Kadma (Hebrew קַדְמָ֨א, with variant English spellings) is a common
cantillation
Cantillation is the ritual chanting of prayers and responses. It often specifically refers to Jewish Hebrew cantillation. Cantillation sometimes refers to diacritics used in texts that are to be chanted in liturgy.
Cantillation includes:
* Chant
...
mark found in 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 ...
,
Haftarah
The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', he, הפטרה) "parting," "taking leave", (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros'') is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Pro ...
, and other books of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' Geresh
Geresh ( in Hebrew: or , or medieval ) is a sign in Hebrew writing. It has two meanings.
#An apostrophe-like sign (also known colloquially as a ''chupchik'') placed after a letter:
#* as a diacritic that modifies the pronunciation ...
, in which case, the pair is known as ''"Kadma-V'Azla."''
Kadma has the same symbol as the Pashta, though Kadma is distinct from Pashta in the placement of the symbol. In a Kadma, the symbol is always placed on the accented syllable, while Pashta is placed on the last letter and also on the accented syllable if the last syllable is not the accented one.
The symbols for ''Kadma V'Azla'' are designed to resemble the fingers of an outstretched hand in a curved position.
The Kadma-V'Azla pair occurs 1733 times in the Torah.
[Concordance of the Hebrew accents in the Hebrew Bible: Concordance ..., Volume 1 By James D. Price, page 6]
The word ''Kadma'' is related to the Hebrew קדמה (''kedma''), east. It is also related to the root קדם, ''front''. The combination of these words translates to ''going away''.
Melody
Kadma V'Azla
The melody for a Kamda V'Azla is a continual string of notes without a break as follows:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kadma (Trope)
Cantillation marks