Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Learning on Tisha B'Av

The rabbis established limits to what Biblical and/or Rabbinic texts we're allowed to study on Tisha B'Av, lest we derive too much pleasure from our studies. (You can read about those limits, and other information about Tisha B'Av, here.) Me, I spent some time cracking my teeth trying to learn Psalm 137, Al Naharot Bavel--By the Waters of Babylon, which seemed an appropriately mournful thing to study. You can find it here, though, in the Hebrew, most of the punctuation is in the wrong place.

2 Comments:

Blogger The Reform Baal Teshuvah said...

"most of the punctuation is in the wrong place."

Though they've never articulated it, I think there is a system there. Near as I can tell, m-dash=Etnachta, Period=Sof Pasuk, and all other dysjunctive tropes are marked with commas.

I think.

Tue Jul 20, 09:03:00 PM 2010  
Blogger Shira Salamone said...

Too confusing. Why didn't they just use cantillation marks?

Tue Jul 20, 11:48:00 PM 2010  

Post a Comment

<< Home

<< List
Jewish Bloggers
Join >>