[Mesorah] two questions

[Yitzchak M. Gottlieb]

On Oct 29, 2009, at 1:31 PM, Michael Hamm wrote:

> MH:
>> In Noach, the word "ale-zayis" (8:11) has the following note in the
> little m'sora: "6 b'atrophy". What does this mean, please? <
>
> R'MP:
>> If you mean, "What does 'zayin b'trophe' mean?" I thought it  
>> referred to the ta'am being associated w/ the zayin in "alei- 
>> zayis," but maybe it's referring to one of seven instances of  
>> something-or-other?<
>
> Oh, I thought it was a vav.  (Small type.)  Is that what "b'atrophy"  
> usually means?  (I'm deliberately spelling it like an English word.   
> It was spelled bes aleph tes resh vav fe yod.)

It may possibly mean that there are 6 (7) times the word עלה ('aleh)  
is spelled with a tzere while it refers to a leaf (as opposed to the  
verb).  (According to Melamed, the word אטרפא can mean "leaf")

Zuki

-- 
Yitzchak M. Gottlieb
zuki at CS.Princeton.EDU