[Avodah] Shva Na's etc.

Michael Poppers micha at aishdas.org
Sat May 18 22:39:06 PDT 2019


[I have no idea why, but it took dozens of tries to get this email past
the spam filter. -micha]

RYGB responded to me:
> I'm prejudiced against Tefillas Yeshurun because he changed Nochri to Goy
> unilaterally. He also is very much Nusach Frankfurt oriented.

WADR, I question "unilaterally".  Yes, Minhag FFdM is "shelo asani goy",
but neither R'Hofmeister nor R'Hamburger at Machon Moreshes Ashk'naz hew to
that nusach (details upon request).  As per the publication available at
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21467&st=&pgnum=10, "shelo asani
goy" would also appear to be Minhag Wien.  Last and not least, RSS z'l'
is quoted <https://www.artscroll.com/Books/9781578195121.html> as
advocating the "generally-accepted" l'shon CHaZAL of "shelo asani goy"
as opposed to the "shelo asani nachri" emendation of a few grammarians
(naming Heidenheim and Baer and leaving the 3rd name to the imagination) or
"she'asani Yisrael".

> My educated guess is that in K"K Bechhofen they said Nochri, and that
> they did not follow Nusach Frankfurt on other matters. Minhag Bechhofen is
> the minhag I would like to approximate.

I can understand why you would be seeking such a siddur.  Have you ever
sought out former residents of that town or the area?  Did you ever speak
with your family (including longtime KAJer Jerry Bechhofer a'h') about
what siddur they used?

[Email #2 -micha]

(After speaking privately with RAM and then with REMT, I think it
worthwhile to briefly respond publicly....)

In Avodah V37n40, RAM wrote:
> ArtScroll does have a horizontal line above shva na's, but NOT when it is
> the first letter of the word. Apparently they expect you to be aware of the
> rule that "If the first letter is a shva then it is always na unless the
> word is shtayim."

> I find this very easy to forget, especially with letter pairs that glide
> together in English but not in Hebrew. (What's the word for such pairs? I
> think "dipthong" is only for vowels.) In Yishtabach, for example, I'd love
> a reminder to say "b*rachos" instead of "brachos".

RAM indicated a preference for "b*rachos" over "brachos", but I
think he should reconsider (and I believe he did after our conversation).
A sh'va (or, perhaps better, shva :)) is not a syllable unto itself
(that said, poets can consider it a unit for poetic purposes, e.g. the
8 units in each phrase of "Y'did Nefesh"), but emphasizing a shva na',
e.g. "b'rachos", could turn it into a chiriq. The only difference
between a shva na' and a shva nach is that the former begins a
syllable while the latter ends a syllable (and the only emphasis I would
want RAM to remind himself of is the accent, e.g. braCHOS).

Gut Voch/Shavu'a Tov
and all the best from
Michael Poppers * Elizabeth, NJ, USA



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