NOTE: The feminine form of the adjective sheini is sh’niah, NOT sheinit. (The latter is an adverb that means “again.”)
Subsequent aliyot are called as follows:
M: Ya’amod ___ ben ___ v’___, sh’lishi / r’vi’i / chamishi / shishi / sh’vi’i / maftir.
F: Ta’amod ___ bat ___ v’___, sh’lishit / r’vi’it / chamishit / shishit / sh’vi’it / maftirah.
In communities where multiple people are called for a single aliyah, the best way to call them up is to say Ya’amdu (or ta’amodna for a group of women), then their names, and then la’aliyah harishonah / hash’niah / hash’lishit / har’vi’it / hachamishit / hashishit / hash’vi’it. (However, many would say that there are halachic problems with this practice.)
To call up the lifter and wrapper:
M/M: Ya’amod hamagbiah, ya’amod hagoleil or Ya’amdu hamagbiah v’hagolel.
M/F: Ya’amod hamagbiah, ta’amod hagolelet.
F/M: Ta’amod hamagbihah, ya’amod hagoleil.
F/F: Ta’amod hamagbihah, ta’amod hagolelet or Ta’amodna hamagbihah v’hagolelet.
Some communities call the lifter and wrapper by name, which is fine. However, do not say something like Ya’amod hagbahah or Ta’amod g’lilah. This is meaningless Hebrew: “May the lifting stand.” The subject of the verb ya’amod/ta’amod is meant to be a person.
A Guide to Correcting Mistakes in Torah Reading
The overall principle is that any mistake that changes the meaning of the word should be corrected, while those that do not change the meaning should not be corrected. However, it’s often hard to judge in the spur of the moment whether a mistake changes the meaning. This guide is intended to provide rules of thumb to address many common types of errors.
Errors in the consonantal text, such as replacing one letter with another, are always corrected. Shin and sin are different letters.
Bet and vet, kaf and chaf, pay and fay (and, for some people, tav and sav): At the beginning of a word, don’t correct them. In the middle of the word, there are a few instances where it can change the meaning: e.g., the imperative verb kabeid (honor) vs. the adjective kaveid (heavy). So you should probably correct these any time they’re in the middle of a word.
The most common mistakes involve vowels.
- Always correct – v’ (vav with sh’va) vs. va (vav with patach) in verbs, since it can change the tense.
- Always correct – b’ (bet with sh’va) vs. ba (bet with patach) and l’ (lamed with sh’va) vs. la (lamed with patach), since “a” and “the” mean different things.
- People frequently mix up el (aleph lamed, to), al (aleph lamed, do not) and al (ayin lamed, on). Always correct these.
- Don’t correct et (aleph tav) vs. eit (aleph tav): they are pronounced differently, but they are the same word.
- Don’t correct pausal forms: aretz vs. eretz (both aleph resh tzadi), vay’hi vs. vayehi (both vav yud hay yud), etc. Two other examples are l’cha vs. lach (both lamed chaf) and it’cha vs. itach (both aleph tav chaf). All of these are masculine forms, even though the pausal forms look the same as the feminine forms, so you don’t have to correct them if they’re talking about a male character.
- You don’t generally need to correct kamatz katan versus kamatz gadol. However, pronouncing a patach like a kamatz katan should definitely be corrected.
- Vowel mistakes that change the mood, voice, or tense of a verb should always be corrected, such as ya’aseh vs. yei’aseh (both yud ayin sin hey) and dabeir vs. dibeir (both daled bet resh).
Correcting the accenting of syllables is a tricky business. There are instances where the accent can change the tense of a verb. However, they can be hard to correct on the spot, so it may not be worthwhile except with very proficient readers.
The only trop that you really need to correct is sof pasuk, i.e., when the reader puts a verse break in the wrong place or skips over a verse break. (Some say the same holds for etnachta.) There are a few circumstances where a trop error can substantially affect the meaning of the words, but we won’t go into them here. However, you should be ready to provide a prompt if the reader is fumbling for the correct trop.
Adam Levine attended his first NHC Summer Institute as an Everett Fellow in 2009.
December 26, 2009 30 Comments