[Hebrew Scriptures] ?תנ"ך

Caeristhiona · Post by **Caeristhiona** » March 16th, 2009, 5:45 pm

So, we've got a few sacred texts on here, including some books from the Old Testament in Christian versions of the Bible, but I'm sort of feeling the lack of the actual Jewish Scriptures.

I'd love to start a Hebrew-language reading of Tanakh, but I'm not sure how many people would want to be involved in something like that.

My vision of the project is roughly that we would divide the Torah by parshot -- not sure how we'll do Neviim and Ktuvim yet, but probably just by chapter?

Also, any thoughts on whether it would be better to simply read, or to try and use the cantillation (for private study of course)?

And finally...anyone want to help me develop a Hebrew-language book template?

hefyd · Post by **hefyd** » March 17th, 2009, 12:02 pm

I'd be interested in this project, even though I didn't know what the tanakh was until now [& I'll now be looking up 'parshot' and 'cantillation'] hefyd

hefyd · Post by **hefyd** » March 17th, 2009, 12:27 pm

The wonders of Wikipedia !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanakh
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantillation

These are extremely interesting. I couldn't find one for 'parshot' [plural of 'parshah' ? ] hefyd

Caeristhiona · Post by **Caeristhiona** » March 17th, 2009, 1:41 pm

Yes, "parshot" is the plural of "parshah."

And as I'm sure you know, parshah is the section of Torah which is read every week in the Jewish Shabbat service. It generally translates to about 3-4 chapters of the Christian Pentateuch. Roughly 20 minutes of reading time.

And of course, it's meant to be sung rather than spoken, which is why I asked about Cantillation.

The only downside, we need people who know the Cantillation for each and every parshah...usually people just learn their bar/bat mitzvah piece and not a whole lot else.

Also, the Cantillation is different when you have a minyan and when you don't. And of course, the reader (and presumably the listener) wouldn't assemble 10 males over the age of 13 for the project, so we'd be using a set of marks that almost no one ever uses. Complicated at best.

miss stav · Post by **miss stav** » March 17th, 2009, 1:54 pm

Do you plann to do a project for each weekly Parasha? I think we can divide the tora into books. There are 5 books in the tora, as I think you know. And about a templet in hebrew: that will be complicated. I have to think about a way to do it, that may take time.
Stav.

Caeristhiona · Post by **Caeristhiona** » March 17th, 2009, 2:01 pm

Yes, I was thinking we'd begin with just Torah, and divide it by books and parshot. So, first we'd do Breshit, and each section would be one parshah, then follow with Shmot, etc.

And, I was really hoping you would help me with the template.

We can work together on this one -- maybe we could try and recruit oznerlau as well? Do we have any other Israeli readers here?

AmateurOzmologist · Post by **AmateurOzmologist** » July 10th, 2009, 1:02 am

I am one-hundred percent certain that if this were to get off the ground, I'd get over my fear of long sentences in a language foreign to me, and participate!

If any text deserves to be liberated, it's the Tanakh- by the by, I'm fairly sure it was written before 1923!

The cantillation might get a little crazy if we tried, so maybe it would be better just to read.
So, is anyone else pumped to attempt this?
I know it's been months since anyone else has commented, but I'm sure that even if it's just we dedicated few, we could finish the project together.

RuthieG · Post by **RuthieG** » July 10th, 2009, 1:06 am

Caeristhiona isn't here at the moment, Miriam. I'm not sure when she will be back.

Ruth

AmateurOzmologist · Post by **AmateurOzmologist** » July 10th, 2009, 1:12 am

Oh, sorry about that.
Isn't my timing exquisite?

hongkongfooye · Post by **hongkongfooye** » July 12th, 2009, 5:47 pm

Its not true that people only learn torah reading for their bar and bat mitzvah. When I went to a conservative jewish day school we learned the trop (the cantilation marks within the text) and were required to read parsha on rotation.
I also lived in israel for 2 years studying tanach
That being said, my hebrew reading skills leave much to be desired.
I am not willing to help this this project for more reasons than that though.
There are a lot of issues with reading torah in the original and leaving it up to be listened to. Not the least of which would be people using Gds name in vain and discrepancies between how something is suppose to be read and how it is pronounced, such as in megilas rus and megilas esther.
The tanach is something that can be easily butchered by beginning readers and to just take a swing at something so readily misinterpreted would be an act against the text.
In Jewish books stores I believe they sell recordings of at least the parsha.
It is sad because many times while struggling over a difficult passage I have wished there was a recording I could listen along to, but alas I understand the limitations.
This could be done by people who know and respect the texts, know not to say which words (which are names of Gd), and understand the importance in accuracy with such an endeavor.

If you can find a good baal koreh (probably an ultra orthodox male) he could probably do this off the top of his head.

Good Luck.
If you need the text its at machon mamre. com but it doesnt have the cantilation marks

AmateurOzmologist · Post by **AmateurOzmologist** » July 12th, 2009, 10:57 pm

I hate to be rude, but that was very rude on your part. You just waltzed into a good idea to say that you wouldn't help and you didn't think we should do it.
Why? Because we're not "ultra-Orthodox males?"
As over-used as this phrase may be, I have to say one thing to you:
How dare you? Actually one more. Who do you think you are?
Instead of putting LibriVoxers with drive down, why don't you go record something?

miss stav · Post by **miss stav** » July 12th, 2009, 11:11 pm

Miriam,
many new people are saying things in the forums which those who are here for a longer time take as rood and improper. You may find it eseyer to take more lightly things that people here write (aspeshaly if they are new). If I would say that I have lived in Israel all my life but am not confident enough to read from the tora, would you think me rood?

miss stav · Post by **miss stav** » July 12th, 2009, 11:20 pm

hongkongfooye,
your post above has been completely misinterpeted. The tora is such a well known book that even I would not like to see names in it pronounsed incorrectly for Librivox- though it has nothing to do with not knowing and not respecting the text. I think everyone in this world respect the tora. If such a project is started, I will follow the thread and help with pronounsiation. You are right, juish children learn the tora from a very early age (in our eria, from the age of seven).

miss stav · Post by **miss stav** » July 12th, 2009, 11:22 pm

That being said, I hope this discushen would not be so contrevershal in future. I hope I can help you to come to a mutual understanding which will make both of you pleased.

AmateurOzmologist · Post by **AmateurOzmologist** » July 12th, 2009, 11:48 pm

I wasn't insulted by his saying he couldn't do the project, just at the assertion that we shouldn't!
I do apologize for the vehemence of my response, though.