[Mesorah] Shalsheleth

[Dov Bloom]

>I thought I sent this post at the beginning of the Shalshelet discussion but I think it went only to the questioner and not to the list. If it reached the list I appologize for the duplication.

Dov


>The Shalshelet occurs in place of a Segol (which whenever it occurs is always the major disjunctive stop before the Etnachta) in verses where the Segol would have been on the first word of the sentence. If there were more words before this major disjunct stop (2, 3, or more) and not only one, you could have a Zarka-Segol, or a Munach Zarka Segol etc and no shalshelet.
>
>On Shalshelet: 
>See M Perlman, Dapim LeLimud Taamei Hamikra V 6 p 477-478. 
>Also M Medan "Teamim" article in Encyclopedia MIkrait
>R Mordechai Breuer in his magnum opus Ta'amin HaMikra p34. 
>In English see Wickes "Two Treatises on the accentuation of the OT" p 85 (Ktav 1970). 
>
>Similar trop shifts occur in taamei emet on the first word of the sentence where an Oleh VeYored or Etnachta is replaced by something else. 
>Breuer calls these phenomenon "tmurot". 
>
>There are many other tmurot, especially in taamei emet but also in taamei kaf-alef, necessitated by all sorts of things such as the number of syllables in a word or the number of syllables before the accent. For example, munach zakef on one word, zakef gadol or kadma-zakef are variants (tmurot) instead of a regular plain old zakef. They all have the same pausal strength. There are rules for these variants - when each variant occurs. Another simple example of a tmura: when there are only 2 words after the etnachta in taamei kaf-aleph the next to the last word gets a tipcha instead of a mercha (where it really deserves a mercha becuse there are only 2 words so we should have a ta'am mechaber - that is also a tmura.
>Dov Bloom (DB the younger)
>
>
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>>Why, in each of the seven instances in the Tanach, does the Shalsheleth appear on the first word of the sentence?