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Hebrew cantillation is the manner of chanting ritual readings from the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...
services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the
Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
of the Bible, to complement the letters and vowel points. These marks are known in English as 'accents' (
diacritic A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacrit ...
s), 'notes' or trope symbols, and in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
as () or just (). Some of these signs were also sometimes used in medieval manuscripts of the
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...
. The musical motifs associated with the signs are known in Hebrew as or (not to be confused with
Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...
nigun) and in Yiddish as (): the word ''trope'' is sometimes used in Jewish English with the same meaning. There are multiple traditions of cantillation. Within each tradition, there are multiple tropes, typically for different books of the Bible and often for different occasions. For example, different chants may be used for Torah readings on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur than for the same text on a normal Shabbat.


History

Three systems of Hebrew punctuation (including vowels and cantillation symbols) have been used: the Babylonian, the Palestinian and the Tiberian, only the last of which is used today.


Babylonian system

Babylonian Biblical manuscripts from the Geonic period contain no cantillation marks in the current sense, but small Hebrew letters are used to mark significant divisions within a verse. Up to eight different letters are found, depending on the importance of the break and where it occurs in the verse: these correspond roughly to the disjunctives of the Tiberian system. For example, in some manuscripts the letter ''tav'', for ''tevir'' (break), does duty for both Tiberian ''tevir'' and ''zaqef''. In general there are no symbols for the conjunctives, though some late manuscripts use the Tiberian symbols for these. There is also no equivalent for low-grade disjunctives such as ''telisha gedolah'': these are generally replaced by the equivalent of ''zaqef'' or ''revia''. Nothing is known of the musical realization of these marks, but it seems likely that they represent breaks or variations in a set melody applied to each verse. (A somewhat similar system is used in manuscripts of the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
to guide the reader in fitting the chant to the verse: see '' Qur'an reading''.) This system is reflected in the cantillation practices of the
Yemenite Jews Yemenite Jews or Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ''Yehudei Teman''; ar, اليهود اليمنيون) are those Jews who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. Between June 1949 and September 1950, th ...
, who now use the Tiberian symbols, but tend to have musical motifs only for the disjunctives and render the conjunctives in a monotone. It is notable that the Yemenite Jews have only eight disjunctive motifs, thus clearly reflecting the Babylonian notation. The same is true of the Karaite mode for the haftarah; while in the Sephardi haftarah modes different disjunctives often have the same or closely similar motifs, reducing the total number of effective motifs to something like the same number.


Palestinian system

The Babylonian system, as mentioned above, is mainly concerned with showing breaks in the verse. Early Palestinian manuscripts, by contrast, are mainly concerned with showing phrases: for example the ''tifcha-etnachta'', ''zarqa-segolta'' and ''pashta-zaqef'' sequences, with or without intervening unaccented words. These sequences are generally linked by a series of dots, beginning or ending with a dash or a dot in a different place to show which sequence is meant. Unaccented words (which in the Tiberian system carry conjunctives) are generally shown by a dot following the word, as if to link it to the following word. There are separate symbols for more elaborate tropes like ''pazer'' and ''telisha gedolah''. The manuscripts are extremely fragmentary, no two of them following quite the same conventions, and these marks may represent the individual reader's aide-memoire rather than a formal system of punctuation (for example, vowel signs are often used only where the word would otherwise be ambiguous). In one manuscript, presumably of somewhat later date than the others, there are separate marks for different conjunctives, actually outnumbering those in the Tiberian system (for example, ''munach'' before ''etnachta'' has a different sign from ''munach'' before ''zaqef''), and the overall system approaches the Tiberian in comprehensiveness. In some other manuscripts, in particular those containing Targumim rather than original text, the Tiberian symbols have been added by a later hand. In general, it may be observed that the Palestinian and Tiberian systems are far more closely related to each other than either is to the Babylonian. This system of phrasing is reflected in the Sephardic cantillation modes, in which the conjunctives (and to some extent the "near companions" such as ''tifcha'', ''pashta'' and ''zarqa'') are rendered as flourishes leading into the motif of the following disjunctive rather than as motifs in their own right. The somewhat inconsistent use of dots above and below the words as disjunctives is closely similar to that found in Syriac texts. Kahle also notes some similarity with the punctuation of Samaritan Hebrew.


Tiberian system

By the tenth century, the chant in use in
medieval Palestine In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
had clearly become more complex, both because of the existence of ''pazer'', ''geresh'' and ''telisha'' motifs in longer verses and because the realization of a phrase ending with a given type of break varied according to the number of words and syllables in the phrase. The Tiberian
Masoretes The Masoretes ( he, בַּעֲלֵי הַמָּסוֹרָה, Baʿălēy Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Masters of the Tradition') were groups of Jewish scribe- scholars who worked from around the end of the 5th through 10th centuries CE, based primarily i ...
therefore developed a comprehensive notation with a symbol on each word, to replace the fragmentary systems previously in use. In particular, it was necessary to invent a range of different conjunctive accents to show how to introduce and elaborate the main motif in longer phrases. (For example, ''tevir'' is preceded by ''mercha'', a short flourish, in shorter phrases but by ''darga'', a more elaborate run of notes, in longer phrases.) The system they devised is the one in use today, and is found in Biblical manuscripts such as the
Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex ( he, כֶּתֶר אֲרָם צוֹבָא, romanized: , lit. 'Crown of Aleppo') is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the ...
. A Masoretic treatise called ''Diqduqe ha-teʿamim'' (precise rules of the accents) by Aaron ben Moses ben Asher survives, though both the names and the classification of the accents differ somewhat from those of the present day. As the accents were (and are) not shown on a Torah scroll, it was found necessary to have a person making hand signals to the reader to show the tune, as in the Byzantine system of neumes. This system of cheironomy survives in some communities to the present day, notably in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. It is speculated that both the shapes and the names of some of the accents (e.g. ''tifcha'', literally "hand-breadth") may refer to the hand signals rather than to the syntactical functions or melodies denoted by them. Today in most communities there is no system of hand signals and the reader learns the melody of each reading in advance. The Tiberian system spread quickly and was accepted in all communities by the 13th century. Each community re-interpreted its reading tradition so as to allocate one short musical motif to each symbol: this process has gone furthest in the Western Ashkenazi and Ottoman (Jerusalem-Sephardi, Syrian etc.) traditions. Learning the accents and their musical rendition is now an important part of the preparations for a bar mitzvah, as this is the first occasion on which a person reads from the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
in public. In the early period of the Reform movement there was a move to abandon the system of cantillation and give Scriptural readings in normal speech (in Hebrew or in the vernacular). In recent decades, however, traditional cantillation has been restored in many communities.


Different systems for different sets of books

There are two systems of cantillation marks in the
Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
,
Proverbs A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbia ...
and Job. Except where otherwise stated, this article describes the "prose" system.


Traditional roots

The current system of cantillation notes has its historical roots in the Tiberian masorah. The cantillation signs are included in
Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...
as characters U+0591 through U+05AF in the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
block.


Different naming according to rites

The names of some of the cantillation signs differ in the
Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
,
Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
, Italian and Yemenite traditions; for example Sephardim use ''qadma'' to mean what Ashkenazim call ''pashta'', and ''azla'' to mean what Ashkenazim call ''qadma''. In this article, as in almost all Hebrew grammars, the Ashkenazi terminology is used. The names in other traditions are shown in the table
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.


Purpose


Synagogue use

A primary purpose of the cantillation signs is to guide the chanting of the sacred texts during public worship. Very roughly speaking, each word of text has a cantillation mark at its primary accent and associated with that mark is a musical phrase that tells how to sing that word. The reality is more complex, with some words having two or no marks and the musical meaning of some marks dependent upon context. There are different sets of musical phrases associated with different sections of the Bible. The music varies with different Jewish traditions and individual cantorial styles.


Explanation to text

The cantillation signs also provide information on the syntactical structure of the text and some say they are a commentary on the text itself, highlighting important ideas musically. The tropes are not random strings but follow a set and describable grammar. The very word ''ta'am'', used in Hebrew to refer to the cantillation marks, literally means "taste" or "sense", the point being that the pauses and intonation denoted by the accents (with or without formal musical rendition) bring out the sense of the passage.


Functions of cantillation signs in explanation of text

The cantillation signs serve three functions:


Syntax

In general, each word in the Tanakh has one cantillation sign. This may be either a ''disjunctive'', showing a division between that and the following word, or a ''conjunctive'', joining the two words (like a slur in music). Thus, disjunctives divide a verse into phrases, and within each phrase all the words except the last carry conjunctives. (There are two types of exception to the rule about words having only one sign. A group of words joined by hyphens is regarded as one word so they only have one accent between them. Conversely, a long word may have two—e.g., a disjunctive on the stressed syllable and the related conjunctive two syllables before in place of ''meteg''.) The disjunctives are traditionally divided into four levels, with lower level disjunctives marking less important breaks. #The first level, known as "Emperors", includes '' sof pasuk'' / ''siluk'', marking the end of the verse, and ''atnach'' / '' etnachta'', marking the middle. #The second level is known as "Kings". The usual second level disjunctive is '' zakef qatan'' (when on its own, this becomes ''
zakef gadol Zakef may refer to: *Zakef katon Zakef Katan ( he, זָקֵף קָטָ֔ן literally 'upright small'; various romanizations), often referred to simply as ''katan'', is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of ...
''). This is replaced by '' tifcha'' when in the immediate neighborhood of ''sof pasuk'' or ''atnach''. A stronger second level disjunctive, used in very long verses, is '' segol'': when it occurs on its own, this may be replaced by '' shalshelet''. #The third level is known as "Dukes". The usual third level disjunctive is '' revia''. For musical reasons, this is replaced by '' zarka'' when in the vicinity of ''segol'', by '' pashta'' or '' yetiv'' when in the vicinity of ''zakef'', and by '' tevir'' when in the vicinity of ''tifcha''. #The fourth level is known as "Counts". These are found mainly in longer verses, and tend to cluster near the beginning of a half-verse: for this reason their musical realisation is usually more elaborate than that of higher level disjunctives. They are '' pazer'', '' geresh'', '' gershayim'', ''
telisha gedola Telisha (Hebrew: ) is one of two cantillation marks found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. There are two versions of the Telisha: ''Telisha ketana'' () and ''Telisha gedola'' (), the latter of which has a longer melod ...
'', and ''qarne farah''. The general conjunctive is ''
munach The Munach (Hebrew: , also spelled ''Munah'' or ''Munakh''), translating to English as ''"to rest,"'' is a common cantillation sound. In Sephardi and Oriental traditions it is often called Shofar holekh. It is marked with a right angle below the c ...
''. Depending on which disjunctive follows, this may be replaced by '' mercha'', '' mahpach'', ''
darga Darga (Hebrew: ) is a cantillation mark commonly found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books. The symbol for the darga resembles a backwards Z. The darga is usually followed by a Tevir. It is most often found in places where a Tevir clause ha ...
'', '' qadma'', or '' yerach ben yomo''. One other symbol is '' mercha kefulah'', double mercha. There is some argument about whether this is another conjunctive or an occasional replacement for ''tevir''. Disjunctives have a function somewhat similar to punctuation in Western languages. ''Sof pasuk'' could be thought of as a full stop, ''atnach'' as a semi-colon, second level disjunctives as commas and third level disjunctives as commas or unmarked. Where two words are written in the
construct state In Afro-Asiatic languages, the first noun in a genitive phrase of a possessed noun followed by a possessor noun often takes on a special morphological form, which is termed the construct state (Latin ''status constructus''). For example, in Arabi ...
(for example, ''pene ha-mayim'', "the face of the waters"), the first noun (''nomen regens'') invariably carries a conjunctive. The cantillation signs are often an important aid in the interpretation of a passage. For example, the words ''qol qore bamidbar panu derekh YHWH''
Isaiah 40:3
is translated in the
Authorised Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of ...
as "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD". As the word ''qore'' takes the high-level disjunctive ''zakef katon'' this meaning is discouraged by the cantillation marks. Accordingly, the
New Revised Standard Version The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches.New Jewish Publication Society Version has "A voice rings out: 'Clear in the desert a road for the '."


Phonetics

Most cantillation signs are written on the consonant of the stressed syllable of a word. This also shows where the most important note of the musical motif should go. A few signs always go on the first or last consonant of a word. This may have been for musical reasons, or it may be to distinguish them from other accents of similar shape. For example, ''pashta'', which goes on the last consonant, otherwise looks like ''kadma'', which goes on the stressed syllable. Some signs are written (and sung) differently when the word is not stressed on its last syllable. ''Pashta'' on a word of this kind is doubled, one going on the stressed syllable and the other on the last consonant. ''Geresh'' is doubled unless it occurs on a non-finally-stressed word or follows ''kadma'' (to form the ''kadma ve-azla'' phrase).


Music

Cantillation signs guide the reader in applying a chant to Biblical readings. This chant is technically regarded as a ritualized form of speech intonation rather than as a musical exercise like the singing of metrical hymns: for this reason Jews always speak of ''saying'' or ''reading'' a passage rather than of ''singing'' it. (In Yiddish the word is ''leynen'' 'read', derived from Latin ''legere'', giving rise to the Jewish English verb "to leyn".) The musical value of the cantillation signs serves the same function for Jews worldwide, but the specific tunes vary between different communities. The most common tunes today are as follows. *Among
Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
: **The Polish-Lithuanian melody, used by Ashkenazic descendants of eastern European Jews, is the most common tune in the world today, both in Israel and the diaspora. **The Ashkenazic melodies from central and western European Jewry are used far less today than before
the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...
, but still survive in some communities, especially in Great Britain. They are of interest because a very similar melody was notated by Johann Reuchlin as in use in Germany in his day (15th–16th century, C.E.). **The melody used by Ashkenazic Jews in Italy. *Among
Sephardi Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
and
Mizrahi Jews Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained ...
: **The "Jerusalem Sephardic" (''Sepharadi-Yerushalmi'') melody is now the most widely used Sephardic melody in Israel, and is also used in some Sephardic communities in the diaspora. **The Greek/Turkish/Balkan, Syrian and Egyptian melodies are related to the Jerusalem Sephardic melody. They are more sparingly used in Israel today, but are still heard in the Diaspora, especially in America. **There are two Iraqi melodies, one close to the Syrian melody and traditionally used in Baghdad (and sometimes in Israel), and another more distinctive melody originating in Mosul and generally used in the Iraqi Jewish diaspora, especially in India. **The Moroccan melody is used widely by Jews of Moroccan descent, both in Israel and in the diaspora, especially France. It subdivides into a Spanish-Moroccan melody, used in the northern coastal strip, and an Arab-Moroccan melody, used in the interior of the country, with some local variations. The Algerian, Tunisian and Libyan melodies are somewhat similar, and may be regarded as intermediate between the Moroccan and "Jerusalem Sephardic" melodies. **The Spanish and Portuguese melody is in common use in the Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi communities of Livorno,
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...
, the Netherlands, England, Canada, the United States and other places in the Americas. It is closely related to the Spanish-Moroccan melody and has some resemblance to the Iraqi (Mosul and diaspora) melody. * Italian melodies are still used in Italy, as well as in two Italian minyanim in Jerusalem and one in Netanya. These vary greatly locally: for example the melody used in Rome resembles the Spanish and Portuguese melody rather than those used in northern Italy. * Romaniote style of cantillation is used today in
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, Israel, and New York and is rooted in the Byzantine
tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
*The Yemenite melody can be heard in Israel primarily, but also in some American cities.


Reconstructed melody

There has been an attempted reconstruction of the original melody by Suzanne Haïk-Vantoura, on the basis of the shapes and positions of the marks and without any reference to existing melodies, as described in her book ''La musique de la Bible révélée'' and her records. That reconstruction assumes the signs represent the degrees of various musical scales, that is individual notes, which puts it at odds with all existing traditions where the signs invariably represent melodic motives; it also takes no account of the existence of older systems of notation, such as the Babylonian and Palestinian systems. Musicologists have rejected her results as dubious and her methodology as flawed. A similar reconstructive proposal was developed by American composer and pianist and posthumously published in 2011.


Traditional melodies


Ashkenazic melodies

In the Ashkenazic musical tradition for cantillation, each of the local geographical customs includes a total of ''six'' major and numerous minor separate melodies for cantillation: *Torah and Haftarot (3 melodies) **1. Torah (general melody for the whole year) **2. Torah – special melody for
Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , ...
and
Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...
. One may hear the reading a

This tune is also employed on
Simhat Torah Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah (, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah", Ashkenazi: ''Simchas Torah'') is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simc ...
in various degrees (depending on the specific community). Echoes of it can also be heard for certain verses in the Torah reading for fast days in some communities. ***There are a number of variants employed for special sections, such as those for the '' Aseret haDibrot'' (Ten Commandments), '' Az Yashir'' (Song of the Sea), and the list of Masa'ot. ***In all Torah modes, there is a "
coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...
" motif that is used for the last few words of each reading. ***There is a special coda used at the end of each of the five books of the Torah that leads to the traditional exclamation of "Hazak Hazak V'Nithazek!" (Be strong, be strong so we are strengthened!). **3. Haftarot ***In the haftarah mode, there is also a "coda" motif. In the Western Ashkenazic mode, this is applied to the end of every verse. A different coda is used at the end of the haftarah among both Eastern and Western Ashkenazim, modulating from minor to major to introduce the following blessing. ***This is also the tune that is applied when reading the non-haftarah portions of the books of the Prophets and the latter Writings (Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles), although this usage is largely theoretical, as these are not subject to public reading as the other sections and books are. *The Five Megillot (3 melodies are employed for these five scrolls) **4. Esther – a mostly light and joyous tune with elements of drama and foreboding used for the ''Megillat Esther'' on
Purim Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book ...
. The coda at the end of each pasuk (verse) modulates from major to minor to produce a more serious effect. Certain short passages pertaining to the destruction of the temple are customarily read in the tune of Lamentations. There are also additional musical customs, such as saying the word (
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
) with a neighing sound, not indicated by the cantillation. **5. Lamentations – a mournful tune. Echoes of it can also be heard for certain verses in Esther and in the Torah reading preceding the Ninth of Av. The Haftarot preceding and during the Ninth of Av also use this melody, when read in non-Hasidic shuls. **6. The three remaining scrolls are publicly read within Ashkenazic communities during the
three pilgrimage festivals The Three Pilgrimage Festivals, in Hebrew ''Shalosh Regalim'' (שלוש רגלים), are three major festivals in Judaism— Pesach (''Passover''), Shavuot (''Weeks'' or ''Pentecost''), and Sukkot (''Tabernacles'', ''Tents'' or ''Booths'')—whe ...
. All are read in the same melody, which may be considered the "general" melody for the ''megillot'': the Song of Songs on
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...
; Ruth on Shavuot; Ecclesiastes on
Sukkot or ("Booths, Tabernacles") , observedby = Jews, Samaritans, a few Protestant denominations, Messianic Jews, Semitic Neopagans , type = Jewish, Samaritan , begins = 15th day of Tishrei , ends = 21st day of Tis ...
. The Ashkenazic tradition preserves no melody for the special cantillation notes of Psalms, Proverbs, and Job, which were not publicly read in the synagogue by European Jews. However, the Ashkenazic
yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...
known as Aderet Eliyahu, or (more informally) ''Zilberman's'', in the Old City of Jerusalem, uses an adaptation of the Syrian cantillation-melody for these books, and this is becoming more popular among other Ashkenazim as well.


Sephardic and Eastern melodies

At the beginning of the twentieth century there was a single Ottoman-Sephardic tradition (no doubt with local variations) covering Turkey, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Today the Jerusalem-Sephardic, Syrian, Egyptian and Baghdadi melodies recognisably belong to a single family. For example, in these traditions the Torah reading is always or almost always in Maqam Sigah. There are some variations, among individual readers as well as among communities: for example the Egyptian melody is related to the more elaborate and cantorial form of the Syrian melody and was transitioning toward Maqam Huzzam before the mass expulsion in 1950. The Karaite tradition, being based on the Egyptian, also forms part of this group. Another recognisable family consists of the Iraqi (Mosul and Iraqi diaspora), Spanish-Moroccan and Spanish and Portuguese melodies. The probable reason for the occurrence of similar melodies at opposite ends of the Arab world is that they represent the remains of an old Arab-Jewish tradition not overlaid by the later Ottoman-Sephardic tradition that spread to the countries in between. There may also have been some convergence between the London Spanish and Portuguese and Iraqi melodies during
British rule in India The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...
and the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. The Jews of North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Yemen all had local musical traditions for cantillation. When these Jewish communities emigrated (mostly to Israel) during the twentieth century, they brought their musical traditions with them. But as the immigrants themselves grew older, many particular national melodies began to be forgotten, or to become assimilated into the "Jerusalem Sephardic" melting-pot. As with the Ashkenazim, there is one tune for Torah readings and a different tune for haftarot. Spanish and Portuguese Jews have a special tune for the Ten Commandments when read according to the ''ta'am elyon'', known as "High Na'um", which is also used for some other words and passages which it is desired to emphasize. Other communities, such as the Syrian Jews, observe the differences between the two sets of cantillation marks for the Ten Commandments but have no special melody for ''ta'am 'elyon''. There is no special tune for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in any Sephardic tradition. As with Ashkenazim, the normal musical value of cantillation signs is replaced by a "coda" motif at the end of each Torah reading and of each haftarah verse (though there is no special coda for the end of the haftarah), suggesting a common origin for the Sephardi and Ashkenazi chants. Eastern Jewish communities have no liturgical tradition of reading Ecclesiastes, and there is no public liturgical reading of Song of Songs on Passover, though brief extracts may be read after the morning service during the first half of Nisan. (Individuals may read it after the Passover Seder, and many communities recite it every Friday night.) There are specialized tunes for Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther and Lamentations. The prose passages at the beginning and end of the book of Job may be read either to the tune of Song of Songs or to that of Ruth, depending on the community. The Ruth tune is generally the "default" tune for any book of the
Ketuvim The Ketuvim (; hbo, , Modern: ''Kəṯūvīm'', Tiberian: ''Kăṯūḇīm'' "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (instruction) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bi ...
(Hagiographa) that does not have a tune of its own. Unlike the Ashkenazic tradition, the eastern traditions, in particular that of the Syrian Jews, include melodies for the special cantillation of Psalms, Proverbs and the poetic parts of Job. In many eastern communities, Proverbs is read on the six Sabbaths between
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...
and Shavuot, Job on the Ninth of Av, and Psalms are read on a great many occasions. The cantillation melody for Psalms can also vary depending on the occasion. The Spanish and Portuguese Jews have no tradition for the rendering of the Psalms according to the cantillation marks, but the melody used for several psalms in the evening service is noticeably similar to that of Syrian psalm cantillation, and may represent the remnants of such a tradition.


Yemenite melodies

Yemenite cantillation has a total of eight distinctive motifs, falling within four main patterns: * ('moving') used for the conjunctives and some minor disjunctives * ('pausing') for most third level disjunctives * ('elongating') for most second level disjunctives; and *the patterns of ''etnaḥa'' and ''silluq'' (''sof pasuk''). This is true equally of the system used for the Torah and the systems used for the other books. It appears to be a relic of the Babylonian system, which also recognised only eight types of disjunctive and no conjunctives.


Learning melodies

Some communities had a simplified melody for the Torah, used in teaching it to children, as distinct from the mode used in synagogue. (This should not be confused with the ''lernen steiger'' used for studying the Mishnah and Talmud.) For example, the Yemenite community teaches a simplified melody for children, to be used both in school and when they are called to read the sixth aliyah. The simplified melody is also used for the reading of the Targum, which is generally performed by a young boy. Conversely, the Syrian community knows two types of Torah cantillation, a simpler one for general use and a more elaborate one used by professional hazzanim. It is probable that the simpler melody was originally a teaching mode. Today however it is the mode in general use, and is also an ancestor of the "Jerusalem-Sephardic" melody. Some communities had a simplified melody for the Prophets, distinct from that used in reading the Haftarah: the distinction is mentioned in one medieval Sephardic source.


Names and shapes of the te'amim


Names in different traditions

The following table shows the names of the te'amim in the Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and Italian traditions together with their
Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...
symbols. * Cantillation marks are rarely supported in many default Hebrew fonts. They should display, however, on Windows with one of those fonts installed: *: ''Times New Roman, Arial, Gisha, Microsoft Sans Serif, Code2000, Courier New, Ezra SIL, SBL BibLit, SBL Hebrew'' * The following default Hebrew fonts do not display these marks : *: ''David, Miriam, Rod, FrankRuehl'' (as well as ''serif, sans-serif, monospaced'' unless they are configured manually) * The mark for U+05AA (''yerach ben yomo'' or ''galgal'') should not be drawn with the bottom vertical tick used in the mark drawn for U+05A2 (''atnach hafukh''); however, some fonts draw these marks identically. The following additional symbols are found in the three poetical books: their names do not differ among the various traditions.


''Zarqa'' tables

For learning purposes, the ''t'amim'' are arranged in a traditional order of recitation called a "''zarqa'' table", showing both the names and the symbols themselves. These tables are often printed at the end of a Chumash (Hebrew
Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
). The order of recitation bears some relation to the groups in which the signs are likely to occur in a typical Biblical verse, but differs in detail between different communities. Below are traditional Ashkenazi and Sephardi orders, though variations are found in both communities.


Ashkenazic


Sephardic


Meanings of the names

;Azla:"Going away", because it is often the end of the phrase 'Qadma ve'Azla'. ;Darga:"Trill" from its sound, or "step" from its shape. ;Etnachta/Atnach:"Pause, rest" because it is the pause in the middle of a verse. ; Geresh:"Expulsion, driving out". So called because it is often "partnered" with the Qadma (as an Azla) but here appears on its own, "separated." ; Gershayim:Double Geresh, from its appearance. ;Mahpach:"Turning round". In old manuscripts, it was written like a U on its side, hence like someone doing a U turn. In printed books, it has a V shape, possibly because that was easier for the early printers to make. In Eastern communities it is called ''shofar mehuppach'', "reversed horn", because it faces the other way from ''shofar holech'' (''munach'') ;Mercha:"Lengthener", because it prolongs the melody of the word that follows. In modern usage it sometimes means "comma", but this usage is taken from the cantillation sign. ; Mercha-kefulah:Kefulah means "double", because it looks like two together. There are only five in the whole Torah: Gen. 27:25, Ex. 5:15, Lev. 10:1, Num. 14:3, Num. 32:42. ;
Munach The Munach (Hebrew: , also spelled ''Munah'' or ''Munakh''), translating to English as ''"to rest,"'' is a common cantillation sound. In Sephardi and Oriental traditions it is often called Shofar holekh. It is marked with a right angle below the c ...
:"Resting", because the shape is a horn lying on its side. (In Eastern communities it is called ''shofar holech'', horn going forward.) (''munach'' on its own) is a disjunctive, used mainly before ''revia'', but occasionally before a pazer. It may be distinguished from ordinary ''munach'' by the dividing line () following the word. ;Pashta:"Stretching out", because its shape is leaning forward (or in reference to a hand signal). ;Pazer:"Lavish" or "strew", because it has so many notes. ;Qadma:"To progress, advance." It always occurs at the beginning of a phrase (often before other conjunctives) and its shape is leaning forward. In particular it is the first member of the ''Qadma ve-Azla'' pair. ;Revia:"Quarter" or "fourth", probably because it splits the half verse from the start to ''etnachta'' (or ''etnachta'' to the end) into quarters (as it ranks below ''zaqef'', the main division within the half verse). Other possibilities are that it came fourth in the ''zarqa'' table (in the current Ashkenazi table it comes fifth) or that it was regarded as occupying the fourth level in the hierarchy. :Its apparent appropriateness to the square or diamond shape of the symbol is coincidence: in most manuscripts, it is simply a point. ;Segol:"Bunch of grapes" (from its shape, which looks like a bunch of grapes). ; Shalshelet:"Chain", either from its appearance or because it is a long chain of notes. There are only four in the whole Torah: Gen. 19:16, 24:12, 39:8; Lev. 8:23. ; Sof Pasuk:"End of verse": it is the last note of every verse. It is sometimes called ''silluq'' (taking leave). ;: "Detached" because they are never linked to the following note as one musical phrase; = small (short); Gedolah = big (long). ;Tevir:"Broken", because it represents a break in reading (in some traditions there is a big jump down in pitch between the first and second notes). ; Tifcha:"Diagonal", or "hand-breadth". In old manuscripts, it was written as a straight diagonal line. In printed books, it is curved, apparently to make it a mirror image of Mercha, with which it is usually paired (the two together could be regarded as forming a slur). The name "tifcha" may be an allusion to a hand signal. ;Yetiv:"Resting" or "sitting", because it may be followed by a short pause, or more probably because the shape is like a horn sitting up. (In the Italian tradition, it is called ''shofar yetiv'', sitting horn.) ;Zaqef Qaton/Gadol:"Upright" (from their shape, or in allusion to a hand signal); Qaton = small (short); Gadol = big (long). ;Zarqa:"Scatterer", because it is like a scattering of notes. ''Numbers 35:5 (in Parshat Mas'ei) has two notes found nowhere else in the Torah:'' ;Qarne Farah:"Horns of a cow" (from its shape), sometimes called ''pazer gadol''. ;Yerach ben Yomo:"Moon one day old" (because it looks like a crescent moon), sometimes called ''galgal'' (circle).


Sequences

The rules governing the sequence of cantillation marks are as follows. #A verse is divided into two half verses, the first ending with, and governed by, ''etnachta'', and the second ending with, and governed by, ''sof pasuk''. A very short verse may have no ''etnachta'' and be governed by ''sof pasuk'' alone. #A half verse may be divided into two or more phrases marked off by second-level disjunctives. #A second-level phrase may be divided into two or more sub-phrases marked off by third-level disjunctives. #A third-level phrase may be divided into two or more sub-phrases marked off by fourth-level disjunctives. #The last subdivision within a phrase must always be constituted by a disjunctive one level down, chosen to fit the disjunctive governing the phrase and called (in the Table below) its "near companion". Thus, a disjunctive may be preceded by a disjunctive of its own or a higher level, or by its near companion, but not by any other disjunctive of a lower level than its own. #The other subdivisions within a phrase are constituted by the "default" disjunctive for the next lower level (the "remote companion"). #Any disjunctive may or may not be preceded by one or more conjunctives, varying with the disjunctive in question. #A disjunctive constituting a phrase on its own (i.e. not preceded by either a near companion or a conjunctive) may be substituted by a stronger disjunctive of the same level, called in the Table the "equivalent isolated disjunctive".


Groups

The following sequences are commonly found:


First level phrases

;(Mercha) Tifcha (Mercha) Sof-Pasuk (Sephardic Maarikh Tarkha Maarikh Sof Pasuk):The group that occurs at the end of each ''pasuk'' (verse), and always includes the Sof-Pasuk at the very minimum. Either or both of the may be omitted. ;(Mercha) Tifcha (Munach) Etnachta (Sephardic Maarikh Tarkha Shofar Holekh Atna):one of the most common groups, but can only appear once in each ''pasuk''. Tifcha can appear without a Mercha, but Mercha cannot appear without a Tifcha (or other following disjunctive). Etnachta can appear without a Munach, but Munach cannot appear without an Etnachta (or other following disjunctive). Munach-Etnachta can appear without a Mercha-Tifcha, but a Mercha-Tifcha cannot appear without a Munach-Etnachta (or Etnachta on its own).


Second level phrases

;(Mahpach) Pashta (Munach) Zaqef Qaton (Sephardic Mehuppakh Qadma Shofar Holekh Zaqef Qaton):one of the most common groups. Pashta can appear without a Mahpach, but a Mahpach cannot appear without a Pashta. Alternatively, ''Yetiv'' can appear on its own in place of Pashta. Zaqef Qaton can appear without a Munach, but a Munach cannot appear without a Qaton (or other following disjunctive). ;Zakef Gadol:Not a part of a group, as it replaces a Zaqef Qaton sequence. ; unachZarka unachSegol (Sephardic Mehuppach Zarka Mehuppach Segolta):Zarqa is only ever found before Segol; a Munach may precede either one. ;Shalshelet:Not a part of a group, as it replaces a Segol sequence. Occurs only four times in the Torah, and always at the beginning of a verse.


Third level phrases

;Munach , Munach Revia (Sephardic Shofar Holekh , Shofar Holekh Revia):The following combinations occur: Revia on its own; Munach Revia; Darga Munach Revia; Munach-with-Pesiq Revia; Munach-with-Pesiq Munach Revia. (Munach with Pesiq is a disjunctive, separate from Munach proper, and also known as , munach on its own.) ;Darga Tevir:Tevir is found either alone or preceded by Darga or Mercha. Darga occasionally precedes other combinations (e.g. Darga Munach Revia). ;Mercha-Kefula (Sephardic Tere ta'ame):Occasionally preceded by Darga, but usually on its own. Occurs only five times in the Torah, and once in Haftarah. Its function appears to be similar to Tevir.


Fourth level phrases

;Qadma v'Azla:This pair is known as such when found together, and may precede a Mahpach, a Revia group or a Tevir group. A Qadma can also be found without an Azla before a Mahpach, and an Azla without a Qadma is known as Azla-Geresh or simply Geresh. Gershayim on its own fulfils the same function as Qadma v'Azla, in that it can precede either a Mahpach, a Revia group or a Tevir group. ;Pazer:Not considered part of a group, but usually followed by a or a Telisha Gedolah. It may be preceded by one or more Munachs. ; (Sephardic Talsha/Tirtsa):Not considered a part of a group, usually appears individually, sometimes after a Pazer. It often precedes Qadma. ;Yerach ben Yomo Qarnei Farah:The rarest group of all. Occurs only once in the whole Torah, in the parashah Masey, on the words ''alpayim b'ammah'' (two thousand cubits). It is equivalent to Munach Pazer.


Psalms, Proverbs and Job

The system of cantillation signs used throughout the
Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Job use the "regular" system, but the bulk of the book (the poetry) uses the special system. For this reason, these three books are referred to as ''sifrei emet'' (Books of Truth), the word ''emet'' meaning "truth", but also being an acronym (אמ״ת) for the first letters of the three books (
Iyov IYOV is an opera-requiem for prepared piano, cello, drums and voices by composers Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko, directed by Vlad Troitskyi. Performance history ''IYOV'' was created in 2015 commissioned by the festival of contemporary ...
, Mishle, Tehillim). A verse may be divided into one, two or three stichs. In a two-stich verse, the first stich ends with ''atnach''. In a three-stich verse, the first stich ends with ''oleh ve-yored'', which looks like ''mahpach'' (above the word) followed by ''tifcha'', on either the same word or two consecutive words, and the second stich ends with ''atnach''. Major disjunctives within a stich are (immediately before ''oleh ve-yored''), ''revia gadol'' (elsewhere) and ''tzinnor'' (which looks like ''zarqa''). The first (or only) stich in a verse may be divided by ''dechi'', which looks like ''tifcha'' but goes under the first letter of the word to the right of the vowel sign. The last stich in a two- or three-stich verse may be divided by ''revia megurash'', which looks like ''geresh'' combined with ''revia''. Minor disjunctives are ''pazer gadol'', ''shalshelet gedolah'', (looking like ''qadma'') and (looking like ''mahpach''): all of these except ''pazer'' are followed by a . ''Mehuppach'' without a sometimes occurs at the beginning of a stich. All other accents are conjunctives.


Mishnah and Talmud

Some manuscripts of early Rabbinic literature contain marks for partial or systematic cantillation. This is true of the
Sifra Sifra ( Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is the Halakhic midrash to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" ...
, and especially of Genizah fragments of the
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...
. Today, many communities have a special tune for the Mishnaic passage "Bammeh madliqin" in the Friday night service. Otherwise, there is often a customary intonation used in the study of Mishnah or Talmud, somewhat similar to an Arabic mawwal, but this is not reduced to a precise system like that for the Biblical books. Recordings have been made for Israeli national archives, and Frank Alvarez-Pereyre has published a book-length study of the Syrian tradition of Mishnah reading on the basis of these recordings. On the relationship between the cantillation marks found in some manuscripts and the intonation used in Ashkenazi Talmud study, see Zelda Kahan Newman, ''The Jewish Sound of Speech: Talmudic Chant, Yiddish Intonation and the Origins of Early Ashkenaz''.


In Christian missionary uses

The Jewish born Christian convert Ezekiel Margoliouth translated the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...
to Hebrew in 1865 with cantillation marks added. It is the only completely cantillated translation of the New Testament. The translation was published by the
London Jews' Society The Church's Ministry Among Jewish People (CMJ) (formerly the London Jews' Society and the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews) is an Anglican missionary society founded in 1809. History The society began in the early 19th ...
.Scanned versions of this translation can be found her

her

and here


Notes


References


Bibliography


Grammar and masorah

* * , earlier edition . * , earlier edition . * , a medieval poem setting out the rules for the three poetical books; original in . * , original from Paris. * . * . * . * . * . * . * * * . * ., 1985 * .


Music (general and comparative)

* . * . * also in . * .
Khazdan E. (2015) "The Study of Cantillation Marks in Russia, Europe, America". ''Еврейская речь. № 4.'' С. 10–39. (In Russian)

Khazdan E. (2015) "Cantillation Marks: Why Not Writing Them Down Using Music Notation?". ''Евреи Европы и Ближнего Востока: история, языки, традиция, культура: Материалы Международной научной конференции памяти Т. Л. Гуриной. СПб.'', С. 249–255. (In Russian)

Khazdan E. (2018) Three Questions in the History of Studying the Jewish Signs of Cantillation. G. B. Shamilli (ed.) ''Conceptualization of Music in the Abrahamic Traditions – 2018: collective monograph''. Moscow: SIAS. P. 264–287 (In Russian).

Khazdan E. (2020) From Masoretic Signs to Cantillation Marks: A Paradigm Shift (In Russian).
*
Khazdan E. (2021) From Masoretic Signs to Cantillation Marks: Initial Steps (On the Virtual Dialogue between Alfonso de Zamora and Johannes Reuchlin). ''Lietuvos muzikologija''. T. 22.


Polish/Lithuanian melody

* . * . * . * , with CD. * . * .


Other melodies

* (since reprinted): the parashah and haftarah melodies are set out at the end of the volume. * . * . * . * . * (with CD: western Ashkenazic melody). * The Western Ashkenazi melody is also set out in the .


See also

*
Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting th ...
* Haftarah * Megillot * Yemenite Hebrew * Bar and Bat Mitzvah * Melody type *
Tone (linguistics) Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning – that is, to distinguish or to inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information and to convey emp ...


External links


Textual resources


Hebrew Cantillation Marks And Their Encoding
gives full tables with the Unicode equivalent for each cantillation mark
Mechon Mamre
has the full text of the
Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' here
(which may be downloaded for free).

Torah Cantillation Analytics
A guide to the exegesis of Torah Oral Law, by Zalman Z. Fisher-->
Torah Cantillation Analytics
A guide to the exegesis of Torah Oral Law, by Zalman Z. Fisher


Wikimedia cantillation projects (recordings)

The recordings held at the Commons are organized by the Vayavinu Bamikra Project at Wikisource in the following languages: *
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
(currently lists thousands of recordings of ''aliyot'', ''haftarot'', and ''megillot'') *
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
{{Hebrew language Jewish services Jewish music Language of the Hebrew Bible Hebrew diacritics Oral Torah Chants