AUR TORAH SEPHARDIC MINYAN
 
SEPHARDIC GRAMMAR:

Being more accurate in the pronunciation of our Sephardic Hebrew, Prayers will be accepted as a sweet savior to Hashem. There are those who hold the vowels and signs had been revealed to Moses by Hashem. The sign is the word "Tuneh", it is an abbreviation in Hebrew for Liturgical notes, Dots, and Letters.
The signs exist in three different systems: Babylonian, Palestinian, and Tiberian. The Tiberian system is the only one in use today. Since the 8th century C.E. model codices were made with all the vowels and accents for the guidance of readers and scribes; these are called Keter Torah, the "Crown of Torah". The most famous is the Alepo Codex written by Aaron Ben Asher from which Tiberian tradition is derived. This work is still in existence, what was left of it was smuggled out of Syria page by page, it is now in Israel.

The Rabbis placed a very great importance on diction. A word which was not pronounced properly had to be repeated. The change of a letter, vowel or accent, can alter the meaning of the word or even a whole sentence.

 The signs used in the biblical text are called accents,they indicate three things:

1. melody or rhythm,
2. punctuation such as commas, semicolons and full stops, and
3. proper pronunciation.

 The melodies in the Synagogue can be traced to the Levitical songs of the Temple. The proper way to read any of the scriptures is by using the proper melody. Never the less the knowledge of the meaning of the signs will help one learn to read correctly by properly accenting the words.

 When reading there are signs which indicate the letters in a word which must be accented (letters which are emphasized when reading a word.)

1. A dot (dagesh) inside a letter
2. A small vertical line under a letter (ma'amid), and
3. any sign indicating the melody weather it is above or below a letter.


Sounding the Semetic Letters:

  1. There are three letters which may appear to be more difficult to pronounce for one who does not speak a semetic language, but with a little practice they are easily mastered. This may be accomplished by opening the mouth, placing the front of the tongue on the lower part of the jaw and the back of the tongue close to or against the soft palate (slightly closed), to sound the letters.

  2. The sound of the letter; "Het', a throat sound, is similar to a sound made when expelling a warm breath to warm the hands on a cold day.

  3. The sound of the letter ("Chaf ), also a throat sound, is similar to a sound made when one is trying to bring up phlegm from the back of the throat. The word ("Chibah"), pronounced properly means extinguish, the word ("Hibah")also a throat sound, but pronounced with an "H" sound, means affection. The Ashkenazim sound this letter"Het" as "Ch".

  4. The sound of the letter ("Ayeen'), also a throat sound is similar to a sound made when a doctor inserts a tongue depressor in the mouth and tells you to say "Ah". The word "Ayeen" pronounced properly means "eye". If its pronounced as a long "A "("ai'een") the word means not.

  5. Sephardic pronunciation of the letter "Tav", with or without a dot in the middle, as a "T" sound. The European Ashkenazim pronounce the letter without a dot as an "S" sound. Example; the word "Pesah" means Passover, and the word "Petah" means an opening, Ashkenazim pronounce both words the same, with an "S" sound, although they have different meanings.