Recently I went to a Bar Mitzvah at a Sephardic temple. I was surprised that the chanting of the Torah sounded so very different from what I’m used to hearing. Is there a set way to chant torah, or are their different melodies, just like we have different melodies for the prayers we sing?
Musically perplexed.
Dear Perplexed,
First, Mazel Tov! I’m sure the young man did a wonderful job.
Now to answer your questions – yes and no. Trope, or niggun, are used by Torah readers to sing/chant readings from the Torah, Haftorah, and Megillot. The cantillation (chant) notations are a series of dots, squiggles and straight lines found either above or under the words. Like the vowel marks, neither are found in the actual Torah scrolls, but are memorized by the reader.
The physical appearance of the notation is the same everywhere. How they are sung however, varies. The form you are most used to is the Polish-Lithuanian melody, which is the most common worldwide. The melody you heard was probably the Jerusalem Sephardic, which is the second most common. Here at Tanta Golda's Temple we have a family of Moroccan decent, and they sing yet another melody. (I had the privilege of hearing Torah chanted this way and it was beautiful, let me tell you!) All together there are eight widely recognized ways of chanting, yet the trope are the same for all!
Now you may be asking: Tanta Golda, why are these trope so important? Ah, good question! Trope have several functions, the most important being to act as punctuation, much like commas and periods. Second, it gives a clue to the underlying meaning of the text. For example, in Genesis, when Potifar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph, we read that he refuses. However, the chant is drawn out, implying that he hesitated, more than briefly, before answering. Conversely, when we read in the Megillah about the death of Haman’s sons, their names are read very quickly – in one breath- for while we are relieved that our enemy meets his end, we do not rejoice in his sons’ deaths.
There is a great deal more to this topic, and if you are interested my darling niece Geri has found the following link at Wikipedia to get you started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantillation. If you would like to learn how to chant with Torah she has two recommendations. URJ press has put out an excellent, user friendly book called: The Art of Torah Cantillation: A Step-by-Step Guide to Chanting Torah [Book + CD]
. The other resource is a computer program put out by Kinnor Software called: Trope Trainer
.
. The other resource is a computer program put out by Kinnor Software called: Trope Trainer.
Much love, and singing your praises for another excellent question,
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