[Mesorah] 2 disparate questions

[Michael Hamm]

Hi, all, and a chag kasher v'sameach.

1.  When the first of two hyphenated (makaf-ated) words has a meseg,
does that indicate the stress of that first word (secondary stress of
the whole thing) or merely secondary stress of the first word?  (Or
something else?)  E.g., at the beginning of Chaye Sara, 23:9 and
23:20, "laachuzas-kaver", which has, I believe, a meseg under the
lamed and nowhere else.

2.  If I recall correctly, the sefer Tol'dos Yitzchak (the commentary
on chumash by R' Yitzchak Karo, uncle of the Bes Yosef) splits up
Mishpatim into two parashiyos, starting "V'ele hamishpatim" and "Im
kesef talve".  (Even if my memory is faulty, though, _someone_ does
that.)  Is that because some communities used to read it that way
(say, in certain years)?  Does anyone know any more about this (e..g,
which communities did so, when)?  (Incidentally, it throws a monkey
wrench into d'rashos about why T'tzave is the only parasha since
Moshe's birth not to have his name: Mishpatim doesn't either, if it
ends at "Im kesef".)

Michael Hamm
AM, Math, Wash. U. St. Louis
msh210 at gmail.com <-- Note new address!
http://www.math.wustl.edu/~msh210/