Purim thoughts and anticipations

[debka_notion]

1. shirei_shibolim, you might enjoy knowing that I got a few compliments on my megillah trope (aka, your megillah trope)this morning- because the etnakhta and sofei-pasuk are actually easy to distinguish from each other. People seemed to find this unusual.

2. Why the heck isn't Vashti held up as a model of good tzniusdike behavior (aren't they always looking for good biblical role models for religious girls?), rather than being cast as a villainess? What would people have wanted Esther to do in the same situation? I keep thinking that someone should dress up for Purim as Vashti by wearing a chador... (Even if I still get a kick out of the idea of her turning green and growing a tail...)

3. Steve brought really exciting hamentashen to minyan this morning for Rosh Hodesh. It was a pleasant surprise, and rather inspiring on my part.

Comments

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

Glad people like the trope, though I can't claim to have made it up or anything. It's rather similar to what Binder recorded in Biblical Chant, including the distinct strong disjunctives.

Were you practicing in front of someone, or just celebrating Purim early?

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

We were talking after minyan about the assignment of megillah readings and someone complained about Esther trope's lack of distinction between etnakhta and sofei-pasuk/sillukim (or whatever the appropriate plurals are, my current language classes are making me almost slightly nostalgic for Arabic plurals, if such a thing is possible), and I was confused, since as I know the trope, they're darn different. I mentioned as much, was complimented on said difference and the trope in general, and got a compliment from one of the current gabbayim on how much he likes my trope, for that same reason.

[shirei-shibolim.livejournal.com]

I think it would be siluqin and etnahata, but don't hold me to that. Arabic would probably do something like sulqaat, just to be ornery.

Aramaic plurals

[margavriel.livejournal.com]

If we wanted to use the absolute state, it would be סִלּוּקִין and אֶתְנְחָן. If we wanted to use the emphatic state, it would be סִלּוּקַיָּא and אֶתְנְחָתָא.

In Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, and most subsequent dialects of Jewish Aramaic, there would be no difference in meaning between the various states. However, Lawrence is correct that the more commonly used forms in JBA would probably be סִלּוּקִין and אֶתְנְחָתָא (or, perhaps better, אַתְנְחָתָא). In Targumic Aramaic, of course, the state proper to the syntax of the sentence would be used.