cantillation
Cantillation is the ritual chanting of prayers and responses. It often specifically refers to Jewish Hebrew cantillation. Cantillation sometimes refers to diacritics used in texts that are to be chanted in liturgy.
Cantillation includes:
* Ch ...
mark found in the
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
. It is one of the rarest used, occurring just four times in the entire Torah, in
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...
19:16, 24:12, and 39:8, and in Leviticus 8:23. The four words accented with the shalshelet mark all occur at the beginning of the verse.
The Hebrew word שַׁלְשֶׁ֓לֶת translates into English as ''chain''. This shows the connection of the worlds by the links of a chain. The symbolism of the Shalshelet is that the subject of the story is wrestling with his inner demons and is undergoing some hesitation in his actions.
It is rendered musically by a long and elaborate string of notes, giving a strong emphasis to the word on which it occurs.
Purpose
The Shalshelet mark is said to be used for various purposes:
*In , it is used on the word ''"VaYitmah'maH"'' (''and he lingered''), when Lot is lingering in
Sodom
Sodom may refer to:
Places Historic
* Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis
United States
* Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town
* Sodom, New York, a hamlet
* Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community
* Sodom, West Virginia, an ...
as it is marked for destruction, to show Lot's uncertainty.
*In , it is used on the word ''"Vayomer"'' (''and he said''), when
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the Covenant (biblical), special ...
's servant is trying to find a woman to marry Abraham's son
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
, to indicate the hesitation the servant shows.
*In , it is used on the word ''"VaY'maen"'' (''and he refused''), during
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...
's attempted seduction by
Potiphar
Potiphar ( ; Egyptian origin: ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra gave") is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Potiphar is possibly the same name as Potiphera () from Late Egyptian ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra has given."
Potip ...
's wife, to indicate Joseph's struggle against temptation.
*In , the Shalshelet is used on the word "Vayishchat" (and he slaughtered), because Moses was slaughtering an animal in preparation for the anointment of his brother and nephews as
priests
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
, a position he coveted for himself. He is therefore sad he was not given this honor.
Grammatically it is equivalent to ''segolta'', but is never preceded by a conjunctive accent or a disjunctive of a lower class. It is thus related to ''segolta'' in the same way as ''
Zakef gadol Zakef may refer to:
* Zakef katon, a trope sound from the Katon group
* Zakef gadol, a common independent trope
{{disambiguation ...
The shalshelet note occurs a total of 7 times in Tanakh outside of the Sifrei Emet. They are:Weisberg, David. “The Rare Accents of the Twenty-One Books.” The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 56, no. 4, ser. 2, 1966, p. 320
* ויתמהמה
* ויאמר
* וימאן
* וישחט
* ונבהלו
* ויאמר
* ואמר-לה
Additionally, the note occurs 39 times in
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...
,
Proverbs
A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...
, and
Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
.
Melody
The Shalshelet has a melody similar to that of 3
Pazer
Pazer (Hebrew: ) is a cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;