[Mesorah] Kosht

[Zev Sero]

kennethgmiller at juno.com wrote:

> Thanks. But I just thought of another question: Why does the tes have
> a sh'va?
> 
> My understanding is that almost every word ends with an implicit shva
> nach which we don't bother to write. Occasional words end a little
> differently, but the only time we both to show the final shva nach is
> if the last letter was a khaf. Why are we putting a shva nach on a
> final tes in this case?

Well, the machzor is easy to explain -- it's copying the pasuk.
But that just kicks the question to the pasuk: why does it have a shva?
My guess is that it's to draw attention to the unusual form of the word,
so that you don't think the shva under the shin should be a segol, as in
"nes lehitnoses mipnei koshet" (Tehilim 60:4).


-- 
Zev Sero               Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's
zev at sero.name          interpretation of the Constitution.
                       	                          - Clarence Thomas