Non Trivial Pronunciation (Encouragement for Reading Properly!)

Parshat Bo

by Rabbi Avi Billet

Nowadays, with the right computer program, one can easily search the name משה to answer the question “how many times does Moshe’s name appear in the Torah?” The problem with a computer program is that it will give you every time the combination of משה appears, such as in the word חמשה (which means “5”). And while you can search specifically for those letters standing alone, should you choose to do so, all the times Moshe appears with a prefix למשה, ומשה, and ובמשה (etc) will not appear.

A popular story is told of a great rabbi who was asked this question, and gave a number that was two fewer than the number the computer churned out. When challenged by the computer’s results, he noted that the computer likely picked upi the words in the following verses that are spelled with the same letters but are pronounced differently (Shmos 12:4 and Devarim 15:2). In our parsha, the word is mi-seh, if a home is without a lamb (וְאִם־יִמְעַ֣ט הַבַּיִת֘ מִהְיוֹ֣ת מִשֶּׂה֒ וְלָקַ֣ח ה֗וּא וּשְׁכֵנ֛וֹ הַקָּרֹ֥ב אֶל־בֵּית֖וֹ בְּמִכְסַ֣ת נְפָשֹׁ֑ת), and in Re’eh, the word is ma’shay, to release the hand of every creditor from what he lent his friend (שָׁמ֗וֹט כָּל־בַּ֙עַל֙ מַשֵּׁ֣ה יָד֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר יַשֶּׁ֖ה בְּרֵעֵ֑הוּ).

In the larger scheme of things, the trivia question of how many times Moshe’s name appears in the Torah is certainly not important. [It is certainly interesting that the letters משה alone, without a prefix, appear 616 times. Take away the two exceptions noted above, and we have 614, which is pretty close to a magical Jewish number!] What is important is that we read words correctly and, ideally, know or have a basic understanding of what we are saying when we are reading.

 While I don’t suppose anyone would read the word משה in any way other than “Moshe” (two exceptions noted above notwithstanding), if a reader were to read the name in the manner we often speak it in English, with the accent on the MO, we would have to correct him. One of the Roshei Yeshiva at Yeshivat Har Etzion is Rav Mosheh Lichtenstein (he is the son of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein ZT”L), and it is clear that the Lichtensteins chose to put an “h” at the end of the English spelling of his name in order to emphasize that it should be pronounced mo-SHEH. 

In the rules of Kriat HaTorah (Torah Reading) the Shulchan Arukh says the following:

 שולחן ערוך אורח חיים הלכות קריאת ספר תורה סימן קמב:א

 א') א] קרא וטעה, (א) אפילו א) בדקדוק אות אחת, * (ב) מחזירין אותו. הגה: ב) וכן דין (ג) החזן הקורא; ג) ודוקא בשינוי שמשתנה ע"י זה הענין, * (ד) אבל אם טעה בנגינת הטעם א א'} או בניקוד, * (ה) אין מחזירין אותו, אבל גוערין (ו) בו (ב"י ופסקי מהרא"י סימן קפ"א). 

 “If one read and erred (i.e. the person who got the Aliyah), even a mistake in one letter, we have him go back (and read it again correctly). RAM”A: The same rule applies to an appointed reader. But this refers specifically to a change (e.g. error) that changes the meaning of the subject. But if he made a mistake in the cantillation or in the vowelization, we don’t have him go back (and read it again), but we do rebuke him!”

 In one of his comments in the Biur Halakha, Rabbi YM Kagan (aka the Chofetz Chaim) quotes the Vilna Gaon who would be careful that even the difference between מצרים and מצריים be noted properly, even though it doesn’t change the meaning of the subject as context will demonstrate that it is referring either to Egypt or to Egyptians. 

 The last comment of the Mishneh Brurah (letter ו above) reads as follows: 

   וכתב בתשובת מהר"מ מינץ החזן צריך לחזור מתחלה הסדרא שתהא שגורה בפיו כל הדקדוקים במתגין לעיל ומלרע ימין ושמאל ויקרא במתון ולא במהירות ואולי יבליע שום אות או תיבה והביאו הא"ר:

 “In the Responsa of MhR”M Mintz, the Chazzan should review the entire parsha over and over so he is well familiar with all of the precise components (of reading such as) all the מתגs, when the word is pronounced on the second-to-last or the last syllable… and he should read it slower than faster, lest he swallow a letter or a word (see Eliyahu Rabba).” 

 This set of rules is also applicable to everyone in our davening, most notably with the precision required when reading the paragraphs of Shema (See Shulchan Arukh OC 61 + 64). When I worked with children on Hebrew reading (a specialty in schools), I discovered that 90% of kids were making the same errors, primarily because they had learned to “read” the Shema from hearing it and weren’t actually paying attention to the reading element. It is unfortunately also the case that some teachers never learned to read properly themselves, and teach their own mistakes to their students. The two most common errors I heard from kids were in the first paragraph of the Shema (3 words are in bold – we’ll get back to the first one there in a moment):

 (ז) וְשִׁנַּנְתָּ֣ם לְבָנֶ֔יךָ וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ בָּ֑ם בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤ בְּבֵיתֶ֙ךָ֙ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ֣ בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וּֽבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖ וּבְקוּמֶֽךָ: (ח) וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ: (ט) וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם עַל־מְזֻז֥וֹת בֵּיתֶ֖ךָ וּבִשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ: ס 

 90% of the kids I worked with read וּֽבְשָׁכְבְּךָ֖ as “Uv’shov’t’kha” – most likely because 4 words earlier is בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ֤. Please note that the word should be read “Uv’shokh’b’kha.” They also read the first word of the last verse וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם as “Uk’shartam” – most likely because it sounds like the first word of the previous verse. Except that this word should be pronounced “ukh’tavtam” or “ukh’savtam” (depending on your pronunciation).

 Another pair of common errors is on the word וְדִבַּרְתָּ֖ as well as the opening word of the paragraph, וְאָ֣הַבְתָּ֔. Both of those words have in common that their accent is on the last syllable: v’di’bar’TA and v’a’hav’TA. Translated, those words mean “and you shall speak” and “and you shall love.” If the accent is placed earlier in the word (v’di’BAR’ta and v’a’HAV’ta), the meaning of the word changes to past tense: “and you spoke” and “and you loved.”

 While it doesn’t sound like it should be a big deal, once translated one can easily see how the meaning of the verses changes significantly due to the difference in tense. So significant is this set of rules in Shema, there is a debate as to whether a person has fulfilled one’s obligation if one reads incorrectly! 

I have heard it said, interestingly in the name of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, that there are only two arenas in Halakha for which the halakhist (or rabbi) needs to be able to answer clearly right away. They are questions of pikuach nefesh, of dealing with someone whose life is in danger, and if an error is made in the Torah reading (this may have also been intended to imply what constitutes an actual error in the Torah’s writing when discovered during Torah reading). One needs to know in the moment, and there is no time to waste! Hopefully we can process whether a change means the same thing when it is read in a very quick way. Otherwise, we run the risk of not fulfilling our obligations.

 May we be blessed to want to be as proficient in these arenas as possible, and to make the efforts necessary to have proper reading come as naturally as possible to us.