Tagged Questions
2
votes
1answer
31 views
Hamracheim or Hammerachim?
In Modim in the Shmoneh Esre we say המרחם כי לא תמו חסדך the question is whether the מ in המרחם should have a daggesh or not, and thus what sort of Shva should be under said מ?
2
votes
2answers
51 views
Niqqud for שְׁיָרֵי in Zevachim mishnah
I am really no expert in Hebrew grammar and I know there are many variants of same word. In particular I think there is no tradition for the puntuaction of the Mishnah.
However in my siddur ...
3
votes
0answers
65 views
Correcting tav/sav
If someone who usually pronounces the letter "ת" without a dagesh as "sav" is leining Torah, and he accidentally says "tav" in a place where he would normally say "sav", should the gabbai correct him? ...
2
votes
0answers
78 views
How could different pronunciations arise when we are obligated to pronounce the Shema precisely?
If one does not pronounce the Shema correctly, one has not fulfilled their obligation (שולחן ערוך או"ח סימן סב). If so, then how could different pronunciations of the Hebrew words arise? Shouldn't at ...
4
votes
1answer
84 views
What is the correct pronunciation of last letter in the Hebrew alphabet?
I have heard mixed answers as to how to pronounce the letter תּ
Is it taf or tav?
(I'm referring to the halachic pronunciation not the common street way.)
Is there a difference between Ashkenazi or ...
0
votes
1answer
107 views
The vowel making the “i” sound and the vowel making the “ee” sound [closed]
While I have no unicode to show my predicament, I'd like to describe it. I know the vowel for i, such as in the English word "bit", is represented by a dot under the consonant. I know the vowel for ...
0
votes
2answers
165 views
Pronunciation for אלוהים הוא אלוהים שלי
I got this from translating 'G-d is my G-d' on Google Translate. However I don't know how to pronounce the Hebrew. Can somebody give me the pronunciation on this and is there a Hebrew name that means ...
3
votes
0answers
98 views
Pronunciation of “Two”s in Hebrew
Thomas O. Lambdin calls out the words שְנַיִם and שְתַּיִם as exceptions to "shewa as the initial vowel in a word is always vocalized," i.e. it is "shtayim" and "shnayim". That's a secular expert's ...
3
votes
2answers
201 views
Question about Ashkenazi pronunciation
BS"D
I was at an Ashkenazi beith kneseth this past shabboth and noticed that they didn't distinctly pronounce their Shuruq's and Hholam's and instead substituted them with Hhireq's. I'm not sure if ...
5
votes
0answers
96 views
Good resource for learning vowel pronunciation
In trying to improve my leyning, I'm trying to get the finer points of vowel pronunciation down.
What is a good resource to learn, e.g., the difference between a patach and chataf-patach or a ...
0
votes
2answers
145 views
Ve-dibarta BAM? or bam?
Would saying "ve-dibarta BAM!!!" (with the letter A pronounced like Apple) help me to discharge my obligation when reciting kriat shema, or would it be better that I say "bam" instead? (the letter A ...
2
votes
0answers
87 views
Intonation of questions in ancient Hebrew [closed]
That is, when someone asks a question in English, their pitch goes up at the end. When someone makes a statement in English, their pitch goes down. This is not universal: In German, only some ...
6
votes
0answers
95 views
Prounciation - IM vs YIM? with ים ending
I've read that ידים is to be pronounced ya- DAI - im, yet שמים is to be pronounced sha-MAI-yim.
Both end the same, but are pronounced differently. (This was from a text purporting to teach "Biblical ...
4
votes
1answer
266 views
Hebrew Havarah?
Similar to this question
Different parts of Eastern Europe had different dialects.
For example, Ukrainian, Polish and Hungarian Jews pronounce a "Shuruk" as a EE, or a Komatz as an oo (so Boruch ...
4
votes
3answers
94 views
Pronunciation of חשמונאי
A friend today told me that the word חשמונאי traditionally pronounced "Chashmonai" should really be pronounced "Chashmunai" with the vav being read as a shuruk vowel instead of a cholom.
Is this ...
12
votes
1answer
189 views
Kubutz and shuruk in Polish/Hungarian pronunciation
What is the origin or basis of the Polish and Hungarian prevalence for pronouncing "oo" vowels as "ee"? The variants of other vowels are easier to understand in the context of phonological shifting, ...
4
votes
1answer
123 views
BinyOn or binyAn adai-ad in one of the sheva brochos?
At a chupah today, in the brocho of “asher yotzar es ho’odom betzalmo” a learned Rabbi said the word “binyOn” before “adai-ad” rather than the more usual “binyAn”. “binyOn” is the text in the Baer ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
Is there a chart which details the major common pronunciations of Hebrew?
I learned how to pronounce Hebrew from the book "Teach Yourself to Read Hebrew" which describes pronunciation with Sephardic vocalization. For example, patach and kamatz, according to the book, are ...
10
votes
2answers
225 views
Meaning and pronunciation of יישר כחך
What is the exact meaning of the phrase "יישר כחך", and what is the gramatically-correct way to pronounce it?
10
votes
3answers
367 views
Disparity between male and female pronunciation of Cholam
In many Yeshivish communities in the US, the male segment of the population vocalizes the cholam as "oi," while their female counterparts vocalize it as a long "o". How did this come about? Does the ...
7
votes
2answers
165 views
Why do many (most?) people call the upcoming holiday “Peysach”?
In some Ashkenazic dialects, lots of words in which the first syllable is accented and the vowel is segol are pronounced as though they had a tzeirei. Examples include "meylech," "tzeydek," and ...
8
votes
1answer
223 views
A Lubavitch custom of reciting zecher and zeicher in “Ashrei”?
My cousin, a Lubavitcher, says both zecher and zeicher (that is, both זֶכֶר with a segol and זֵכֶר with a tzeire) in "Ashrei". I noticed this when I visited him a good few years ago, and assumed it ...
7
votes
2answers
274 views
מרדכי = Mord'chi?
When learning with Jews of the Syrian community, I noticed that they pronounced מרדכי (the name of the halachic commentary on the g'mara) as "mord'chi", as if the final vowel were a chirik. Why is ...
6
votes
1answer
294 views
מֶה, מָה, מַה - Meh, Mah, Ma - What's the difference?
What causes the difference in vowelization of the Hebrew word for "what"? In some contexts it is מֶה, in others - מָה, and in yet others - מַה. The hypothesis that an acquaintance and I converged on ...
8
votes
1answer
202 views
Why shin and sin?
Why does Hebrew use the same letter to represent two different sounds: shin and sin? As far as I know, with the exception of when using a dagesh kal, no other Hebrew letter has this property.
11
votes
6answers
300 views
5
votes
3answers
282 views
Silent aleph (no, I mean really silent)
Please explain what is going on with the letter aleph in certain places in Tanakh (e.g. the second to last word of Devarim 3:12, the first word of Tehilim 34:10) where the aleph contributes neither a ...
8
votes
2answers
333 views
Relationship between Samekh and Sin
What is the relationship between the letters samekh and sin? Did they ever have distinct sounds? Why do they exist as separate letters?
3
votes
7answers
377 views
Hebrew Pronunciation of the Conservative Movement
Why does the Conservative Movement pronounce Hebrew in a quasi-Sephardic pronunciation, even though their engagement in Wissenschaft Des Judentums would have led them to embrace the Yemenite ...
1
vote
2answers
108 views
Midrash/Medrash
Can anyone explain to me the difference between Midrash and Medrash? Is one of them known to be more correct (i.e. most likely older)?
2
votes
1answer
88 views
Is it “Vay-SHA-vucha” or “Va-YASH-vucha” in Anim Zemiros?
Is it "Vay-SHA-vucha" or "Va-YASH-vucha" in Anim Zemiros? I've heard both, and seen both in different siddurim. Any insight?
3
votes
1answer
97 views
How do you pronounce the הוי״ה in hataras nedarim (annulment of vows) before Rosh HaShanah?
In the siddurs I've seen, we ask for annulment for vows made "with the name הוי״ה ". That word is left unvowelized. How is it pronounced?
5
votes
2answers
388 views
Pronunciation of משנה הלכות
Are R' Menashe Klein's volumes of responsa pronounced "Mishna Halachos" or "Mishaneh Halachos"? Can someone provide the grammatical explanation please?
2
votes
1answer
111 views
Schwa+Heh Pronunciation
How should a heh with a schwa under it be pronounced in an intermediate position in a word? E.g. פדהאל, or נהדר
6
votes
1answer
476 views
Different traditions in Hebrew pronunciation
The theme of Hebrew pronunciation is one that facinates me and, as such, I want to get some feedback on some issues I've been thinking about for years. I have already discussed some of these issues ...
